Furthering the Case for Sinking Creek Mountain
March 19, 2009 at 5:00 am 4 comments
Dear Southwest Virginia Hikers,
You should hike Sinking Creek Mountain! I wholehearted and fully believe that this section of the Appalachian Trail is as worthy of a day hike as Angel’s Rest, Kelly’s Knob, Dragon’s Tooth, McAfee’s Knob or even Tinker’s Cliffs. Yes, you do have to hike 3.7 miles and ascend 2000 feet to get to the top. But once you are there, you have 1.5 miles of slanted rock faces and beautiful valley views! I am so fond of this mountain, it was my selection for my 33rd Birthday Hike. To help further my case, I present some pictures of a visit I made last October.
Sincerely,
Vicky TGAW
View on the Way Up
Snippets of Ridges from the Ascent
Jason Poses on the Way Up
Layers of Ridge Line From the Top
One of the Slanted Rock Faces Covered in Black Lichen
Looking in AT Northbound Direction
View From One Slanted Rockface
Looking in AT Southbound Direction
More pictures of my October Hike to Sinking Creek Mountain are available on my Flickr site.
| Appalachian Trail: Sinking Creek Mountain
Length: ~10 Miles Round Trip Elevation Gain: 2000 Feet Directions from Blacksburg, Virginia 1) Take 460 West 2) Turn right on Craig’s Creek Road (VA-621). The Pandapas Pond Turnoff will be on the left hand side of the road. 3) Craig’s Creek Road will turn to gravel, pass Caldwell Fields (worth a stop!) and then eventually turn back to pavement. Once it does, the AT crossing will be within a couple of miles. There will be a camping and parking area on the left side of the road. |
Entry filed under: Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Sinking Creek Mountain.
TGAW 
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3.
Sue Lichtenstein | April 6, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Sounds great..oh, to be 33 again! I’m looking for some advice…a friend and I would like to hike a few easy miles -maybe 5-7 miles and stay overnight at a place where we can leave the car and not have to carry gear. It’s out first hike on the AT. We are from the Washington DC area and would like to stay within a few hour drive. Any ideas? Appreciate your effort and suggestions.
Thanks, sue
4.
TGAW | April 6, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Hey Sue,
I’ll have to reflect a little on this. I am more familiar with the Appalachian Trail 4-5 hours south of the DC area.
If you want to depart from the Appalachian Trail, I would suggest the Elizabeth Furnace area in George Washington National Forests. It is near where I-66 hits I-81. There are a number of great hikes in the area (Signal Knob, Buzzard Rocks, included) and you can find campsites right near your vehicle. I’ve camped off Bear Wallow Road numerous times. For even closer access to your car, there is an official campground across from Bear Wallow road where you can pull your car right up to your campsite.
Vicky