Trayfoot Mountain 30th Anniversary Hike - September 17, 2016

reported by John Shannon 

     In August 1986, Rita Wyatt-Beard sent letters to PATC members in the area inviting them to a meeting to consider forming a chapter of PATC in Charlottesville. Instead of sitting alone in the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church as she feared, 20 or more people came and showed that a chapter was viable. Howard Parsons, who later served as vice-president of the chapter, offered to lead a hike over Trayfoot Mountain. Thus, in September 1986, a group assembled at Blackrock Gap parking area for the chapter’s first hike.

     To commemorate the event, John Shannon, who was at the founding meeting and on the first hike, lead today’s hike retracing the path of 30 years earlier. Access to the trails from the valley is now better, making it the preferred starting point, but today our goal was remembering our roots, not taking it easy. Pete Fink, Brad Young, and Michael Seth participated.

     Clouds kept the temperature a little lower than expected, which helped us move steadily. At the junction of Trayfoot and Furnace Mountain Trails, we met a couple of hikers who were unclear which way they should go; John suggested that he might have been familiar with the trails at this spot before the hikers were born.

     We did not attempt to reach the summit of Trayfoot Mountain, which is scarcely any higher than the trail, because regrowth made it difficult to reach, and views would have been nonexistent. The trail was much the same as it has been for the previous 30 years, except that exotic invasive plants have reached this remote area.

     One moment of excitement came when Brad noted that John had just walked past a black snake, which moved away before we could take a picture. We continued to an overlook of Buzzard Rock for lunch, then completed our descent of Trayfoot Mountain. Our first crossing of Paine Run was dry, but did see water at the second crossing.

     A week later there was a little more history when two members from over 20 years ago came to Charlottesville for a reunion hike.

     May the Charlottesville Chapter – PATC continue for another 30 wonderful years!

We are back where we started 30 years ago. 

Lunch at the overlook for Buzzard Rock