I never would have guessed that the James River snakes its way into Southwest Virginia. I have memories of my childhood self, sitting on a rock outcropping alongside this same river with a fishing pole in hand, reeling in catfish. But that was in Williamsburg, and well before the days of college or hiking. So upon reading about a little stretch of Appalachian Trail that would afford me views of the James - and apparently some of the best views in Virginia - I decided this was a hike worth pursuing. My source slated this trip as a loop, but as I would soon figure out - this was not quite the case.
Casey and I departed from Moneta, VA, after a nice trip to visit my mother and my darling dog. I wanted more than anything to bring the dog on our excursion, but after a short two mile neighborhood stroll the previous day leaving her panting and sprawled on the floor, we decided it best to leave her to the comfort of the couch. She was not thrilled with this plan and watched us leave with a face to rival that of Puss and Boots.
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| Casey being skeptical of my photography |
We arrived at this hike after an hour's drive that took us through the Bedford County Fair (or something of that regard). The hike itself was typical of the area - wooded, dirt, and hilly. We reached our first overlook after a less than fun 22 switchbacks that reminded me of Angel's Rest and its relentless incline. The view of the river was beautiful. The Fuller Rock overlook is actually little more than a view straight off the side of the Appalachian Trail, making for less than ample room when other hikers cross paths while one is enjoying the view. Fortunately, just slightly up from this overlook, we found several more as we continued on our way to Big Rocky Row. If the switchbacks were tiring, the ascent to Big Rocky Row summit was even steeper. We ascended the last 550 feet and found our last overlook. It was splendid, although questionable whether the (nearly identical) views were worth the extra climb. After taking in our fill of forested mountainsides and river views, we set to continue on with our loop.
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| View from Big Rocky Row |
I had read that the conjoining trail was less traveled than the Appalachian Trail and a bit overgrown, but we decided that it wouldn't be too bad. We wandered the final mile stretch and came upon the sign to the Saddle Gap Trail, which was to take us back to the road upon which we had parked our car. The sign was there, good as new, and a slightly less traveled trail split to the right for about 20 feet. Beyond this, however, there was no discerning trail from woods. The overgrowth had taken over and little prickers grabbed our shoelaces and pants. Just as we were sizing up the situation and deciding whether we should just turn our hike into an "out and back," I spotted something large and brown and squishy near my foot, right in the middle of the trailless trail. Bear poop? Dog poop? I wasn't quite sure. And then I saw the toilet paper.
I cautiously picked up my boot. And there it was - a disgusting pile of human crap embedded into the traction of my boot. And so we turned around, me dragging my boot through the grass and leaves, and Casey trying to guess which passerby that we had met during our ascent was the owner of the pile of crap now clinging to my shoe. And finally, after two miles more than anticipated, we made it back to the car. My shoe, though by that point crapless, was
banished to the trunk.
