The Flat Top trail at Peaks of Otter features two overlooks. The view to the east was obstructed by haze…
…but the view to the west was much clearer. Note the lighter green foliage toward the tops of the peaks in both photos. Hiking up Flat Top is like going backward in time, from late spring to early spring as the foliage becomes lighter and sparser.
Photo date: May 12, 2018.
The Cold Mountain hike is less than a two-hour drive from Blacksburg, but I’ve posted photos from our February 18 hike here (on the Travel page) to show the damage from a wildfire last November.
The first (and possibly only) significant snowfall of the season came in early January, before the students returned from winter break. We made our way to the Virginia Tech campus just after the clouds had cleared and the snow was still fresh.
The following day we hiked to Hanging Rock, where we enjoyed an amazing 360-degree view of the snowy landscape, despite temperatures in the teens and wind gusts of over 40 mph. The two-mile round-trip hike was difficult with the snow drifts and bitter cold, but it was worth it!
Photo dates: January 7 and 8, 2017.
Our next hike to War Spur was easy by comparison. It’s an easy hike in general, and there was little elevation gain and no drifting snow. There was, however, a bit of snow still left from a few days prior, which made for a more interesting winter hike.
Photo date: February 4, 2017.
The following week, we hiked to the Cascades, one of the most popular hikes in the region. It’s a four mile round-trip hike that’s relatively easy. (For a longer, more strenuous hike, keep going after the Cascades an additional two miles to Barney’s Wall.) The lower trail itself is beautiful and ends at a stunning waterfall. Like War Spur, it’s a hike that’s great in any season, but due to its popularity, it’s a busy trail, particularly in the fall, and the parking lot can fill up early in the morning.
Photo date: February 11, 2017.
Sometimes time seems to slip away, as it has over the past several months. We’ve continued to hike and take photographs, many of which have made their way into photobooks but not the blog. I’ll try to rectify that with a rather lengthy post of my late fall and winter photos. (I’ve reduced the resolution of the photos this time, hoping they’ll take less time to load and not at the expense of quality!)
First up…War Spur. This is a short (two-mile) loop near Mountain Lake. It’s one of my favorites since it has a good amount of rhododendrons and evergreens so it’s a pretty hike year-round. It’s also home to one of Virginia’s few remaining virgin forests.
Later the same day, we stopped off at Mountain Lake and Pandapas Pond.
Photo date: October 30, 2016.
In November, we hiked to the summit of Mount Rogers, the highest peak in Virginia. It’s a good late fall hike since the rugged remnants of ancient volcanoes provide interesting scenery despite the loss of foliage.
There are also wild ponies throughout the park. But watch your food supplies–though visitors aren’t supposed to feed the wildlife, the ponies have come to expect handouts.
Photo date: November 12.
The following day, we returned to Mountain Lake, which was at its lowest point in many years.
Photo date: November 13.
After a few busy weekends, we finished the year with two more trips to Pandapas Pond. One was on a dreary December day, and I played with black and white effects in my photos.
Photo dates: December 11 and 22.
We first discovered Mill Creek in early spring when the rhododendrons provided the only green foliage on the hike. The trail goes over one waterfall and passes by two others. The waterfalls are simply amazing! We thought they would be lovely when framed by blooming rhododendrons and returned several times in late spring and early summer before coming to the conclusion that those rhododendrons don’t bloom. We did make a point to visit again in the fall, and we were fortunate to have great weather at the peak of autumn color to take photos of the waterfalls.
Photo date: October 23, 2016.
Roaring Run is one of my favorite places to visit in autumn. The waterfalls along the creek are beautiful year-round, but the 1.5 mile loop is especially spectacular in the fall. Photo date: October 22, 2016.
Mabry Mill is an iconic site on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Meadows of Dan, Virginia. The mill has been featured on postcards from many other locations across the United States.
Farther north, Rocky Knob offered an overlook of the fall colors along the Parkway. Photo date: October 20, 2016.
Though the fall colors were a bit muted this year in Blacksburg, they were brilliant at Peaks of Otter. I hiked up Sharp Top, expecting a relaxing three-mile hike and having forgotten that those are a steep 1.5 miles! The view of Flat Top, in all its fall glory, was worth it.
The 1.5 mile round-trip hike to Fallingwater Cascades was much easier. The loop follows alongside the cascade and provides numerous photo opportunities. Photo date: October 19, 2016.
It was already warm at 9am when I started up to McAfee’s Knob, so I’m glad I went early. The great advantage of starting early is that there are fewer people on the trail and at the overlook. I made it to the top just before it started getting busy and got to see the still-early fall colors in the Catawba Valley.
The colors along the trail were even more stunning, with bright yellow and red leaves at every turn. Photo date: October 18, 2016.
Giles County was covered in fog when I decided to roll the dice and drive up to Bald Knob. The mountain top was above the fog and provided a stunning view of the valley below. Photo date: October 17, 2016.