Cascade Falls
Cascade Falls is one of the most popular and beautiful hiking spots around Blacksburg, VA. It is located in Jefferson National Forest, a four-mile loop alongside Little Stony Creek. To avoid a crowd, I waited until the winter to explore this trail. On January 15th, 2010, I went to Cascade Falls to hike with a few of my friends.
This winter has been crazy for the many parts of the US, and it was no different here. The trail was covered with snow and parts of the creek were frozen. Blue skies and the snow-covered ground made this hike beautiful. There are two trails: the flat one is about 2 miles and was not that interesting, however the other trail is about 3 miles and offers a beautiful view. We crossed bridges, climbing stone stairs on the way to a frozen Cascade Falls. It looked spectacular, there are wooden stands constructed on the side, where we saw ice formations hanging from the cliffs that surrounded the fall.
We headed further up to Barney’s Wall but lost our way and ended up on conservancy trail. We followed this trail for another 35 minutes until we realized we were not going in right direction. Overall it’s a moderate hike, a good study break, the trail is easy and very scenic as you follow the creek the whole way to the falls. Click here for more photos…
Frozen Cascade Falls
Luray Cavern
My parents came to visit me after almost 6 years of me having lived in the States. I was very excited to see them after long time. We did this long road trip along the east coast starting from Dallas, where my younger brother goes to school. After visiting my school, we were driving to Washington DC for our four-day stay. My brother was in charge of the wheels as I was in a deep sleep. I woke up to find out that we needed to pay the entrance fee for Luray Cavern. I wasn’t too excited about $23 entrance fee.
I found out that my parents were lured by multiple billboards along the highway –that’s what you call successful advertisement. I personally had no idea what Caverns are, when I heard this word I could only think of two words “Tavern” and “Cave.” In other words, a bar or pub built inside a natural underground space where they serve drinks and food. Pretty logical right!?!
I had no idea what I was in for. As we entered the cavern, a ranger handed us an audio device and headphones, which was filled with a detailed description of the cavern and interesting fun facts. The cave had well-lit walkways; we could see clean pools of water, towering columns and rock of different colors, shapes and sizes. I realized that a camera that takes good pictures in a low lit environment is essential for this a visit to the caverns.
Although we went in the off-season, the cavern was fairly crowded. It is a nice hour-long walk and it is essential to have good walking shoes. The site was crowed by families and their screaming kids running all over the place. There were instances when I wanted to take them to most secluded and darkest area of the cave and leave them there. Just a thought!! Anyway, right outside the cavern was a miniature version of the” Tower of Mordor” from Lord of the Rings. It’s called Luray Singing Tower with 47 bells. More information can be found about Luray Cavern at http://www.luraycaverns.com
Due to our time constraints, we did not get chance to explore other close by attractions, like the car and carriage museums and the outdoor Garden Maze. Overall it was worthwhile experience; but I think if you are visiting Luray Cavern you should take advantage of nearby attractions. Click here for more photos…
Here are some of the main attractions:
Dream Lake: This was my favorite part of the cavern. It is a large body of water in the cavern and creates a mirror image of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.
Dream Lake
Titania’s Veil: This shimmering white formation looks like ice formations hanging from the cliffs
Giant’s Hall: Chamber filled with towering stone columns
Saracen’s Tent: Looks like folded curtain
Pluto’s Chasm: You can see this fascinating pillar from multiple spots throughout the cavern
Stalacpipe Organ: The Great Stalacpipe Organ- the world’s largest musical instrument is one of most crowded sites of the cavern. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures.
Fried Eggs: This interesting shaped object looks like fried eggs. According to the audio device, back in the day, people used to rub this rock to make a wish.
Angel’s Rest
The best way to experience the changing color of the fall season is to take advantage of one of the many trails surrounding Blacksburg. On October 8th, 2009, I decided to hike Angel’s Rest with my friends, Andrea and Ed. Usually, when I go on a hike, I do not read a lot about the hike besides directions and distance. So, I expected this 4.6 mile round trip to be fairly easy and quick. But I was completely wrong!!
