Appalachian Trail: Tennessee Valley Divide

Due to its elevation changes, this 9.7-miler makes an ambitious day hike, but offers a fine overnight camping spot for hikers out for the evening. This rugged ramble gets little visitation from day hikers because there are no options for early exit after the VA 610 crossing at 1.4 miles. What they miss by avoiding this hike is a close encounter with a geologic phenomenon that illustrates the very evolution of life on Earth: a place where waters divide. Along the way there is one breathtaking view of farmland and Big Walker Mountain, remote Crawfish Valley, Glade Mountain, the Great Valley, and rhododendron thickets so thick a bobcat might not know if it were night or day. With so much rhododendron and forest cover, this hike is a little stingy on overlooks. But when the view does open up, it's well worth the wait. Few routes are better for a quiet hike, but it doesn't come easily. There are two climbs of 800 vertical feet, the second after descending 1000 feet, from the first. Total elevation gain and loss amounts to 5000 feet. Still, to experience the pleasures of the Crawfish Valley - the hidden treasure on this hike - makes it well worth the effort.