Kurt's Hike: July 8, 2012
A big ol' buzzard, appropriately enough, on Buzzard Rocks, at the upper terminus of the Read Mountain Trail.
With the heatwave continuing to keep anyone with any sense out of the midday temps, humidity and hazed-over air, we went short for this walk up the easy 1.9 miles of the Read Mountain Trail to Buzzard Rocks where, upon our arrival, two buzzards were perched and waiting, as if to claim their namesake rocks.
They flew off with the sound of packs being unzipped for lunch.
The view out over the airport and across the valley was indeed compromised by a deep haze, no doubt part of the reason we had the end-point of this walk to ourselves for lunch.
There are several new trails on the mountainside, complete with small signs, and on the way down we took a short detour to walk on a stretch of one.
Back near the parking lot, and to our surprise, a big group of parents and young-lady scouts was readying for the ascent.
Read Mountain Trail up and down. 3.8 miles.
How to get there: From Roanoke, east on U.S. 460 to Huntridge Road (just before Walmart), to left on Crumpacker Road to park entrance on right, just past Tolman Circle.