Hiked the section between US 522 north to Manassas Gap Shelter on a mostly cloudy mild day and got rained on for a few hours. It was pretty walking, but mostly through woods. On the gentle climb up to the trail high point on the slopes of High Knob (the AT never got above 2000 feet in all my hiking today), the woods is my favorite kind - very tall trees with little undergrowth. The high canopy and tree 'columns' make the space feel like a cathedral. But its not something that photographs well - too vast a space. It's the kind of thing one has to experience in person to appreciate.
The section around Linden, VA, where the trail climbs an unnamed hill between VA 638 and VA 55/I-66 was the other special spot. The high ground is an open summit, with an old apple tree and bench right on the trail at the high point. Here are two views.
It rained hard as I was making the return walk through the cathedral woods, but that only made it feel more special. Then it rained hard again soon after I passed the apple tree for the second time. This shower turned into a nasty thunderstorm that I could hear off to the south and east after the rain had ended where I was hiking.
So I went through two pairs of shoes today, and will need to dry them out before tomorrow - that's one big advantage of having a nice dry 'home' base to return to every night. I'll be totally dry tomorrow.
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Below is today's map showing the route of the hike, and a link to more photos:
AT Day 257 - Linden, VA at EveryTrail
EveryTrail - Find the best Hiking in Virginia
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