Barney campfire sing along fog in long driver#
Barney campfire sing along fog in long full#

We stopped at the junction for a snack and gave Kris a chance to check on her feet. We trekked along until we reached the junction with a blue-blazed side trail that leads down to the forest service campground at Raccoon Branch. At the end of the ascent, we had a gorgeous, flat ridgewalk through lush fern. Below: Blooming Catawba Rhododendron Abundant ferns along the trail The AT is like a ribbon through the woods. Even though it was only a bit after 2:00, there were already a few hikers stopped for the day. It was a cute shelter with a center aisle, indoor stone fireplace, and abundant flat space for tenting around the shelter. Kris and I took a detour and visited Trimpi Shelter about a mile into the climb. It wasn’t terrible uphill, but it was steady.

After leaving the pasture, we had almost four miles of non-stop climbing. We were glad to get to the stile on the south end of the pasture and duck back into the shade. We had some nice views of mountains behind us, but the sun felt hot and strong. The trail climbed steadily across the open terrain. The cows were completely indifferent to us, grazing and swinging their tails to swat flies away. We climbed over a stile into a livestock pasture. Eventually we reached a gravel road that paralleled a farm field. We immediately started a gentle climb uphill through the woods. We signed the wilderness-area logbook and crossed the wooden footbridge over the Holston River. It was already 1:30 and we had nine miles to go before we reached our first camp stop.

We crawled out of his van, made sure we had all our stuff, and hit the trail. The Appalachian Trail crossing of the South Fork of the Holston River is in the middle of nowhere – just a tiny one-car pullout along a lonesome back road.

Barney campfire sing along fog in long driver#

Our shuttle driver turned out to be a local woodworking artist named Matthew Newman (he has a gallery in town.) He was right on time and the trip to our start point flew by as he shared stories about the area’s history and geology. Their food is excellent and the place has such a cool hiker vibe. Town was busy with many thru-hikers still lingering after Trail Days (the huge, annual hiker festival and party hosted by the town.) Knowing we had six days of oatmeal and trail mix ahead of us, we enjoyed a fresh lunch at Mojo’s Trailside Cafe. Rogers Outfitters provided safe parking and shuttle service for our trip Crossing the footbridge over the South Fork of the Holston River Signing the log book as we begin our hike.ĭay One – South Fork Holston River to Hurricane Creek Campground (9 miles) – Christineīright and early on Monday, May 20, we piled into our car and made the three and a half hour trip down to Damascus, Virginia.

Barney campfire sing along fog in long full#

View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike We hiked across an open pasture full of cattle. We were lucky enough to have six days of nearly perfect weather and not a single drop of rain!

This 56-mile backpacking trip traverses some of Virginia’s very best Appalachian Trail scenery! There are panoramic vistas, windswept balds, meadows full of wildflowers, pretty streams, and even wild ponies.