We hiked this section on July 3, 2011 during the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s 2011 Biennial conference.
We very happy that our hike leader was Joe from the NBATC! The assistant hike leader was Charlie who is a retired forest ranger.
The tortoise or the hare.
It was quickly evident that there were two groups – the fast and the slow. There were at least four members in the fast group from the SATC. Guess which group we picked.
The slow pokes were Python, Dirigo, 3 Day, Clare (at least in her 70’s), a nice guy from Ohio named Jay, Mike the eye doctor, Harold (almost 91), Jack (92; his wife said they needed a trial separation), and Charlie.
We drove all the cars to the Creek Junction parking lot and left only Mike’s car there. We also got to use the pit toilet.
Then we all went to VA 601. It was pretty hot when we started to hike and we were exposed to the sun for only a short time.
We hiked through a cow pasture. There use to be an old house near the trail head but apparently we were told it had been torn down.
Soon we were under the shade of the green tunnel on soft gentle earth. Charlie stopped us several times to point out the the different types of trees and vegetation. He reminded us to stop and smell the flowers.
We ate lunch at the Lost Mountain shelter.
The fast group asked everyone if it was okay if they took the car keys and repositioned the cars back at Creek Junction once they returned. Fortunately, Joe was extremely flexible and didn’t mind that we deviated from the original plan.
After lunch we continued descending down the mountain surrounded by rhododendrons which were still blooming.
We walked across the road where we stayed in a small cabin a few years back for Trail Days.
Once we reached the Luther Hassinger Memorial bridge it was was pretty hot and it seemed more humid. We also had to be careful because the bikers on Creeper Trail did not slow down. We hiked a few 100 feet up to another tressel bridge as Harold said it was a shorter bridge but much higher.
Charlie told us that he had seen black snakes sunning themselves on the bridge and we thought he was full of bunk… Until he pointed out a snake!
The walk back to the parking lot was not fun. By the time we got back there though, the fast group was pulling up with everyone’s cars. We followed Whitetop Laurel Creek back to the cars, which was not AT miles.
Joe, 3 Day, Python, and Dirigo piled into Dirigo’s truck and headed for the ice cream store on 58! A wonderful conclusion to a great day of hiking.