I climbed to the top of Crabtree Falls yesterday. It was a perfect day offering up crisp Indian
summer temperatures. In all honesty, I
didn’t climb to the top…I clawed and crawled my way upward to the summit.
This outing had been suggested by several “in the know” adventurous
folks who touted the beauty of the falls and urged us to go for it. So venture forth we did.
Sunday afternoons have long been established as an outing
day. We took off from Farmville with
little in mind other than to find the trail; hike it and then top off the day
raising a glass at The Devil’s Backbone Brew Pub. What…four, maybe five hours, max?
We lost the navigation signal two hours into the trip as the
road fell away and we climbed into the Blue Ridge. But even sans signal, not long after we
crossed the Appalachian Trail, we pulled into the parking lot at the base of
the trail. After wolfing down our picnic
lunch, we meandered over to the trail map and discovered it was a mere 1.7
miles to the top. Piece of cake.
Crabtree Falls is the highest waterfall east of the
Mississippi. The first overlook of the
falls is just a few hundred feet from the parking lot and is handy for even the
faint of heart hikers to view. Several
other sightings of the cascading water are scattered along the trail, but only
the most adventurous (as the guide book calls us) make it to the top.
I was feeling rather fit and right spunky as I forged
ahead…onward and upward. The trail was
well traveled yesterday and often we had to squeeze to the side to allow
someone to pass us…going up, as well as coming down. As we climbed higher and the path grew
steeper, my cocky confidence waivered. I
began to really pay attention to my fellow hikers. There was indeed a lot of diversity. Surely I can do this if the Vertically Challenged
lady in the pink high heel flip flops can!
Right? And there were people with
babies strapped to their backs. And
folks handling dogs…on leashes. I mean,
“What are these people thinking,” I thought to myself? I certainly could not voice that sentiment
out loud (to George) because I couldn’t talk at all. “Just put one foot in front of the other and
pray we get to the top soon." That was
my mantra.
The climb took us two hours.
Two hours! I can walk 1.7 miles in
about 24 minutes on the treadmill.
What’s with that?
Was it worth the climb?
Damn right. It was a beautiful
panorama vista; a meadow vista the
guide book calls it. I call it tops of trees.
But it wasn’t about the view at all. It was all about me. Yep, I was feeling pretty good about myself
at that point. I had made it.
Everyone claimed it was much easier heading down the mountain
and I agree. I have to say; however,
that taking teeny-tiny steps while bracing yourself to keep your footing is
hard on the knees. We made the descent
in half the time and limped to the porta-potties.
Ready to put Crabtree Falls behind us, we set off to find
Devil’s Backbone Brewery with one thought in mind….an ice cold draft. It was quite close by, only 13 miles, but we
headed in the wrong direction and had to make a few detours before we took our
spot at the bar. The brew and food did
not disappoint. You can indulge with
sweet abandon when you rationalize how well deserving you are!
It was a sweet afternoon that left me with sore muscles and
much to ponder. I’m checking that one off my bucket list.
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