Prior to today my wife and I had been in Virginia since the 27th of July, poking around the low-elevation regions and mainly concentrating around Williamsburg. We were now heading up into the mountains toward the Wintergreen resort area about 45 minutes southwest of Charlottesville, planning on a few days of a mini-family reunion. Beth's brother and sister and children thereof would be visiting, as would a number of other relatives and children - about 20 of us, total. We were all spread out in various condominiums in Wintergreen, and with our days free, we looked into planning a full day hike along the Appalachian Trail and visit two peaks, both of which vie for the highpoint honors of Nelson County.

Getting to Wintergreen was interesting. It's set literally on top of the range, or on its steep hillsides. The road is pretty steep (15% grade said one sign), and looking up it's possible to see some big home or a row of fancy condos just sticking up out of the trees. The area is Virginia's eminent ski resort in winter, and open for hiking and biking and the usual summertime fun in the summer. And it's huge! Condos as far as the eye can see, it seemed. I was quite surprised they were able to build so much so high up in the hills. We arrived late the night before and made plans to go for the hike the next day.

We looked over the maps and previous reports, most of which suggested to visit each peak as two separate smaller hikes. Maintop Mountain is the westerly of the two, and can be reached conveniently from a small Appalachian Trail access point just south of a fish hatchery in the community of Montebello. The Priest is due east and can be reached from a parking lot near the Crabtree Falls, another popular destination for hikers. However, this second trailhead sits at the end of a road that requires a vehicle with a bit more dependability than our tiny Chevy Cobalt rental, so we were forced to consider hiking both peaks in one long push as opposed to two smaller hikes. We left Wintergreen early the next morning and drove up onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for about 15 miles, then exited into Montebello and south onto a short road past the state fish hatchery and the little parking area set aside for day-hikers of the Appalachian Trail. We were the only ones in the lot, arriving about 7 a.m. in surprisingly moderate weather. Given our last few days of oppressive humidity and heat, we much enjoyed the cooler temperatures of the highlands and a gentle breeze. It was still quite humid but not nearly as hot.

From the parking lot we walked a side access road about a mile to where it finally petered out, and from which the Appalachian Trail continued. The trail was steep in places but extremely well constructed and easy to follow. We went at a moderate pace and in short order had come out onto a small flat area, where the 'better' trail went off to a lookout called Spy Rock. The actual Appalachian Trail went left and curled up to the summit of Maintop Mountain, with the last little bit requiring us to hop over some rocks in places. Nevertheless we had made this portion in about an hour and 20 minutes, an uphill climb of 1,300 feet in slightly less than two miles (1.9 according to some reports). The top seems to be a large cairn right along the trail - no off-trail bushbashing needed. We stopped for a moment to celebrate then walked a bit further to an open rocky area where we sat and took our first long restful break.

From here we descended about 750 vertical feet in 2.5 miles, overall a very gentle descent and gradient amid beautiful forest cover. This part went very quickly, maybe about 90 minutes, and we finally came out onto an old two-track road. We knew better to walk this, and instead went further on the trail, up and down over a small hillock, before coming out into the open at the end of a road marked as state route 826 on the map. We had looked at this road early in the morning, but got spooked off by the sign from the main highway that warned against driving this road in pathetic little rental cars. So now here we were, about 4.5 miles into our hike, making great time. we took another extended break here. In the open without tree cover, we felt the heat a little more than before.

The Priest is just another hike of slightly less than two miles to the top, with about 750 feet of gain. After our break we continued on our way. The heat was now more evident and the breezes had stopped - making for some very uncomfortable conditions. We were both utterly soaked in sweat and little forest detritus as we poked along the good trail to the top. Fortunately the gradients are very gentle, so we made good time, arriving to the elongated summit region of the Priest after about another 90 minutes. The Priest summit consists of two distinct summits separated by a small saddle, and on top these summits, a handful of very large rock outcrops that together give about four or five potential candidates for the highpoint of The Priest. We walked along the broad summit to its east end where it started a steep drop, then doubled back to pick off what we though were the best candidates.

Starting from the easternmost terminus there is one good-sized rock grouping that can be easily accessed from the trail, with about eight feet of gain. On the top we found a different-colored rock seemingly set here by someone in the past, perhaps as a marker of sorts. We found no benchmarks and felt this outcrop was the best candidate for the eastern area. Moving back west we came upon two or three groupings that all seemed viable. We carefully clambered up these rocks, each time just being there long enogh to tag the top. One outcrop had a tree laying across it, with the highest portion of the rock seemingly under the tree. Again, we tagged the tops like good citizens, and after a handful of these felt we'd visited the best set of candidates. As we hiked out, Beth spied a small rock arrow pointing to a side trail. Curious, we followed the trail about 150 feet to a grand opening - a massive rock band jutting above all the trees and allowing for some of the most amazing views I've ever seen on my Virginia jaunts (Beth has seen equivalents in her years in Virginia). We stopped here and took a long break, almost an hour it seemed. The views were just too incredible! As we sat on the rocks we noted that the 'brush' abutting the rocks wasn't brush at all, but tree tops! Probably 50 feet down to the deck if we went that route. The hike had been a great one but limited in views, and this more than made up for it. We were amazed, and we highly recommend this little, obscure side trail. Don't miss it!

Including breaks, we had covered the six miles to The Priest's summit in about five hours with about 2,100 feet of gross gain. For the hike out we decided to take the road "826" back to the highway and from there to our car. It wouldn't add any mileage to our hike and would save us the necessity of regaining the 750 feet to Maintop's summit. We made good time hiking back to the opening at the end of the Road 826, then followed 826 steeply down to the parking area for Crabtree Falls. This portion was chewed-up 4-wheel drive road, and quite steep. We were sort of hoping there'd be someone leaving the falls and would give us a lift to the highway, but no such luck. The road portion covered a bit less than 4 miles, and was kind of tedious but easy. It had some uphill gains here and there, and maybe our car could have handled it, but in retrospect I think we made the correct decision not to drive it. Road 826 is not a 4-wheel drive road to Crabtree Falls, but does require a car with a minimal amount of traction and weight. We finally came back to the paved highway (VA-56). From here we just had 3/10 of a mile to the fish hatchery road, and another 3/10 of a mile to our car. All seemed like cake.

Then a storm came in. We had seen some puffy clouds on the hike out but thought little of them. We were down off the ridges and in seeming safety (statistically speaking) back on the low roads. As we hiked the highway part, some rain began to fall, and some thunder could be heard. We picked up our pace a bit. Soon, we came to the fish hatchery road, and started up to our car. A fellow was leaving the hatchery, presumably going home for the day. He waved to us. A few moments later, the rain turned into a torrent, and lightning was hitting very nearby. I was about 30 feet ahead of Beth, basically trying to run to the car first to come back and get her. A bolt hit - I thought it hit a power line because I saw some arcing electricity. The clap of thunder was instantaneous and profoundly loud and violent. This was serious shit! In moments the guy driving out had turned around and was essentially ordering Beth into his car - the bolt had hit just beside her! He saw everything and was kind enough - and insistent enough - to give us a ride to our car. It was so ironic - we were now just a tenth of a mile to the car, but given the conditions we were foolish not to take up his offer. That bolt had hit way too close to home, and there were more just like it! Beth was spooked after learning just how close she came to getting a direct zap. We got our car, thanked the guy about a thousand times, and drove up to the general store in Montebello for some well-earned cold sodas. However, the lightning had knocked out the power to the region, so we had to drive on back to our condo at Wintergreen before getting some cool drinks. What a frightening, bizarre ending to a great, long day of hiking! We are still talking about it!