Crystal Springs Hike

Saturday morning, we broke camp and then went for a hike around Claytor Lake State Park.  From camp, we took Claytor Lake Trail and did a short loop on Bent Tree Trail.

After the loop, we continued on Claytor Lake Trail.

A short spur led to an overlook with really nice views of the lake.

Where Claytor Lake Trail ended, we took the paved Lakeview Trail along the park road. 

There were some nice views of the lake from here.

At the end, we got on Shady Ridge Trail and headed back to camp.

From here, we headed into Wytheville for breakfast then parked at Crystal Springs Recreation Area.

We started off on the Boundary Trail that works its way around the perimeter of the park.

It was only moderately steep most of the way.  We saw some more fringed polygala along the trail.

Over half way through the loop, we took the spur trail up to High Rocks.

The views from up here were great overlook Wytheville.

Then we headed back down and finished up the Boundary Trail loop.

There were more wildflower blooming along the creek.

After finishing our hike, we headed back to Raleigh.

AT Hike in Bear Creek

Friday, I took Amaroq to Virginia for his first camping trip.  We got off I-81 near Rural Retreat and parked at the trailhead for Appalachian Trail.  Hiking northbound, we first went through an open area with nice views.

After the open area, we had to cross a stile that was very much not dog friendly.  But Amaroq is a great hiking dog and we made it.  The trail headed through the woods and entered Bear Creek National Scenic Area, passing a campsite in just over a mile.

The trail headed up a ridge and there were nice views.  The trees hadn't leafed out at this elevation yet, so we could still enjoy winter views. 

The trail eventually descended via switchbacks to Reed Creek and intersected Crawfish Trail.  We turned on the horse trail to make a loop.

The trail followed an old road for a while, eventually crossing Bear Creek.

After this, the trail got off the road and started heading up very steeply.  At least it wasn't too hot, but it was a strenuous climb.  At the top, the trail paralleled the AT closely for over half a mile.

We took a nice break back on Appalachian Trail and then started heading back.

Some nice wildflowers were blooming along the trail, a lot of fringed polygala.

Most of the hike back was downhill, which was nice after the steep climb on the horse trail.  There were some cows grazing in the open area when we passed through, but Amaroq was pretty tired and not too interested.

From here, we headed into Wytheville and got lunch from 7 Dogs Brewing.  Then we drove to Claytor Lake State Park and set up camp.  It was still early so we went for a short hike from camp, first on Shady Ridge Trail.

Then we took Hidden Valley Trail along the north side of the park.

There was an overlook with a view of the lake but it was pretty overgrown.

We took Claytor Lake Trail back to camp.

Amaroq laid under the picnic table while I made a campfire.  The campground host and another camper commented on what a good husky he was, but of course he was very tired from his long hikes.  After sunset, we went to bed and Amaroq did very good his first night camping.

Mill Mountain Hike and Zoo

Monday, we checked out of the hotel and headed over to Mill Mountain Park.

It was cloudy so no views from the mountain, so we took a stroll through the wildflower garden.

Lots of flowers and trees were blooming in the garden.

There was cute little pond near the entrance.

After the wildflower garden, we went for a hike down Mill Mountain Greenway and got on Big Sunny Trail.

In under a mile, Riser Trail split off and headed up to the entrance road.

The trail crossed right at the Big Ol' Bikes.

We picked up Monument Trail here and took that to Star Trail and back up.

Lots of eastern redbud was flowering near the top.

After our hike, we went through the Mill Mountain Zoo.

Near the entrance as a wallaby mom with a joey in her pouch.

It was still very cloudy but not raining.

Harper enjoyed running around and seeing the animals.

Its a small zoo so didn't take long to walk through.

One of the red wolves reminded me of Alex.

After finishing up, we headed back to the car.

We drove home, stopping for Mexican in Chatham on the way.

Roaring Run Wildflowers

Sunday, we had breakfast at the hotel and drove north into Jefferson National Forest to Roaring Run Day Use Area.

We got our stuff together and headed out on the trail.

We came to a split at the start and following the streamside trail along the creek.

There were a lot of little wildflowers blooming near the creek.

The trail and creek are particularly scenic along here.

We crossed the creek twice on footbridges.

In about a quarter-mile, we came to Lower Roaring Run Falls.

Its a 15-foot slide and fairly nice but definitely overshadowed by the larger waterfall upstream.

There were a few sections of cliffs before we came to the split.  Roaring Run Falls Trail follows the creek upstream for another quarter-mile.

It's mostly falling water all the way to the end at Roaring Run Falls.

Its a really scenic waterfall and we hung out at the observation platform for a while.

On the hike back, we took the Woodland Trail on the way back.  Climbing up, there was an outcrop with a cool view over the creek and lower trail.

A little further, there was a break in the trees with a nice view.

Some birdsfoot violet was flowering along the trail.

The trail looped back around and ended just past the old furnace.

We returned to the start and took off.

From here, we headed into Roanoke and parked in downtown near Elmwood Park.  First, we headed to 202 Social House for lunch.  The outside dining area right in Market Square was a really nice place to dine.  Sandy took Harper to the Kids Square Museum while I took Amaroq for a hike on the greenway.

We headed north and crossed over the railroad tracks on a bridge.  There was an enclosed bridge, but I'm not sure if that's dog friendly.

Across the bridge, I had a nice view of the basilica.

I followed sidewalks around Hotel Roanoke and got on Lick Run Greenway.

Amaroq and I hiked north about a mile and then turned back.

We got back to the square just as Sandy and Harper finished.

We then headed back to the hotel and got ready to check out in the morning.