After I did the Richmond Duo, it was time to start getting ready for a trip. Melissa and I took a few days off and went to Damascus, Virginia to get away and do some biking and hiking. Our trip was fantastic! We left on a Wednesday after work and drove to Abingdon, VA which is in the Southwestern part of the state. We decided to stay in a hotel in Abingdon since we would be arriving late at night.
We arrived around 11:3o PM and unloaded our bikes and gear and had a nice rest in the hotel. Thursday morning we woke up, packed up the car and made the 20 to 30 minute drive to Damascus, VA where we had rented a small house in town. We could not check in until after 11 but the person who we were renting from said we could park in the driveway. So we parked and got our bike gear together and hit the Creeper Trail.
The Creeper Trail is a Rails to Trails bike path that runs from Abingdon, through Damascus, and up to Whitetop. The path is a fairly wide gravel path that follows along a pretty nice stream through the woods. We rode from Damascus to Whitetop. The trail from Damascus to Whitetop is about 18 miles and climbs 2000 feet. It is a gradual climb but continuous. We took a few breaks here and there including a lunch break of PB&Js and had a nice rest at the top before heading back down to Damascus. The downhill ride on the way back was super fun and super easy compared to the long climb up to Whitetop. We rode for about 5 hours. It was a great ride with some great scenery.
The next day we drove to Grindstone park and parked our cars and embarked on a long day hike up to the summit of Mount Rogers. Mount Rogers is the highest peak in Virginia. The hike was very pleasant because it was a gradual climb, very quiet, and quite peaceful. We did not see any people for the first part of the hike until we met up with the Appalachian Trail. Once on the AT we saw a few more people here and there.
One thing that was really neat was hiking through the Highlands. There were these wide open fields on top of the mountain. We could see for miles and miles and the terrain was very different from the mountains in the Shenandoah area where we usually do most of our hiking. While walking through the fields, we saw a great deal of horse droppings. I had read that there were wild horses in the area and that we would likely see some.
When we came to the spur trail for the last climb up to the summit, we got a little excited and ended up walking pretty fast up to the summit. We already knew that the summit would be a little anti climatic because we had read that there was no view from the summit. The only way to know when you have reached the summit is by a geological survey marker on a boulder amongst the thicket of trees. Despite no view, it was nice to know we had now climbed the highest peak in Virginia.
Once we made our way back down to the AT, we continued on our way towards one of the AT shelters where we took a brief bathroom break at the privy near the shelter. Once on the trail again, we caught a glimpse of some wild horses. I snapped a few quick pictures from far away but then started trying to get close to the horses. Amazingly enough, the horses did not seem to mind us getting very close to them. It seems like they were used to seeing people. I snapped a few great photos of the horses which you can see at the end of this post.
After seeing the horses, we continued on our hike and eventually started descending back down the mountain. The scenery was very different from what we are used to. It reminded me somewhat of Dolly Sods, West Virginia. One thing that struck us was the lack of leaves on the trees. In fact, despite the warm weather, we actually saw a small patch of snow on the summit. The lack of leaves on the trees made it look like winter although we were sweating pretty good because it definitely was not winter.
While descending the trail, we somehow missed one of our turns which put us about a mile from the car. We knew exactly were we were because of a map we came across at the bottom of the trail. We hiked that last mile very quickly on the road as we were getting tired and pretty much out of water. After arriving at the car, we stuck our feet in a freezing cold pool at the campsite that was made from a creek that flowed through the pool. It was very very cold and I only put my feet in for a matter of seconds. Melissa kept hers in there for a while. I am not sure how. We were pretty worn out from the 15 mile all day hike.
The next day, I got up early and did the same ride that Melissa and I did the other day. I rode pretty hard and managed to do the 2000 foot, 17+ mile climb in 2 hours. Most people who ride the trail take a shuttle from Damascus to Whitetop and then ride their rented bikes downhill. When I got to the top and end of the trail, there were lots of families who had just been dropped off to head downhill. I knew I would have to pass them all on the way down. I sat on a bench and ate my PB&J and took in the peaceful little site surround by Christmas trees from all the Christmas tree farms that dot the area.
After my break, I started the fast and furious ride down the mountain. I was punching it hard. I wanted to get back down to Damascus in 1 hour. As I came across other riders, I yelled out "Passing on your left." There was a sign along the trail that informed bikers that they should announce to other riders when passing on the left. For the first 20 to 30 minutes, I was yelling "Passing on your left" a lot. As I passed people, I always pushed even harder. I was probably getting some dirty looks and comments as I was bombing down the trail. But I figured, they would never catch me. Plus, I am actually very careful and courteous. When I came across children I slowed down to make sure I did not run into them when they all the sudden cut into my path. I ended up making it back to the house in 1 hour. After that ride, I was pretty spent.
When I got back to the house, I got cleaned up and we walked to the Whistle Pig where we had some great homemade vegetarian food. It was an amazing to find such a place in such a small town. The only other place to eat was a country diner and a pizza place. Neither of those two places appealed to us at all. After walking back home, we were still pretty beat and did some lounging around. Then back to the Whistle Pig for dinner.
After dinner we realized that were were very spent and had done most everything that we had wanted to do in Damascus so we quickly packed the car, cleaned the house, and headed back to Richmond. We decided it would be nice to sleep in our own bed. While there was not a lot of traffic on the way home, there were a lot of trucks on I81. The drive was a little tiring because of all the truck traffic and due to the fact that I had biked over 70 miles and done a 15 mile hike over the last 3 days.
The Damascus trip was a huge success. We really had a great time and got some great outdoor exercise in. I have decided to try something new and have created a Flickr account. Hopefully you can all successfully view some of our Damascus pictures here.
1 comment:
It sounds like you guys had a great little vacation. I'm a little jealous as I still feel trapped here sometimes, but soon enough, I'll be going adventures, too. Maybe I'll start a blog. :) I loved the pics!
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