Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, April 18, 1994 TAG: 9404190026
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BY BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
``They are from Vermont,'' Adkins said, explaining his defeat. ``I said, `Man, when you put Northern Virginia on that book people are going to think D.C. and that is it.'''
So Adkins, who lives near McAfee Knob in Roanoke County, hopes the book won't be overlooked by people whose vision of hiking in Northern Virginia is limited to a simple jaunt along the C&O Canal or maybe a walk down the steps of the Washington Monument.
The 272-page book actually highlights hikes north of U.S. 60, which means the coverage area is from the craggy summits of the Allegheny Mountains to the soft, sandy shores of the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the best trails, Adkins said, are in the back country of the George Washington National Forest, only a couple of hours or so from the Roanoke Valley.
In fact, Adkins believes he ``discovered'' a bevy of delightful and overlooked trails that not only offer hikers new horizons but have potential for dispersing the crowds that gather at popular Appalachian Trail attractions, like McAfee Knob and Dragon's Tooth.
``That was one of the things I was hoping to do, to spread people out,'' he said.
The publisher originally wanted a book of 50 trails from across the state, but Adkins figured that kind of restraint would eliminate too many quality pathways. So he began researching trails in the northern half of the Virginia, returning to old favorites and exploring new ones, hiking them all with a measuring wheel in tow.
The book's format has given Adkins space to create a sense of place, with details on everything from bear sign to lady slippers, a leisure that wasn't always available in his previous book, ``Walking the Blue Ridge.'' That volume covers more than 100 trails that spread rootlike from the Blue Ridge Parkway.
When you weigh Adkins' knowledge of Virginia trails you might peg him as simply a day hiker. That's hardly the case. He and his wife, Laurie, are featured in the April issue of the Backpacker Magazine as serious long-distance hikers. He has hiked the entire Appalachian Trail three times, and had covered the course of the Allegheny Trail twice before anyone else had done it once. He was among the first 20 to hike the Pacific Northwest Trail. He has walked the corridor of the Continental Divide Trail. Total all of this and you come up with about 15,000 miles and a trail name of ``Habitual Hiker.''
But Adkins hasn't become snooty to the point of failing to recognize the joy of a shorter, less-difficult, less prestigious, close-to-home trail. He describes himself as a man who's never met a trail he didn't like.
In fact, there is considerable to like about the trails featured in ``50 Hikes in Northern Virginia.'' Here are four of Adkins favorites on the Allegheny end of the map:
MOUNT PLEASANT: This is an ideal circuit hike, not too demanding, yet traversing the environs of two 4,000-foot mountains east of Buena Vista in a special management area of the George Washington National Forest.
``It has a good waterfalls, good wild flowers, a couple of really good views, good campsites,'' said Adkins.
The 51/2-mile hike can be covered in just under four hours, but if you want to extend that the Appalachian Trail is nearby.
ELLIOTT KNOB: Elliott Knob is the summit of Great North Mountain, the highest point in the George Washington National Forest. The hike involves a vertical rise of more than 2,000 feet, but the elevation is gradual and there is an abundance of wild flowers offering a good excuse for frequent pauses.
Falls Hollow, a series of cascades best appreciated during the heavy flow periods of spring, is in the foothills of Eliott Knob.
``This is a hike, according to the forest service, that almost nobody goes on,'' said Adkins.
To cover all of it requires a nine-mile, one-way walk with a car shuttle.
RICH HOLE: The setting is a wilderness area in the George Washington National Forest along U.S. 60 north of Longdale Furnace.
``This is just a great little hike up onto the ridge line and back down along a stream,'' said Adkins. ``One thing that surprised me, we went there in late summer and all along the stream are places that look like outrageously good camping sites, but I didn't see any evidence of anybody being there. Either people go there with a good no-trace mentality or it is just entirely overlooked by overnight hikers.''
LAUREL FORK: Located in Highland County, the Laurel Fork area is the headwaters of the Potomac River in the George Washington National Forest. It looks more like the forest lands of New England and Canada than the central or southern Appalachians. There are red spruce, tannin-darkened beaver ponds, snowshoe hare, northern flying squirrels and soft, neon-green moss on stream rocks.
``It is one of the most beautiful, gorgeous places I've even been in; just a great place,'' said Adkins.
Be aware, the Forest Service says it gets heavy use.
``I went there on the Fourth of July Weekend and was expecting to see tons of people, because the Forest Service had told me it is beautiful and pristine, but during the 14-mile hike I only saw two people. I was just amazed.''
``50 Hikes in Northern Virginia'' is available at most bookstores or can be ordered from the Countryman Press Inc., P.O. Box 175, Woodstock, Vt. 05091-0175 (800-245-4151) for $13 plus $2.50 for shipping. Adkins will sign books Friday at B Dalton Booksellers, Valley View Mall; Saturday at Waldenbooks, New River Valley Mall, and Sunday at Waldenbooks, Valley View Mall beginning 12:30 p.m. each day.
by CNB