0.0 |
Leave Radford University. From the parking lots at Curie Hall, turn left to go up the hill of Tyler Avenue. This road becomes VA 177 and takes you to I-81. |
4.4 |
Turn right onto the southbound lanes of I-81 (exit 109).
The route takes us along the great belt of Cambrian-Ordovician carbonate rocks of the Valley and Ridge. We are essentially travelling along the regional strike so the same general set of rocks are seen all the way to exit 45. To the left are ridges held up by older sandstone of the lower Cambrian Chilhowee Group, primarily the Erwin Quartzite and the Unicoi Formation. These rocks represent beach, continental shelf sands, and stream deposits that were deposited on the continental shelf of Iapetus and in rift basins that bordered Iapetus. We will be seeing these rocks in more detail on the field trip, but for now, it is important to note that these ridges and the carbonate rocks we are travelling on pre-date the Appalachian Mountains. To the right, are sandstone ridges of Silurian and Mississippian age. These rocks are the result of erosion of the rising Appalachians during some of the earlier smaller mountain building events (the Taconic and Acadian Orogenies). The mountain core laid to our left (east) and the sediments were shed into a broad shallow seaway that covered much of the North American interior (to our right, or west).
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67.0 |
Exit 45, Marion. Turn left onto VA 16. This road cuts across the strike and takes us over the Chilhowee ridges. |
73.0 |
Look for the Mount Rogers visitor's center on the right on top of Brushy Mountain (it is about 1 mile past Rt. 699, and is where the Appalachian Trail crosses VA 16). The visitor's center contains pamphlets, books, maps, and displays on the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area, the Appalachain Trail, and the Virginia Creeper Trail. It also has a small theatre where you can view a Mount Rogers video. (Another useful thing to know for groups on field trips: it contains rest rooms). |
81.6 |
The Smyth-Grayson County line. |
84.0 |
Turn right onto Rt. 603 at Trout dale. At this point, we have just entered the area of distinctively maroon rocks of the Mount Rogers area. The formation that crops out here is the Konnarock Formation. |
85.7 |
Stop 1 - Lower Mount Rogers Formation is exposed in an excellent set of road cuts on the left. |
90.0 |
Pass Grindstone Campground. The Mount Rogers area is an excellent place for camping, fishing, horseback riding, and hiking, if we may put in a sincere but shameless plug for the natural beauty of Virginia. |
91.8 |
Stop 2 - Konnarock Formation crops out in an old quarry wall on the right side of Rt. 603. |
94.0 |
Stop 3 - Outcrop is on the right, just before the intersection with Rt. 600. |
94.2 |
The intersection with Rt. 600.
This place is the main "crossroads" of the Mount Rogers area, and the main place of business is Weaver's Store. This is a good place to take a break and to try one of their delicious cheeseburgers. It is also contains one of the few places for a, ahem, pitstop in the area. The Field School route passes by Weaver's several times taking advantage of this fact.
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96.1 |
Take a left and then a quick right coming out of Weavers' parking lot. Continue down Rt. 603 to the Smyth-Washington County line. |
97.2 |
Intersection with U.S. 58. Continue straight ahead. We are now on U.S. 58 west. |
97.6 |
Turn left onto Rt. 859. This is quite a narrow but scenic road. In places it becomes a one-lane road with rock outcrops nearly scraping the sides of the vans! The drivers need to be careful. One false move and you will go down a steep embankment! Unsuspecting innocent van passengers tend to get nervous on this road. Summer 2001 note: the sign with the "Rt. 859" was removed on the westbound side of U.S. 58. You know you have passed the turn-off if you reach Rt. 728. |
99.8 |
Park here at the small gravel area at the footbridge. Leave the vehicles and walk on the Virginia Creeper Trail, an old rail bed now converted into a foot, bike, and horse path (watch where you step!). |
Stop 4 - The Virginia Creeper Trail
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105.3 |
Return to Weaver's Store. All roads in Konnarock lead to Weaver's the one (and only) place to be in Konnarock! Leave the parking lot by taking a left and then another quick left onto Rt. 600 east/south. |
110.5 |
Smyth-Grayson County line. |
111.8 |
Turn right on Forest Service Road 89. This windy gravel road will lead us to near the top of Whitetop Mountain. The view along the road is quite spectacular in places, and as we climb ever higher in elevation, we will feel the air get colder, and the vegetation will become more sparse and stunted. |
114.6 |
We will park in the gravel parking area, and hike on the Appalachian Trail. |
Stop 5 - Whitetop Mountain |
Return to the vans. Retrace our route to Weaver's Store. |
124.6 |
Weaver's at the intersection of Rts. 600 and 603, a place for one last "fluid exchange". At this point, we will head back to Radford. A shortcut is to continue north on Rt. 600. Rt. 600 was recently rebuilt and is a now a good straight road. Watch for signs pointing to "Old 600" on the right and take those to get onto Old 600, still going north. |
134.3 |
Intersection with Rt. 762. Go straight ahead on Rt. 762. |
136.4 |
Exit 35 of I-81. Go north on I-81 |
211.9 |
Exit 109. Exit I-81 here and turn left onto VA 177 (Tyler Avenue). |
214.3 |
Arrive at Radford University. |