We went to visit Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway last week.
The map at the entrance shows a loop with the first site to enjoy being some falls, at 0.2 miles downhill from where we start. The stairs lead down to a paved path, which also goes down at a steady pitch. It didn't take us very long to walk down a fifth of a mile, and before reaching the second and third sets of stairs, we heard the water gurgling over rocks. I wouldn't call it a falls, but a cascade, actually.
Of course going back up was quite a task, and I huffed and puffed and stopped to rest as much as I needed to. Helen was keeping pace with me, and she's (ahem) 3 years older than I am, and in better shape.
Some young boys were actually going into the water off down the river a ways.
I did walk out on that spit of rock to do a small ritual, the one where you throw a rock into running water and give away anything that is no longer of use to yourself. It's similar to the Jewish cleansing gesture to give away sins. As a Pagan, I don't believe in sins, but certainly have a lot of things that I accumulate to carry around psychologically.
It was easy enough to get to my rock by crossing the bridge and going down those steps.
From the bridge, I loved seeing the water flow and the colors of rocks it had carved through many years. I have more photos of the water and rocks to share another post.
We both noticed the little white area of water through a hole in the rocks in the distance to the right. There the water was perfectly still and white. But we didn't go any further along the path, which loops around behind the trees to the left. Maybe next time...
A young woman volunteered to take our picture, so we posed...but it's a bit hard to see our smiles! I'm on the left, and Helen is on the right.
It was great to get back to the top and finally get to the car, and we wished we had brought water bottles. But we didn't, and thus just rode home along the parkway and managed to keep on talking. Remember we wore masks in the car as well as hiking!
Well worth the walk. I am sure it was worth stopping to appreciate the view on the way back up!
ReplyDeleteThat is a good ritual. Water is very important too
Hello,
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful place, I guess going up and down the stairs is good exercise. I would be stopping a lot going back up. The ritual does sound like a good way to let go of things. I like the last photo of you and your friend..Take care, enjoy your day!
What a great excursion for you after what you have been through.
ReplyDelete...yep, that's the way it works! Beautiful sights along the way though.
ReplyDeleteThat's such a beautiful place for a hike. I liked your rock-tossing ritual. I'm going to have to remember that one.
ReplyDeleteLovely! And great to see you out and doing!!! Brava!
ReplyDeleteI'm getting to that age that, whenever I go down on a hike, I dread coming back up. I never used to think about it. You made it! Great sights and good exercise, a winning combo.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful hike, challenging it was but you did it, YAY! Beautiful scenes down by the water, it's pretty.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what those cascades look like in the spring.
ReplyDeleteI've stopped at the overlook and wondered about the hike. But I really don't like hiking down first. I'd rather go uphill and then walk down when I'm tired.
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