Day 5, Peaks of Otter Retry

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a weeklong vacation in the Blue Ridge of south central Virginia.

The weather was looking good, so we decided to go back to Peaks of Otter to try to get to the top of Sharp Top Mountain. When we got there, all systems were go, so we decided to take a two-prong approach to get to the peak. Ward and Theo took the steep, difficult trail all the way up, and Wally and I took a shuttle van that got us 3/4 of the way there.

The shuttle ride brought flashbacks of country roads that I grew up around. The road was narrow and steep, with rock outcrops on one side and and a steep drop off on the other. Some passengers closed their eyes during the ride, and others enjoyed it. I was somewhere in the middle. Wally sat up with the driver and thought it was great.

The final climb on foot to the peak was steep and rocky but only 1/4 mile long. It was well worth the effort to get there because there were unobstructed views of mountain ridges in all directions. I'll show you pictures later, but as usual, they will not do justice to what our eyes saw. The only problem at the top was the swarms of small flies and gnats. But luckily down a little lower, they were manageable. 

Besides the view, the other great part at the top was that we met Theo and Wally there. We had talked about trying to coordinate, but with no cell service, we didn't even try. However, it worked out anyway. We all got off the mountain the same way we got up and met up at the bottom to regroup.

I wish I could tell you the different mountains and ridges you're seeing below, but I can't. There was no signage and the bugs were too annoying for me to spend the effort to figure them out. :)

The lake in the picture is Abbot Lake that we hiked around on our first visit.

After we regrouped, Wally convinced us to do the Johnson Farm Trail which was close to the lake hike we did on our first visit. It was an easy walk 2 mile hike through fields and woods to the farm. The Johnson Family owned the farm from 1852 until the early 1940s, and the farm is one of the few structures left from the original Peaks of Otter Community. We were in luck because there were interpreters at the site who filled us in on the history of the farm and area during our visit.

We had Mr. Bill all to ourselves as he eagerly shared his knowledge about the farm.
A side note: Mr. Bill and his wife live in Florida, but every summer come to the area to be interpreters at the farm. He does the outside area and she does the house. They are thrilled to be out of the Florida heat and like what they do. It got Ward and I thinking about possibilities for the future. :)

Mr. Bill's Wife

It was an interesting visit and I'm glad we did it. (My first inclination when Wally suggested it was to say no.)

After stopping on the way home for dinner, we headed back to our home-away-from home, tired but happy.

Until next time...

Day 2, Peaks of Otter

 Note: Ward, Wally, Theo, and I are on a week long trip in the Blue Ridge of central Virginia.

Since we picked our destination for this trip on the fact that Ward had always heard about Peaks of Otter, but had never visited them, we thought they should be first up on our agenda. The Peaks of Otter are three mountain peaks (Flat Top, Sharp Top, and Harkening Hill) in the Blue Ridge along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We decided that Sharp Top was our first destination since you can get 360 degree views from the top. However, there was bad fog that morning around Sharp Top, so we decided to hike the Fallingwater Cascades Trail while we waited to see if the fog was going to clear. 

The trail was rocky, wet, and slippery, but full of interesting things to see. Below are a few photos of things that caught my eye along the way. 

  

The Cascades Trail was more strenuous than we thought it was going to be, so we opted to try Sharp Top another day. Instead we took a walk around Abbot Lake which lies in the valley among the peaks. That was a pleasant, easy walk with some good views.

Flat Top Peak

Sharp Top Peak in distance

Polly's Ordinary

Today they have something a little fancier that Polly's Ordinary. You can see the Peaks of Otter Lodge across the lake.

After stopping for Mexican food on the way home, we went back to relax at our home away from home. Ward started a 1000 piece puzzle, I read, and Wally and Theo were somewhere doing something.

Until next time...