Welcome to my hiking pages

By KEVIN MYATT

Here I will be writing about various hiking destinations in the Roanoke, Va., area. This site already contains numerous articles about trails in the area that have been collected from several sources over the past few years. I will be adding new articles about different trails and writing updated articles on trails that have already been covered. The newest information will appear at the top of the page.

The purpose of this site is threefold:

(1) to provide a reference list of hiking destinations to people who live in the Roanoke Valley and nearby areas;

(2) to provide hiking information to people who may be visiting the Roanoke Valley; and

(3) to take people, with words and photos, places they haven't been and, in many cases, cannot go.

My intent is for this site to appeal to those who walk a trail an hour or two once a month and those who strap on the big backpacks and wander into the woods for several days. I want it to be almost as fun to read as it is to actually do the hikes.

In time, I may discuss other hiking-related topics on this page, such as proposed trail projects, trail issues, first-person accounts of particular hiking trips or trail work projects, and perhaps just some essays about the beauty of the forests, mountains and streams we are blessed with here in the Appalachians. Two things you will not see on this page are advocating political positions on issues and endorsing particular products or merchandise outlets.

I rate trails on two criteria: difficulty and scenery. For difficulty, the trails are rated from 0 to 4 on the "gottabreathe factor," a rough measure of how much physical exertion will be required due to grade, terrain and distance. A "0" would be flat trail of a quarter-mile or less; a "2" would be a trail which someone in average physical shape would have a moderate amount of difficulty hiking; a "4" would be a trail that only an experienced hiker in top physical shape should attempt.

Similarly, for scenery, the trails are rated from 0 to 4 on a "gottasee factor." A "0" would be hike through a garbage dump; a "2" would be at least a pleasant walk through an unmarred forest; a "4" would be spectacular scenery from end to end. Views, forests and plant life, streams, and rock formations are the main elements I take into account for scenery. Admittedly, it's a highly subjective scale, but I hope it will give you guidance when deciding what trail you might like to hike.

Information on trail length, location of trailheads, and elevation are also provided with each article.

For those of you not familiar with Roanoke and its hiking opportunities, here's a synopsis: Roanoke, a city of nearly 100,000 people with a metro area of over 200,000 in the heart of Western Virginia, is located in a bowl-shaped valley at the headwaters of the Roanoke River and is nearly completely surrounded by mountains, ranging up to 4,000 feet 20 miles northeast at the Peaks of Otter. The city is sandwiched between the Appalachians' two most renowned thoroughfares -- the Appalachian Trail to the west and the Blue Ridge Parkway to the east, each coming within just a few miles of the city. There is wonderful hiking to be found within easy driving distance in every direction, including some within the city itself. Besides the AT and along the Parkway, there's also the George Washington and Jefferson national forests to the north and west; the nearly 6,000-foot peaks at Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, a 2-hour drive to the south; Shenandoah National Park, a 2-hour drive to the north; a myriad of state parks in all directions; and then there's West Virginia an hour away and North Carolina two hours away, each with multitudes more hiking opportunities. There's enough hiking to keep one busy for a lifetime.

The climate is mild, but this of course is relative: If you are from Duluth, it is warm; if you are from Dallas, it is cool. In Roanoke, the average January low is 26 degrees and the average July high is 87 degrees, neither of which is extreme, although it can be below zero at times in the winter and 100 or higher for a few days in the summer. Typically, this is a 4-season hiking area, as excessive summer heat and bitter winter cold rarely hang for more than a week at a time and spring and autumn bring scores of those perfect days. There is about 40 inches of rain a year and 23 inches of snow a winter in Roanoke, but these numbers vary dramatically. We've been experiencing a drought over the past few years, but the city has experienced both severe flooding and 2-foot snowstorms on more than one occasion over the past 20 years. East Coast storms, including hurricanes and noreasters, can heavily affect Western Virginia, although we're too far inland to experience the destructive winds found on the coast.

With elevation gains, the weather becomes cooler and wetter, as the mountains provide uplift to moisture-bearing weather systems. It can be 45 and sunny on a January day here in the valley and, 30 miles to the west on Potts Mountain, be 25 with near-whiteout conditions. Summer thunderstorms are also a concern in the mountains, and lightning strikes ridgetops with great frequency, so be aware. My rule of thumb is to always be prepared for precipitation , even if the sky is blue, and to be prepared for temperatures at least 20 degrees colder than what are currently being experienced or are forecast. In the mountains above about 3,000 feet, it might be wise to be prepared for temperatures at least 30 degrees colder.

I hope you will enjoy both this page and the trails they describe. If you have comments or questions, please e-mail me at kevin.myatt@roanoke.com