Hiking the Appalachian Trail Near Bland, Virginia

Wow, it's been 2 months since we've done a longer hike, and not since November 2021 -- 5 months -- have we set foot on the Appalachian Trail!  We just missed our hiking friend, Sue Bickford Martin, when we biked to Harpers Ferry on April 6 with our grandson, and we wondered today as we drove to an A.T. trailhead near Bland, Virginia, whether we might coincidentally run into Sue as we returned to the Trail today.  But a little mental calculation told us that she couldn't possibly have gotten this far South yet on her grand Flip-Flop through-hike of the A.T.

That didn't dampen our spirits too much as we found the trailhead.  It was a beautiful, partly cloudy, 60F day, and we were eager to set boots on the trail.

Before setting off down the trail, we walked over to a picnic spot near the parking area and got this expansive view up the I-77 corridor toward the town of Bastian:

As David was taking his photos, a through-hiker emerged from the nearby hiker hostel and, setting out Northbound, asked David to snap his photo in front of the above scenery.  After David obliged, the hiker informed us that his trail name is U-Haul.  We mentioned our through-hiker friend Sue, who is Southbound, and he said he would keep an eye out for her and be sure to say, "Hi!" from Dave'n'Kathy.

We were adjusting our trekking poles when Kathy looked down and spotted a white plastic Easter Bunny.  She opened it, and, to her pleasure, it offered the finder a 10% discount for a meal at the nearby Downshift Diner.  After examining it, we carefully placed it back where we found it, hoping that a lucky through-hiker might discover it and get a break on a well-earned meal here at this popular hikers' hostel.

Our hike took us along the north side of a ridge, paralleling a gravel road known as Wyrick Trail.  It is still early Spring yet, and very few blossoms or leaves are out yet, but we did find a few early blooms to cheer our way:

The Jefferson National Forest borders the Appalachian Trail in this section, and we noted some boundary signs -- along with some interesting signs warning that the attached tree is known as a "bearing tree" and is not to be cut down because it is referenced in surveys of the National Forest boundary:

Along this stretch, the Trail follows Wyrick Trail road.  We hadn't gotten far down the road when we spotted our second Northbound through-hiker.  As we met, he asked us to help him swap water bottles, and, when he told us he planned to stop at the nearby diner for brunch, we told him of the discount Easter Bunny to be found in the picnic area by the diner.  He seemed very appreciative.

After about half a mile, the trail departed the road and headed down a topo gradient toward the valley below:

This section of the Appalachian Trail is maintained by the Piedmont Appalachian Trail Hikers Club, which maintains 66 miles of the A.T. in Virginia.  Known by the acronym, "PATH," it is one of the 31 volunteer clubs of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy that helps maintain the Appalachian Trail.

Fittingly enough, we soon passed an old fallen tree that had been cut to clear the trail, and some witty trail crew member had carved the A.T. symbol in the cut face of the log:

As we said, the signs of Spring are increasing.  This white mossy plant looked very happy as it staked out first claim to the trailside territory:

Within the first mile, we found evidence of a small wildfire that burned many of the trees on one slope.  Already, though, fresh young mountain laurel have sprung up on either side of the trail -- presumably free to enjoy full sunlight because no forest canopy inhibits their view overhead:

Rhododendron and mountain laurel make the only green canopy we saw on this April day:

Our goal was a viewpoint 3 miles from our trailhead.  When we reached it, the sky had clouded up and the air was starting to get thick with hazy humidity, but we still have an impressive view of the Hunting Camp Creek Valley upstream from Bastian:

Nothing refreshes a hiker's enthusiasm as much as a tasty lunch with a dramatic view:

Our return hike was uneventful.  As Kathy likes to point out, an out-and-back trail always has two sides:  the hike out is full of anticipation, and the hike back is relaxed and mellow.  The views are different each way.  So, as with every hike, we enjoyed the full route.

We're headed Southwest toward Crater of Diamonds State Park and Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas.  Hopefully, we'll have some more hiking adventures to relate to you on the way down and back.