Snowden, VA on the Appalachian Trail (25 July 1974)

 Every week or so, hikers hit a town along the Appalachian Trail.  For us, 52 years ago and five days after leaving Pearisburg, our entourage arrived at Cloverdale, VA and we stayed at the Hojo on 21 July 1974.  It was a nice stretch of trail with Dragons Tooth and McAfee Knob.

You need to remember that McAfee Knob was soon to be off the Trail due to conflicts between the private landowners and hikers.  Read about this problem in my AT Book and Flack's title.  For pics, search web for the bazillion shots along this scenic (and crowded) section of the AT. The one shot I will share is Ralph's and the little restaurant on Rt 301 where I got two 7 Ups and 3 ice creams (thanks to Don).  Camped at Boy Scout LT that night with Don, Ralph and Benji, Laura and Peter the Dog. 

And an air photo from 1996 with restaurant location in the red circle.

But back to the Howard Johnson, we "showered, ate, swam.  Yes went swimming it was great!"

Air Photo from 1985.

and a post card

And my souvenir pen.

At this point we had hiked about 630 miles on the AT.

A couple days later, on 25 July 1974, we descended in the James River Valley and walked to the PO in Snowden.

In 2022, the Streetview shot looks like this.

It was a combo market, gas station and Post Office and a mail drop.   Back then it looked like this.  Our packs are on the porch.

From the AT Museum Book: 

"Snowden was a mail drop but not a place to stay that we reached on the 25th of July. At the Snowden store and PO, I got some mail and tried to replenish some food.  The store and post office has since closed, but a request on Facebook got this story about Snowden.

“The Williams family operated the store. Mr. Williams previously worked with the construction crews building the Blue Ridge Parkway. They had a motorboat and would do water skiing on Sunday afternoons…” 

While my food purchase was limited considering the choices found in full size supermarkets in other towns, Three Time AT Hiker Dorothy Laker bought bread, bologna, cookies, onions, candy, cereal and raisons, that makes my mac and cheese purchase seem bland.  I do recall getting a block of cheddar cheese that I enjoyed with saltines. It kept surprisingly well for a few days in the hot July temperatures. So in retrospect, despite my complaint, these small mom and pop general stores were vital to the long distance hiker and had the store remained open, I am sure more camping food options would have become available.   Leaving the James River at Snowden we would have to climb a mountain out of the valley to camp at Johns Hollow LT.  There we met Harry who hiked the trail in 1969, the same year as Jeff Hancock."

For Ms. Laker's story, get the Rodale Book.  Highly recommended.

For some info on Johns Hollow LT built in 1961, from an AT History site.  Here is also the NPS Photo.  

Thanks to the Natural Bridge Appalachian Trail Club for maintaining it.  

See the location of the LT on this USGS Map.

McAfee Knob was almost not on the AT (21 July 1974)

 AT hikers take a lot for granted.  Most will complain about problems on the ground but must fully realize the years of work by volunteers and the assistance of federal agencies like the NPS and USDA-FS.

Take Tinker Mountain in Virginia.  From my AT book.

Further north, the troubles along the iconic Catawba Ridge and famous McAfee’s Knob were brewing to the point that the AT was temporarily relocated to the north, forced off the mountain by private landowners in 1977.   The RATC however, put in a twenty-mile RELO in one day, eliminating a potential road walk.  They moved the trail off Catawba Mountain in 1978 to North Mountain that remained the route until the NPS bought the land in early 1980s. Since the 1970s the Roanoke AT Club relocated 120 miles of trail.  Fortunately, McAfee was open for me and my companions in 1974. 

Today this historic view is found on the Trail again thanks to the hard work of the AT volunteers who made that possible.  It is quite likely the most famous landmark on the entire AT, surpassing the shot of a hiker climbing on top of the summit sign on Katahdin.  Yet, overuse by day hikers continue to threaten the ridge and complicate the efforts of the local volunteers.

The USGS map of the area:

The Original Picture?

Here is a scan of the Guide Book Map. (red highlights are LTs).  A couple days later we were resting by the cement pond at Hojo Motel, er' LT.

AT 2,000 Milers, Jim and Hertha Flack write about this area in the ATC published book.

Flack, J and H. Flack. (1981). Ambling and Scrambling on the Appalachian Trail.  ATC.

Out of print but copies can be found from your favorite used bookstore. A delight to read!

Monroeville Mall is Dead

 An article in the New York Times highlighted the funeral arrangements for the Monroeville Mall outside of Pittsburg PA.  For the non-fright tourists out there, the Monroeville Mall was the filming location for the 1978 zombie movie Dawn of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero.

Inside I shot this video before security asked me to stop.

