Kurt with the dogs at The Cascades in Giles County, Va.

The Hike, Week 100: 1/08/06

Once in a while, out in the woods in the white and wind of winter,
Gail and I wonder if we are the only fools out there.

Not so at The Cascades Trail off of U.S. 460 near Pembroke on a
reasonably warm January Sunday. At noon the parking lot had perhaps 15
cars in it, and as we got out, two others rolled in, paid their $3 fee
and got ready to do the two miles along one of the prettiest streams
around--Little Stony Creek--up to one of the most spectacular falls
around, complete with a fan of ice formations around its outside edge
on this day.

But of course The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All is not turning around
after a little two-mile leg-stretcher: From the Cascades, a
soft-bedded, road-width trail rises on up the mountain to the junction
with a short trail to Barney's Wall. For this distance of the hike we
were alone with the dogs, who both seemed extra vigilant, as if the
woods were full of the deer and squirrels they love to chase; they
took off a few times after scents or sounds before coming back to the
path.

Barney's Wall affords what is perhaps among the region's
best-kept-secret stunning views. The sheer drop off of the formation
provides a south-looking vista wide and deep enough to make you wonder
if you're looking all the way into North Carolina. The foreground view
is back across Little Stoney Creek to Doe Mountain, but in the
distance are layers of blue peak against the sky.

There's a shorter route to Barney's Wall--from Va. 714--and we were
joined at the beginning and end of our lunch by hikers who'd come up
from there to partake of the view and the breeze. The first was an
older hiker with a younger dog; he opined that he never tires of the
vista no matter how many times he comes up; the three dogs shared
sniffs and territorial riffs before settling in to a brief visit.

The walk back is nearly all downhill, and the different-way-down along
the Cascades trail is so much more gentle and less-rocky that the Day
Hiker lightly lamented, upon our return, the ease of this pleasant
7.8-mile trek.

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