Watery Destinations: Two Lakes, An Ocean and a Reservoir
Kurt Rheinheimer
Gail keeps Harkening Hill’s Balance Rock from hurting someone.
July 4: Abbott Lake and Harkening Hills trails at Peaks of Otter. 4.4 miles
We were within a good calendar timeframe to come across some of the farm family re-enactors at the Johnson Farm, but by the time we broke all the rules by having lunch in the lodge after our easy Abbott Lake loop and had climbed Harkening Hill and gotten to the farm, they were gone for the day. No way to run a farm.
July 5: At Douthat State Park: Blue Suck Falls Loop (well, most of it). 7.2 miles
A new hike for us, and well, we somehow got off the loop fairly early on and ended up in a campground before climbing back up to the main trail. But it’s a great place to walk, and we’ll go back sometime and get it right.
Kurt Rheinheimer
Gail gazes down toward the lake at Douthat State Park.
July 14: Star, Watchtower, Loop Road, Big Sunny trails on Mill Mountain, and back via Big Sunny, Loop Road and Roanoke River Greenway. 7 miles
The ol’ walk to lunch at Fork in the Alley and then take the shorter way back in order to include some of that wunnerful Blue Cow ice cream is a great way to combine good distance in the woods, a stretch through the great landscaping around the big houses of South Roanoke, a great lunch and the ice cream. What more could you want in a hike?
Kurt Rheinheimer
At Nags Head, some people walk and some others don’t.
July 21-27: Beach and other walks at Nags Head. 10 miles
With the whole famdamily—22 of us—at the beach, the walks were mostly beach and mostly just The Day Hiker and me. Well, aside from that glorious one to the top of the Jockey’s Ridge dune at sunset and the shorter one to get ice cream.
July 29: Tinker Creek Greenway from Plantation Road to Carvins Cove and back. 4.8 miles
We spent a bit of time on this go-to walk interacting with a not-from-here couple (France?), whose caution and uncertainties about distance and scale provided a strong sense of something we haven’t done much of for a long while: walk in a completely new place, both geographically and logistically. Brought back memories of walks in New Zealand and on the island of St. John.