Occasionally, I will get a surprised look when talking to someone about the old Appalachian Trail crossing Patrick and Floyd counties. Sadly, this is not common knowledge, but things may be about to change. Mills Kelly, a professor of history at George Mason University, has written a book entitled, Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail.
Kelly fell in love with the AT when he began hiking it as a Boy Scout in the early 1970s. Today, he maintains the Manassas Gap shelter on the AT and is the volunteer archivist of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club. In addition, he is the host of The Green Tunnel podcast, which is a podcast on the history of the Appalachian Trail.
As a small child, Kelly lived in Franklin County where his father taught at Ferrum College. I suspect this is where Kelly’s love for the mountains was deep-rooted in his psyche, as it is for so many of us.
Three weeks ago, Kelly gave a talk at the Patrick County Historical Museum and shared stories about the people and places he encountered while researching for his book Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail. Meadows of Dan’s Ralph and Hope Barnard were most helpful to Kelly, just as Barnard’s grandfather, John R. Barnard, was to National Geographic writer Robert Brown when he visited the Barnard farm in 1949.
Brown’s story about his journey along the Appalachian Trail, including his time spent with John Barnard, “King of the Pinnacles” was the first story about the AT to reach a national audience. One of the readers inspired by Brown’s article was Emma “Granny” Gatewood, a name familiar to many who love the AT. Gatewood, at age 67, was the first woman to hike the entire 2,190 miles of the Appalachian Trail and the first person, male or female, to hike the entire trail three times!
Kelly’s book, Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail, filled in so many gaps of what little I knew about the old Appalachian Trail. My grandfather worked for the National Park Service for many years maintaining the Blue Ridge Parkway from Smart’s View Park south to the North Carolina line. The parkway and the old AT ran along together in some places. Grandpa showed me one of the old stone AT markers that were on Rock Church Road, above Slate Mountain Church. I knew the trail ran along the top of Belcher Mountain, across Euell and Oma Handy’s farm, by Mountain View Church, and out Cloudbreak Road. When you reached US 58, Henry Cassell would allow you to stay at his home for the night and rest up, because from there you headed towards Busted Rock, the Dan River Gorge, and the infamous Pinnacles of Dan.
Kelly’s book, Virginia’s Lost Appalachian Trail, takes you back ninety years on a meandering journey through the counties of Bedford, Roanoke, Franklin, Floyd, Patrick, Carroll, Grayson, Smyth, and Washington. Kelly does a great job describing not only the beautiful scenery, but also the stewards of the land where the AT traveled.
Woody may be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
