Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~Camuskind
October 4, 2021
Hike from Lickskillet Hollow (VA 608) to VA 606
AT miles: 5.2
Ascent: 779’
Descent: 966’
Weather: Glorious — sunny and dry with temps in the mid-60’s
Sightings: a cow
High points: Some pretty fall foliage
Jim and I are celebrating our 35th anniversary by spending a long weekend hiking the AT in a remote part Virginia near Pearisburg. We are slackpacking, hiking during the day but spending nights at The Weary Feet Hostel.
We spent most of the day driving out here — the part of the AT in Virginia that I still need to do is about six hours from Williamsburg. But we still managed to squeeze in a lovely five mile hike.
From our parking spot we had a gentle climb up to the top of a ridge. We had a nice view.
The trail along the long ridge was relatively smooth and level, which made for fairly easy hiking.
After following the ridge line for several miles the trail descended from the ridge and crossed a cow pasture.
Walking through the sun-drenched meadow was a joy. And then the trail turned and we had lovely views of a goldenrod-filled meadow with hills beyond.
These views couldn’t last! We entered the woods again, walking along an extremely steep slope with sharp ravines running through the trail. I spotted what is probably the largest maple tree I have ever seen. Jim is in the picture for scale — I didn’t know maple trees could grow this large!
We crossed Kimberling Creek on a long pedestrian suspension bridge and then reached the road. After a quick walk along a narrow road filled with speeding cars we were happy to arrive at our hostel, a Civil War era plantation house surrounded by fields.
The hostel owner, Julie, shuttled us back to get our car and also served dinner. Today has been a long but wonderful day!
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!
Happy Anniversary!