The hikes that The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All and I undertook from September '21 through January '22 were mostly old favorites (including the AT/Old Hotel loop at Mt. Pleasant, a climb to Tinker Cliffs) with one exception. Well, two, as the snowy 1.8-mile out and back Parkway Overlook Trail in Beech Mountain, NC was also new. The Day Hiker found us a great big old house and the whole family--all 23 of us--spent a long weekend of skiing and other fun.
The other new walk: In the area of the Roanoke region’s most popular hike—McAfee Knob—there recently opened a new loop that links to the McAfee climb, but adds at least a mile each way to the hike. We did not ascend to McAfee on either of our treks on the Catawba Greenway, but contented ourselves to the 4-mile loop that includes the greenway and a little over a mile on the AT (and a short distance on the forest road), including the crossing of 311. It’s an easy and pleasant hike, which we undertook both times counterclockwise from the small lot on the left as you descend 311 from the main lot. There is also parking at the Catawba Center, with the hope that this lot will lessen the parking congestion that has become so commonplace at the 311 lot.
Here's a rundown of our hikes for the period:
Sept 4: Buck/hotel/Brushy?hiDeeHo. 6 MILES
Sept 5: Tinker Creek Greenway. 4.8
Sept 11: Little Rocky Row. 5.8
Sept 19: Star/Woodthrush/Ridgeline/Star. 5
Sept 24: (Camping with family): Craig Creek Rec Trail. 2.0
Oct 3: chestnut Ridge Loop Trail. 5.2
Oct 9: Little Hey. 5.2
Oct 16: Tinker Creek Greenway. 4.8
Oct 23: (Camping with family): Craig Creek Red Trail with kids. 2.0
Oct 30: (New) Catawba Creek Greenway-AT loop. 4
November 6: Little Hey. 5.2
Nov 13: Tinker Creek Greenway. 4.8
Nov 17: Buck/Hotel/Brushy/HiDeeHo. 6
Nov 25: Tinker Cliffs. 7.4
Dec 4: AT/Hotel loop. 5.7
Dec 7: Hone Quarry loop with lost. 6
Dec 11: HiDeeHo Brushy out and back (lost pole); 6
Dec 19: chestnut Ridge Loop. 5.4
Dec 24: Horse Pem/lakeside. 4.0
Dec 31: Urban Raleigh Court/DT Re. 5.0
Jan 1: Catawba Greenway. 4
Jan 8: Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 to Carvins Cove overlook and back. 5.2
Jan 15: Read Mountain loop trails. 5.2
Jan 16: home to downtown Roanoke and back snow walk. 6
Jan 22: At Beech Mountain, NC ski trip, Parkway Overlook Trail out and back. 1.8
Jan 30: Star, Woodthrush, Ridgeline, Star trails loop on Mill Mountain. 5.2