Agile Trekker: VA Appalachian Trail - Section 43

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
10/17/2022	9.6 miles	5 hours 50 minutes	1,842'	1.8	833.4

Parking:

VA 603

Maps:

FarOut app
Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Southwest Virginia Maps 3 & 4

Directions:

Follow the AT from VA 603 to The Scales, and back to VA 603

I hiked this section back in 2019 on an Adventures in Good Company backpacking trip. Glen was day hiking in the area that week but missed around 3.5 miles of this section. Today he filled in his gap. We hiked a little further than he needed so we could make it to The Scales, and hopefully see the wild ponies. We only brought one car and did an out and back. For some reason it just struck us halfway through the hike that we should have done a one-way hike and continued on past The Scales, to increase our chance of seeing the ponies.

It was supposed to be a dry day, but when we woke up it was cold and raining. We drove to the trailhead. Still cold and raining. We sat in the car for a while, wishing the rain away. Eventually it did mostly stop, so we put on our raingear and started hiking. We warmed up quickly because we had more climbing today. We went at a relaxed pace. The leaves were slick due to the rain. Also, hiking slower would make us less likely to sweat and get chilled from that. Plus, we were going uphill :)

We hiked up to the top of Pine Mountain, at 5,000' elevation. The last time I was here was on the AGC trip. We got caught in a thunderstorm and had to wait it out at the summit until it was safe to cross the open field beyond. Tali donned her umbrella, and the rest of us huddled together with a tarp directly on top of us. I was so grateful, because I was freezing until the tarp came out. At that point, I thought - I really should get a tarp. I have yet to get one, but I want one to add to my day hiking gear. Plus, I just learned the 2 knots needed in order to set one up!

As we approached the Scales, we saw a large white, horned cow in the woods. It was off the trail, so that was fine. A hundred feet later, we came across a calf lying 5 feet off the trail. It surprised Krumm, who jumped backwards when he saw it. We surprised the calf too, who stood up, thought it might be interested in meeting Krumm, and then thought better of it. It quickly left. Krumm got very excited about the whole encounter. He's quiet, but he just didn't know what to think about the calf and didn't know what to do. I pulled out some cheese and gave it to him. We continued to the fenced in area of The Scales. A quick trip to the pit toilet in the middle of the field. We wanted to stop for lunch at The Scales, but it was cold and very windy. The only non-windy place would be inside the restroom. We decided not to eat there, though if it was cleaner, I would have considered it!

We were hoping to see ponies at The Scales, but all we saw were a lot of cattle. We turned back and decided to find a tent site to eat lunch at. On the way back, the big horned white cow and a white calf came out. The white calf walked in front of us, then got off trail. Then the white horned adult walked in front of us. Down the trail. We walked slowly, hoping to give it a chance to get off trail. We met a thru hiker at that point. The cow decided to stop on the trail. Ugh. So, I took out string cheese, and had Krumm nibble on it while we passed right next to this huge cow. In the end Krumm managed to grab the whole piece of cheese, but it was enough for us to quietly sneak by. Phew!

The rest of the hike was a slow trip downhill. This section has some bigger rocks which were slippery due to the rain. And lots of erosion/roots near the beginning of the trail. That just made for slow, careful hiking.

Still great leaf color on the trail. What a gift today was! Viewing fall foliage never gets old! I'm hoping to backpack in this area next year - it's one of the most popular backpacking trips in our area.

On the drive home, we noticed leaves were well past peak, with many trees becoming bare. Amazing the difference between 3 days ago when we drove out. I love the drive home on Route 26 - so lucky to live in these mountains!

Tali, Tara and I tented here in 2019

Last time I was here, we were standing at this spot waiting out a thunderstorm.
Tali provided a tarp that we just put on top of ourselves to keep from getting hypothermic