The weekend hikers: Gail and Kurt Rheinheimer stand on top of Rice Fields, a bald southwest of Blacksburg, Va. along the Appalachian Trail. They were photographed in May by a couple who were thru-hiking the AT with their two children.

The Hike, Week 96: 12/11/05

The Appalachian Trail experiences one of its more urban sections just north of Roanoke as it delivers the northbound hiker down off of Tinker Mountain and then, within little more than a mile, traverses U.S. 220, Interstate 81 and U.S. 11. We got on the trail at the northeast end of this highway cluster--at the parking lot where the trail crosses 11--on a cold Sunday with re-frozen snow coating much of the trail bed headed up the climb toward Fullhart Knob.

Our destination was Fullhart Knob Shelter, where we planned to build a fire for lunch. A crunchy, slow 3.2 miles later, we arrived there, only to find the fire pit so encrusted with ice that even with the firesticks and little pieces of kindling we'd brought along, we decided the odds were against a good fire. We set up our cold-weather picnic in the corner of the shelter that kept the wind away as light, sleety snow began to fall. Leafless trees allowed a good view to the east out the front of the shelter.

We'd worried, on the way up the mountain, about footing going back down, and had made conscious attempts to break through the hard surface to give us places to step on the way back. But Gail immediately began a different tack for descent--alternating between a jumpy jog for a bit and a slidey slalom for another. Our return was quick and fun--about 15 minutes faster than going up. It's hard to find a better evidence of a great day hiker than she who takes a cold day on an icy trail and comes out, six-plus miles later, praising it as one of her favorites.

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