Floyd's Travels and Thoughts on Life

On May 21, 2019 I flew from Madison, WI with daughter Susan and her fiance Andy to Richmond, Virginia. A shuttle from Adam Stanleys Hostel and Shuttle Service met us as the airport and took us to Charlottesville, where we checked into our comfy rooms at The Inn B and B. Shortly thereafter, Susan and I were relaxing on the terrace outside my room.

That evening we explored the nearby pedestrian mall in Charlottesville. After a terrific breakfast the next morning, Adam transported us to Swift Run Gap where we began our intended 40-mile hike on the AT. The trail was well-marked and we started hiking up a significant incline, walking through a lovely forest of oak, basswood, and tulip trees, with goosefoot maple and sassafras present as common understory trees.

The rhododendrons were just starting to blossom. Many of the trillium had already bloomed, but we saw many at the height of their bloom.

During our first day we were entirely surrounded by forest and were unable to see any views of the Blue Ridge Mountains that we were hiking through. By late afternoon we reached Lewis Mountain Cabins, where we had booked a cabin for the night.

DAY 2: Lewis Mountrain Cabins to Big Meadow. The next morning, soon after leaving the cabin, we hiked through a vast field of ferns covering the forest floor. Along the trail interesting saprophytes were just emerging above ground.

After several miles we came to one of the AT shelters that are located at intervals along the trail. These are used by hardy Thru-Hikers who are attempting to hike the entire 600+ mile long AT, which runs from Georgia to Maine.

For most of the hike, as on the first day, we were hiking underneath forest canopy.

We did come to a few overlooks where we could stop and briefly rest, and get a sense of the Blue Ridge Mountains that we were hiking through.

The trail was well-marked with white blaze paint markings, located at intervals on rocks or trees.

As we were nearing Big Meadows we took a diversionary trail (marked by blue markings) to Lewis Waterfalls. This involved a descent on a rocky trail down to the waterfall (hiking poles came in handy), a brief stay at the waterfall, and they a fairly steep ascent up another rocky path. We stopped to watch a black bear and her cut and then got caught in a thunderstorm, so that when we finally arrived at Big Meadows Lodge we were soaking wet (the adventurous unknowns of hiking!). We celebrated our arrival with alcoholic beverages in the bar followed by a nice dinner in the dining room. We had heard about blackberry ice cream pie, and so ordered one serving which we shared. Except for the once brief heavy rain shower, we had perfect hiking weather (low 70's temperatures and a nice breeze) during our 4-day hike.

DAY 3: Big Meadow to Skyland. The hike began under the forests canopy, often with extensive areas of ferns on the forest floor or a variety of blooming flowers along the trail. I was very happy to find a beautiful patch of the rarely seen Yellow Lady Slipper's orchid in full bloom.

On this section of the AT we could choose to stop at several different overlooks which afforded lovely views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah valley.

DAY 4: Skyland to Thornton Gap. The last 10 miles of our hike looked like it might be a piece of cake, but with quite a lot of up and down on an achy right knee, it proved quite a challenge. However, seeing our fourth black bear, this one only about 12 feet from the trail, made the hike worth doing.

We were picked up by our shuttle driver at Thornton Gap at the prearranged time of 4 pm, and driven back to our B and B in Charlottesville. The following morning we visited the Rotunda at the nearby University of Virginia. The Rotunda was designed by Thomas Jefferson as a seat of learning. Today the Rotunda is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Though more challenging than I had anticipated the hike was a positive experience, facilitated by dramatic forest and mountain scenery, interesting plants and animals encountered along the way, clement weather, and wonderful hiking companions.

