SHAKE ‘EM ON DOWN
Where
were you on August 23rd, 2011 at 2pm?
I was lucky enough to be working in Richmond, VA. I say lucky, because that put me in prime
position to experience the great 21st century East Coast
earthquake. Of course I had no idea what
was going on when is started. The
building I was working in has an old, rattly air
conditioning system. It kicked on right
before the shaking started. At first I
thought it was going to blow, before it became apparent that there was
something more significant going on.
I
watched my laptop bounce up and down on the table for a few seconds before I
realized that it was time to forget about work for a while. Once the room stopped moving, it was time to
check the internets to see what was going on. Facebook proved to
be most useful. After just a few minutes
of Facebook research, I discovered that the
earthquake had been centered a couple dozen miles northwest of Richmond. It had registered an impressive 5.9 on the
Richter scale, and was felt as far away as Boston, Toronto, and Georgia.
Unfortunately,
due to camera problems, I was not able to get any photos of the aftermath. However, I did find one photo on the internet
that I think was representative of the damage in the area:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9067009@N03/6102068892/
I SPY
The
earth had barely settled when all eyes turned towards an approaching
hurricane. Hurricane Irene was expected
hit North Carolina’s Outer Banks late on Friday before turning north and
heading up the coast. I found this to be
a bit inconvenient, as Irene’s schedule threatened to interfere with my weekend
plans. My intention was to drive to
Williamsburg to visit my dad on Thursday evening. On Friday I hoped to start a weekend
backpacking trip in the Three Ridges Wilderness in central Virginia.
By
Thursday it was still unclear whether the hurricane would bring hostile
conditions to the central Blue Ridge. Under
the circumstances, I decided to err on the side of caution. Instead of backpacking, I decided to settle
for a dayhike on Friday. With an early start I could get in a decent
hike and still make it back to Charlotte in time for dinner Friday night.
I
enjoyed a nice visit with my dad, although it did involve watching a lot of the
weather channel. We noted that Jim “duct
tape me to a palm tree” Cantore was in New York, so
we figured we would probably be safe in southeast Virginia. Still, I wasn’t inclined to take any
chances. Mostly I was concerned with
getting stuck in traffic as people tried to evacuate the Hampton / Virginia
Beach area. So I got up at 6am and hit
the road. Aside from a bit of difficulty
finding gasoline and a little traffic, I didn’t have much trouble getting to
Charlottesville. Reaching the actual
trailhead was another story.
I
picked up highway 56 and headed towards Crabtree Falls. Crabtree Falls is sometimes described as the
highest waterfall in Virginia, or even in the Eastern U.S. That’s being rather generous, as Crabtree is
more of a series of waterfalls, rather than a single drop. I’d hiked the trail up Crabtree Creek once,
about 15 years ago, and had actually been a little disappointed. I guess all of those accolades had left me
expecting something a bit more stunning.
For
this hike I had something slightly different in mind. There are two wilderness areas, The Priest
and Three Ridges, and a number of significant peaks in the surrounding
area. For my hike, I decided to visit
one of those peaks. I’d heard that Spy
Rock has one of the best views on the entire A.T., and it has been on my to-do
list for many years. This seemed like
the perfect opportunity to check it out.
I
followed the directions in my ancient guidebook to the trailhead. I turned onto Meadow Road and headed up the
mountain, ignoring signs warning that it was passable only to 4wd vehicles. After all, the guidebook hadn’t mentioned
anything about the road being rough.
Plus, my Corolla has been up lots of bad roads over the years. I was sure it could handle this one.
It
turns out Meadow Road is a washed out mess.
Still, with lots of painstaking driving, I was gradually able to make it
4 miles up the road to the Upper Crabtree Falls parking area. The A.T. was still a half mile further on,
but I decided to quit while I was ahead and walk the rest of the way. I figured it probably wouldn’t take me any
longer walking anyway.
My
guidebook mentions that there is a campground at this trailhead, but there is
hardly a hint of one now. There is a
toilet at the there, along with a few primitive campsites along the road, but
it’s hard to imagine that there was ever a campground here.
The
motor in the primary lens for my camera stopped working near the end of our
Wyoming trip. I brought my old camera on
this hike, but it died when I attempted my first photo of the day. I was a bit annoyed that I had invested a
full $6 in a pack of batteries only to find out that it was no longer
functioning. So I hiked without a camera
for the first time in years.
The
walk up the road was quick, and I found the A.T. without any trouble. I climbed on the A.T. through woods and
meadows, before descending to another old road in a gap. From there it was all uphill as I climbed
Maintop Mountain. The climb was steady
but not steep, but the intense humidity had me sweating before long. Fortunately there were plenty of late summer
flowers to add to the beauty of the hike.
I
passed below the summit of Maintop Mountain and descended briefly to a
gap. There is a junction here, along
with a dry campsite in a lovely patch of open, grassy forest. I followed a short side trail from there out
to Spy Rock.
Spy
Rock is a massive outcrop of boulders on the flank of Maintop Mountain. I arrived at the base, but was uncertain how
to proceed. The book hadn’t mentioned
anything about rock climbing or even scrambling, but an easy route up wasn’t
apparent. To make matters worse, it had
rained the previous evening, and the rocks were slick.
I
eventually found a place to scramble up.
It wasn’t terribly difficult, but might be too much for young children
or people that aren’t comfortable with scrambling. The effort proved to be worth the
effort. I reached the top and was
rewarded with an incredible view of green mountains in every direction. It was a hazy, cloudy day, and some of the
surrounding peaks were still lost in the fog, but it was still fantastic. I’d love to see it in clear weather.
I
had a quick lunch and relaxed, enjoying the view. A few minutes later I was startled when
another hiker arrived. He was a solo
backpacker on his way out to Crabtree Falls.
He lived in the Virginia Beach area, and was concerned about the
approaching hurricane. He had cut his
hike short so he could get home Friday night, before the storm arrived.
I
made one diversion on the way out. I
explore a blue-blazed trail, which led me over the wooded summit of Maintop Mountain. This is the old route of the A.T. Apparently the main trail was re-routed
around the summit recently.
The
drive out was a bit smoother than the ride coming in. I only scraped bottom once, and I don’t think
I lost anything important off the bottom of my car. I made great time on the way back, making it
from the lower Crabtree Falls parking area on highway 56 to my house in just
over 4 hours.
I’m
looking forward to returning to that area again, as it has a lot to offer. I still want to hike the Three Ridges Wilderness,
and I’d like to hike The Priest again as well.
My one previous hike over The Priest had been in the rain, and I’d like
to return when I can enjoy the scenery.
Back to Virginia
Back to Hiking and Backpacking Trip Reports
Please remember to Leave No Trace!