April 1: At Carvins Cove, The Trough and Brushy Mountain Trails out and back. 5.5 miles
Have we mentioned lately that the ever-expanding number of trails at Carvins Cove offer all kinds of choices for length, water, views and more?
April 8: At Carvins Cove, HiDeHo, Brushy Mountain, Buck and Hotel Trails loop. 6 miles
Uh, back to Carvins Cove.
April 15: Via Roanoke River Greenway to Wasena Tap Room and back home. 4 miles
One of those busy weekends where a nice walk to dinner becomes the weekend hike.
April 22: At Peaks of Otter, Harkening Hill and Johnson Farm loop. 5 miles
This continues to be the neglected side of the Peaks area, with Sharp Top and Flat Top getting all the foot traffic—well, Sharp Top the most.
April 27: At Shenandoah National Park, White Oak Canyon Falls out and back. 7.4 miles
A great and classic hike down down down along the falls and then back up. We spent two fun nights at Skyland Resort, the extended the trip by going up to Baltimore to see a rare win for the Orioles and to have a fine lunch and visit with my brother . . . then down to Ocean City as the month changed.
Since Valentine’s Day 2004, Blue Ridge Country Editor in Chief Kurt Rheinheimer and his wife Gail have hiked at least once almost every weekend. Of those bazillion weekends, they have missed just 14, virtually all due to occasional balkiness from Kurt’s old-man knees or achilles. For the first two years (Valentine’s Day 2004 through Valentine’s Day 2006) they didn’t miss a single week, and they have a longer streak now, which Kurt is too superstitious to talk about. They celebrated their 1oth anniversary of hiking with a February 2014 trip to hike the trails of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. They completed the 550 miles of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia in the summer of 2008, and have walked more than 5,100 miles total, mostly in Virginia but including hikes in West Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Florida, Oregon and … New Zealand! This blog is an ongoing chronicle of those hikes. We hope you enjoy these tales from the trail, and we encourage you to get out there and experience the beautiful Blue Ridge for yourself – happy hiking!
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