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View Full Version : Bland to Pearisburg New Years hike



Gambit McCrae
12-17-2015, 15:30
Got a 3 trip planned and here is the schedule

night one arrive at apx 10 pm start at us-52 and head nobo to Helvey Mill shelter 2.1 miles
day 1 16.3 miles to trents and stay there ( They are open in winter correct?)
day 2 17.1 Docs knob shelter (Tenting?)
Day 3 8.2 into Pearisburg. 43.7 total I believe.

Anything exciting?

Looks pretty non dramatic climb wise on elevation map

misterfloyd
12-17-2015, 16:31
I remember going through that section in the summer and of course it was the proverbial green tunnel.
I'm hoping that there may be something to view since all the leaves are down.
Hope you have a great trip!
Floyd

illabelle
12-17-2015, 17:13
Isn't Woods Hole in that section? Don't know if they are open this time of year, but a great hostel if you can spare the time.

johnnybgood
12-17-2015, 17:21
Flat smooth trail for the most part until dropping into Pearisburg. When I hiked this 2 years ago that section of the trail was maintained by the Outdoor Club at Virginia Tech . Some areas had some overgrowth, notably the section of trail on the descent into Pearisburg . Hand snips would have served me well that day.

This section has Angels Rest overlook which is a moderately steep 1.6 mile climb from AT . It gives you a view back toward the 460 Shumate Bridge and the manufacturing plant in town.

Gambit McCrae
12-17-2015, 17:25
This section has Angels Rest overlook It gives you a view back toward the 460 Shumate Bridge and the manufacturing plant in town.

Sounds beautiful lol...

Mountain Mike
12-17-2015, 23:54
I'd push beyond Trents to Dismal Falls. Plenty af camping by the falls as opposed to a field behind the store.

u.w.
12-18-2015, 01:07
I'll second pushing past Trent's and staying around Dismal Falls (PM headed your way). The resupply there was decent though, when I was there.

I did the section from the Mt Rogers visitor center, north back up to Pearisburg this past Sept. - which includes the section you doing. As others have said, It's a nice, fast section of trail. I'm thinking you'll enjoy it.
I stayed at Laurel Creek the night before I went past Helveys Mill shelter. It was 0.3 to the shelter and another 0.3 to the water - I wasn't going 1.2 just for water. I did hear that it has good water though, from some sobo thru hikers I stayed with up on Chestnut Mt (the highway men). I did stop at Jenny Knob shelter for water, and it was doo-doo water. There are tent/hammock sites and better water further north past Jenny Knob 'bout a mile-ish. I hiked to Trents that day. Decent resupply.
I stopped & stayed at Woods Hole instead of going to Docs Knob. Every single sobo thru'er I met sang it's praises and said it was not to be missed. Who was I to disagree, lol. There are some great views after Docs Knob, all the way to Angels Rest. It's real nice up there. Couple of nice camp spots too, if you were inclined to push a bit further than Docs Knob - though you'd likely need to grab water at Docs Knob.

u.w.

hikernutcasey
12-18-2015, 10:39
Just did this exact section over a 3 day weekend after Thanksgiving. I did US 52 to a stealth camp on the ridge just past a power line crossing about 1.5 or so miles past VA 608. The second night I camped at a nice little spot in Big Horse Gap and then hike the last 13 over to where I parked at the bridge crossing the New River.

To be honest, there's not a lot to see through here. The suspension bridge crossing Kimberling creek is cool and it is worth making the side trip down to Dismal falls in my opinion. The water was really rolling when I was down there. After the falls there is a long boring stretch before you finally climb back up to the ridge. Angels rest is ok but would be a much prettier view if you weren't staring down on the Celenex plant in Pearisburg.

All in all an ok section I guess just nothing spectacular.

Gambit McCrae
12-18-2015, 11:45
As a purest, every foot has to be walked. I ain't seen nothing ( Great verbiage for southern VA right? I been practicing) since Grayson Highlands worth looking at. I Think that Trent's, Dismal, Kimberling, possibly hopefully woods hole, and I believe by Companion standards, Pearisburg is the end of the Southern VA section isn't it?!

As well I am taking a greenwood with me but he has a lot of interest so I think this will be a good section to start him out on.

What I am REALLY looking forward to is 2016 finishing up VA as a whole. I have Central and southern SNP left and Im more or less 50% don't in 3 years. Its been quite a ride already and I miss the trail I've already seen. I'm thinking about doing Newport, VA north for 100 miles to get a lot of the iconic spots in on one trip.

Let the party continue!

ratfaceraines
12-18-2015, 19:30
If I can be of help, I shuttle out of pearisburg. 540-921-7433. Donors Done

LittleRock
12-21-2015, 10:04
I just did Damascus to Pearisburg in October. Planning to do Pearisburg to Daleville next spring.

Trent's is a good choice for day 1. Definitely check out Woods Hole as an option for day 2. I believe the bunk house is closed during the winter but you can still get an indoor room. The owners are great people and they make an awesome breakfast!

As far as sights, day 1 is pretty boring. On day 2, definitely do the 0.3 mi side trail to Dismal Falls (it's about 2 mi north of Trent's). There are also a couple of good vistas just a little bit off trail after you climb up from Wapiti shelter. There are also some good views between Docs Knob and Angel's Rest on day 3.

Happy hiking and Happy New Year!

Wet Foot
12-21-2015, 10:12
Pretty much just did the reverse of this hike a few weeks back. We started in Pearisburg on Fri afternoon and hiked to the trailhead near Woods Hole Hostel (Which was an awesome experience). On Sat, we hiked in the rain from Wood Hole to Trent's Grocery. I do not necessarily recommend the camping there and wish we'd camped at Dismal Falls, but it was nice to get some hot food and so forth. Trent's campground has bathrooms/showers, but they were nasty and not well maintained. On Sunday we did another 10 miles to a trailhead halfway to the Interstate. Overall, other than the tough climb out of Pearisburg, I was a pleasant 38 miles or so.

Gambit McCrae
12-21-2015, 10:52
Im trying to set myself up for a week long hike nobo in the spring so that I hit a lot of the Iconic spots in VA, Kephar oak(spelling), Mcaffee Knob, Tinker cliffs, Dragons tooth, Lampert meadows??

Sorry for spelling I'm at work

Pretty much from MM703 to MM803 looks like a lot of fantastic scenes of VA AT.