This weekend was yet another great adventure off the beaten path with my new best friend. On Saturday, after a slow start to the day, Bella and I jumped in the car and headed out of town to one of my favorite day hikes of the Blue Ridge Parkway... The
Rock Castle Gorge Trail located just off of Rt. 8 near Floyd, VA. I have done this as a hike with several friends and training buddies in the past 15 years but I had never attempted to run parts of it so I was excited to get out on the trail and so was Bella.
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| Bella... always ready to run! |
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| An old barn still standing from earlier farmers that lived in the Gorge. |
After loading up our gear, we were ready to get started. We began our adventure at the Saddle Overlook parking area off the Parkway and headed down through the pasture were some local cattle were grazing. Bella was so excited to get out and run she hardly even noticed them. During the first three miles we descended from 3500ft down to 1700ft on our way to the Rock Castle Gorge fire road. Once in the woods the trail was challenging at times to run so we did what we could when we could. Once we hit the fire road the running was definitely easier but now we started making our way back up. It was raining on us but we were having such a blast that we didn't even notice.
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| Do you see the snake? |
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| The water was amazing today! |
As we ran/ hiked our way back up the trail, the views were absolutely spectacular and even though it rained, sometimes poured, we didn't care at all. The sites and sounds of the waterfalls and the remnants of old farm houses made it worth every minute spent in it. We were just so happy to be out on the trails enjoying the scenery and each others company that it made the day a success. At the end of our nearly 11 mile journey we were both soaked and tired but also full of joy. It was a wonderful day of running and hiking and we are looking forward to getting out for our next adventure.
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| Do you see Bella in this picture? |
Here is a picture of the elevation profile from the run/ hike. We lost and gained over three thousand feet in elevation! It was some challenging and steep terrain at times, but a lot of fun as well.
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| Rock Castle Gorge Elevation Profile |
Looks like a cool place for a hike #Wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteConfessions of A mother Runner
Thanks Deborah... it is my all time favorite hike and now one of my favorite runs with Bella!
DeleteAh, I do miss my pointer - who could go for miles and miles!! I never ran with him much but I did do a lot of walking/scrambling in the Lake District (in the UK!). Now I have to run alone (I have a cat, but you know, they don't make such good run chums!). When's your next tri? #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteVanessa... this is the second dog I have dad the pleasure of running with. It is an absolute joy to run together! We both enjoy our time on the trails! #wowlinkup
DeleteI didn't see the snake, bella and the water did look amazing. It looks very scenic and historical though. #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteThe views are wonderful and the time together with Bella is time well spent! #wowlinkup
DeleteWow that's an intense hike! It looks like so much fun! Sometimes I wish I had a dog to run with :) #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteJanelle... it is an intense hike and an insane trail run! Having a dog to run with makes the experience more fun. #wowlinkup
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ReplyDeletethis looks absolutely amazing! Intense is always better with great scenery. I absolutely love these images and want to go.... if only it was closer.
Thanks Tricia! It was a great time time in the woods with a great running partner. I just found you on Instagram to. Look forward to sharing in the future.
DeleteHow fun to have such a cute workout buddy! Great pics and I did see that snake-looks pretty big! #wowlinkup
ReplyDeleteCatherine... that was the first of two snakes seen that day! Bella and I love getting outside together. Whats funny is the need to run her every day has made me up my mileage as well!
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