grett122 At the start of last year, my friends Prasad and Jack and I went north into Virginia chasing a snow forecast to hike. The goal never materialized, freezing rain kept falling and sticking to the trees as we drove around in search of a hike with snow, and we even witnessed a crash as we were driving in the hazardous conditions.

In order to get something out of the day, we decided to hike Sharp Top since it was at an intersection with the Blue Ridge Parkway and therefore accessible despite the closure of the parkway itself. The trail was entirely covered in miles of muddy ice as well as a thick layer of fog, but our microspikes allowed us to get up safely. The top was foggy with no views, and we decided why not wait another 5 or 10 minutes just to see what happens. And boy did something happen. The fog lifted, revealing the beautiful valley and a wave of clouds crashing over a distant ridge (pics 3 and 4), as well as a glory, a circular rainbow that can sometimes be seen off mountain peaks (pics 1 and 2). What. A. Day.

#hiking #hike #travel #nature #virginia #winter #rainbow #blueridgemountains #blueridgeparkway #mountains #appalachia