Appalachian Trail - James River Footbridge

 Yesterday we took a short hike on the Appalachian Trail at the footbridge over the James River.

The footbridge was completed in 2000. It rests on piers for an old railroad bridge that were extended upwards to make the bridge more flood tolerant.

At 623 ft long, it is the longest foot bridge on the AT. A short Roanoke Times article on the opening can be found here.

The not-so-new replacement railroad bridge runs alongside the foot bridge. The river was so still that it gave a perfect reflection.

For the next two miles south on the AT, the trail is relatively level as it follows the James for about a mile, then turns up Matts Creek.

A view up Matts Creek.

The scenery was nice, but the ice - in many forms - was the visual winner.

Ice-encased rocks at the bottom of a rock face.

Lon thought these ice-coated rocks in the creek looked like potatoes.

Ice built up on tree limbs hanging over Matts Creek.

Ice made fantastical shapes as water flowed over ferns, sticks, leaves, and rocks.

Ice needles (see previous post) were very common along the Matts Creek portion of the trail.

Ice Needles - 2022

I still continue to find ice needles compelling. (Kinda like fungi - they're here every year, but somehow they're always different.) Here's what I wrote last year:

Warm-ish days (slightly above freezing), cold nights, and plenty of ground moisture are the recipe for "ice  needles" - thin needles or ribbons of ice rising up from the ground. (For a full discussion of ice physics and many astounding photos of this phenomenon, see an article by James Carter in the September-October 2013 issue of American Scientist, pages 360-369.)

Same idea, just some new photos.

Dirty needles emerging from a dusting of snow.

These needles have a curled ribbon appearance.

More needles

A nice set of curly needles from yesterday's hike on the Appalachian Trail along Matts Creek near the James River footbridge. (See following post for more about that hike.)

Jackson River Scenic Trail

We spend a lot of time on the Jackson River Scenic Trail - mostly biking, but in winter it's time for walking/hiking. Last week we had two good snows, so we covered the whole trail in four out-and-back hikes of about 7 miles each.

January 4, 2022 - Intervale to Milepost 3.5

Since it was still snowing when we left home, where we had about 3 inches, we over-dressed expecting a lot of snow on the trail. However, Covington had less snow, and it had been warm for the last few days, so there was no snow on the trail itself.

The small creeks feeding the Jackson River had a reasonable amount of water in them - a nice change since it had been a very dry November and December.

Along the trail.

It's a black-and-white environment on an overcast snowy day.

January 4, 2022 - Natural Well to North End

This is our favorite section of the trail, far less used than the southern part, and more likely to see wildlife. (But all we saw were six turkeys crossing the trail.) Our elderly dog, Dakota, also enjoys the walks.

Sunlight adds sparkle to the trees.

More sparkling trees.

Along the trail.

January 5 - Smith Bridge to Natural Well

A classic example of "bridge freezes before road". Even though the trail has no snow on it, the bridges decks are still covered in snow and ice. This is the bridge over Board Tree Run.

Board Tree Run

Along the trail.

January 7, 2022 - Smith Bridge to Milepost 3.5

This is our least favorite part of the trail, so we left it for last. This section has quite a few houses near it, and several dogs who like to give a good "guard dog" show. Additional snow overnight somewhat made up for this! This time snow covered the trail in most spots. I also found out that my old hiking boots - the ones I wear when snow gets over an inch - are showing their age, and the sole is separating from the upper, allowing my feet to get soaking wet. Time for a new pair of boots!