April 2 New River Trail

This is my first ride on the NRT this year. It was a rough ride. The trail is not in good shape. There are numerous tire impressions in the soft dirt and where horses have traveled, it is very choppy. At Fries Junction I met a local fellow who told me the trail had not been worked on this year yet. He said the state park had equipment which roughly brushed the trail rather than grading it. The brushing evened out the tire track and horse chops. That is done 3 times a year. The trail is usually not rideable during the winter up until after freezing has stopped. The good news is there are no trees across the trail like there has been in previous years.

I rode from Cliffview to Byllesby Dam and back. On the return I saw what looked like a bag of garbage laying in the woods. After walking to it, I saw that it was a large day pack which had been ripped open, presumably by an animal. Inside were the usual items, some food wrappers, toilet paper, toothbrush, Qtips and some headphones. Also, a stack of condoms and a bible. 

April 1 on Cook's Fin

Cooks Wall Trail officially ends about 2 miles from the lake at Hanging Rock State Park. At the rock outcrop which marks the end of the trail, the view north is dominated by Huckleberry Ridge and Moore's Knob. To the west, toward Sauratown and Pilot Mountains, the ridge gently descends but is covered in craggy rocks and crevices. Of course folks have ventured out here out of curiosity and also for the climbing routes on either side of "Cook's Fin" as the ridge is known.

Pink Rock when there is not lichen growing

The area is gnarled in briers and other nasty stuff. I made my way out on the sculpted rocks. The formations and buttresses are unique. A couple dead ends required some messy bypasses in briers. I explored a couple separation cracks which made narrow caves. 

My destination was the gap between Devils Chimneys. I never made it that far. One dead end was at the spot I remember Matt had to push several of us up when there was leap of faith from one rock to another but no immediate handhold. We made it up that day but I was going in the other direction and it looked too dangerous. However, I was able to find a scramble route around it to the south. 

I'm not sure how close to the chimneys I got. My best guess is about 150 feet but there was a lot of rock in the 150 feet. Possibly, the photo above is looking directly at the chimneys (2nd and 3rd rock points with possible gap between).

Here is another shot after retreating back up the fin.

March 28 Boone Fork Loop

Today's hike was supposed to be a 13.2 mile Tanawha Trail walk. However, as we neared the trailhead, conditions worsened. The road was icy, wind was howling and there was a couple inches of snow covering the trail. With winds forecast at 30mph and temperatures rising into the 20s, we opted for a more suitable route; Boone Fork Loop Trail. It would be out of the wind for the most part and fairly level. It was also considerably shorter at 5 miles.

One of the spots on Tanawha I worried the most about was Rough Ridge. It would be exposed to the wind and has an extensive system of wooden steps and decks which would be icy. Here in the woods along Boone Fork, snow was nicely melting off the wooden steps.

Boone Fork Loop Trail begins and ends in the picnic area of Julian Price Memorial Park. There was no one else there when we started. The direction we went, took us through the campground and then into a rhododendron tunnel where Tanawha Trail comes in from the south. We continued into an open field with moderate wind harassing us. Once back in the woods, we rarely felt the wind. The trail follows Bee Tree Creek downward until it flows into Boone Fork. There we follow Boone Fork upriver. 

The fork had plenty of water today, making the cascades and falls a bit more interesting. The trail is a bit rougher in spots. One ladder is needed to get through a tough spot. By now we were taking off layers and feeling pretty good. So good in fact, we hiked around Price Lake afterward. 

It seemed a bit odd that we had driven here from the north on the Blue Ridge Parkway but now the BRP was gated in that direction. So we made a short detour on Rt 221 into Blowing Rock.

March 20 Daffodil Flats

This is the scene at Daffodil Flats this year. I think this is close to peak. Weather is the likely culprit. I was beginning to see buds and a few blooms in early February and then the cold snap came. The prolonged very cold temperatures took their toll.

Nevertheless, I made the pilgrimage to Linville Gorge for the bloom. First starting at Unnamed Trail, I began slipping and sliding. That prompted a decision to abandon this trail and head back a half mile on the road to Pinnacle parking area. Here the MST descends into the gorge and I knew that trail would be an easier grade.

Follow the MST for 1.1 miles, passing Wolfpit Rock along the way. Then at a junction where MST turns right, look for a faint left; Leadmine Trail. The first sign on Leadmine advises it is 1 mile to the river and 12 miles to Linville Falls. After .2 mile, another sign says you can take the dry weather route .4 mile "Drop to River". The work "drop" spooked me, so I continued on the "all weather" route. Still further along, another sign states "Shortcut .1 mi". That seems like a no brainer. In a short while you are at the river in a  wet area by a campsite. From here it is about a mile upriver to the flats.

Along the way, I passed many campsites and had nice views of the river. there were some bloodroots trying to bloom. After a short viewing session, lunch was at a nice campsite just upriver. 

I retraced my steps back to Leadmine, seeing the recently hacked Unnamed trail near the flats.

From Wolfpit Rock