At 630 miles long the South West Coast Path (SWCP) is Britain's longest national trail. In 2016 I hiked the first 80 miles of the trail from Minehead to Bideford. I was so impressed by the natural beauty of the countryside and the dramatic coastal scenery in this part of England, that I decided to return and continue hiking from where I left off, this time hiking from Westward Ho! in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall. When I arrived in England I first went to Redhill to visit with my friend Dot. We did a bit of sightseeing and then went to The Plough pub to try our luck at Quiz Night. The following day I used my rail pass to travel to Chippenham, where my friend Clive met me and drove me to his home in Luckington. During my two-day visit we did a lot of exploring: First to Westonbirt House and Gardens. Westonbirt is an impressive estate which was once the home of the Holford family, including 19th Cent. tital Robert Holford, a collector of fine art and books. The house is now a private prep school and we were unable to enter because of security reasons, but we spent several hours touring the vast estate and gardens. On the following day Clive and I hiked along the path that follows part of the Sapperton Canal. Built during 1784-1789 it was a 36 mile long Cotswold Canal that connected the River Severn to the River Thames. Along its length there were some long tunnels and when it was built it was the longest canal in Great Britain at the time. Following another path we eventually found a stone making the source of the River Thames. After having a pint at the Tunnel House pub we drove to the nearby town of Cirencester. During the 2nd Cent. it was a Roman town called Corinium Dobunnorum, the 2nd largest town in Roman Britain. There the Romans built a huge amphitheatre capable of holding up to 8,000 people. No stones remain from what is one of the largest surviving Roman amphitheatres, but one can see the large earthen mounds where the walls once stood.
Saying goodbye to Clive and the attractive village of Luckington, I got back on the train and went to Exeter St. David, and from there connected to a train going to Barnstaple. From Barnstaple I took a bus to Westward Ho!, the only town in Great Britain spelled with an exclamation point. It was in Westward Ho! that I began my hike the following day, hiking 11 miles along the Coast Path to the lovely village of Clovelly, considered by many one of the most picturesque villages in all of England. I liked Clovelly so much that I spent 3 night there at the New Inn Hotel, exploring the village and the surrounding countryside, including the vast nearby Clovelly Court Estate. From Clovelly, I continued my hike South, heading towards my final destination, the town of Padstow. During the next 6 days I spent my nights in hotels or B and B's in attractive towns and villages along the Northern coastline of Devon and Cornwall: Hartland Quay, Bude, Crackington Haven, Boscastle, Port Isaac, and finally Padstow. If I had done the entire hike as I had intended, I would have hiked about 80 miles, but for two days I encountered really foul weather, with periodic rain squalls and fierce winds that reached up to 65 MPH. There were times when the wind on top of the headlands almost prevented me from moving forward, and at one point I actually lost my balance and fell down. My glasses flew off into a gorse bush and I never was able to find them. Because of several days of terrible weather, on the first day I was unable to hike from Hartland Quay all the 15 miles to Bude, and instead hiked only 8 miles to the wee hamlet of Morwenstow, and from there caught a bus to Bude. On the second day the weather worsened and the wind was really howling, so instead of hiking from Bude to Crackington Haven, I instead explored some of Bude and then took a bus to Crackington Haven. I could have stayed in my hotel room but I wanted to see isolated St. Genny's Church, so I hiked up to the headlands and braving the fierce winds walked until I finally found the church tucked away in a partially sheltered hollow. On the 3rd day the wicked winds were still blowing strong, but I decided to tough it out and I hiked from Crackington Haven to Boscastle, arriving a bit damp and windblown. Fighting the winds and rain on that leg of the hike sapped some of my energy, and on the following day, instead of hiking the 13+ miles from Boscastle to Port Isaac, I hiked instead to Trebarwith Strand, and then took a taxi to Port Isaac. On that leg of the hike I passed through the seaside village of Tintagel, the supposed location of the birthplace and castle of the legendary King Arthur. The following day, and the last day of the hike, I felt refreshed and recovered enough to hike the last section of my goal, a 12-mile hike from Port Isaac to the lovely town of Padstow. In spite of the spell of lousy weather, it was a wonderful hike and the coastal scenery in Devon and Cornwall was spectacular and dramatic. Instead of the 80 miles I had planned, I was able to hike a total of 64 miles. It proved to be a challenging 64 miles, as there were few level stretches, and instead many coastal valleys (or combs as they are called in England), one after another, that involved steep descents to the bottom of the valley and then steep ascents out of the valley.