Thunder Ridge and the Blue Ridge Highway

Tuesday June 9, 2026

After a quick pack-up to connect a short section of trail, I began a 3-day backpacking season with a new snack in tow. I meet some friends along the way and look for a secluded place to camp.

Finishing Thunder Ridge

TOAround 5:30 am I woke up to the sound of raindrops hitting the roof of my truck. In fact, I felt a sense of relief thinking that the rain would be a relief from yesterday’s relentless heat. Seeing that I had more time, I let the rain lull me to sleep until the alarm rang at seven.

After breakfast, I hopped on my camel and headed north to return to the spring I had reached at the end of yesterday’s hike.

The rain had wet the trees and grass along the trail, but otherwise it was a nice environment for hiking. Right next to the trailhead was a pedestrian overlook. There was enough space between the clouds to see a small section of the valley below.

A few minutes into my hike today, I ran into 2Bears, the hiker. Like many other hikers, I planned to reach the James River and then take a ride to nearby Glasgow. We parted ways at the spring and I was back in my truck shortly after 9:00 a.m.

The famous spring. At least it was up to me to define my turning point yesterday and today.

The second time we pass the Thunder Ridge Overlook, the view is noticeably clearer.

Starting with a snack

With my connection to yesterday’s hike complete, it was time to move on to the main event: my 3-day backpacking adventure along the Blue Ridge Parkway. It only took me a few minutes once I got back to the truck to strap on my backpack and check to make sure I had everything I needed. At the last moment I caught a glimpse of the almost finished bag of pretzels I had bought the other day. I wasn’t very hungry, but I definitely felt like I could eat something salty. The extra energy would be welcome considering I was about to hit the trail with a full pack. So I walked the first 2 miles with my trekking poles stowed in my backpack and a bag of pretzels in hand.

I was excited to see that my assumption that this morning’s rain would mean cooler weather had turned out to be true. It was around 68°, which seemed imminently more comfortable than yesterday.

The giant ice cream

As the trail winds through the Blue Ridge Mountains, it never climbs steeply, but it is almost never flat. My pace was kept in check by the constant need to climb small hills while walking around soapbox-sized rocks.

A few kilometers into my hike I came to two giant rocks. Suspended at the top of the space between them was a third, smaller rock. This formation is appropriately called a guillotine.

Not far south of the guillotine is the summit of Apple Orchard Mountain. There seemed to be a giant vanilla ice cream cone at the top of the mountain. I went to lick it, but all I could taste was wet metal. Upon closer inspection, it was not an ice cream cone, but a large tower used to help air traffic navigate. A short distance from the tower was a large rock with a fire pit between some trees. There was a flat spot next to the rock with a dry area shaped exactly like a backpacking tent. Obviously someone had camped there overnight and was able to enjoy some rain.

The guillotine.

The guillotine.

Before I realized this wasn’t an ice cream cone.

The telltale sign of a tent pitched on a rainy night.

Walking on the road?

I was enjoying the cool weather and mostly the downhill trail when I ran into Diver. I was surprised to see him, I would have thought he would be 40 or 50 miles ahead of me by now. He had been feeling unwell and spent two days off piste, followed by a few slow days. Now he was better and was back to walking more than 20 miles a day.

He had taken the opportunity to take a ride along the Blue Ridge Parkway further south and recommended it. I normally prefer to stay on the AT, but I’m considering doing the highway hike, perhaps when I return north. The parkway runs adjacent to the AT for several miles, so the distance would be the same. I’m told the views are better from the parkway and that you have room on the grassy shoulder to walk.

friendly creatures

After parting ways with Diver, I took a water break. I still had a lot of miles to go but I was feeling a little fatigued. My usual sense of urgency wasn’t there. Maybe it’s the miles that are catching up with me. After a 15 minute break that included some snacks, I continued. I wanted to hit Jennings Creek next, filter some water, and then continue on to the Cove Mountain shelter. I had hoped to finish walking by 6:00 pm, but it was clear that it would be much later.

I walked to the Black Rock lookout, which had a great view of the Arnold Valley. There was also a large black rock at the overlook.

The downhill seemed to last forever, and it did until I reached the shelter of Bryant Ridge. It is a large shelter and the trail passes nearby. A stream flows nearby and I noticed an increase in insects trying to be friendly.

A very friendly creature appeared on the road: a Spinone Italiano. Mark! And right behind him was Back In Business. Markus was as happy as ever, busy clearing an area of ​​leaves so he could lie down in the cool dirt. Back In Business was being a good Sherpa as always and bringing water and food to Markus.

View from the Black Rock lookout.

Jennings Creek

I moved steadily but quickly towards the stream. I looked up at the sky and could see that gray clouds had appeared. My weather app confirmed that light rain would be falling soon. I put on the poncho at the first sign of rain. It rained briefly but stopped just before reaching Jennings Creek. I began to cross the stream, thinking that access to the water would be on the other side. Two hikers were crossing the bridge, a moment later I recognized Crash and Lost and Found. We were excited to meet again and determined that the water access should be on the south side of the bridge. They planned to spend the night at Jennings Creek and I told them about some camping spots just down the trail. I thought about ending my hike there, other hikers mentioned it might rain more, but I really needed to do the extra 3 miles to Cove Mountain.

Climbing Cove Mountain

The Cove Mountain shelter has no water, so I carried two liters on my back. It would be enough for dinner and breakfast. The 1,000-foot climb with the extra weight was difficult at first, but the trail tapered off into a steady climb. I suddenly felt stronger than I had all day. I kept going until I reached an isolated tent site about two-tenths of a mile from the shelter. It was time to spend a lonely night on the road. Rain was forecast starting in the early morning hours. You could have a rainy morning.

My tidy tent site near Cover Mountain Shelter.

-See you tomorrow

Total: 22.2 miles, 51,122 steps

• Hike type: Backpacking
• Camp: Tent, Cove Mountain Shelter

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