Where: Mount Pleasant NSA, Oronoco, VA Distance: 12.0 miles Weather: Day 1, Sunny, passing clouds, 60s, cool evening; Day 2, cold, foggy, windy, 50s. Elevation: Mount Pleasant Trailhead, 3440 ft. summit, 4770 ft., return; campsite, 3440 ft., Cow Camp Gap, 3260, Cold Mountain summit, 4033, return.
After two successful day hikes, an overnight with full pack was my next training exercise after full recovery from that shoulder event last year. I chose two loop hikes about 2 hours away with a nexus at the trailhead parking lot for Mount Pleasant. Apart from additional food and a few more articles of clothing, my pack held all the gear I would normally tote on a long-distance trek. I have been walking around town and visiting the gym for a spin class, yoga, and weight work twice a week, so I was ready to test myself. All went well, so I am about ready for anything. I left Orange on Sunday morning (worshipped Saturday evening for those of you who are checking) and arrived at the gravelly Wiggins Spring Rd. (VA755/FS48) around 10:30a. I had printed off maps of the two loops with written explanations and directions. Being a beautiful day there were many folks out and an array of cars and trucks was burgeoning from small parking lots onto the verges either side of the gravel strip. I immediately began to encounter bunches of folks asking me about this place or that, where to go, how far was it to so-and-so, where do I park? I guess I just looked like someone in the know garbed in my sartorial hiking statement. This area was clearly a popular, well-known, easy to access spot for day-hiking, but some of these folks had little or no idea what they were doing. No one I encountered had a map of any kind or much information about the area. I had never been here before so I was still establishing my bearings. It was comical for a group to approach me and ask: how do we get to Cold Mountain or Mount Pleasant when trail signs were posted clearly at trailheads. This was going to be interesting. I drove past the Hog Gap AT crossing with parking lot, the direct route to the top of Cold Mountain, to the Mount Pleasant trailhead with full parking lot and folks milling around getting ready to head up the western track of the Henry Lanum Memorial trail. I lightly loaded my day pack with a bottle of water and items for lunch, grabbed my hiking sticks and set out. The morning sun was easing the cold and soon I stripped off my jumper and was strolling in shirt sleeves. I reached the saddle between the east and west viewpoints in about an hour and turned west. I proceeded up the saddle edges to a rocky peak, had some lunch, an absorbed the view of the Shenandoah Valley from the precipice. After a bit a wandered back down and across the saddle to the eastern side and spent a few minutes gazing at the Piedmont.
Horse gate - looks like something is missing on the left
Wide trail
Intersection of Mt. Pleasant Trail
This way up.
Minimal gear
Pleasant upward slope to summit
Summit view, steep drop-off
Cold Mountain Bald, be there tomorrow
Path to eastern view
Piedmont
Gentle Slopes
This video is of the western view; see if you can pick out the Cold Mountain Bald.
So with the summit behind me a hoofed it down the eastern loop to the parking lot and my truck, where I ate some more, sorted out my overnight gear in preparation for the hike to my campsite on a ridge/plateau below the main Cold Mountain section. Three delightful ladies walked up to me in the parking lot and began to ask questions about what was what. After several moments I realized they wanted to hike up to Cold Mountain from the Hog Camp Gap trailhead, so I directed them back down the road to that location. We had a wonderful easy chat about college, home, and hiking. Afterward I hiked the few miles up the Hotel trail and arrived around 3:30p at one of the most beautiful campsites in the Blue Ridge for a night under the stars.
Trail beauty
Second Loop
Small bald approaching campsite
My trail guide described this campsite as one of the best in the Blue Ridge. Having hiked a good part of these parts, I concur. At this time of year with no foliage, there were views all around. I can imagine in the warmer months that the shade would be welcome and the ridge would likely provide an openness to breezes moving bugs and cooling the surroundings. A day-hiker was lolling in the grass by the trail heading down to Cowcamp Gap, but I respected his solitude and scouted out a site for my tent. As I was erecting my one-man, he strolled over and we had a decent chat. I changed into my camp clothes, made some coffee, found a comfortable tree trunk for a backrest and reveled in the isolation. I read, prayed, pondered, stretched, snoozed, and soaked up the near perfect temperature and sun exposure. Around 5:30p a chill set in so I decided to prepare my meal. I realized that I had forgotten to pack my headlamp, so other than some matches, I would have nothing but whatever natural light existed up here this evening. After dinner the chill became uncomfortable in my light clothing, so I organized by gear for an early entry into my sleeping bag - pure bliss. Just about the time that the sun dropped below the western ridge, a young couple appeared and ambled over to my tent. They had walked up the Hotel trail and I noticed they had no water, no light, no food, and not much clothing. They asked how to get to Cold Mountain and I explained (like I did for those three ladies) that they had started at the wrong place in order to accomplish the quick up and back to the bald from Hog Camp Gap. I advised them not to consider completing the loop I was on to get to the top due to the waining light and dropping temperature. The were not too disappointed, enjoyed the small bald near the campsite and then headed back from whence they came. I settled in for a night alone and watched the moon intensify and the stars begin to peek out. You can imagine how bright the stars became and how many were visible even through the fine netting of the upper portion of my tent (no fly, just sky).
Old Oak stand on ridge
Camp set up
Overnight gear - still minimal
Pre-sunset moon appearance
Day 2: I came awake a few times to darkness after the moon set, but around 6:30a awoke to the faint light of dawn and fog. I decided to pack up and hike down to Cowcamp Gap to the shelter and consume my breakfast there. I needed a little water and there was a great spring and picnic table. The shelter was a half mile off the AT so I had not passed it on a previous hike through here. After breakfast, I hiked up to the AT, across the ridge and to the two large bald areas that make this area so popular. The view on either side of the ridge was obscured by fog, some rolling, some cloud-like. I met some folks on top and exchanged a few words and then strolled across the balds trying to remember them from my hike through here a few years ago. With no views off the ridge and a stiff wind setting up some substantial rainfall for the afternoon, I did not linger, but followed those precious white blazes back down to Hog Camp Gap. From there I walked less than a mile down to the Mount Pleasant trailhead and my awaiting vehicle.
Lower down not much fog
Blue blazed trail, not the AT
Breakfast at Cowcamp Gap Shelter
Pleasant grade
Familiar territory
White blaze
Fogged in on ridge
Onto the bald
View of meadow across road at trailhead, Hog Camp Gap
See that Ford Ranger in the mist?
What a difference a day makes: there were no vehicles or people at the Hog Camp trailhead and there were just a few at the Mount Pleasant trailhead but again no people. I wondered who belonged to those cars and trucks and where they were at 10:00a in the morning.
Reflections: I could not have chosen a more perfect day than Sunday, the views from Mount Pleasant were some of the best I have seen and the campsite was just an amazing experience. That balanced out the dreariness of Day 2, but I knew the weather on Monday would be dicey and dreariness is not always a negative, just different.
My long-distance moderately loaded pack did not cause any difficultly with the shoulder, and the ascents though shorter than I would normally experience on my longer hikes did not present a significant challenge. Therefore, I feel I could take on a long hike without reservation. Maybe one more training trek over a couple of nights, but I am making plans to finish two sections left over from a year and a half ago: one on the south end of the AT and the other the northern stretch in PA to the NJ border.
