Memorial Day at Walnut Creek Park

With every trail, creek, lake, river, nook, and cranny of the state swarming with people on an absolutely gorgeous Memorial Day, Allison and I headed to Walnut Creek Park in hopes of finding just a small hint of privacy.  Located about 10 miles south of Charlottesville, this park has long been one of our favorite go-to's for  picnics, leisurely strolls, and an occasional canoe outing.  The park is centered around a large lake, only half of which is pictured above, that can be used for kayaking, canoeing, and fishing.  There is even a small beach area, located around the bend to the right of the picture, and a designated swimming area.  It would have been nice to jump in the water on this very warm day, but, of course, the beach was overtaken with highly energetic, screaming children.  The park also offers miles of hiking/biking trails that circle the lake and a full disk golf course.  Although the park was more crowded than I had ever seen it, it is large enough that we were able to take to the woods and find a little peace and quiet.

After walking around the lake on one of the many trails, we were able to find a decent place to set up our hammocks that we had packed with us.  It was nice and relaxing to sit in our hammocks with a view of the lake while reading our books and enjoying a cold beverage.  It was a little warm but an occasional breeze kept us cool enough to be comfortable.  Unfortunately, we make the crucial mistake of forgetting bug spray and had a constant battle with flies, bees, ants, and a few chiggers.  Aside from the bugs, everything was great, and I don't think we will make that mistake again.  After a couple hours of tree swinging, we packed up and decided to move the party to Alli's deck.

Earlier in the day we made a run to Anderson's in preparation for a grilled feast and picked up a half pound of fresh NC shrimp, a pound of tilapia fillets, a watermelon, a few lemons, a bunch of fresh peaches, a squash, and a zucchini.  After warming the charcoal, we started with an appetizer of shrimp kabobs rubbed with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper.  We then had watermelon three way- sliced cold, grilled, and in a watermelon-mint salad that Alli created.  Our main course consisted of grilled tilapia marinated in a lemon vinaigrette with parsley and grilled vegetables, again, rubbed with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I think we coat about 90 percent of the stuff we cook with those three simple things, and it turns out great every time.  Everything was tasty as usual, but the shrimp stood out hands down as the best thing we ate.  They were so sweet it was almost like eating candy.  To wash everything down we busted out some white sangria that we had prepared earlier in the day consisting of pinot grigio, Absolute peach, ginger ale, and chopped pieces of peach.  We made quite a large batch, so we invited over some of our good friends to grill with us and help us out with the sangria.  In the end, we spent most of the day enjoying the outdoors and got to do a lot of grilling with friends- what more could we ask for out of a Memorial Day?  Of course, we took special time on this day, as we do everyday, to think about all of the past and current members of our armed forces and to appreciate the sacrifices that they make so that we can enjoy these freedoms!

Humpback Rocks at Sunrise

Humpback Rocks is probably my favorite day hike close to Charlottesville.  It is located just 35 minutes west of C'ville on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesboro.  I do this hike fairly often and have countless pictures from the pinnacle of the rocks.  I have always thought it would be really nice to make it to the top to watch the sun rise and made it my goal to do so before I shared this hike with everyone.  The hike itself is relatively short at three-quarters of a mile each way but fairly strenuous.  There is a relentless, steep incline from the parking lot to the rocks.  Allison and I always try to keep a decent pace without any stops, and it provides a moderately intense, rewarding workout.  The first half of the trail is well maintained and graveled.  The second half requires some scrambling over jagged rocks; however, is still well defined due to heavy travel.  Having checked the night before for good weather and seeing an estimated sun rise of 6:02 am, Allison and I set our alarms for 4 and prepared for an early morning excursion.

We pulled into the parking lot at the trail head right around 5 fueled up on coffee.  The first half of the hike was fairly uneventful.  There was the occasional comments of how we never remember it being as steep and how we should be in better shape.  I think we huffed and puffed a little harder than normal due to a lack of sleep and the caffeine restricting our blood flow.  I was also carrying about a 25lb pack, which I had never had on this hike before.  About three quarters of the way up, we realized that we were on trail that we didn't recognize.  We new we were close to the rocks, and we were still on a trail clearly marked by painted trees.  Everything looks a little different in the dark with the light of flashlights than it does in the day, but we were sure we had never been on this stretch of trail.  While skeptically trudging forward and deciding what to do we came across a sign for the rocks only 800 ft away.  It turns out there are two routes to the rocks.  We had traditionally always approached the east face of the rocks heading up the mountain.  You can also hike all the way around and above the rocks, and then descend down onto them.  There are trails for both, but we did the latter in the dark on this particular morning.  Even with the navigational hiccup, we hit the rocks a full 20 minutes before the light of the sun.

Alli and I got a good 30 seconds of solitude before a few other twosomes ascended the rocks and ruined a perfectly quiet morning.  In all, 4 groups of two people made it to the top to see the sunrise with us being the first.  Unfortunately two of the groups consisted of two girls who felt the constant need to chatter and had no volume control whatsoever.  We also observed the phenomenon that, although there were plenty of great spots to sit and watch the sunrise on these massive rocks, the two groups of talkers sat within a foot or two of us.  This phenomenon can also frequently be observed on seemingly uncrowded beaches when some clueless group inexplicably sets up camp right beside you.  As the fore-mentioned groups scampered the rocks like children looking for their perfect Facebook defaults, Alli and I found watching the fog roll over the hills to be the coolest part of the pre-sun show.  The fog seemed to circle us on the rocks, starting by whipping around the western side of the mountain to our south as pictured above.  The rolling cloud then took a turn east crossing in front of us as we faced north, as pictured below, before dissipating into a small valley.  After 20 minutes of watching the fog and enjoying the thermos of coffee we packed, it was time for the big show.

