VA 635, Stony Creek Valley to Pearisburg

We backpacked this section starting on April 13, 2013.

The evening before the hike we drove by the trail head at VA 635 to make sure Timber and Boomerang found it. Timber and Boomerang were going to hike about 3 miles on Friday and camp somewhere on the ridge. Timber’s car was at the trail head so we knew they made it okay.

Then we drove to Pearisburg past the burnt down Rendezvous Motel. This motel is very close to the trail and helped hikers run errands in town so it was sad to see in ruins.

We checked into the Holiday Motor Lodge. When we got into our room we discovered that the sink was covered with beard shavings. So, after dinner we went to Food Lion and bought Clorox wipes. As we were leaving we saw a hiker loading his pack and offered him a ride back to the trail. The hiker was named “Free man” and was from Lewiston, Maine – he was also carrying a half gallon of ice cream with him back to the trail.

We met our shuttle driver Don at the Rendezvous Motel at 7 AM. When the motel was in business, hikers could leave their car here if they got permission from the owner. Neither Don or Dirigo was able to contact the owner to get permission. So, Dirigo took a chance and left her truck in the field next to the motel.

Don told us that his cousin Barbara and her friend Cindy were going to be hiking in the opposite direction of us today and that we should see them on the trail.

When we approached 635 there was a group of boy scouts getting ready to start their hike up the ridge.

We started hiking at 7:35 and it was a bit chilly.

The trail initially parallels a lovely stream flowing strongly down the mountain. The trail was surrounded by rhododendrons that were still waiting to bloom.

During our ascent we met a very tall speedy hiker who told us that Timber and Boomerang were making breakfast and “fighting off bears” near the Alleghany Trail. We met up with them just after 9 AM (2.8 miles). They told us they had spent a very cold and windy night on the ridge – they were both still very cold so we started hiking again to help them warm up. We were both wearing short sleeve shirts because we were still warm from the ascent.

We saw the stone marker in Dickson Gap but never saw the blue blazed trail that was suppose to join from the left.

We met several thru hikers and asked about the water situation on the ridge. A young female hiker said “this is a ridge walk – there is no water up here except for the spring about one mile before the Rice Field Shelter.”

We stopped for lunch in a shady spot at the beginning of Symms Gap Meadow (7.7 miles).

As we were eating lunch, Barbara, Cindy and a friend came strolling towards us. They were out for a leisurely 20 mile stroll – they all looked like they just stepped out of the beauty salon!

There was a nice campsite with a fire ring just up the hill from our lunch spot.

After lunch, Python found a pool of standing water on the right side of the meadow. As she went further downhill, the water was gently flowing. We all decided to camel up here. The Sawyer squeeze filter worked great! Since the water level was low, we used a ziplock bag to capture the water and then poured it into the dirty bag – we even caught a poor tad pole.

The sun was shining and it was getting warm in the afternoon. We were ascending again and Boomerang finally realized that she was still wearing her long johns! She asked if we could stop so she could take them off. So, she got a new trail name – Boomerang LongJohns.

We finally reached the campsite with water around 4 PM (11.2 miles).

The spring was flowing very strongly and we found the fire ring and nice flat areas for all our tents.

Unfortunately, some previous hikers did not follow Leave No Trace! Doom on them!

Everyone got water for dinner and then set up their tents. We also found a perfect tree to hang our food.

It felt so good to be in our camp shoes! Three thru hikers showed up while we were soaking our feet. They also decided to camp here but set up their tents near the edge of the ridge. I am sure they didn’t want to be near noisy section hikers.

Timber and Boomerang LongJohns cooked their dinner on a flat rock near their tents. Dirigo and I cooked our meal near the fire ring.

We asked if anyone wanted to have a fire tonight but everyone was too tired and Timber didn’t want to have to get any extra water. We all walked to the edge of the ridge and enjoyed the sunset.

Boomerang LongJohns likes to read before going to bed and took the John Steinbeck book out of the fire ring to read – her trail name is now Boomerang LongJohns Steinbeck.

We all retired to our tents by 7:30 PM because it was getting cold. This is our first time using the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 tent. The Big Agnes is half the weight as our Hubba Hubba but boy did it felt cramped in there! It felt like we were trying to take a nap in a Smart Car. Neither one of us slept well that night. We were all very thankful that it was not windy tonight.

Python felt comfortable in her new Western Mountaineering MegaLite 30 Degree Sleeping Bag but had to put on her puff jacket and hat during the night – and then got too hot.

We started to stir after 6 AM and started to pack our gear. Yes, section hikers make way too much noise. We all had a leisurely breakfast and then got back on the trail around 9 AM.

We thought today was going to be an easy day – at least it started out that way. It was a little chilly in the morning but within no time we came to a clearing with power lines and got a beautiful view of Angel’s Rest.

Then we entered the bald just before the Rice Field shelter. There is a fire ring near the edge of the bald and there is a wire fence separating the bald and the shelter. We took a short break at the shelter and Boomerang LongJohns Steinbeck offered everyone her sun screen.

During one of the ascents, we all decided to zip off our legs because it was getting very warm. It was also quite buggy in this section.

The descent off the mountain was very long! The temperature was also very warm and the ground and the rocks were reflecting the heat back to us.

We took our time on the rocky sections and came across several springs as we descended. There was no good place to take a break during the descent because there was no shade.

Python finally reached some shade at a campsite and took a break on a nice flat rock. She waited for the rest of the group. By the time Dirigo showed up she was beet red – not a good thing because she doesn’t do well in heat. There was a stream nearby so we soaked all our bandanas and put them on our heads or neck.

We then caught up to Timber who was soaking her feet in the creek. We decided to stop for lunch, cool off, and soak our tired dogs. We decided to camel up again because it was hotter than expected.

After lunch, we quickly came to 641 (17.5 miles) and crossed another stream. As Python was ascending the next hill, she saw a beautiful black snake on the left side of the trail. Fortunately, he wasn’t aggressive.

The trail came out on a road and we could see the bridge over the New River! But, then trail went back into the woods near a landfill and up and over several big hills! Then the trail Tourettes started to kick in! Oh, we cursed the AT gods today!

We were so happy to reach the road that went under the Senator Shumate bridge! At the end of the bridge, we could see the Ford dealership across from the Rendevous Motel just down the road. But, the trail went off to the right up more hills! More trail Tourettes!

We were overjoyed to reach 100! We threw our packs into Dirigo’s truck and then headed to Dairy Queen to celebrate the end of a tough hike.