The climb of Bald Mountain wasn’t terribly long or difficult. But that is one of the biggest lessons I learned from hiking this section – you have to hold on to what you may have just seen, because there is no certainty about what is to come ahead. We knew we had the best views of the trip done in the first 1.5 miles of the hike. The way we split this section might not have been the best plan for enjoying vistas.
You can’t help but want to stop and take a look at the scenery around you. The panoramic vistas make this look like something you would picture in an outdoors magazine. We have hiked Cole Mountain before as a loop and I do think it is one of the more under-appreciated hikes in Virginia. Around 1.1 miles, the trail opened up to the beautiful, wide-open bald clearing that is Cole Mountain. The trail started off through a wooded section uphill, fairly steeply in some parts. We dropped our car off and then headed to Hog Camp Rd, to start our journey.įrom Hog Camp Gap, we headed south on the Appalachian Trail. It turns out it was just below us on the other side of the parking lot, but the morning fog made it a little hard to spot. From the lot, we could see the AT southbound, but we didn’t see where we would return to our car from the north.
We started off our trip by leaving one car where the AT crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Punchbowl Mountain overlook. Below: Coming out of the woods onto the grassy meadow is always breathtaking Great views from the top of Cole Mountain Hints of fall color near the summit. View the Full Album of Photos From This Hike Adam takes in the view from the summit of Cole Mountain. Adam will cover day one and Christine will take over with day two! The Lynchburg Reservoir and the swinging bridge over the Pedlar River were noteworthy features on the second day. The rest of the hike was less scenic – mostly walking through quiet woods and along seasonally low streams. This 17 mile overnight backpacking trip had beautiful views from Cole Mountain within the first two miles of the hike.
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