Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015 - 11

The Sherando Lake area of Virginia has peaks up to almost 3,600 feet.

When you go
The Hike: A moderate 15.5-mile circuit hike (with two steep
one-mile ascents) along George Washington National
Forest's Torry Ridge and Mills Creek near Waynesboro,
Virginia.
Getting There: Take Exit 96 off I-64 at Waynesboro and turn
southward on South Delphine Avenue, which becomes
Mount Torry Road in a little over one mile. Continue for 8.7
miles, turn right on Sherando Lake Road and follow it for
more than one mile to the parking area.
Trail Information: The trails are shown on National
Geographic's Trails Illustrated Map #789 Lexington/Blue
Ridge Mountains (shop.nationalgeographic.com), but there
is very little published information about the hike and its
trails. "The Trails of Virginia: Hiking the Old Dominion" by
Allen de Hart provides basically one-sentence descriptions
of each trail.
After-hike

shell, the spore can wait for years for the perfect growing
conditions. As it develops into a heart-shaped structure,
it grows roots that reach into the soil. On these are small
round pockets that contain what could be compared to
pollen in other plants. Longer pouches have the equivalent of the ovules of flowering plants. When water floats
some of the "pollen" over to the "ovules" and they
become fertilized, the fern begins to grow. Yet it may still
be several years before the plant is strong enough to send
out its own spore-covered fronds.
A rare flat spot devoid of rocks and ferns about eight
to nine miles into the hike provided the campsite for the
night. I crawled into the tent after dinner to escape an
abundance of gnats and other flying pests and, of course,
missed the highlight of the outing. Laurie decided to
explore the area and just minutes after I had gotten comfortable inside the sleeping bag, she came back to excitedly tell me she had seen a mamma black bear and two
cubs crossing the creek less than a hundred yards from
the tent.
It was another mile-long, 1,000-foot elevation gain
first thing in the morning to a left turn onto Forest
Service Road 162 and this is where, if you do the hike,
you need to pay attention to the route. Continue just a
few hundred yards to a road intersection and bear left
to ascend to the summit of 3,587-foot Bald Mountain.
From there, you need to walk along the woods line to
your left to locate the Torry Ridge Trail. It's an obvious
pathway, but it was not signed the last time I was here.
The three miles along the (more-or-less) descending
trail provided another view of the mountains before
leading us to a right turn to retrace our steps along the
Blue Loop Trail. By this time it was late Sunday afternoon
and the recreation area felt much different than it had
when we started the hike - it was nearly deserted. 
Find out more about Leonard Adkins' hiking adventures
at habitualhiker.com.

Dinner and a Microbrew
Blue Mountain Brewery (bluemountainbrewery.com) opened in 2007 in nearby Afton and has already won top national and
international honors. The beers are brewed with water from a deep well and the company grows its own hops. Breads used
for meals are delivered fresh from Afton's Goodwin Creek Farm and Bakery. Free 20-minute brewery tours: Saturdays, 12-4
pm; no reservations needed.
July/August 2015 11

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com http://www.habitualhiker.com http://www.bluemountainbrewery.com

Blue Ridge Country - July/August 2015

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