White Rock Falls- Torry Ridge- Sherando Lake- White Rock Gap Hike

While it was hot in the valley, it was actually quite pleasant in the Blue Ridge Mountains with sunny skies and a strong breeze.  Marit Anderson led the hike with Mark Perschel at sweep.  Eight hikers signed up, but we had a few cancellations, so the group of six also included Nancy Handley, Tony Alimenti, Suzie Cobleigh, and Lin Yang. We parked at White Rocks Gap and began with the White Rock Falls Trail and taking the side trail to see the falls....quite nice! We continued across the Blue Ridge Parkway to Slacks Trail with a stop at the picnic table to enjoy chocolate chip cookies and to water up.  Then down Torry Ridge Trail to Sherando Lake with viewing along the Lake Trail admiring the kayakers.  We had a long, delicious lunch at the beach with the entire group taking a swim.  After we were cooled off and were refreshed we tackled the uphill climb back up to the Parkway via the White Rocks Gap Trail, which meanders along the North Fork Back Creek.  During the day we saw salamanders, a few wildflowers (tickseed and sneezeweed mostly), geese on the lake, deer, and chipmunks. The group was quite fit, ending the day with 1700 ft elevation, 10.6 miles of hiking, and arriving at the parking lot at 3 pm enabling quite a few of the participants to get to the PATC Picnic beginning at 5 pm. I hope  everyone had as much fun as the hike leader!

 submitted by Marit Anderson