| May 17, 2005 |
| Tuesday, May
17th and I'm headed out of Damascus on the VA Creeper Trail.
It a bike path that used to be the RR that went through town.
The Creeper Trail is very close to Mt. Rodgers Scenic Highway.
The trail is very smooth stone and usually busy on the week-ends.
There is some natural swamp land or maybe a tiny canal that goes
along the side of the trail. This river that flows along the
trail has white caps in it and flows pretty good. This trail
is certainly a nice change of scenery from all the hard woods
forests that I've been hiking through. I getting ready to
cross an old iron trestle that had been boarded in. The name
of this river is White Top Laurel River. It comes down through
Damascus and joins a Tenn. river. I going over a wooded bridge
trestle now with water falls going through here. It's cool
hiking along this part of the trail, a nice little breeze with a
tree canopy and about 75 degrees. |
| Wow, there's
little Niagara Falls, you talk about white caps! Simon and I
going to stop and eat some lunch by the water falls. I'm
sitting on a big old rock and resting. Now this is retirement.
I just got through eating a fresh banana moon pie. That was
good, the first one I've had in a long time. It was a peaceful
lunch! |
| I'm meeting a
lot of bicycle riders coming south, probably part of the group I saw
being shuttled up to the mountain earlier. They allow horses
on this trail too, I was gawking not paying attention to what I was
doing, and stepped in the remains. |
| There's a lot
of birches along this river. I see a pink rhododendron in full
bloom hanging on a rock cliff. I'm in Taylor Valley, where
Simon and i stopped a a little cafe and had a trail hot dog.
Simon had some ice cream and so did I. |
| I have never come
across a gate that you had to open and close on a bike path before,
but after they cut the hay they turn the animal loose in here to
eat. Simon is being followed by a big old collie dog, that
sound like he's got a frog in this throat. |
| I just met
Rambler hiking south, he hike the whole trail last year and is just
doing a little section hiking this year. It's 5pm and I'm
sitting down to rest a little and Simon when into the river and
waded up to his belly, but it was to cold and he came right back out
and rolled around.. |
| This part of
the trail is flat and poorly marked and going up and round the side
of the mountain and I'm looking for Lost Mountain Shelter. The
sun is to my left and I'm seeing my shadow and that make me feel I'm
going in the right direction. Simon is picking up his pace for
some odd reason, probably because he hears voices at the shelter.
I hadn't seen Simon for a good little while and I'll bet that he'll
be at the shelter waiting with his pack off and I hear some other
dogs here too. 7:30 pm sleeping under my tarp at Lost Mountain
Shelter. |
|
Back To Top |
Next Page |