The trail, covered with fall dry leaves, never leveled off. It was steady incline of 1,600 ft for 1.5 miles before we reached the sprawl of the two ancient rockslides. I was sweating and I could feel my calves straining. You pass through thick oak, laurel and rhododendron. I cannot imagine how beautiful this trail would look when nature is blooming at its full extent. On a side note, the Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal. We were accompanied by bees buzzing as we reached the rock boulder. From the boulder, a few hundred feet to the right on a blue-blazed trail, you could see a little opening. It offered views of the New River Valley, Pearisburg & Peters Mountain on the left, Butt Mountain at center right, and Bald Knob at the far left.
The Angels Rest Trail did end here, it continued around the edge of Pearis Mountain to a rock ledge overlooking Wilburn Valley and the mountains to the east which offered another spectacular view. Overall, I would rate this hike as strenuous but the view from the top is totally worth it. Click here for more photos…
View from Angel's Rest
View of Wilburn Valley
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Dragon’s Tooth
When I first heard about this trail, I was very intrigued with its name. I imagined this trail to be mystic and adventurous. On September 25th 2009, I decided to hike this trail with some of my out-of-town friends. We didn’t pick the best day; it was raining, foggy and cold. But that did not stop up from exploring Dragon’s Tooth!!
As we started our hike, nature welcomed us with a downpour followed by fog. At that time, I did not have the appropriate hiking gear. I was just wearing my gym shoes that I had waterproofed with spray. It did not take long for my feet to get wet. Luckily the rain lasted only 20 minutes. The first mile and half was fairly easy and steady until we reached the intersection of the white blazed Appalachian Trail. At this intersection, there were couple of trails and they weren’t marked properly; we decided to follow the trail on the right side.
The best part of trail started here. The trail became very rocky and steep. Foggy and slippery conditions made this part of the hike exciting. We got lost for a bit as we were following a series of rocks. I also noticed a couple of u-shaped iron bar steps embedded in rock to help to climb the steep rock surface. I really enjoyed this part of hike, especially maneuvering through those rocks. At the top, there were three rock formations of about 30 feet or more which kind of resembled tooth. I really enjoyed my hike but was kind of bummed since I couldn’t see anything further than 20 feet.
September 25th: Dragon’s Tooth
To get over my discontent, I went back on Jan 23rd, 2010 with a few of my friends. It was cloudy, a little chilly, and parts of the trail were still covered with snow but the visibility was lot better. And I was also wearing my new hiking shoes which made it a lot easier to climb through rocks. We were at the top in about an hour, and as soon as I got there, I climbed one of the rocks which offered a great view of Sandstone Ridge to the south, Brush Mountain to the west, and McAfee Knob to the east.
I would rate this hike as intermediate, but one should be very cautious while climbing through those rocks. Click here for more photos…
Feb 23: Dragon’s Tooth
Trying to capture McAfee Knob between the rocks
Kelly’s Knob
Here in my first blog, I am trying to recall my first hiking experience. As I was going over my photo albums, I realized Kelly’s Knob was technically my first hike. I went there on September 19th, 2009, with a few friends from my department. I personally prefer hiking early in the morning. I think that it is the best time of day – less crowded, fresh air and the weather is cooler, better than sweating in the scorching afternoon heat.
As we were driving on Route 106 for several miles through farms, I could not resist the view. The sky was blue, clear and crisp all set with beautiful puffy white clouds moving across the mountains – it was a perfect day for my first hike.
As I recall, the starting point was pretty foggy and steep, but after 20-30 minutes it leveled off. We followed the white blazes on the trees to a large rock outcrop and a nice view. It only took us 45 minutes to get to the knob. Once we got up there, we could see a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains along with Blacksburg. I also saw couple of places to camp as well. Overall, it was well worth effort. I would rate this hike easy to mediocre, good to make you sweat for a little bit.
As my first hike, I do not want to say this experience was life changing but it really got me more interested in exploring beautiful mountains and trails in Virginia. Click here for more photos…
View from top
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As I recall, the starting point was pretty foggy and very steep, but after 25-30 minutes it leveled off. We followed the white blazes on the trees to a large rock outcrop and a nice view. It only took us 45 minutes to get to the knob. Once we got up there, we could see a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains along with Blacksburg. I also saw couple of places to camp as well. Overall, it was well worth effort. I would rate this hike easy to mediocre, good to make you sweat for a little bit.
As my first hike, I do not want to say this experience was life changing but it really got me more interested in exploring beautiful mountains and trails in Virginia.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Outdoors 