“Still round the corner there may wait, a new road or a secret gate.”
~J.R.R. Tolkien
November 5, 2021
Hike from Atkins to Rt 42 Bear Garden Hiker Hostel (Ceres, Virginia)
AT miles: 12.5
Ascent: 2297’
Descent: 2164’
Weather: chilly and clear— daytime high in the mid-40’s
Sightings: 5 SOBO’s, a flip-flipper, and a chipmunk
High points: crunching through the fallen leaves
I’m back on the AT for a 39-mile three-day weekend with my friend MJ. We’re hoping to hike from Atkins to Laurel Creek (Bland, Virginia).
Today we had an early start — we were in the car heading to southwestern Virginia at 5:00 a.m. After the 5+ hour drive we parked the car, walked across I-81 (on Rt 683), and headed into the woods.
The weather was quite chilly. We bumped into some beautiful frost-rimed plants.
The trail meandered through lots of pastureland today. At one point a cow and calf modeled next to a white blaze.
The trail followed a ridge for many miles. We had a lot of sort-of views, views that were partially hidden by trees.
We definitely experienced autumn in the mountains! I loved scuffling through the crunchy leaves underneath the golden canopy. Mostly the leaves were yellow and orange, but occasionally we came upon a patch of crimson trees.
We walked through more farmland today than I have in my previous 800 miles on the AT. We saw cows and rolling meadows — this is serious dairy country!
Walking in and out of cow pastures enclosed by barbed wire meant that we climbed up and over lots of double-sided ladders.
The foliage really was glorious!
We hiked up both Little Brushy Mountain (3300’) and Walker Mountain (3424’), but the views were sparse.
We arrived at the Bear Garden Hiker Hostel around 4, and the owner kindly drove us to Atkins to retrieve the car. Even though we hiked under 13 miles, the roads don’t cross the mountain ridge at all directly, so we had to drive about 24 miles (45 min) each way to get the car! Given the twisty mountainous roads, I was very happy to arrive back at the hostel before dark.
Several SOBO’s are staying at the hostel. I have enjoyed listening to their trail stories!
Today is a great day for a long walk in the woods!
Marvelous pix and commentary—as usual! Thank you!