.September 5, 2006
Today was overcast again but the rain held off. Today won't be my longest day, but biggest climb since coming into Virginia, a 3000 foot climb up to Three Ridges. This mountain is almost a 4,000 footer but not quite. I don't know what the actual elevation is but on the profile of the AT map the top of the mountain turns just barely below the 4,000 foot mark. Lynn dropped me off at VA 56.
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Lynn hiked with me for a while. Almostly immediately we crossed the bridge over Tye River.
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We entered Three Ridges Wilderness which is also part of the George Washington National Forest.
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After about a half hour Lynn headed back and I kept on going.
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Crossing Harpers Creek
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I could see Harpers Creek Shelter from the trail so I took the short side trail to it. This is a nice spot with the creek running just a few yards in front of it.
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The smooth trail after this just about disappeared. It became a long steep hike similar to what I've done in the Whites of NH.
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It was still cloudy, but what do you know, I caught a view.
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I made it up to South Ridge of the 3 Ridges. I took a short break at this rocky outlook.
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I caught another view on Middle Ridge.
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These ridges were fun to hike. They were tree covered but the elevation dropped on each side of the trail providing the realization that you were on a ridge. There is a landmark here called Chimney Rock. There were a lot of large rocks that were in the area. I'm not sure which one was Chimney Rock.
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I had another 800 feet rise in elevation before I reached the North Ridge of Three Ridges. There is no view from here. I headed down the other side and reached Hanging Rock. This area was fogged in. It was a rocky area but once again I was perplexed by the name. What rock was hanging? Maybe if I wasn't fogged in I would know. Next I met my only hikers of the day. They had left just before me. I had been hiking at a pretty good clip and was surprised I hadn't caught up to them yet. They were coming from the other direction. Wow, I thought. They reached there destination and were on their way back. Come to find out they had taken a different trail that was much shorter and were now returning on the AT. That made me feel a little better. I couldn't figure out why I hadn't caught them?
I stopped briefly at Maupin Field Shelter which was slightly off the AT.
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I reached Reeds Gap ...
... crossed the road ...
... passed more rocks ...
... and met Lynn.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ From here it was just a few minutes to Three Ridges Overlook, my stopping point for the day.
We took the Blue Ridge Parkway part way home, stopping at the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The weather started to clear so we stopped at Rockfish Valley Overlook to enjoy the view.
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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The Blue Ridge Parkway is similar to the Skyline Drive. There are numerous scenic views and both are maintained by the National Park Service. My first thought was that the Blue Ridge Parkway was an extension of the Skyline Drive. But then I learned it is more like the other way around since the parkway is 469 miles long compared to 105 miles along the Skyline Drive. The parkway follows the southern Appalachians and links Shenandoah National Park with the Great Smoky Mountains. The Appalachian Trail crosses several times but not as often as it crosses the Skyline Drive. I am looking forward to driving more of this beautiful parkway, and unlike the Skyline Drive, this one is free.
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