Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994 TAG: 9403210167
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-10 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By MELISSA DeVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
The 2,147-mile wilderness footpath meanders for 55 miles through Giles County on its way from northern Georgia to Baxter State Park in Maine.
The trail passes just west of the center of Pearisburg. It makes a steep descent off Pearis Mountain and crosses a bridge on U.S. 460 at the Hoechst-Celanese plant. That route, says Narrows Town Manager Rob Mercure, is unsightly, and more importantly, a danger to hikers who must go across the busy highway heading north toward Peters Mountain.
Mercure, who came to Narrows as its manager last June, has proposed rerouting the Appalachian Trail into Narrows. The trail would break off at the top off Pearis Mountain, pass by the site of the old Narrows Reservoir following Mercy Branch Creek, and drop down into the town.
"You would be walking along a creek that is described as being just like the Cascades [a hiking trail near Pembroke in Giles County], only without the falls," Mercure said of the proposed route.
However, Pearisburg Town Manager Ken Vittum disagrees:
"The town's position is that the trail has traditionally been here, that we are a trail town, and the things we offer here for the hikers are not easily replaceable," he said. "We also look at this as a level of business because the through-hikers [people hiking the entire trail] come and spend money."
The Appalachian Trail Conference supports keeping the trail where it is, although it does acknowledge that the present location is potentially dangerous, according to Mike Dawson. The conference governs all routes of the trail.
Of three proposed reroutes (one of which follows Mercure's suggestion), Dawson said the Appalachian Trail Conference, the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club and the U.S. Forest Service all support a route that would still cross U.S. 460, make an immediate right onto an abandoned state road, and follow the New River before crossing a rural road and heading up Peters Mountain.
Eventually, he hopes to send hikers underneath the U.S. 460 bridge by way of a pedestrian walkway, eliminating the dangers of crossing the highway and the view of the Hoechst-Celanese plant.
"The ATC has a long-standing relationship with the town of Pearisburg that we think is important," Dawson said. "They have always welcomed hikers in their community and we value that relationship."
Mercure also wants to keep a positive relationship with his neighbors, and though he still contends that the route through Narrows is better, he has suggested building a spur trail, marked with blue blazes, that would offer an alternative route for local hikers as well as long-distance hikers.
"We'd really be in favor of that," Dawson said. "In fact, we've already passed a resolution in favor of it. There are so few opportunities for loop hikes around here, and this would be an opportunity to make a scenic area available to the public."
Whatever happens, all parties agree the Appalachian Trail is an asset to the county's outdoor recreation as a whole.
"We are intimately bound to the county, so anything we do will sort of work together," Mercure said.
by CNB