You look at seven months of hikes to close the 19th year of Gail and me walking every weekend and you start to see some patterns, most striking of which is the hikes are creeping toward shorter.
Photo Above: Gail stands atop Texas’s Palo Duro Canyon, October 4.
Photos Courtesy of Kurt Rheinheimer.
But these seven months of walks certainly had their highlights, including climbing to Tinker Cliffs, hikes in western national parks with some of the family, and other family hikes around Roanoke, highlighted by the year-ending climb of the Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 with 13 of us to look down on Carvins Cove and share a cold lunch.
- June 3. Tinker Creek Greenway from Plantation Road to Carvins Cove and back. 4.8 miles
- June 10. Family hike at Hoop Hole Lower loop with jump-ins to the swimming hole for at least one first-timer. 4 milesJune 17. Hotel, Buck and Brushy Mountain trails out and back. 4.4
- June 24. Apple Orchard, Appalachian Trail, Cornelius Creek trails loop. 7.5
- July 1. At Peaks of Otter, around Abbott Lake and over Harkening Hill past Johnson Farm loop. 5
- July 4. Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail. 5.4
- July 8. Appalachian Trail. U.S. 60 to FR 38 and back. 8
- July 15-17. Beach walks at Carolina Beach 3.5
- July 23. Urban hike from home to Beamer’s 25 and back. 6
- July 29. Tinker Creek Greenway from Plantation to Carvins Cove with Eloise and Andy along. 4.8
- August 5. Baltimore Inner Harbor walk before going to see the Orioles win! 4
- August 12. On Mill Mountain, Watchtower, Ridgeline and Star Trails loop. 5.6
- August 19. Catawba Greenway Appalachian Trail loop. 4
- August 26. Trails of Grassy Hill Natural Preserve. 4.2
- September 2. Appalachian Trail from U.S. 11 to Fullhardt Knob ridgeline and back. 7.2
- September 4. Urban hike from home to Mellow Mushroom and back. 5
- September 10. Trails of Mill Mountain (Star, Monument, Crystal Spring) loop. 6.2
- September 16. Urban hike from home to Bernard’s Gastropub and back. 5.4
- September 24. Cold Mountain loop at Mt Pleasant National Scenic Area. 5.7
- October 4. Palo Duro Canyon (Texas) CCC trail, 500 feet up the second-largest (not deepest) canyon in the nation. 3
- October 7. Grand Canyon Rim and Kaibab trails at that really biggest canyon. 6.8
- October 9. Trails of Zion NP (Riverside and Weeping Rock) 3
- October 10. Trails at Capital Reef NP 1.5
- October 15. Urban hike from home to downtown Roanoke and back. 6
- October 21. Star and Monument trails over Mill Mountain to Bernard’s Gastropub and back. 6
- October 28. Urban hike from home to downtown Roanoke and back. 6
- October 29. At Carvins Cove, Horsepen and Lakeside trails to viewpoint and back. 4
- November 4. Appalachian Trail from U.S 220 to “Little Hey” rock and back. 5.6
- November 11. Andy Layne and Appalachian Trail to Tinker Cliffs and back. 7.6
- November 18. Trails of Bottom Creek Gorge. 5
- November 26. Urban hike of Brandon Road, Ross Lane, Murray Run Greenway. 4.8
- December 3. Roanoke River Greenway to Fork in the Alley and back. 6
- December 9. Chestnut Ridge Loop Trail. 5.4
- December 16. Horsepen and Riverside trails at Carvins Cove. 4
- December 22. Tinker Creek Greenway from Plantation Road to Carvins Cove and back. 4
- December 27. Apple Orchard Trail up and back with Eric. 4
- December 30. Family hike from U.S. 220 to “Little Hey” rock and back. 5.6
