"Rolling Hills" of Southwest Virginia

[This update courtesy of Emily's mother, thanks for typing this one up!]

    Emily phoned from Pearisburg on Wed., April 21.  Yes, she did hike the half-mile side trail to summit Mt Rogers, VA's tallest peak at 5,729'.  There was no view, covered with red spruce and "the northernmost natural stand of Fraser fir."  [a superlative detail from the AT Guide]  She seemed to regret that "there are no alpine zones," but there are plenty of gorgeous views along the ridgelines:  the large deciduous trees that cover them aren't yet leafed out.  Chestnut Knob on the 17th offered a great view of "God's Thumbprint," one of the nicknames for Burkes Garden, a five-by-ten-mile fertile valley completely ringed by mountains.

    She's enjoying "Spring again, cold in the mornings, 60's during the day."  Much of the treadway is on old overgrown logging roads, relatively free of rocks and roots.  Hiking through rhododendron thickets "seems like hiking through someone's private landscaping," rather than natural growth.  Her overall reaction to hiking southwest VA is, "I don't feel like I'm in mountains."

    Switchback has been averaging 20 miles a day comfortably.  Most nights she's in her tent, but at The Scales on the 14th she simply "cowboy camped" under the stars.

The evening's entertainment was a comparison of her night-sky-print bandanna to reality.  Another evening's relaxation was provided by the music of pack guitar from Picker's tent interspersed with the sound of raindrops on her tent.  By  the 19th, the enthusiastically anticipated Trent's Grocery was on nearly every hiker's mind, but Emily wasn't suffering from any cravings for particular foods.  [She doesn't like hot dogs or tomatoey pizza sauce, and the care packages have been "EXCELLENT!"]  Her reward for that day's good hike was to set up camp a little early and read for a good long while next to the Falls of Dismal.  [This one's nominated for Eeriest Place Name! - just happens to be on Dismal Creek.]