Little Calf Mountain Summit Hike

After returning to the car from the tunnel, I drove up to Skyline Drive and headed north to Beagle Gap, elevation 2506 feet ASL. I always feel better after I've been walking for a while, and since the doctor says walking is good for the arthritis, I like to do it as much as I can. I hiked up the Appalachian Trail going north, about a mile up to the unmarked trail which leads westerly another quarter mile to the summit of Little Calf Mountain. Gorgeous hike. The sumac is just beginning to turn color. There are lots of apple trees here, dating from 75 years ago or more, before the park was established, back when this area was mountain farmland. No idea what the two bugs are, but the blossoms are goldenrod. Achooo. These aren't blueberries, because this isn't a blueberry bush. I don't know what they are, but they are growing on a tree that's about 30 feet tall.

Below: Looking southwest towards Humpback Rocks.

Looking southeast from the meadow at the summit of Little Calf Mountain.

Notice the sign. According to Internet sources, this is elevation 2960 feet give or take a little. So the climb is just under 500 feet of vertical elevation from the parking lot at Beagle Gap.

The sumac was gorgeous crimson.

A classic monarch butterfly caterpillar, eating his milkweed.

Below: the scene from McCormick Gap Overlook, milepost 103 on Skyline Drive, a few miles south of Beagle Gap. This is looking north towards Turk Mountain.

A super Sunday afternoon hike, especially following the discovery of the Blue Ridge Tunnel.