Nicholson Hollow - August 6, 2011

Last year we hiked up Nicholson Hollow Trail when it was close to or actually 100 degrees in Charlottesville, so this hike seemed wasted on a mid 80s forecast, but the humidity ensured we did not feel particularly cool. Ten people and one dog showed up in Charlottesville while four members of the Moss family met at the Old Rag parking lot, part of which was roped off.

The first three miles of trail were uneventful, but sticky, and Bailey the dog enjoyed a splash in the river we followed. The Hughes River had more water than I expected after a dry summer. We stopped on the trail when close to a planned swimming hole, but the vocal people said they came to do some walking and to see Corbin Cabin, so we continued up the trail. Then my radio registered a call from Ken who was facing a rebellion by the silent swimmers, so everyone returned to the water. The impatient took a long, overgrown, rocky path to the water whereas those who trusted their leader to lead took a better path to the water's edge. The majority of people went into the cool water, led by Bailey. Back on land, after a radio show that morning on "Why people get fat" (sugar and other carbohydrates were blamed), many people decided that the free radical scavenging properties of oranges and blackberries outweighed the downsides of the carbohydrate matrix in which they came. Even yellow jackets were interested but finally I safely reclaimed the cake container. Six people headed back to care for canine companions or to prepare for travel while the remainder headed to Corbin Cabin.


The overseers have kept the trail clear which may have given Iva Gillet mixed feelings. She did not have to worry about the stinging nettles mentioned in the hike description, but she had worn long pants unnecessarily. We spent some time looking around the cabin and surroundings (including a yard taken over by stiltgrass), and talked other trails which could take us back to our starting point. Iva said that a trail starting on Skyline Drive was much shorter than our route, and much steeper, based on her experience.

On the way down, I noticed an ailanthus sapling but when I found I could not pull it out, I left it fearing that breaking it off with roots left would only encourage it to sprout more.After a few miles, I kept looking towards the river and at my GPS for the promised second swimming hole that Liz Young showed us a few years ago. My GPS seemed to not want to update its position, and we looked at a couple of small splashing pools, and then when the GPS said we were close, a few people found a small pool, while others followed their leader and were rewarded with a nice big pool. In we went splashing around until thoroughly cool. Then the others came and briefly experienced the big pool. And then a couple of young people who had been watching from on top of a large rock decided that it must be good and also went in. After that, it was not far back to our cars. After looking at watches, we decided to skip the suggested Etlan ice-cream stop and head to Timberwood Grill to join Ken Moss for drinks and dinner.

Other hikers included John Shannon, Marie Moss, John Brandt, Adrienne Moss, Raúl Mata, Pete Fink, Neil McKinney, Bill Hollman, Beverly Fink, Briana Taylor, Leon Gorman, Marian Styles and Dan Funkhauser.