Flat Top - Peaks of Otter

Yesterday was gorgeous.  Here in Southwest Virginia, the weather is bipolar.  Because of this fact, my boyfriend and I took advantage of the sun and embarked on a trip to the Peaks of Otter.  Having already climbed Sharp Top, we set our sights to Flat Top.  The drive up was nice - Casey drove so as to avoid any unpleasant spells of vomiting along the twisty Blue Ridge Parkway and we arrived at the visitor center with our stomachs and clothes intact and clean.  Unfortunately, we met our match when we were about 4 miles away from the parking lot.  A giant fence with a "Road Closed" sign stood between us and our destination.  Moment of panic.

I don't do directions.  My GPS and I (his name is Jeeves) have a strong relationship.  He speaks to me in an attractive British accent and tells me what to do and I do it.  On two occasions I ignored his requests.  On two occasions, I got myself royally and completely lost.  Fortunately, Jeeves is a forgiving soul, and consented to help me get home despite my lack of consent on both of those aforementioned occasions.  Unfortunately, on this occasion, Jeeves was stumped, as was I.

As should be expected in Southwest Virginia, the visitor center was closed in the middle of the day on a gorgeous Saturday and so Casey, Jeeves, and I deliberated on what to do.  Jeeves was insistent that we trudge straight through the "road closed" sign, but because I was not lost and alone in this particular instance, I ignored him.  Fortunately, Casey and I had printed out a few confusing alternate directions, which, after a bit of confusion and turning ourselves in circles, did help point us in the right direction.  We found a trail head (albeit, not the trail head we'd been looking for) that told us we were on track.

   The hike up consisted of Casey leading, me attempting to follow, me eventually having to stop to breathe, Casey realizing 20 feet ahead that I was no longer behind him, and him having to wait for me to catch up.  And repeat.  The views were magnificent, though, and despite my whining all the way up, it was worth it.  Plus, I got to play with a one eyed dog that we met on the trail.

And then I woke up today with one very, very sore butt.  Oh well - can't win them all...

Happy hiking.

A few new pages added

I've started to update my pages "Hikes in Southwest Virginia" and "Hikes in Northern Virginia" (which can be accessed via tabs along the top bar).  I will continue to add to these pages as I complete more hikes.  This home page I'll keep for random updates, photos or stories that might be of interest as I go.

As a side note, the majority of these photos are mine (the few exceptions being the work of friends) - please don't steal them without crediting and letting me know!