12 July 2018 New River Trail State Park

I was looking for a place to walk and hopefully find a few geocaches. New River State Park offered both. The history of the area holds significance for us since it was once a part of the Appalachian Trail. From the 1930's through the 60's the Appalachian Trail crossed the New River and followed this old railroad line for a bit. AT hikers used a ferry service to cross the river before continuing their journey. The AT is much more structured now, but this bit of history was great to learn. The grandfather of the cache hider was one of the persons who provided ferry service to hikers.

The parking lot for the state park is also home to a boat livery. It is more like a place old Plymouth Valiants went to die. These were interesting, but won't see the road again.

The trail still has some old signs of the long gone railroad that passed through here.

The walk offers quiet views of a farm along the river. Today calves were walking the field.

It was probably an adventuresome ferry crossing for hikers on the New River.

This old tree was near the point where the ferry dropped AT hikers over 50 years ago. The tree was also a hiding spot for one of the caches I was seeking.

I missed the find, but enjoyed ripe raspberries on my journey back.