I left on Tuesday night for Waynesboro. I drove throughout the night, stopping to sleep at 2 rest stops - Chesapeake House and one in Virginia on I-81 near Harrisonburg.
I arrived at the top of the Blue Ridge parkway around 7:30. I hiked south on the Appalachian Trail a few miles and turned back when I reached a stream that I didn't feel like crossing. There was nobody on the trail until I was almost back to the truck, when a group of about 10 people (older than I) came down the trail.
I then drove to the next parking area and rested. I spent the rest of the day scouting out the rest of my hikes and finding that one parking area that I need was closed. I just altered my plans and skipped around to the sections that I could get to and just did as much as I could that way.
Checked into the motel, got cleaned up, went out to fill up on gas and then went out to eat - at The South Grill - where I enjoyed a delicious filet mignon - not the best I have ever eaten (which was at this place), but good enough.
On Thursday: When I reached the parking area I discovered that it was very cold outside. The temperature was in the mid-20's and the wind was heavy and the chill factor must have been 0 or less. It was way too cold to hike.
So, I decided to cruise the Blue Ridge Parkway. I traveled more than 155 miles before turning around. This got me way past Roanoke.
On Friday: It was just as cold as the morning before. I watched several groups of people pull into the parking lot, get out of their cars, get right back in and leave. So, I rested a little and read the newspaper until it got warm enough to hike. I took the Appalachian Trail up to Hunchback Mountains and I took the shorter Hunchback trail back to the parking lot. The hike up was long, but easy going (considering that I had to hike down to the trail and thus there was more up to do). The hike down was rough with lots of rocks and steep places to negotiate the rocks.
On Saturday: It snowed the night before, so hiking was not possible. The Skyline Drive was closed. The Parkway had some snow covered areas. So, I used this day to swim in the pool and take a long drive on some back roads that I hadn't been down before.
On Sunday: I drove down I-81 to US 220 and US 221 and picked up the Parkway below Roanoke - a little above where I had turned around on Thursday. I traveled into North Carolina - a little past the US 21 interchange. I then went back to US 21 and took it to I-77 and then to I-81, I-70, I-695 I-95, I-295 and home.
See photos below and down the sidebar.
