On Thursday (7-23-20) Karen and I headed to Bristol, VA for a four-day weekend to explore the great outdoors. We rented an Airbnb loft on the main drag in downtown Bristol. It had a private entrance and parking spot, keypad entry and was cleaned and sanitized for our protection. We cooked all our meals and never encountered another soul while coming and going. It was very Covid-correct.
In 1927 the Victor Talking Machine Company made the first recordings of music legends like Jimmie Rogers, The Carter Family and the Stonemans during the Bristol Sessions and the town became the “Birthplace of Country Music.”
On the drive to Bristol, we stopped to stretch our legs on a 2.5-mile hike down the Glen Burney Trail. The trailhead is located in downtown Blowing Rock, NC, drops 800′ and was used in the mid 1800s by Native Indians and Logging Companies.
We passed three waterfalls on this steep and densely forested trail. From Glen Marie Falls at the bottom, every step going back is uphill.
We rested at Glen Burney Falls on the trek back. Dense foliage made it impossible to get a decent picture of the Cascades above it.
Friday’s early-morning, eerie clouds crept through the forest on our hike to the Great Channels of Virginia. This was a wickedly steep, grueling, 8-mile roundtrip. There are two other trails to the top that are much longer.
After a 1,322-foot elevation gain we reached the 4,208-foot Middle Knob Summit where thousands of years of erosion have cut deep fissures into the sandstone outcrops.
Entering the maze of crevices for the first time was awe inspiring.
There are 20-acres of jumbled rocks, deep slits, narrow corridors and tenacious vegetation carved out by the last ice age.
The initial exhilaration of wandering down interconnected and dead-end rifts in the rocks began to turn ominous.
As we delved deeper into the foreboding fractures the passageway out became unclear.
We squeezed through narrow slits and backtracked from dead end rifts searching for the entrance in the quite and cool confines of these ancient stones.
We were delighted to be alone when we first entered the maze. We were on our own to find a way out.
The rock formations looked cool and unique at the start of our exploration. They began to look alike when we tried to leave.
After much trial and error, we solved the puzzle with a minimum of anxiety.
The Great Channels were an unbelievable experience and the challenging trails that lead to them insure that you won’t have to share it with a crowd.
Saturday we shifted gears and rented bikes to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail.
The 35-mile rail trail runs from Abingdon to Whitetop, Virginia.
After scaling Middle Knob Summit the day before, we chose to be shuttled to Whitetop Station and enjoy the 17-mile, all downhill glide to where we rented the bikes in Damascus, VA.
The trail runs on railroad right-of-way along lovely Laurel Creek, through rolling farmland, across refurbished trestles, through Mount Rogers National Recreation area, and intersects the Appalachian Trail.
Effortlessly coasting through the beautiful Virginia countryside was definitely a treat these lazy bikers plan to do again in the fall.
The trail is used by bikers, hikers and horse riders. We took the first shuttle up at 8:30 AM on Saturday and beat the crowds.
We slept in on Sunday and then said goodbye to Bristol, the town that straddles Virginia and Tennessee.
We made one stop for a short hike to view Elk River Falls on the way home.
Known for its water volume more than its beauty, Elk River Falls was crowded on Sunday afternoon and we did not stay long. We had a wonderful, four-day road trip. Ya never know, until ya go when the mountains are calling.