Fortune's Cove - January 5, 2013

Reported by Andy Willgruber

The first hike of the year was located at a beautiful parcel of land in Nelson County owned by the Nature Conservancy. It was led by infrequent hike leader, Andy Willgruber. John Shannon, C.J Woodburn, Dan Ralston, Marian Styles, Lindsay Brown, Pete and Bev Fink, John Brandt, Briana Taylor, Iva Gillet, Leon Gorman and Karen Ramsey all showed up. They were joined by newcomers from Richmond, Mary Lindert and Neil Bangs.

Four vehicles departed AHS for the pleasant 35 minute ride on Route 29 South. Three vehicles arrived in good time. We all waited and hoped that Leon and Karen were not then approaching the outskirts of Lynchburg. Indeed, our wayward car did eventually make it for the start of the hike.

It's always interesting as a newer hike leader to have the company of veteran hike leaders on the hike. You must combine the skills of a diplomat with those of an infantry commander. Both of these would be necessary today.

Andy sent the always intrepid Iva out to lead and she set a perfect pace. The first mile-and-a-half rose steeply, so a long stop at the first sunny out- crop we found was appreciated. It included a nice view and review of the elevation we had just gained. It was actually not easy to leave this pleasant spot.

We continued the hike following the up-and-down crest of Woods Mountain. A second rise with a nice south-facing rock outcrop was noted, but passed up for lunch. Iva headed for the highest knob on the ridgeline with the best overall view for that.

The exact lunch spot was up-for-grabs when the hike leader finally arrived on top. People were milling around aimlessly. So, he quickly decided on a sunny spot with a grand view of the "Religious Range" of the Blue Ridge (and our backs to the communication towers). We commenced eating only after Andy had to almost forcibly remove Iva from a weedy patch she had chosen.

Our sun-drenched lunch was a joy. The hike leader was criticized for not providing sweet treats. Andy was merely trying to respect everyone's newly minted New Year's resolutions of losing weight and less sugar intake. He also knows that John Shannon will never disappoint!

It was time for the cultural/historical portion of the hike. The hike leader led the group down to a view of the beautiful (but not so fortunate) cove just to our north drained by Davis Creek. The tragic story of Hurricane Camille and Nelson County was described. On the night of August 19-20, 1969, the remnants of Camille slammed into a cold front over the Blue Ridge and dropped 37" of rain in a five hour period. 153 people lost their lives in Nelson County that night. 52 of them were lost in the valley we were now overlooking. Only three of 35 homes were left standing. There was an observer located at the Rockfish/James River confluence the next day. He saw the mighty James River actually flowing backwards upstream of where the Rockfish entered with its 3/4 of a year's worth of rainfall in one night!

With a burst of energy from lunch, the hike leader decided to actually lead the last leg of the hike. He visualized himself skiing down the mountain. This was fun, but he soon found himself skiing alone! He thought he heard Briana exclaim something about a "mountain goat". (turns out she actually just called him an "OLD goat"!)

We started encountering more minor blowdowns on the downhill trek. We were limited to having only John Shannon's corona saw. But we did enough clearing for the Conservancy to earn our hike this day.

Today's hike was not particularly long (5.5 miles), but it was fairly rugged, with significant elevation changes. This hike leader felt Lindsay's judgement of "brutal" was a little exaggerated, but newcomer Neil might agree. He started to struggle with cramps during the last mile of the hike. With frequent rests and Neil's gritty determination, the end of the trail was reached!

Our first post hike destination was Rapunzel's. Unfortunately, we arrived 45 minutes before they opened. In the delay in coming up with an alternative, Mary and Neil understandably decided to head back to Richmond. We hope they return to hike with us as they continue to train for a trip later this year. We did lose Dan and C.J. with them.

Plan B was the Lovingston Cafe. Appetizers, dinners, desserts, coffee, cider, beer and soft drinks were ordered and happily consumed. Given we were the only customers at the time, our attentive waitress was happy to put up with our individual checks. We enjoyed a pleasantly quick ride home to AHS and arrived at dusk. All in all, it was a day of good fortune in Fortune's Cove! This hike leader hopes all the year's hikes are as similarly blessed!

Quote of the day submission winner:

"Bev, do you have money?'

"I got Pete!"