Nothing solidifies the theory “the shortest distance between two points is a straight line” like a hike on the Appalachian Trail in Virginia. There’s also no better way to strengthen the bond between father and son, like setting out on an overnight backpacking trip with nothing but two dogs, seventy pounds of equipment, food, water and a great sense of humor. Every hike has it’s ups and downs, and we counted on each other for encouragement, inspiration, and the will to make our goal, finish what we started, never give up men! Sure. Maybe it was only a ten-mile hike, easy to moderate by most hiker’s standards. But heck, it’s been a long time since I last converted myself into a pack mule.

Let me back-up a little. Last year I took my 11-year-old son camping in a state park in Virginia. The park was beautiful. We had a great time. But it was one of those camps where we unfortunately ended up with loud neighbors. You’ve probably witnessed this before; all is quiet at camp, life is great, suddenly a forty-foot mobile home on wheels being pulled by an equally impressive pickup truck with an extended cab backs into the space next door. Several other cars pull in behind and immediately the site is populated like an ant hill made of sugar. Within ten minutes they’re sharing their love for country music with the entire campground. Twenty minutes later they’ve converted their site into what I can only imagine is an exact replica of their own backyard. Oh well, everyone has there own way of enjoying the great outdoors, it just wasn’t ours. On the way home from that trip my son asked me if we could go backpack camping in the “real” wilderness. And so the planning began.

Our goal was to head north and follow the AT to the James River with an overnight camping experience stuck in the middle somewhere just for fun. Our hike began on a beautiful warm spring morning in April at Petites Gap Rd. off the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 71. I had my camera in my pack, thinking that I would only take it out once in a while for that “Kodak moment”. Thirty minutes into the hike, I gave-up and started carrying the dang thing in my hand. Right from the start we began the 704-ft climb to the highest elevation of the entire hike, Highcock Knob at around 3,000-ft. The trail is rocky at times, but very manageable, and well marked. If the climb doesn’t take your breath away, the views will. It seemed like every time we made a turn we were surprised by yet another spectacular view. We saw plenty of wildflowers but no wildlife at all. That of course may have to do with the fact that we had two dogs leading the way.

The hike is 10.3 miles and could easily be done as a day hike, a long day, 6 to 8 hours, depending on how many times you stop to take pictures, and believe me you will. If eight hours of hiking seems like too much for you to do in one day, you’re in luck. There are several locations along the way for camping. Marble Spring, Grassy Island Ridge, and Matts Creek Shelter which is about 2 miles from the end of the hike. Leaving Matts Creek shelter the trail travels a nice and easy pace for about a mile to the James River. The AT then follows along the bank of the river for about a mile and then crosses the Snowden bridge over to the parking area on Rt. 501. (This may be the only footbridge that is actually dedicated to a man named William T. Foot.) I really enjoyed this hike, and breaking it up into two days made it even more enjoyable. Sure. I’m feeling it a little bit the day after but hey, that’s when you know you got out there and did something worthwhile.

Before setting out, I’d recommend purchasing Exploring the Appalachian Trail, Hikes in the Virginias by David Lillard and Gwyn Hicks. I found it to be informative, accurate, and a great help once we were on the trail. This hike was #25. The book covers 46 hikes in all. You will, however, need a detailed Virginia Road Map as well, since there is no overall location map in the book.

Tim Pfeiffer, April, 2006