"Come on Bo Let's Go" |
These hills were considerable more climbing than our usual hikes and she was glad we took a break at the cabin.
The cabin was the farthest north part of our hike today and here we turn south east on the Pocosin fire road. This has a nice gentle grade and is a very pleasant walk for about a mile. Bo and I have always hiked in August before and usually I end up desperate for water. Today there are springs everywhere. One spring pops up out of the ground gushes along for about 50 feet and then disappears back under ground.
Upper Pocosin Rectory? |
Upper Pocosin Mission |
This leg of our trip ends at the ruins of the Upper Pocosin Episcopal Mission church. The ruins consist of the stone foundations of a fairly good size chapel and a poorly constructed shack that is on its last legs. All I can find out about this sight is that it dates to 1904, was established as outreach to the mountain people and that there is a graveyard nearby that we didn’t see. The shack appears to me to be closer to mid 20th century but that is just my guess.
South River Falls |
Lily and I usually take, there and back hikes, and she is a little confused by this circuit hike and keeps asking if it is not time to head back, I tell her wait and see. I think she has started to figure out that we are now heading in the direction of our car. From here we take the Pocosin Trail south toward south river falls till we hit the south River Fire road ant turn more westward. This will take us briefly out of the park and through the Rapidan Wildlife Management Area. We have seen absolutely no wildlife except birds. At the higher elevations the trees show little sign of spring. The lower altitudes are budding and some shrubs are even leafing.
We leave the fire road and go on the South Falls trail. This has an average level of climbing. There are a couple of places as we get near the falls where water is just dripping out of boulders that just glisten black with the water and are alive with brilliantly green moss. With all the abundant water on this hike Lily will only drink the water we put in her bowl. She is a city girl at heart.
We choose the trail to the falls overlook instead of the trail to the base of the falls. South river falls is the third highest falls in the park at 83ft and today it is roaring down It is beautiful. The rocks here are warm from the sun and we lay down for a rest. Lily reluctantly stretches out on the rocks. She is quite clear about the fact that she usually has a pillow or cushion of some kind for naps. We probably spend about 20 minutes here just enjoying the sound of the falls and the beautiful day.
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