Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Virginia Creeper Trail - Damascus to Whitetop

Should've used the Butt Butter.  If we did, we might've attempted a second day of bike riding on the Virginia Creeper Trail - a wonderful 34 mile long gravel rail-to-trail.

VA Creeper Trail Maps - take a look at the maps to see where this trail is.  Abingdon and Damascus are under an hour drive from Kingsport.

My thinking was that we'd stay the night in Damascus, VA and get two days of biking in before returning home.  The first day we'd bike the 17.5 miles uphill to the Whitetop Station and then coast back.  Then on day two we'd bike 17.5 miles the opposite direction to Abingdon, VA and back.  I guess my plan was a little aggressive being that we'd be on mountain bikes on a gravel trail.  Then we found out that the uphill to Whitetop was almost a 2,000' elevation change.  Ouch!  This is how the the old railway got the nickname - the old steam locomotives would have to "creep" up the mountain.

There are currently 47 bridges to cross on the entire 35-mile length of the trail.  This one near the top was at tree-top level.

It is one of the most consistently scenic rail-to-trails that we've been on.  At least the half from Damascus to the Whitetop Station.  It goes through the Jefferson National Forest most of the way, following multiple creeks.  The grade is consistent and doable, but around mile 15 my quads were wanting to call it quits.  We started out late and didn't have time for breaks.   We actually had to race at the end to make it to Whitetop by 5:30pm (our personal cut-off time).  It took us 3 hours to get up the mountain, and 1 1/2 hours to come down.

Most bikers on the trail take a shuttle up to the top and then just ride one-way downhill.  So going up hill we felt like Salmon fighting the current.  The biggest concern was that it appeared most people didn't know how to ride a bike - they'd see us, panic, and barely steer their bikes away in time.  We were very happy that there were only a handful of bikers left on the trail when it was our turn to go downhill - that meant we could go "zoom-zoom".  What a blast!

But the next day our butts and quads said "no" to getting back on the bikes.  That was ok - we had a Plan B:  Hike the Appalachian Trail.  The AT goes directly down Main Street in Damascus, so it was easy to just walk right out of town.

We'll just have to go back up to the VA Creeper Trail someday and do the other half - Abingdon to Damascus.  It's not as hilly, but we've heard it's pretty as well.

View more photos of VA Creeper Trail and the AT in my WebAlbums.

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