Exploring Virginia
It has been over a year since I did a major hike and combined with my mom's visit for the better part of last year, the start of the year saw me weighing my heaviest ever. Giri, my hiking buddy, and I decided on setting things right during spring break by hiking the Shenandoah's at Virginia. An added incentive was his sis, Sri, goes to VTech at Blacksburg that nestles on the foothills of the blue ridge range.
But first, to get rid of those additional pounds and get back into training. It was timely that I was reading Micheal Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma right around the new year and anyone with a conscience reading his book will change their eating lifestyle. He dissects the abomination that the American processed food industry is and even skins the organic food industry. Thus started my experiment with going vegan and switching to locally produced organic food for the most part.
Part of the training was to join the Bloomington Hiking Club for their weekend hikes. They are 6-8 enthusiastic hikers who explore the many local forests around Bloomington through 12mi hikes each Saturday, come rain or shine. It was nice to join them for several weeks and hike in the Deam Wilderness, and glean fresh hiking tips from the experts. But Saturday hiking followed by basketball on those evening was getting too much and that discontinued. But between the hikes and food, I managed to shed over 12lbs in 2 months and be in shape for the 2 day 30 mile hike in the Shenandoahs.
Giri and I started off for Blacksburg on a Thursday, renting a Dodge Caliber. It is one of the most under powered crossovers I've driven but we did not have a choice, it being a busy week for Enterprise. This was my first time to Virginia and the drive in itself was remarkable. West Virginia and VA are picturesque with happy cows grazing away on rolling grassy hills and quaint little towns tucked away in the valleys. It took us 8hrs to make it to Blacksburg and the VT campus.
A warm welcome by Sri and her Hokie roomies (yes, the VT girls are called Hokie girls :)) was followed by a nice dinner with a side of wild conversation on the effects of a soy diet on masculinity (remember, vegans thrive on soy for protein) and the future of sustainable food. If your grand kids are green due to chlorophyll and can understand the 'moo' language in 50 years time, you know where the ideas came from.
In the midst of this cheerful madness, we failed to take heed of a weather report that it may snow at Luray, the town nearest Shenandoah national park. I'd checked the weather report a few days earlier and we were expecting at worst, a cool 50'F. But weather is one of the three unpredictable W's (the other two, Giri tells me, are women and wine) and we were in for a surprise. The morning saw us pack up, eat a hearty breakfast, and set out for the 3hr drive to the park. The sky was cloudy, and progressed onto rain showers and hail by the time we reached the park entrance. There, to our dismay, was a sign that the park roads were closed due to heavy snow predicted later in the day!
Brighter people would have abandoned their plans at that but fools (and hikers) rush in where angels fear to tread. So abandoning the hike was not even considered. Giri, more cautious than I, suggested we call the park office to check, but the ever dependable t-mobile could be trusted yet again to not get a signal. To make a long story short, we ended up parking our car outside the entrance and walking the road to a trailhead that would join the Appalachian Trail. A later post will examine our ploughing through almost 10in of snow to cover 15mi. For all its ruggedness, it was an exhilarating hike, and pictures nor words can capture the beauty of the ice coated forest that welcomed us.
On the ride back, we could see no traces of snow as we headed closer to Blacksburg and our car looked strangely out of place with several inches of snow piled on its top. The hike took a toll on Giri physically and I had a tough time in focussing my brain. One thing was sure. We would have to find a different place to hike the next day given that Sri and her roomie, Riya, were going to join us for Saturday.
Devil's Marbleyard has a nice, macho ring to it and that was the place we selected for an 8mi hike. Within 2hrs of Blacksburg, it was rated as being moderate to difficult. But the day was wonderful for hiking: sunny and cool, with a hint of cloud on the horizon. And the delightful company of Sri and Riya helped too :) The interesting thing about the hike was the many boulders that one has to scramble up at many sections to reach the hillock of green tinged rocks that give the trail its name. Add to it, the bonus of several stream crossings and a waterfall, this was a great compliment to our previous day's endurance hike.
We did the hike at a leisurely pace, taking time to snap pictures (Riya is an enthusiastic photographer) and enjoy the scenery. The frosted branches we saw at Shenandoah had a milder, though more beautiful, presence here too in the form of ice drops on pine needles. Truly a gorgeous site. The original plan was to complete a loop of 8mi, passing a part of the AT, but we decided to head back after 3mi since our pace was too slow to finish the loop by sunset. The trail seems to be popular with the hikers and we passed several groups who had come out to enjoy the sunny weather.
We ended our trip by rightfully spending St. Patricks Day evening at a VT bar enjoying draft Guinness and joining the local revelry. All said, this was one of those memorable trips that brings a warm grow and leaves a lasting impression...
