I post the following information compliments of my husband, James, who like me, enjoys writing and unlike me, is patient enough to jot down specific details. This post details a hike that he, my dad, & I took on Monday.
Enjoy!
Last week we had temperatures in the teens and today it reached nearly 70 degrees. With such beautiful weather in January we decided to drive up to the mountains for a hike. From our house we drove west about an hour and a half through Lynchburg, north of Bedford, to the Peaks of Otter, right on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
As we pulled up to the base of Sharp Top Trail, we could tell it was going to be a steep climb. Even though it was a beautiful day, it appeared we had the mountain to ourselves. As we started up the north side of the mountain we immediately noticed the beautiful mature hardwoods, most noticeably the tall, majestic Chestnut Oaks. Not receiving a lot of sun in the winter, this northern side of the trail was cool and damp, with the fragrant aroma of decomposing leaves. Ferns, patches of moss, and the lichen covered rocks encompassed both sides of the trail. We soon noticed the evergreen Mountain Laurel. It's bright green leaves and clustering under the winter-bare hardwoods was a nice addition to the trail. We all agreed that the small, multiple thin crooked trunks of the Mountain Laurel reminded us a little of the Manzanita out in Arizona.
The trail proved to be pretty tough. It was a mile and a half straight up hike, seeming longer because of it's elevation climb. We eventually made it over to the warm southern side of the mountain as we neared the top, quite a change from the cool, damp northern side. After about an hour or so of hiking we reached the top. At the top there were giant rock formations and a stone shelter with wooden shuttered windows. At 3875 feet there was a 360 degree view of the other Peaks of Otter, the Piedmont to the East, the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley with the Allegheny Mountains to the West.
Sharp Top, with it's incredible views, was once believed to be the highest point in Virginia and possibly all of North America by the early colonists. That was obviously proved to be incorrect on both fronts. After enjoying the views for a little while we headed back down the mountain. Down at the bottom, we were pleased with our hike and ready for some grub that we had packed-ham & cheese sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs & tangerines. We enjoyed the company of a yellow-bellied sapsucker and a couple of white-breasted nuthatches in a nearby oak.
On our way back home we decided to stop in Lynchburg, venturing into the historic district. We found a great little coffee/food/bookstore called the White Heart. We enjoyed some strong, but delicious, coffee along with very good homemade cookies. The books did not disappoint either- tons of Wendell Berry, Annie Dillard, Lee Smith, Eudora Welty, Faulkner, Walker Pearcy, and other great Southern and non-Southern literature. Back in the car, headed home, we agreed it had been a very good day, time well spent in the dead of winter.
