November 2019 Hikes (and 2 in December)
11/1/19: The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All and her pretty-good-hiker dog, Cookie, chill beside Carvins Cove.
November 1. Tinker Creek Trail from Plantation Road to Carvins Cove shoreline and back. 4.8 miles.
This easy and enjoyable out-and-back is notable for several things: the up 1/2/down 1/2 aspect; the good views of the water; and the pond-side opportunities for a lunch spot.
11/2/19: These are a few of the shorter people, who made up more of the hiking turnout than did tall people, on this early-November family walk.
With family gathered for the weekend, we got a fairly good collection of people to walk up the mountain, and many more to meet us on top for the picnic next to the playground, where many of the shorter people who complained a bit or got carried a bit on the hike, ran rampant amid the play stuff.
November 2. Mill Mountain Star Trail up and down 3 miles.
With family gathered for the weekend, we got a fairly good collection of people to walk up the mountain, and many more to meet us on top for the picnic next to the playground, where many of the shorter people who complained a bit or got carried a bit on the hike, ran rampant amid the play stuff.
November 9. From Salt Pond Road at Curry Gap (Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 101.5) to Appalachian Trail to Fullhart Knob Shelter and back. 7.6 miles
One of the few hikes we take where the destination pops up out of the woods before you think it will, instead of three faux-summits later like most Virginia-mountain hikes. Our many visits to Fullhart over the years make it feel a little like home as we sit down at the table with relative certainty we’ll have it to ourselves for the duration of lunch.
11/9/19: Part of the post-lunch ritual, undertaken here at Fullhart knob Shelter, is to transfer ice from the Ice Mule that keep lunch cool into the water bottle for the walk back.
November 16. On Mill Mountain, Woodthrush, Ridgeline, Riser and Big Sunny Trails into South Roanoke, down to Fork in the Alley; back via Big Sunny and Mill Mountain Trails to Roanoke River Greenway. 7.2 miles.
The call of the Mediterranean salad at Fork in the Alley is likely too loud and too often for us, but the good route over the mountain earns it well. Which of course we cancel out with an additional ingestion stop—at Blue Cow Ice Cream—along the way back.
November 24. Appalachian Trail from Daleville to Carvins Cove overlook and back 5.2 miles
Should count them up some time . . . maybe the 30th time we’ve done this nearby, easy, rewarding walk?
December 1. Easy peasy walk from home to Luigi’s Restaurant and back. 4.4 miles
After the house finally emptied after the four-day marathon of family over the Thanksgiving weekend, The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All (who was, over that time, also the greatest hostess of all) indulged ourselves in an urban stroll to the relaxed and cozy atmosphere of one of our favorite restaurants, as a denouement to said marathon weekend.
December 7. From Salt Pond Road at Curry Gap (Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 101.5) toward Wilson Creek and back. About 5.5 miles.
Well, we got a late start, see, and both our legs were tired, see, and so when we saw a nice sunny-hillside lunch spot a bit shy of Wilson Creek, we ’shwhacked over to it and spread out the lunch blanket to eat in the sunshine on a pretty-cold day. Then we tired-legged it back.