The film is hard to find, but try this edited copy on Archive.org/ 

Nearby, was the Monster Bash Movie Convention where I met Conrad Brooks and others. 

If this seems familiar, I wrote in the RecreationGeography blog about my earlier visit. Recreation Geography: Fright Tourism 2 and the Monroeville Mall

Father Charles in Pearisburg, 14-17 July 1974 AT

 What a great resource for AT hikers.

and some more from Ralph.

From my AT Book (help support the AT Museum):

Pearisburg was reached on the 14th of July, when I could report that one quarter of the trail was complete!  Father Charles Beausoleil had opened a hostel for AT hikers in the parish hall and despite that he was away, we were still welcome.  At the hostel a group of hikers were collecting donations to buy a bicycle to aid in the commute between the church and the grocery store, about a mile away.  All the people I met were very friendly.  Mom noted that this was “my great adventure” and that reflected my attitude and getting into the groove of long-distance backpacking.  Quite a few other hikers in the Seventies also noted the hospitality of Father Charles.  

and a close up of the middle of the shot to show church (sorry but original scan is only 453 dpi).

Pearisburg, VA from Angel's Rest (USGS map from 1966).

See more topo maps here.

Anyway, according to my FarOut App, the Holy Family Hostel is not open this season.

Oh, why several days of Zero?  Well I had a case of diarrhea.  Enuff said. 

Tourism to US continues to drop

 According to the National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO), Industry & Analysis, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

Total non-U.S. resident international visitor volume to the United States of 5,645,630 decreased 5.5 percent compared to April 2025.

April 2026 Total International Travel Volume to and from the United States:

In April 2026, international visitor arrivals to the United States totaled 5,645,630, while outbound travel departures from the United States by U.S. citizens totaled 8,518,078.

Hmmmm, more want to leave than come here?

Let's hope World Cup will prove to be a bonus.  The data should be out in a couple months.

Saturday 11 July 1974, the old AT

 Virginia's AT was in constant flux.  Trail RELOS were common and many times you really didn't know your location.  That was important for camps, water and even tops of mountains. For example, Mt Rogers, the tallest mountain in Virginia is no longer on the AT.

But on this date we (Don, Ralph and me) hiked something like 20 miles to get to Walker Mtn LT (built in 1960) arriving at 530 PM. This was day four after leaving Damascus, VA. At 9pm, we moved to sleep in the nearby fire tower.  The first pic is from Ralph.

Here is the USGS map from the Seventies showing the trail route.

Today, the AT doesn't even reach the ridge.

First a quote from my book. 

On the 11th of July, I wrote a letter to my parents reporting a 20.2 mile day and a total of 492.4 miles.  That night we slept in the Walker Mountain Fire Tower (3,900 feet).  We could have stayed in the LT, but a once in a lifetime chance to sleep in a tower was something not to miss.  Also had a chance to pee off the Tower to see a long continuous stream of pee, a dream of every young boy.  The water source at the LT was a boxed cistern, often used in the south to collect rainwater off the roof of the shelter and store in a vault. The trail has since be RELOed away from this scenic spot to the west; shame since the mountain was the trail route from 1955-1980.

Details from my Journal.

11 July Thursday

20.2 miles

Cruising except for the last 8 miles.  Arrive @ LT 530 (not bad) and @ 9:00 decided to sleep in the fire tower.  Never have done it before.  It may turn out to be a cool thing.  A couple of times I hauled ass on the trail or as Ralph puts it "Bristow Overdrive."  On Rt. 11 there was an Exxon Gas Station & we bought ice cream and junk.  It helped me get up Walker Mtn, (in the rain of course).  I couldn't find Dad's Church because of a trail relocation.  But I wasn't going to walk any more than I have to.

####

From Google Streetview, this might be the gas station on Rt 11 where I bought the snacks.

Here is the trail map and ATC Guide.  Like south, I combined several guidebooks to just have northbound hiking and cover the entire 504.8 miles+/-.

Much better map, eh?  The trail has since moved away from Walker Mountain to the west to cross the Hoston River Valley.  This was a massive RELO.

It took us 7 days to hike from Damascus to Pearisburg (my next maildrop) on the AT.

Today, in Grateful Dead History

 Check out this concert.

Grateful Dead Live at Omaha Civic Auditorium on 1978-07-05 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

Sugaree, Beat It On Down The Line, They Love Each Other, Looks Like Rain, Dire Wolf, It's All Over Now, Candyman, Lazy Lightning-> Supplication, Deal Samson & Delilah, Ship of Fools, Estimated Prophet-> Eyes Of The World-> Drums-> Wharf Rat-> Truckin'-> Iko Iko-> Around & Around

You can download for later enjoyment.