Traversing the Channels

 Back in August I booked a hotel room in Abingdon, VA. I had planned a solitary hike, wanting to explore The Great Channels, a 20 acre, 400 million year old maze of sandstone slot canyons near the top of Middle Knob Mountain. It's a 6.6 mile in and out hike with over 1300ft elevation, and being over 4 hours from home, I knew I'd not be able to drive there and back and complete the hike in one day. And on my own I didn't want to. I was also a little nervous about losing my way on the hike, as I have sometimes done in the past, so I didn't want to rush it. Then Elliott came into my life and the dynamic changed completely; he wanted to join me. Wow! Instead of a solitary hike which I'd embark on with some trepidation and a long drive which would seem longer because I was alone, this suddenly turned into an exciting adventure because I now had a partner. And he insisted on doing the driving, rendering me completely speechless, not a condition many friends of mine have witnessed. And so now we planned together, setting off on Friday to get down there early to scout the trail head and have an early night.

I did suffer a catastrophe while on the hike, which I didn't discover until Monday morning, a photographer's nightmare. I had failed to put back my camera card in my Sony and the camera never flashed the warning message across my viewfinder telling me there was no card. I went through the whole hike, clicking away merrily, thinking I'd captured a wonderful collection of photos. I was sick to my stomach when I tried to download the photos on Monday morning and discovered there were none there. Thank God Elliott was with me taking spectacular shots. He generously offered to share for my blog so all the photos of The Great Channels are taken by him. The few others are from my iPhone.

We were up before dawn and on the road, arriving at the trail by 6:30am. There are only 10 parking spaces here and we were determined to snag one. We sat in the car, munching a breakfast of boiled eggs, bananas, cheese and nuts, and watched the first light peek above the mountain top. By the time we started the hike there were only 3 spaces left. We'd heard that any cars not in the allotted spaces received parking tickets or were towed, and on previous occasions there were as many as 70 vehicles waiting to park, although now a warden is present to enure only 2 cars wait in line. All others are turned away.

It was freezing cold as we started up the trail. Elliott was wrapped up in multiple layers, a hat and gloves, it looked like he'd planned for Mt. Everest. I had a t-shirt and a thin jacket but wasn't worried, we'd soon warm up.

We took our time climbing the mountain, stopping to enjoy the foliage and views, and to chat with others we met on our ascent. We spotted clumps of this beautiful blue flower, which I'd never seen before, and hoped would open its flowers once the morning warmed up. But they were still closed when we came back down and I later discovered that they are called Bottle Gentians, or Closed Gentians, because they never open. Pollinators simply squeeze their way in through the top, and the flowers will bloom until the first frost. Mountain laurel and a passageway of rhododendrons also lined the trail, in places creating a green tunnel.

The uphill climb wasn't hard at all, and the trail was mostly wide enough for two people to walk side by side. I'd warmed up and Elliott had even taken off his gloves. We reached the summit, elevation 4208ft, enjoying a fabulous view from the rocks of the flat topped Beartown Mountain and Great Appalachian Valley before we descended a short steep way into the slot canyons, and another world.

These deep crevices were formed over millions of years ago by water gushing over the 400 million year old sandstone rocks, creating tiny cracks which would then be eroded further by permafrost and ice to form high walled corridors between the huge blocks of rock. With their own ecosystem, the Channels are almost cave-like, with temperatures much lower than outside, and because of this and the lack of sunlight, snow can still be found inside them long after it has melted on the mountain top. It became a Natural Area Preserve in 2008 to protect the habitat, the trail having been forged by volunteers and the Appalachian Detention Center inmates. Previous access had been by the more rugged Channels Trail, an 11 mile round trip with a 2600ft climb.

The Channels are accessed by climbing down into them and my first reaction was astonishment. it was like descending into a dark cave, tall damp cold walls coated in green moss and lichens, like a natural cathedral, pathways ranging from 20 - 40ft deep crisscrossing and winding through the rock. It was a labyrinth of rock corridors so natural but somehow reminding me of a grid street system, as these passages were often perpendicular to each other. Many of the rock walls had a pitted surface, smooth round holes bored by water.

And now for Elliott's superb photos, all shown below are his, and I can't thank him enough. This blog entry would have been a waste of time if not for him, and the hike would certainly have left an empty feeling in my gut if I didn't have these memories. And there's plenty of 'me' shots too, he really is a superstar!

It was easy walking around, only a few boulders needed to be scrambled over but for the most part it was like walking around a maze. I did make a conscious effort to remember my route after reading some reviews of others getting lost, but it wasn't really necessary. I always ended up at a corner I recognized or a familiar rock face. I was just awestruck with this ancient geological wonder.

We sat on a rock to snack on our lunch, more nuts, cheese and jerky. And sitting here was cold, I estimated the temperature to be in the low 40's. The Channels were mainly shady, yet spotlights of white sunlight beamed down into the passageways, so direct and bright that I was tempted to stand under a few and call out, "Beam me up Scotty!" 

 

We spent well over an hour down there, exploring and taking photos, although of course I wasn't, but didn't know it. We meandered through the hallways and I persuaded Elliott to follow me down a narrower corridor. He exclaimed it wasn't possible, he couldn't fit, but I assured him he could and so he gamely forged forward. I was bent over double, laughing so hard, as he puffed and shoved, rocking from side to side as he battled his way to me. It was hilarious especially when he finally popped out, a victorious grin lighting up his face. He said I should have videoed it but I don't think I would have been able to hold my phone steady, I was howling so hard.

We finally climbed our way out and headed back to the trail, glad to feel the warmth of the sun on our faces and backs once more. The hike back down wasn't too arduous, but it was grand to sit in a restaurant later and chow down on an exceptional Cajun pasta dish washed down with a couple of pints of a local stout before the long drive home to the Blue House.