Valentines Hike and Three Springs Hostel: A.T. Central VA Hogcamp Gap

I realize Valentine's Day isn't a hugely popular "holiday." But we can probably all agree that celebrating love, whether Agape, Philia or Eros is important no matter what form that celebration takes. This year for us, it did not come in the form of Russel Stovers and flowers. (Although I do like getting flowers and prefer any chocolate but Russel Stovers!) I'm so glad our celebration came in the form of a night at Hogcamp Gap and a night at the fairly new Three Springs Hostel in Central VA on the Appalachian Trail (North of Rt 60/Buena Vista, South of the Tye River).

Our church had a sermon on "What is Love" (queue the Haddaway song) recently. There is no one definition! Because love is not easily definable, it must be other-worldly: out of this world! On Wed night as we were pitching our tent under a perfect blanket of vast cosmos, we were engulfed with this other-worldly LOVE. Seemingly so unreachable for some, and yet always SO near to ALL. 

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
    let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12 Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
    let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
Psalm 96:11-12

You know us, love of course also comes in the form of a sweet black and white face, always so thankful for these trips to "the woods" as he calls it. We enjoyed some day hiking in the Mt. Pleasant/Hogcamp Gap area and let me tell you, it was nice to not carry a full pack!

Three Springs Hostel
http://www.threespringshostel.com/

It was so great to meet Oma and Marcia, the owners of the Three Springs Hostel! We sure enjoyed our stay and were glad they allowed Cooper since it's the off season and we ended up being the only hikers there that night. One of our plans for this mini trip was to spend Thurs night on top of Priest Mountain at the shelter and it was probably below zero up there with high winds, so-- glad we didn't!

The hostel's first season was last year and I'm sure they will have even greater success this year. For $54 (tax included) you get a comfy bunk in the 6 bed bunk room, Oma makes you dinner and breakfast, you get to love on Skiddy the kitty, laughs from Marcia, a shuttle from either Hogcamp Gap or Rt. 60, and long distance calls from the landline. A pretty great deal! We had spaghetti with meat sauce and a salad for dinner, yum! And breakfast was fried eggs, bacon, toast, cheese grits and Marcia tried out her new test kitchen recipe, a ham omelette made in the waffle maker! The food was great!

The property has a neat story. The land was originally owned by the owners of Sweetbrier College. They passed it down to an adopted son and at that time it was 100 acres. He had a working farm and then sold it to a guy who made it into a hunting retreat. That man created the pond out front which is fed by one of the three springs. I asked Oma if anyone swims in there and she said not by choice, it is just too cold! This place is so special and I guarantee you will have a great rest here. Folks like Oma and Marcia add to the atmosphere of the AT trail family. They love to serve and their mission is to make your day full of light and healing.

Oma, the hostel owner

On Friday we climbed Tar Jacket Ridge up from Hogcamp. We found some ice on the dirt road and tried out our new MICROspikes. They work great! 

Running to keep warm, it was 5 degrees

The top of Tar Jacket Ridge

A view of the Religious Range.