Hay Rock (Appalachian Trail Hike)

 Monday, 26 April 2021

Today the Monday Morning Hikers (aka Marvelous Monday Morning Mountain Hikers) hiked a short (4-mile, 6.4-km) section of the Appalachian Trail near Roanoke. Overall, the AT is known for its wilderness feel and vistas, but near Roanoke, it can clash with the necessities of urbanization and modern amenities.

In the first mile, we crossed a railroad track (Norfolk & Western), buried pipeline, and high-voltage power line. This section was mostly bottomland along Tinker Creek (of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - Annie Dillard - fame).

When the trail finally gets to the ridge top (it's only an 850 ft, 260 m, climb, but feels like more!), you are greeted by two high-voltage power lines crossing each other.

The power line clearings, though, do allow for nice views. That's Read Mountain in the background.

It's not all "scorched earth" (that's the next trailhead, now called Andy Layne Trail). We encountered a well-camouflaged green snake.

The trail along the top of the ridge is mostly rocky, with occasional good views.

Among the views is McAfee's Knob - arguably the most photographed view on the entire AT. The arrow points to the iconic overhang. Note that the hike up McAfee's Knob also involves crossing a power line.

A closer view of McAfee's Knob overhang.

Typical view from the trail. The Roanoke airport is in the background towards the left side. The lake is Carvin's Cove.

Enjoying the view.

The entire hike, which took about 6 hours to hike 8 miles at our leisurely pace, we heard helicopters continuously. It was only on the way back down the mountain that we got a glimpse of what was going on. The helicopters were delivering workers to the power line towers.

We watched as the men were lowered into the tower structure. Then the cable was released and the helicopter returned for another worker.

A closer view of the man working on the tower. I hadn't noticed the ladder until I looked at the photos. This work must take nerves of steel (or better yet, Kevlar, since that shouldn't conduct electricity).

Overall, we had a good hike, but the continual noise and intrusive power lines definitely detracted from the experience.