September 3. Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 to the first overlook of Carvins Cove and back. 6.0 miles. A sooper dooper, red-letter, multi-generational hikin' day as son Carl, his son Matthew and lady-friend Meagan, along with son Eric's boy Aden set out on the first real hike for the two young men--each a month or so shy of his fifth birthday. Distance expectations were low as we began the easy stretch through the woods, across Tinker Creek, over the railroad tracks and under the power line, before entering the woods to begin the nearly 1,000-foot climb to the crest of Tinker Mountain. But with alternating bursts of energy and takings of the lead--and no disagreements nor complaints save how to share the binoculars--the two four-year-olds took us on up the mountain, fueled by frequent visits to the side of The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them all, who carries the ice cold water accessed by its very nifty mouthpiece. At the top, on the rock outcropping overlooking the reservoir, the little men shared their first bounty-after-the-climb, including such wonders as cashew nuts and string cheese, and such semi-no-nos as Vienna sausages, cheese curls and Coke! (There's nothing that reinforces a good climb better than bad-for-ya food--something to be instilled as soon as possible in little hiking bodies.) And I somehow forgot--a first in these three-plus years of hikes--to bust out the best thing of all--the chocolate!
September 9. Apple Orchard Trail to the AT to the top of Apple Orchard Mountain and back. 9.2 miles. A great variation on an old favorite, with a visit to the highest peak for 1,000 miles northward and 200 miles south on the AT. Although, on the warmish day, the breeze was surprisingly absent on the rocks at 4,225 feet, and the views were more summer-muggy than fall-crisp. A long and strong climb that The Day Hiker chewed up as usual. On the way up the sad view was of the toll that the hot summer took on Apple Orchard Falls, where the flow, which many times is so loud you have to shout to be heard, was reduced to the equivalent of a garden hose with pretty good water pressure.
September 15. Rock Castle Gorge Trail. 10.8 miles. A variation on a favorite, with a new starting point off of Va. 8 near the creek, which has the effect of doing the flat section--well slightly uphill as you walk against the stream flow--first, and then upward at the southern end of the trail before walking the ridge line and ending with hike with the steep descent. The new lunch spot was up at the highest point of the walk--above the parkway and looking down on peaks in all directions--instead of down along the stream as usual. One aspect that becomes clearer with this approach to the circuit is that the north-south distance across the top of the hike is as long as the gentler distance along the creek.
September 22. Appalachian Trail from Va. 42 south to crest of Gullion Mountain and back. 13.2 miles. The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All is many wonderful things on the trail. An ace hiker that I cannot keep up with. A genuine wildflower identifier supreme. The best companion a guy could have on a hike. And on this day, two more great traits came to the fore. First, on this section of trail, the first three miles out (and of course that last three back in since we did it as an out-and-back) are through cow pastures. Not only is The Day Hiker a great pie dodger, she is also far more confident around big brown animals weighing six or eight times what we do than I am. She relishes, of course, in my tentativeness around Bessie and the other gals. And even more indicative of her comfort with all things on the trail, we came across our first rattlesnake on this walk. TGDHOTA was in the lead, of course, and while my first reaction was to look into the thick-brush woods on both sides of the trail for a detour, hers was to tell me to get the camera out of her pack and hand it to her. Gail spent 10 minutes taking pictures while the snake showed no sign of either coiling or rattling; and as if by arrangement, when the photoshoot was done, the snake made its way calmly across the trail and into the woods, The Day Hiker made her way through the woods along the trail and I languished a bit before traversing their paths.
September 29. Appalachian Trail from Va. 60 north to Cold Mountain and back. 10 miles. Cold Mountain is perhaps our favorite place for lunch, and on this day two things added even more to the 4,000-foot spot.
First, we climbed the 2,000 feet from the Long Mountain Wayside to the top of Bald Knob, and then the additional 600 or so feet to Cold Mountain, and lunch is always better when it's earned with a good climb and eaten at the high point of the hike. And second, the day marked the first since the beginning of summer when the air was crisp and clear, allowing for great and long-range views in all directions from the top of the bald. The day and the spot brought out as many hikers as we've seen in a long time--scout groups, hand-holding couples, a Brit and his son, and a lone guy we happened to come upon at the intersection of the AT and the Old Hotel Trail, where he seemed pleased to have met a map-toting couple who could show him where he needed to go to find his way back out of the woods.
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