Bottom Creek Gorge

     Last weekend I was looking for an easier hike, but still one that would provide a fun experience with some views.  Bottom Creek Gorge seemed to fit the bill.  It was a bit of a drive from Tech, but after about an hour, we pulled into a little lot and started our hike.  It didn't disappoint.  Although there was no particular "climb to a peak", there was a variety of scenery, a nice overlook with a view of the second highest waterfall in Virginia, and an area to access the creek (or was it a river?) that flowed alongside part of the path. 
     The weather was perfect, the flowers were starting to bloom, and we saw a deer as we walked.  It was pretty incredible too.  When we spotted the doe in the shrubbery off the trail, we stopped to watch her.  I was lucky to happen to have my telephoto lens on my camera so I carefully pulled it out and started
shooting.  She saw us, but instead of bolting or even turning away, she watched us for a bit, seemingly nervous, but curious, about the sound that the camera shutter was making every time it clicked.  She actually started to approach us.  It didn't appear to be in an aggressive manner, but it was clear that she wasn't entirely habituated to humans and looking for food.  Rather, she cautiously approached, stopping about 15 or 20 feet away to watch us some more, before she turned and wandered away.  It was definitely a one-of-a-kind kind of experience!

Angel's Rest

I went back to Angel's Rest.  I swore it would never happen.  It wasn't that this was a bad hike, but from my memory, I recalled a short, yet grueling climb up to a very lackluster little overlook point.  But, alas, Casey has caught on to my goal to finish Venture Out's (the outdoorsy shop on campus) list of the top 10 hikes in and around Blacksburg.  And, in catching on to my plan, Casey decided that he too would like to finish these hikes.

This is no problem at all - I welcome anyone who values nature over sitting inside playing video games, surfing the web, or doing schoolwork - but it meant that Casey would need to hike Angel's Rest.  I told him to go find someone else to hike it with him.  He said he would.  But today the sun was shining, the breeze was just perfect and I was feeling kind, so I kidnapped Casey and drove him 35 minutes to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.  And took him on a hike.

And you know what?  I'm really glad we went.  I needed to stop to rest about as many times as a person on a road trip guzzling soda needs to stop to pee, but we made it to the top.  Again.  This time, though, I took in the cool rock outcroppings near the overlook and even climbed up a few.  We had a picnic at the overlook point.  The view was much better than I remembered.  We talked with a backpacker who was just about to finish his 620th mile (at this point I almost choked on my own spit and vowed to never ever complain about walking 1.7 miles ever again).  We found a little "cave" built into the rock outcroppings.  We wandered.  I got a kiss at the overlook rock.  It was actually pretty perfect.

Now I'm back and my legs hurt, my butt aches, and I have a much fonder memory of this little hike in Southwest VA.

Read Mountain

Casey, Kevin, and I decided to do this little hike on a whim during our return trip from Smith Mountain Lake to Blacksburg.  I was convinced for a bit that we were lost as we zigzagged through a neighborhood of McMansions all placed neatly side by side on a little paved road with little manicured lawns.  Not your typical trailhead destination.  Low-and-behold, the trailhead was there, up a neat little labeled drive situated neatly between two of the aforementioned McMansions.  It made me smile.

Overall, Read Mountain was the perfect mid-roadtrip hike, as it wasn't too tiring, but provided a nice chance to stretch our legs and get outside.  Of course, me being me, I was still breathing quite heavily as I climbed the steady ascent to the overlook.  This time, I'm blaming it on a cold that is hanging onto life like no other.  We saw a few families with children at the overlook which leads me to believe it's a popular destination for the neighborhood families.  Overall, it was a nice experience on the most gorgeous day of the year so far.

Linville Falls and Hawksbill Mountain

This trip was about as spontaneous as they come.  Casey and a friend from Colombia, SC decided on a whim to meet up at a midway point in North Carolina.  I was invited along for the ride, and with no weekend plans of my own, decided that it would be good fun to do a little impromptu road trip.

Casey and I departed from dreary Blacksburg on Friday afternoon and drove several hours through random little towns and past plenty of dilapidated old barns.  We stopped to chat with some suspicious cows, saw a beautiful snow covered mountain that could've come straight out of Narnia, and dropped in on a little pet boutique where we met an adorable puppy and a little gray cat. Otherwise, the drive itself was uneventful.  We listened to music  - of which we had many choices: country, gospel, country, christian rock, country, or gospel - and settled on some good old country.

We arrived in Linville and found the cheap little motel/lodge without difficulties.  The owners were sweet as could be, and the room, although far from fancy, was not a bad find for twenty-five bucks a piece.

The owner sent us in the direction of a place to eat (of which there were few) and we found ourselves a half mile up the road in a restaurant that boasts the claim of being in three counties at once.  The food came quickly, and was edible and cheap, so we were satisfied.  That is, until the waitress made an offhand comment about the 7 inches of snow that the town was expecting overnight.  Ensue panic.  Casey tried to keep me calm, while I blubbered on about getting stranded in the middle of nowhere (three counties worth of nowhere) and missing my lab practical on Monday.  I called my mother (because, whether I want to admit it or not, my mother is still my main source of sanity when I have a freakout moment) and she and my dad both laughed at me, which proceeded to calm me down just a bit.

At about this time, Casey started to panic about his friend and his friend's friend who were still MIA. 

Fortunately, all the panic was for nothing because the friends did manage to arrive (albeit 3 hours late) and upon waking up the next morning, there was but a dusting on my car that Blacksburg has taught me is not worth a worry.

We set out for a little day of hiking and were not disappointed with the views.  Each hike was short (which put me in a nice little mood), but the payoff was outstanding.  We saw a waterfall, the magnificent Linville Gorge, and got views of Table Rock and Hawksbill Mountain, which we climbed later in the day.  The trail to the peak of Hawksbill looked like someone had come along before us, dumping bags of crushed ice all along the trail.  In reality, we think that an ice storm had come through earlier, coating the leaves of the trees, and eventually falling onto the path below.  The views at the top were great and definitely worth the short, but steep ascent.  The best thing?  The face of this mountain was perfect for exploring.  The worst thing?  Casey, and friends all proceeded to explore and disappeared for a good thirty minutes at which point, I began to overreact and panic, yet again.  Oops.  Turns out they were alive, so all was good.  Overall, a pretty fun trip and my butt isn't even sore today.

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!

Welcome to Virginia

Blacksburg, VA.  Population: ~43,000.  College students as a percentage of population: 58%.

Blacksburg, Virginia is home to the Hokies. There's no denying that we have taken a hold on this town and drowned it in a wave of orange and maroon.  But as a student, I've noticed that while the bars are highly frequented and on a nice day, the drillfield is crowded with pickup sports and lounging students, too many of students fail to look beyond the hokie stone and see what else the area has to offer.

Let me tell you one thing - Blacksburg, and its surrounding area, is beautiful.  

In this little blog, I hope to document some of my hiking experiences and take you on a tour of the state that I call home.