1 of 3
Kurt Rheinheimer
May 1: The horseshoe crab, given its origin 450 years ago, is consider a living fossil. The foot is not quite that old.
2 of 3
Kurt Rheinheimer
May 20: The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All, ahead as usual on the climb up Tinker Mountain.
3 of 3
Kurt Rheinheimer
May 13: Lunch along the stream at Falls Ridge.
May 1: Assateague National Seashore coastline. 5 miles
As part of a Baltimore-Ocean City-Annapolis loop, we spent most of a day along the ocean and pretty much by ourselves at Assateague, with only a fisherman or two and two lone beach walkers on the beach.
May 6: At Carvins Cove, Horsepen and Lakeside trails out and back. 5 miles
A pleasant, easy walk to lunch at the water’s edge.
May 12: Over Mill Mountain via Star, Woodthrush, Ridgeline, Riser trails to Fork in the Alley, and back via Roanoke River Greenway. 6 miles.
And with a stop at Blue Cow Ice Cream built in on the way back.
May 13: Falls Ridge Nature Preserve loop. 3.2 miles
It had been so long since we’d visited this preserve that we’d pretty much forgotten its ease and charms, including a nice stream-side section, the easy climb, and the small falls.
May 20: Appalachian Trail from Daleville to Carvins Cove overlook and back 5 miles
Lunch on the rocks overlooking the reservoir is always a relaxed treat.
May 28: Over Mill Mountain via Star, Woodthrush, Ridgeline, Riser trails to Fork in the Alley and back the same way. 8 miles.
At least we went back over the mountain this time, and skipped the ice cream.
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!
Feedback? Suggestions? They are always appreciated. Feel free to contact us: