BEARTREE

I managed to talk Christy into camping over the Fourth of July weekend. However, we decided to spend the 4^th at home and head out on Friday. Since it was a holiday weekend, I figured we should reserve a campsite somewhere. Ultimately we settled on the campground in the Beartree Recreation Area outside of Damascus, Virginia. The campground is conveniently situated near the Appalachian Trail just west of the Mount Rogers Recreation Area and Grayson Highlands State Park. It’s also a short distance from the Virginia Creeper Trail, a 30+ mile rail trail. We figured the area would give me plenty of options for hiking, and Christy numerous opportunities for cycling and running.

By Thursday, the weather forecast for the weekend looked awful. Heavy rains were expected throughout the weekend. Sure enough, we drove through rain all the way to Boone and beyond. As we drove, we wondered what we were doing. It looked like the weekend would be a total washout.

Luckily conditions began to improve when we crossed into Tennessee and got on the west side of the mountains. We reached the campground around noon under cloudy skies. The weather didn’t exactly look good, but it was certainly better than what we’d passed through on the way.

Beartree campground is pretty nice. The sites are well spaced and fairly private thanks to the abundant Rosebay Rhododendron, which was in bloom. Our site had a small stream running behind it, which made the spot even more appealing. The campground even has showers, which was a pleasant surprise. Aside from the campground, the recreation area includes a small lake, complete with a beach. The lake is popular for fishing and swimming.

We set up camp and debated our options for the day while eating lunch. Christy decided to mountain bike the section of the Virginia Creeper Trail from Damascus to Abingdon. My original plan had been to hike the Appalachian Trail over Whitetop Mountain – the second highest peak in Virginia. However, given the unsettled weather, hiking over a high, exposed mountain in the afternoon seemed like a bad idea. I changed my agenda. I decided to hike a section of the A.T., starting from Straight Branch, a few miles east of Damascus. My plan was to hike from there back to Beartree Lake, where Christy would pick me up. The hike sounded appealing, since two different guidebooks mentioned three good views along this stretch of trail.

Christy dropped me off at the Straight Branch access around 2pm. The A.T. and the Virginia Creeper Trail both pass through here. The Virginia Creeper Trail follows Whitetop Laurel Creek, which was raging from the recent rains. Unfortunately, an A.T. bridge was taken out by a recent flood, and there is currently a detour on the Creeper Trail. This wasn’t really a big deal, except that I had to walk down the rail trail with two leashed dogs while dozens of cyclists whizzed by. I was only on the Creeper Trail for a couple of minutes, but it was a relief to rejoin the trail.

The stretch of the A.T. beyond Straight Branch is actually one of the less frequently hiked parts of the trail. The Creeper Trail runs parallel to it, and many thru-hikers opt for the alternate route since it’s easier and it follows Whitetop Laurel Creek.

This part of the A.T. features a substantial climb over Straight Mountain. I was sweating and the dogs were panting, as the sun made an unexpected appearance shortly after we started the hike. We eventually reached the crest of the mountain, and took a side trail down to the Saunders Shelter for a break. We met a long distance hiker there. His trail name was Benadryl due to his propensity for acquiring bug bites. We visited the spring for the benefit of the dogs before resuming our hike.

One guide mentioned a great view from the shelter, but it failed to materialize. Another guidebook mentioned a couple of additional views from the trail along Straight Mountain, but those no longer exist, either. The guidebooks I was relying on date back to the 80’s. I’m guessing that the vegetation has grown up enough to eliminate the views in recent years.

We eventually descended from Straight Mountain before reaching a junction with the Beartree Pass Trail, about 6 miles from Straight Branch. We took this trail to a crossing of highway 58. A bit farther on we reached Beartree Lake. Beartree Lake is man-made, but quite pretty. We hung out there for a while before heading out to the parking lot. We waited there a little longer before Christy arrived to give us a ride back to the campground.

It had been a pleasant hike, even without the advertised views. Christy’s bike ride hadn’t gone nearly so well. The seat of her mountain bike wouldn’t stay in place, which made for a frustrating afternoon.

We grilled burgers and had macaroni and cheese and broccoli that night. We even enjoyed a campfire, and smores for desert. The fire was a pleasant surprise considering the weather forecast. I was hopeful that the dry weather would hold off through Saturday, as I had a big hike planned.

SUGAR GARDEN

Originally we planned to spend Saturday in the Guest River Gorge. There is a 6-mile rail trail there that I wanted to mountain bike. Christy would walk the dogs while I did that, and then I’d watch them while she went for a run. Afterwards, we’d do a short hike to Little Stony Falls.

This adventure would’ve required another hour and a half drive from Beartree. By the time Saturday morning rolled around, we weren’t feeling that motivated. Instead, we decided to stay a little closer to camp. Christy planned a long run on the Creeper Trail. Meanwhile, I’d do an even longer hike on the A.T. My plan was to start from highway 58 west of Whitetop Mountain. I’d hike over Whitetop and through Elk Garden, before descending the Mount Rogers Trail to Grindstone Campground, where Christy would pick me up.

We had a nice breakfast of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and coffee before heading out. Christy dropped us off where the A.T. crossed the road at Summit Cut. From there we headed up, then down, and then back up through a white pine grove. We emerged in a cow pasture, where Kona discovered the pleasure of rolling in a fresh cow patty. She got an improvised bath a bit later, but a second cow pasture just beyond Elk Garden gave her the chance to fix that. I managed to give her a more thorough bath back at the campground that evening.

We passed a large group of young women backpacking at the first pasture. That was a little startling, after seeing only a handful of people on the trail on Friday. The trail was pretty quiet after that though, as we only encountered a few people from there to Deep Gap. We saw several groups around there and on the way down to Grindstone Campground.

Beyond the pasture we hiked through another White Pine grove before beginning a long, grueling climb up Whitetop Mountain. We eventually broke out into open meadows, and climbed on to Buzzards Rock. Buzzards Rock is a bit below the summit of Whitetop, but it offers a spectacular view to the north, west, and south. It’s surrounded by grassy meadows, and offers an ideal lunch spot. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to enjoy it for long. The sky to the south was black, as violent storms raged over the peaks of Ashe County in North Carolina. Those storms appeared to be heading my way, and I was in an extremely exposed location. I finished lunch quickly and packed up for the rest of the hike up the mountain.

It turns out that the trail has been re-routed. It used to pass close to the summit (which features some communication towers). Now it contours around the mountain at a lower elevation. Instead of strolling up through grassy meadows, I enjoyed a traverse through dense stands of Flame Azalea. The blooms were past their peak, but there was still enough color to add to the beauty of the hike.

We crossed the road leading to the summit and passed several campsites and a stream. A long descent through a lush forest followed. A little rain fell, but it was never more than a mild nuisance. I stopped for a break a bit before reaching Elk Garden and the next road crossing. I was there for a few minutes before I realized that there was something white strung between the trees on the far side of the trail. At first I thought it was rope, but upon closer inspection I discovered that it was actually tubing. It took me a minute before I realized that all of the trees were Sugar Maples. The tubing was part of a maple syrup harvesting operation. We followed the tubing the rest of the way down the mountain to Elk Garden and a major trailhead.

The stretch of trail east from Elk Garden is delightful despite the cow patties. It passes through a lovely meadow with fantastic views in every direction. I’ve started and finished hikes here in the past, but on each occasion I didn’t really spend much time here. When I started hikes here, it was too soon for a break. When I finished hikes there, I was ready to head for home. On this occasion, a break was compelling. I climbed to the hill overlooking Elk Garden, where I enjoyed a lovely view. It wasn’t as spectacular as the vista from Buzzards Rock, but it was just as nice in its own way. The view north was probably the most impressive, but I loved the occasional peaks at Mount Rogers as it drifted in and out of the fog. The view back at Whitetop was nice, too. Since that slope is covered in Sugar Maples, I’ll bet it’s a spectacular view in mid-October.

A pleasant hike to Deep Gap followed. I found a great campsite on a blue-blazed trail just before the gap, which used to have a shelter. Camping is no longer allowed in the gap itself. Another mild climb above the gap led to a junction with the Mount Rogers Trail.

The hike down from there was wet, rocky, and tedious. The trail was flooded in places, but at least there were plenty of water sources for the dogs! Still, I was relieved when I reached a junction with a spur trail to Grindstone Campground. I continued ahead and arrived at the Mount Rogers Trailhead a few minutes ahead of schedule. Christy was already there, having arrived a few minutes earlier. It was a great hike, and the best part was being able to actually go somewhere without backtracking or walking in a circle.

We headed back to camp, where I took advantage of the showers. The shower was quite an adventure. You have to push a button to start the water, but it only lasted about 30 seconds. The odd thing was that each push of the button resulted in water ranging from ice cold to scalding hot. Occasionally it was somewhere in between, but usually it was one extreme or the other. Needless to say, the shower took quite a while, since I wasn’t actually in it most of the time.

That night we grilled steaks for dinner. This was challenging because the grill (at its lowest setting) was a good 18” above the charcoal. We had to use most of the charcoal to be sure the steaks were done before breakfast. Who designs these things, anyway?

A storm hit just as we started eating. Fortunately we had a tarp up, and it kept us dry. Afterwards we headed to bed, forgoing the campfire we’d planned.

MOVE ALONG, NOTHING TO SEE HERE

It rained off and on Saturday night, but finished by Sunday morning. We had breakfast of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and coffee before packing up our wet gear. That’s the worst part of camping in the rain – both packing up and then having to unpack the mess upon returning home.

Christy decided to spend Sunday riding Railroad Grade Road, along the New River in Ashe County, NC. I planned to hike a portion of the Iron Mountain Trail. I’d start from the campground on the Lum Trail. After a mile I’d pick up the trail on the crest of Iron Mountain. I’d follow it west to the Sandy Flats Shelter. From there I’d descend the Feathercamp Branch Trail to meet the A.T. at highway 58 and the Straight Branch Trailhead. That would be an easy place for Christy to pick me up after her ride.

The Iron Mountain Trail was the original route of the Appalachian Trail before the A.T. was re-routed over Mount Rogers and through Grayson Highlands State Park. I’d hiked one stretch of it, farther east, some years earlier. That hike had been quiet and peaceful, but rather boring. I was looking forward to this one though, as two different guidebooks mentioned three good views along the stretch I’d be hiking.

I had some trouble getting started. My only map was the Appalachian Trail map of southwestern Virginia. It’s a small scale map, so details are sketchy. The map shows two trails leaving the campground. One, unnamed, ascends east to cross a road before meeting the Iron Mountain Trail. The other, the Lum Trail, heads northeast to meet the Iron Mountain Trail at the Straight Branch Shelter. According to the map, both trails initially follow a gated road from the campground before splitting after a short distance.

I had no problem finding the gated road, which is right at the entrance to the campground. I walked up the muddy road for 5 minutes or so, but there were no trails splitting off of it. So which trail was I following? It was hard to tell from the map, since both follow streams and head in similar directions. The farther I walked, the more certain I was that it was the wrong one. So I backtracked to the entrance to the campground to reconsider my options.

The Beartree Gap Trail crosses the road to the campground a couple of miles from this point. It climbs up to the Iron Mountain Trail west of the Straight Branch Shelter. That would be a good backup plan, but I wasn’t enthusiastic about walking down the road. I thought about catching a ride with Christy, if she hadn’t already left. It was a fair walk back to the campsite, so I walked over to the dumpster instead. The trash bag on top had one of her gluten-free beer bottles in it. So I’d missed her.

I hiked back into the campground to make sure I hadn’t missed the beginning of the Lum Trail. I started down the loop, passing the road leading to our campsite. After 50 yards I reached a bathroom and a sign for the Lum Trail. Sigh. That was a great way to waste 30 minutes.

We hiked up the Lum Trail through a lush green forest full of blooming Rosebay Rhododendron. The trail was muddy and the mosquitoes were awful, but at least the forest was pretty. It was an easy hike, too, as the trail followed a gentle grade for a mile up to the shelter. At that point I turned west on the yellow-blazed Iron Mountain Trail. The trail follows the ridgecrest, and most of the hiking was easy except for a steep descent and ascent at Shaw Gap.

I passed the first alleged view point without seeing anything. I hiked beyond Shaw Gap to the second, which also failed to materialize. I stopped near there for lunch anyway, since it was after noon. What that spot lacked in views it more than made up for with flies, gnats, and mosquitoes.

I ate quickly and hiked on to a crossing of forest road 90. At this point I was only a few minutes from the Feathercamp Branch Trail junction. From there I had a 2 mile downhill hike to reach the trailhead. It wasn’t even 2pm, and Christy was supposed to pick me up between 4 and 4:30. I needed to kill some time, and I didn’t want to do it in the parking lot. I considering heading over to the Sandy Flats Shelter to take a nap. In hindsight, that would’ve been a great choice.

Instead, I decided to chase after the last potential view, which is described as “panoramic” in the A.T. guidebook. My version of the book dates back to the 80’s, but the view is from a former fire tower site on Feathercamp Mountain. I was hopeful that the mountain would still be clear enough for a vista.

The map and book indicated two routes to get to the top of Feathercamp Mountain. The Iron Mountain Trail contours around the south side of the mountain. Once on the far side, there is a junction with the Feathercamp Ridge Trail, which climbs to the summit in a ¼ mile. Also, forest road 90 winds its way to the top of the mountain. After a bit of consideration, I decided to make a little loop. I’d follow the forest road to the top, and then descend on the Feathercamp Ridge Trail. I’d then follow the Iron Mountain Trail back around to Feathercamp Branch.

I followed the road down to a confusing intersection of old roads. Four roads continued from this point, not counting the one I’d followed. My map showed two of them. One was labeled the Bushwhackers Trail, which wasn’t on the map. That one didn’t look right. Another was labeled Feathercamp Branch Trail, which was my exit route. The road on the far right headed downhill dramatically, so that was obviously wrong. That left the road behind door #3, which only said “Iron Mountain Trail ¼ mile”.

While I was pondering my options the skies opened up. We got off the road and into the woods, where we were somewhat sheltered. I put on my rain gear while Kona curled up in a little ball. Boone just sat there, giving me the stink eye, as if the sudden downpour was my fault. It was at this point that the nap at the shelter started to sound better and better.

The storm ended as suddenly as it began. For some reason, I decided to hike on. I followed the road signed for the Iron Mountain Trail. After a short distance it split. The road to the right was labeled the Sawmill Trail. That one wasn’t on my map, either. This was getting out of hand, and I didn’t want to get lost. I continued ahead to the Iron Mountain Trail. I rejoined it east of Feathercamp Branch and the Sandy Flats Shelter. The nap beckoned, but I was already wet and chilled. I decided to hike on.

I followed the Iron Mountain Trail around Feathercamp Mountain to a signed junction for the Feathercamp Ridge Trail. It was exactly where I expected it to be. I decided to follow it, but the trail didn’t head up the ridge towards the summit. Instead it contoured around the north side of the mountain. For some reason I just kept plugging along. After a mile or so I reached a junction with the Sawmill Trail. At that point, turning around seemed silly. I turned right and headed up the Sawmill Trail, which passes east of the summit. I crossed over the ridge and descended to a junction with a forest road. Forest Road 90. Awesome. I had just completed a circumnavigation of Feathercamp Mountain.

I was highly annoyed at this point, but I wasn’t willing to accept defeat. I followed the road up the mountain, which turned out to be much longer than anticipated. Shortly before the summit it began to rain again, which would’ve eliminated the views from the former tower site, if there had been any (there weren’t).

I hiked back down quickly, following Forest Road 90 back past the Sawmill Trail junction, back to the junction with the connecting trail that I’d hiked earlier, and back to the confusing five-way intersection. From there I headed straight down the Feathercamp Branch Trail. The trail was flooded in places, but was much nicer after I crossed over the Iron Mountain Trail. Most of the route follows Feathercamp Branch, which is a small stream under normal circumstances. These were not normal circumstances. All of the recent rain had the stream roaring. There are numerous crossings towards the end of the hike, which are typically easy rock hops. Rock hopping on this day would’ve ranged between difficult and impossible. My boots were muddy anyway, so I cleaned them by repeatedly walking through the creek.

The stretch along Feathercamp Branch was probably the nicest part of the hike. It was almost 4:30 when I reached the A.T. I followed it out to highway 58. Unfortunately, because of the washed out trail bridge, I had to walk down the shoulder of the road for a ¼ mile to reach the actual trailhead. This wasn’t fun with two leashed dogs on the narrow, windy road.

I reached the trailhead just after 4:30, but Christy wasn’t there. She arrived a few minutes later. Her day had been more miserable than mine, believe it or not. She’d planned to ride from Todd to Fleetwood and back three times (20ish miles for each round trip). However, there was standing water on Railroad Grade Road. The river was nearly at road level, and most of the bridges crossing it were submerged. A downpour caught her during her second lap, and she called it quits after that. Riding in those conditions is insane, and she was concerned about getting trapped by the rising flood waters.

We piled wet gear, dogs, and people into the car for the 3 hour drive home. We took the bypass around Boone, which proved to be a good move, as we conveniently avoided a stretch of highway 321 that was underwater. At the south end of town we stopped for dinner at Mint Cuisine of India, Christy’s new favorite restaurant in Boone. We had a nice meal while watching the rain come down. The drive home from there alternated between terrifying and tedious, but there was one highlight. The rain cleared briefly as we drove through Blowing Rock. The parting clouds revealed a dramatic vista of mist rising from the valleys as angry clouds swirled above. We pulled into the Canyons Restaurant parking lot for some quick photos, along with a number of other people. Our timing was perfect, as the rain returned a few minutes later, swallowing up the view.

We both enjoyed the Beartree Campground, and we will probably return to the area sometime. However, I think I’ll skip future hikes on the Iron Mountain Trail. Instead I’ll focus on the Mount Rogers area. I’ve been there many times, but it never grows stale, being one of the most scenic destinations in the Southern Appalachians.

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