Under the serious heat of late June around Roanoke, we undertook two pretty easy, pretty close walks the last two weekends of June.
The first was up to the Carvins Cove lookout where we go often when in search of a short hike. The difference from most treks to this point was that on this day we were in search of a shady spot up there on the rocks.
The June 30 hike was undertaken the day after the power went out in our neighborhood (an outage that would last till midday July 3), and with no hot water and no air conditioning to come home to after a mountain climb, we opted for an urban walk, with the idea to stop every mile or two for a cold one. The plan got off to a good start, with a stop at the Community Inn, maybe three-quarters of a mile from home. From there, the next stop was either right around the corner or a good distance farther, at Fork in the City near the Jefferson Center. We skipped the too-easy stop and then got pretty disappointed as the Fork came into view and presented every appearance of being shut down.
So our planned several-stop walk ended up having just two, as one of The Day Hiker’s favorites, Blue 5, was open.
We enjoyed a pleasant meal, albeit tinged, toward the end, with minor dread of going back out into the heat to walk home to a heated-up house with, as I may have mentioned, no hot water and no AC. The Day Hiker talked a time or two–and y’hate to dent her reputation–about a cab!
But of course the temptation was overcome, and the walk back home not so bad given the overall conditions.
Hike: June 24, 2012: Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 in Daleville south to Carvins Cove viewpoint and back. 5.6 miles.
Hike: June 30, 2012: Home to downtown Roanoke and back. About 7 miles.
