Getting to Bearwallow Gap (43 near Buchanan, VA)?

[Cereal]

Hello, WB!

I am looking for advice on how to get to Bearwallow Gap - that is, Route 43, south of Buchanan, VA.

My hiking partner and I will awake in Richmond, VA on a Monday in October. We will be able to get a ride to a train (or bus) station. And we just need to start our section hike by Tuesday morning at the latest, so we would have all day Monday, if that helps.

I have looked at train (Amtrak) or bus (Greyhound) from Richmond to either Lynchburg or Roanoke; perhaps we could then just get a shuttle (suggestions? or Uber/Lyft?) from one of those two cities to the trailhead? (The best I could see is Greyhound to Roanoke for ~$40 each, so it is ~$80 just to get to Roanoke.)

(For what it's worth, we plan to hike south to Dragonstooth, where we will have a ride on Friday afternoon. Any other tips welcome, too!)

Thank you!
-Cereal

[Gambit McCrae]

Homer Witcher from Daleville is your guy.

730.3 $? Homer & Therese Witcher 540-266-4849, [email protected] Owner: Homer Witcher. Based out of Daleville, VA. $ Pet Friendly. 365 days, 24/7, (with advancenotice-no last minute calls, please) & holidays.S to Anywhere < > N to Anywhere & A airport, C bus & _ train terminals. ? Slackpacking.

[Alligator]

Greyhound is probably your best bet to get closer from Richmond. The bus will run through Lynchburg to get to Roanoke. It's only $2 more to go to Roanoke and about an extra hour on the bus. Roanoke is ~15 miles closer to the Gap. I'd pick the city that was closest to the intended shuttler as they are going to factor in that mileage to your quote.

If it's possible to pick a different city than Richmond to start from, for instance flying in, it might be easier to go to Roanoke or Lynchburg.

Amtrak is not a good option out of Richmond because Richmond is on the Carolinian/Piedmont line whereas Roanoke and Lynchburg are on the Crescent line. These two Amtrak lines converge at DC. You would actually be taking a bus from Richmond to Charlottesville to the get on the Crescent line. I ran your route for a random day in Oct and ended up with a long layover because the Crescent into Roanoke is a late arriving train (9:55 pm.) and only once a day. You could maybe find a different bus into Charlottesville to avoid the long layover but you will still be getting a late arrival using the train.

Amtrak is currently running a 50% off special until 9/8 though.

Megabus doesn't have any routes out of Richmond that work their way over to the I81 corridor.

[Cereal]

Thank you both for the replies!

We did take the Greyhound from Richmond to Roanoke. This worked out nicely. I would recommend booking with Greyhound more than a week in advance; we delayed due to indecision, and paid a bit extra in the end.

We also got a shuttle from Homer to Bearwallow Gap. I spoke with both Homer and Therese on the phone ahead of time and everything went smoothly. I would recommend them as well!

[Gambit McCrae]

Thank you both for the replies!

We did take the Greyhound from Richmond to Roanoke. This worked out nicely. I would recommend booking with Greyhound more than a week in advance; we delayed due to indecision, and paid a bit extra in the end.

We also got a shuttle from Homer to Bearwallow Gap. I spoke with both Homer and Therese on the phone ahead of time and everything went smoothly. I would recommend them as well!

This makes me happy! Always love seeing suggestions come to life

[Alligator]

Thank you both for the replies!

We did take the Greyhound from Richmond to Roanoke. This worked out nicely. I would recommend booking with Greyhound more than a week in advance; we delayed due to indecision, and paid a bit extra in the end.

We also got a shuttle from Homer to Bearwallow Gap. I spoke with both Homer and Therese on the phone ahead of time and everything went smoothly. I would recommend them as well!

Glad it worked out for you. Thanks for following up with your experience.