Now for Black...& White Friday's Mountain Ride

Shortly after we left White Top this snow/frost covered hill came up on the right side of the trail. It has become sort of 'tradition' that Ms. Arcen and I do something fun on the Friday after Thanksforgiving involving a wilderness setting and physical body as well as emotional transfer. This year was no different. For two years in a row we have decided to spend that day in the Southwest corner of Virginia in the Mt. Rogers Wilderness area. Last year was a walk up through the snow fields of Mt. Rogers proper and this year we chose to ride the Virginia Creeper Trail between White Top and Damascus.

On Friday Morning we left Charlotte early enough and drove for three hours up through Boone and Mountain City Tennessee to the tiny town of Damascus Virginia. The high landscape between NC and TN was covered in a few inches of fresh snow, giving the trees a painted appearance. The road level temps were around 32F in the morning. Once in Damascus we found Sundog outfitters and parked in their lot. The fellow there hooked Ms. Arcen up with a small 26" wheeled Giant mountain bike and within minutes we were packed up and on the van shuttle headed for White Top, 40 minutes away. There were 4 adults and 2 teenagers already on board talking about horses and horse farms near Roanoke.

Up at the top we unloaded the bikes from the trailer and the family of 4 immediately took off on down the trail. Ms. Arcen and I decided to take a few pictures at the start and then we rode in the opposite direction for just over a mile to a hard ball road that gave us an interesting view of the small Virginia mountain town of White Top. We back tracked to the start and continued the ride toward Damascus. After the second old train bridge Ms. Arcen stopped on the right hand side of the trail and asked if she could climb up the little side hill. Sure. Up on top was a whole new world to her that gave way to a grand view of two snow covered mountains. On the steep scramble down in the flat rock shards she found a small not perfect fossil of either a plant or an insect.

We rode down and through the clean forest and took in the views. The temps for the ride were between 39F and 44F. The kid enjoyed the trail ride, especially the first 4 miles that seemed to require little pedaling for the slope just kept dropping away in front of us. There were many bridges crossing the crystal clear creek. The trail continued on down through several small Virginia towns set against a mountainous back drop. The last 3 miles of the trail back into Damascus flattened out a bit and we arrived at Sundog in right around 2 hours from when we started the ride. It was time for a hot chocolate and a grilled cheese at the local dinner and then the 3 hour return drive back to Charlotte. I was indeed proud of her morale the entire transfer and the way that she engaged the natural surroundings we were in.

Now for the pictures. I have gone back on my decision to identify the images with writing under them. I tried to go blog standard yesterday but ultimately I cannot comply because I just do not like the way that the final product appears. So, I will continue to go against the grain and write on top of the pictures. Sorry for any confusion other than mine.

The Trail marker start at White Top. A little side trail exploration.

One of many bridges.
After we crossed this bridge Ms. Arcen wanted to see what it looked like from the side. She was very curious as to how they built the classic style train bridge.

The couple that she befriended on the van over horse talk and then passed on the trail leaving them behind for the day.

A typical view of the trail.

Out in the country.

The trail crosses many fields that are connected by the wooded sections.

The most peculiar discovery of the day was an adult female deer's entire body skin on the side of the trail. There was no carcass or other parts in sight, just her pelt.

At the end of the ride Ms. Arcen looked into the lens with the passion of completion and physical body transfer. She made me proud as she always seems to do.