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.

Seven Sisters in the Rain

Monday, I started making my way home.  In Virginia, I got off the highway after the Big Walker Tunnel and parked at the Seven Sisters Trailhead near Big Walker Mountain.  It was raining pretty hard at this point.  Initially, the trail was pretty flooded but there was a bridge over East Fork Stony Fork and then the trail started to climb steeply and soon I got above the flooded portions of trail.  The first part of the trail was pretty steep but then leveled off as I got up to the ridge line.

The rain tapered off for a bit though my luck didn't last long.  The trail went up and down crossing the peaks along the ridge line, including Little Walker Mountain.

After about 4 miles, it started to descend back down towards Stony Fork Campground.  Since the rain, let up for a short time, I made a loop on Stony Fork Trail.

But by the time I got back to the campground, it was raining heavily again.  I just hiked the road back to the trailhead and then made the drive home.

Comers Creek Falls

Sunday morning, we broke camp and had breakfast in Marion again, then headed to the Comers Creek Trailhead in Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.  The short trail led down to Appalachian Trail and we turned right to lead to Comers Creek Falls.

It's a small waterfall, about 15 feet, but was looking nice in the morning light.  It was a bright blue sky so any later in the day and it would have been too sunny.

There was a bridge across the creek below the falls, but it had washed out.

So we went the other way on Appalachian Trail.  We hiked about 2 miles and then turned back.

Taking Comers Creek Trail back up to the road, we stopped at a little clearing to enjoy the forest and rushing water before we had to leave.

Then we hiked back up to the car.

From here, we drove back into North Carolina and had lunch at Southern on Main in Elkin, then drove the rest of the way home.

Rowland Creek Falls

Saturday morning, we woke up and drove to Marion for breakfast then drove to the lower trailhead for Rowlands Creek Trail (#164).  The trail entered Seng Mountain National Scenic Area and in a quarter mile, we had to ford Rowland Creek.  It was tricky with high water but we managed to stay dry and the trail followed the creek on river right.

There were a lot of wildflowers blooming along the creek.

And we found our first trillium of the year.

There were also some beautiful wild bleeding-hearts.

The trail made a really great hike, staying close to the creek for most of the ways.

There were some really nice cascades long the creek as well.

After about a mile, we came to the second crossing and again managed to stay dry.

The trail then climbed up to a ridge above the creek and soon we came to Rowland Creek Falls.  A very steep path led down to the base.

With high water, I had to wade to get a good view of the waterfall.  But its a nice one and worth the cold feet.

After some pictures, we climbed back up and continued on the trail a short ways further to the next creek crossing.  There was a nice clearing and we sat here and had a snack before making our way back.

From here, we headed back to Marion and had lunch at Wooden Pickle.  Then we went over to 36-Fifty brewery to have a drink, since it's dog friendly.  Then we headed back to Hungry Mother State Park and parked near the lake.

The Lake Trail Loop led past the swim beach and park office, following the lakeshore closely.

Some rue anemone were flowering.

The trail on the west side of the lake stayed very close to the lake with many scenic views.

At the end, we crossed over the spillway to the other side of the lake.

This side was more wooded and not as close to the shore.

There was some star chickweed and phlox flowering on the forest floor.

I heard a rustle in the leaves along side the trail and saw a deer looking down at me.

She stayed still long enough for a picture.

Then we finished up the loop back at the north end of the lake and headed back to camp.

It was a chilly evening, but dry at least and we made a big campfire to stay warm.  The couple in the yurt next to us came by to meet Alex.  After dark, we went to sleep.

Virginia Creeper Trail in the Rain

Friday, we took Alex to Virginia for camping over the long weekend.

We headed into Mount Rogers National Recreation Area on US-58 and made our first stop at Straight Branch Falls.

We walked behind the guardrail and scrambled down to get a nice view of the waterfall.

It was pretty nice for a roadside waterfall.  Then we headed up the road and parked at Straight Branch Trailhead for Virginia Creeper Trail.  It hadn't started raining yet as we set off on the trail towards Damascus.

In about 10 minutes, the rain started.  In about a mile, we crossed a trestle bridge over Whitetop Laurel Falls.

It's a small water, but on a big creek and I liked how the flow split around a big rock in the middle.

But it was raining pretty good at this point, so we got a few pictures and continued on.  We made it as far as Damascus with no break in the rain, so Sandy and Alex waited under a bridge while I ran back to get the car and pick them up.

We then headed to Wicked Chicken in Damascus for lunch.  They had great wings and the rain had stopped while we were inside.  So after lunch, we went to the caboose along the trail in downtown Damascus.

Of course the rain started back up, so we took off and headed to Hungry Mother State Park, our home for the weekend.  After checking in, we set up camp at Royal Oak Campground.  The tent pads were elevated wooden platforms.

The rain never really stopped, except for when we were eating lunch, so we didn't make a fire.