Blue Ridge Country

Photo atop Mt. Pleasant look southwest toward the Peaks by Ken Knott.

Photo atop Mt. Pleasant looking southwest toward the Peaks of Otter by Ken Knott.

Blue Ridge Country editor-in-chief Kurt Rheinheimer and his wife Gail woke up on Valentine's Day in 2004 looking to do something a little different in recognition of the occasion.

Since then, Kurt and Gail have hiked at least once every weekend for more than seven years. Of those 360-plus weekends, they have missed 14, virtually all due to occasional balkiness from Kurt's old-man knees or achilles. For the first two years (Valentine's Day 2004 through Valentine's Day 2006) they didn't miss a single week. They completed the 550 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in the summer of 2008, and have walked more than 3,500 miles total, mostly in Virginia but including hikes in West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Oregon and ... New Zealand!

Kurt & Gail Rheinheimer Featured in Channel 7 (WDBJ7.com) - October 30, 2011
Couple finds love for each other - and nature - through hiking.

Rainy-Day Urban

Sunday, April 22, 2012 Kurt Rheinheimer
Hike: April 22, 2012
Urban walk: Out the front door to Roanoke River Greenway to downtown Roanoke and back. About 8 miles.
With big rain forecast, we loaded up the umbrellas and set out for downtown and a new place for lunch.
The Roanoke River Greenway was pretty deserted, even as the sky opened up a little.
Downtown, we wandered around a little before deciding on Cafe Habana, in a corner of the Market Building, where Seeds of Light used to be. We stayed dry (it wasn't raining anyway), and had some really good food.
We took the shorter way home (loop hikes are just better than plain ol' out and back), through pieces of Old Southwest and back to the greenway.
The umbrellas were never deployed, and we took no photos.
 

Thru-Hikers, Frogs and Crayfish

Saturday, April 14, 2012 Kurt Rheinheimer
Thru-Hikers, Frogs and Crayfish

Y'hate it when the highlight of the hike happens before you start walking, but that might have been the case here – no wait, we saw two real live healthy frogs! – when, at the point where 60 crests the mountain at the Blue Ridge Parkway, we nearly di...

St. Mary's Wilderness: Where'd the Trails Go?

Saturday, April 7, 2012 Kurt Rheinheimer
St. Mary's Wilderness: Where'd the Trails Go?

With reservations (a place to sit, not any hesitation at all) to see the wonderful Jesse Winchester in Staunton on Saturday night, we had a good excuse to visit St. Mary's Wilderness, where we'd not been for about three years.

And we seemed to have fo...

No Water, No Batteries, Great Hike

Sunday, April 1, 2012 Kurt Rheinheimer

It's always good to do this watery walk in the springtime, though this year the flow of things wasn't what it has been some springs, when there were temporary flows to rock-hop, huge noise at Apple Orchard Falls, and taking off your shoes for one cro...

Of Rain, Quiche and an Old Ford Truck

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 Jessica Wright
Of Rain, Quiche and an Old Ford Truck

A seriously rainy weekend kept us out of the woods and onto the greenway toward a place with a roof over it for brunch. In fact, after having foregone the rainy Saturday with hopes for a better Sunday, we started out under umbrellas, making our way f...

Racing Daylight Savings Time

Saturday, March 17, 2012 Jessica Wright
Racing Daylight Savings Time

We "celebrated" the arrival of Daylight Savings Time (except of course in the morning, when it is Daylight Destroying Time) with an evening climb up to the formation. Celebration included even more irresponsible food than usual--Cheetos and roast bee...

Creek Crossin'!

Saturday, March 10, 2012 Kurt Rheinheimer
Creek Crossin'!

The two minor drawbacks of this enjoyable, mostly gentle loop are that its viewpoints are in the first two miles or so, and it ends with a long ascent.

That first drawback resulted in our earliest-into-walk lunch ever, as we were just about exactly on...

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Featured Blue Ridge Video

The Fool in the Woods, aka Blue Ridge Country editor in chief Kurt Rheinheimer, is back with more great woodland information and secrets, this time reporting on how Virginia's Devil's Marbleyard was formed.
See Kurt's Hikes Blog.