
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, May 8, 1994                   TAG: 9405110010
SECTION: DISCOVER NRV                    PAGE: 58   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: MELISSA DEVAUGHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

FOR AT VETERAN, FAVORITE TURF WAS NEAR HOME

As I look back on my Appalachian Trail journey last year, I was particularly fond of hiking through the New River Valley section of the trail.

The views were great, the wildflowers were coming into bloom and, best of all, I was in my own back yard.

A favorite spot was Peters Mountain near Pearisburg in Giles County, a 3,800-foot-high ridge where the Virginia-West Virginia border and the AT share the crest.

The wildflowers there are unique. On a good spring day, don't be surprised to find pink lady-slippers, white-petaled trilliums, May apples resembling miniature palm trees and tiny white and lavender spring beauties.

If you want scenic views, Peters Mountain is great for that, too.

The Appalachian Trail's course - mostly wooded as it follows the spine of Peters Mountain - passes through two open pastures, the Rice Field and Symms Gap Meadow.

The Rice Field (a family name) contains rock outcrops and magnificent westward views across West Virginia ridges.

Symms Gap Meadow is slightly wooded but offers a beautiful glimpse of the setting sun. I camped there while passing through and recall a particularly beautiful sunset.

A hike over Peters Mountain is about 12 miles long and makes for a great leisurely weekend trip, even though water is scarce along the crest.

The trail's southern end is at the base of the mountain on Virginia 641 (Stillhouse Branch Road) across from the Hoechst-Celanese plant on U.S. 460.

As you hike northward, the trail begins a gradual ascent along a small stream, before becoming steep as you head toward the summit.

At the top is a small, seasonal spring and a campsite. The trail then follows the crest with few significant elevation changes, until the pathway begins to descend the mountain in a hemlock grove at the headwaters of Pine Swamp Branch.

There's a stone trail shelter about a quarter-mile above where the trail drops down to Virginia 635 along Stony Creek.

If you really want to get away from it all, Peters Mountain is a good place to be. A significant portion of the Appalachian Trail on Peters Mountain passes through a federally designated wilderness area, where the footpath is the only sign of civilization.

by CNB