It's About the (RV) Journey....: Hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains...

During our stay in central Virginia, we spent a few days hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We began on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is a meandering road with many scenic overlooks looking down into the valleys or across the mountain range.

National Parks are awesome!

Scenic overlook

Nice farmland in the valley

There are many hikes, various lengths and skill levels, in the area. Our first hike was the Humpback Rocks on the Blue Ridge Parkway. A visitor center (not open for the season yet), a farm and several hiking trails were located at MP6. We walked through the farm complex, which was typical for the area back in the day. Not easy farming in the mountains.

typical farmhouse

spring house

Then we began what we thought was a moderate hike of about a mile. The hike was straight up, right from the beginning. I was feeling a little like a big loser, since I had to stop so frequently, and I was beating myself up for being in such bad shape. Tom of course was doing great! Up and up we went. Up stairs, up rock stairs, up rocks, up! We were almost.....ALMOST to the top when we made the decision to go back because the rocks were a little wet and slippery and we couldn't tell exactly how much longer to actually reach the top and well, we were with me! So, down we went. I later looked up the hike and was so pleased to find out that this was considered a strenuous hike, not an easy hike like I had thought. For more details see hikingupward.com. Anyway, the hike was fun and challenging. (I had my fitbit on, and logged 11,500 steps with 102 flights of stairs).

Come on Susie

Really-up already?

not as steep but still up

Just posing....we were actually going up

Humpback Rock is over Tom's head in the background

Ice on the moss

still going up

more up

After the hike, we continued exploring the drive and admiring the views and wildlife.

a view from the Blue Ridge Parkway

still ice on areas that don't see much sun

only buds on the trees...that's why it looks red

pretty views

We spent a couple of days exploring the Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. More info at nps.gov/shen. The views are spectacular and change depending on the time of day, the weather, and the lighting. Besides driving, we did about 3 different hikes. Its so much better getting out of the car and exploring!

Gotta love National Parks!

Soaring over the Blue Ridge Mountains

turkey on the side of the road

gorgeous views

hello

a nice hike

beautiful crisp day

meandering through the woods

view from the top

its really windy up here

grace-haha

tree fungus

yeah....going downhill

a little snack

Driving a little more, the views were really nice. I"ll just post a few. Again, depending on the season, light, etc. the views change, which makes it nice every day.

a Yankee in Confederate territory!

nice

a few clouds

We stopped at the Byrd Visitor Center in Big Meadows. Since it was so cold and windy (really windy) we opted not to walk through the meadow, but rather to hike to a waterfall. We chose the Dark Hollow Falls, and enjoyed the views and the falls. I imagine there is just a trickle of water in the summer months. That is the beauty of hiking in the spring...water is more abundant.