Friday, November 11, 2021
Hi Blog!
We made our way to Natural Bridge, Virginia. We had last visited this area in 2015. At that time, we only had one day to explore. We divided our single day between the Appalachian Trail and Natural Bridge State Park. This stay, we hope to have several days to explore.
Our first outing took us back to the Appalachian Trail where it crossed the James River. Our hike will take us to great heights in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forest.
From the trailhead, we hiked under the new CSX Railroad bridge. The Foot Bridge is to the right of the railroad bridge.
The Foot Bridge spans a dammed section of the James River known as the Cushaw Reservoir. The 138 acre reservoir powers the Cushaw Hydroelectric Project, a 7.5 megawatt dam and powerhouse facility owned and operated by Virginia Electric Power Company.
The bridge was built on the piers of a demolished CSX bridge that had been replaced with a longer trestle just east of the original bridge, providing a straighter course for freight traffic. When opened in 2000, the James River Foot Bridge eliminated a dangerous crossing of the James River that mixed hikers with vehicular traffic on US 501. While this is indeed a footbridge, it was named after Bill Foot, an Appalachian Trail enthusiast who spearheaded the conversion of the bridge into its present use.
Our hike took us upstream along the far shore of the reservoir.
This area of the AT is maintained by the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club.
A storm front came through last night and this area received some heavy rain. We passed a number of tiny waterfalls as we hiked up. However, by the time we hiked back down, the waterfalls were dry.
The recent rains also turned the normally burbling Matt's Creek into a series of thundering falls.
Click on the link to see how Matt's Creek was running high and merrily after the recent heavy rains.
In the photo below, Kathy straddles an example of the various waterfalls that crossed our trail.
All that moisture feeds the mossy hillside. Kathy just couldn't resist giving it a good pet. She reports that it was cool, soft and springy.
The Matt's Creek Shelter was empty when we arrived. We stopped at the picnic table for a quick snack before heading up to the viewpoints. This was the turnaround point on our 2015 hike.
In order to reach the viewpoints along the trail, we had to cross Matt's Creek. With all the extra water the storm brought, it was a little tricky.
We soon found our way hiking above the creek valley. The fallen leaves crunch with each foot fall.
As we reached the top of the ridge, we were rewarded with spectacular views of the James River Valley.
We continued along the ridge for another mile with the James River to one side and Piney Ridge to the other.
After reaching the highest point along this part of the trail, we decided to find a sunny spot for lunch before heading back down to the trailhead.
About a third of the way back on the trail, we encountered a throughhiker who told us he is Southbound and hppe to get to Springer Mountain, Georgia in time to see family for Christmas. We thought, "Wow, that's 422 miles in 42 days." Ten miles a day is not that difficult for a throughhiker, but it wouldn't allow any down days. We wished him well and he continued on his way.
Just as we reached the reservoir, we heard a train coming. We tried to reach the footbridge, but the train was faster than we were. Still, we got a photo of it as it passed:
After a beautiful fall hike, we leaf you with this haiku:
Crunch leaves under foot,
Higher, higher, both sides steep --
Summit reached, shadows grow.
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