The sunrise, pictured at the top of the post, was beautiful as expected.  It was nice to see the Virginia country side slowly come to life, starting with the hilltops and slowly making its way into the valleys.  I have experienced many "sunrises" from a tree stand in the middle of the woods but never from a place with such a vantage point.  This hike is perfect for anyone that lives nearby looking for a sunrise hike due to its short length.  I'm sure sunset would also be nice here, but I can only imagine what the crowds would be like.  Most times, the rocks are crawling with people which slightly deters from the natural beauty.  With only 8 people atop, Humpback was as least crowded as I had ever seen it by far, and we took full advantage exploring many of the nooks and crannies of the rocks after the sunrise.

  

Aside from having the claim of being the first couple to the top, we were also the only group to have coffee and cook up a hot meal.  We packed our little burner that runs on white gas and our cooking kit that we used on our West Coast camping adventure last summer.  We brought along a few biscuits that we made the night before and cooked up some hearty, farm-raised scrambled eggs with grilled, marinated pork sirloin from the night before, fresh green onions, and goat cheese- all from the farmer's market.  Our little one pot meal turned out to be delicious, and it was cool to get to cook something so tasty from the top of the mountain.  After breakfast, we took a few more moments to enjoy the beauty of the early morning sun on the surrounding hills.  These were some of the prettiest views of the morning, and I leave you with those pictures below.

Apple Orchard Falls

After a rough week of battling- exams in Alli's case and a stomach virus in mine- we took to the hills for a little R&R.  We packed the car with plans of tent camping all weekend somewhere in the George Washington/Jefferson National Forests in Botetourt County, Virginia.  As it turned out, my uncle and one of his friends were staying Friday night in a little hunting cabin we have access to in the same general area.  The exact location of the cabin is highly secretive and is only distributed on a strict need-to-know basis.  Alli and I decided that Friday night would be a perfect opportunity for her to see what goes on at the cabin and expose her to a little redneck living.  Alli's favorite experience was getting to ride the four wheeler as she had never ridden one before.  I've got a little work ahead of me if I want her to become an avid shooter.  I think she border-line enjoyed shooting a little .22 pistol we had and was fairly accurate with it (it did have a holographic scope).  She was not so crazy about the 9mm, claiming that it scared her, and she didn't even think about picking up the .357sig.  After an afternoon of riding and shooting, we grilled up a little surf 'n' turf of New York strip and fresh Carolina shrimp both coming from Anderson Carriage Food House in Charlottesville.  Although the cabin was available, we were steadfast with our commitment to tent camp and set up right on the little creek that runs beside the cabin.

The next day we packed up and moved and unspecified distance to North Creek Campground.  North Creek is a beautiful little campground that, as the name might suggest, sits right on a trout stream.  After much deliberation, we found what we believed to be the best site being the most secluded and posited right above the creek.  After a quick bite to eat, we headed up the creek to the trail head for the Apple Orchard Falls hike.  I believe there are a number of different ways to approach this hike of varying lengths.  For the particular route we chose, you just keep driving past the campground for a mile or two, until the road ends, where you will find a kiosk with a map and information about the hike.  From this position, it is a 2 mile hike up to the falls and then you turn around and hike back.

The hike itself is very easy and relaxing following close to the creek the entire time.  The beginning of the trail is pretty much flat.  After a half mile or so, the trail begins to climb to the falls although the incline is very slight.  Wooden walkways are provided along the way for creek crossings as pictured above.  The last quarter mile climbing up the falls is a little more uphill, but your work is rewarded with the best views of the hike.  There is no single drop to focus on once you reach the pinnacle.  Instead a series of small, 4-5 foot falls highlight the trip.  I have heard from a friend that this hike is particularly pretty in the winter when half of the falls are flowing and half are frozen over.  At a total of four miles, the distance of this hike is just right so that it does not take up a large portion of your day, but you still feel like you have accomplished something after it is over.  Apple Orchard Falls is perfect for anyone looking for a lazy stroll along a picturesque mountain stream.  It always seems that when we do these hikes, the pictures we take don't do justice to the sights.  The only way to see how beautiful these places truly are is to get out and see them yourself!

Although you can't really tell from the photos, we got rained on the entire hike.  What started out as a light drizzle turned into a downpour at times.  Being a mile or so from the car with no raincoat when it really started coming down, I had no choice but to suck it up and get soaked to the bone.  Allison was a little smarter than I was and had a rain jacket so she fared much better.  Unfortunately, it looked to be a soaking rain that was going to continue well into the evening.  Not wanting to be confined to the tent all day, we decided to pack up camp and head back to Charlottesville after the hike.  It pretty much rained the entire trip back and well into the night so I think we made the right call.  We are still itching to sit around a camp fire under clear skies, so I would imagine we'll have another camping trip in the near future.