Almost a year after the idea was conceived, I finally bagged Apple Orchard Mountain on the AT off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Sitting at a modest 4,225 feet, Apple Orchard Mountain is the…a hell, nobody has calculated a complete list of peaks on the AT based on elevation. It ain’t the tallest and it ain’t the shortest. The summit exceeded all expectations and has easily moved into my top 10 favorite spots in the Appalachian Mountains.
Summit Attempt #1
I never made it out of the neighborhood. A last minute, hastily thrown together plan (actually, a pretty standard plan) to meet a friend at the campground below Apple Orchard Falls on a Friday night after work meant leaving the office early to race home, pack up the car and attempt to get ahead of the evening rat race home. As I put the car into gear and pulled away from the curb I heard what sounded like my drivers side brake falling off the car. A quick inspection under the car revealed no metal dangling from the undercarriage—that’s a great sign—carry on.
A few minutes of ear-piercing metal-on-metal scrapping sounds and I had visions of the Green Hornet catching fire on I-81 south in the Shenandoah Valley and made the decision to bail on the trip. I called my friend up, let her listen to the awful noise screaming from my tire. Fortunately she was still in her driveway and not already out of cell service. I returned to the house, dejectedly parked on the street, popped the back hatch pulled out a beer and sat with the dog bummed out about the whole thing. Not only did we bail on the weekend but we were making an appointment to take the car into the shop. A double bummer.
Summit Attempt #2
Fortunately it turned out to be a big ass rock stuck between my brake and tire that was the source of our troubles in our first summit attempt. No charge to remove the rock and no major damage to the car—whew! But seriously! A rock! What the hell.
Anyway, we rescheduled the trip a few weeks later and this time we made it out of the neighborhood without any trouble. Pulled into the campsite late just as my friends were turning in for the evening. A quick beer and a little chit chat and it was time to get some shut eye. The plan was to catch sunrise at the summit which meant a 4am wake-up call.
We misjudged our timing in the morning and despite our best attempts to hustle up the mountain, we didn’t quite make it to the summit in time for first light. The steep ascent really kicked our butts and the last mile of trail seemed to go on forever. We were never quite sure what the view at the top would be anyway and so we made the decision to stop short of the summit and catch sunrise through the trees. Not ideal but…coffee and breakfast. After sipping down a hot cup of instant Starbucks we made our way back down to camp to pack-up and head our separate ways for the weekend. We fell short of our goal but any time spent with friends in the woods is worth it. I vowed to be back soon.
Summit Attempt #3
Almost a full year since the first summit attempt, I was back for another go. This time for sunset. This time we reached our goal. About 9 miles total with more than 3,000 feet elevation gain. The views from up top where stunning. We made our way back to the upper waterfalls to hangout for sunset. The view across the valley wasn’t perfect but had some fun shooting the waterfalls at dusk. After eating dinner and drinking a mountain-stream-chilled beer (is there anything better?) we headed down the last 2 miles to the car. On the way down we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve seen in Blue Ridge. It was surreal. Like viewing a painting. I snapped a few pics with my phone as I had already packed my camera for the dark walk out. I sat on the trail and take this one in for myself. As the last of the light faded, I stood up, turned on my headlamp and we walked into the dark. Mission accomplished.
