Appalachian Trail in Virginia

There are thirty-six miles of Appalachian Trail from the Blue Ridge Parkway at mile marker 51.7 to the Mau Har Trail near Three Ridges. Along the way, you pass Pedlar Dam, which holds back the drinking water for the City of Lynchburg, and Spy Rock, a unique dome shaped formation that was used by Confederate soldiers to watch Union troops during the Civil Way. There are two tough climbs in this section that ascend up Maintop Mountain and The Priest (which is a wooded summit sitting at 4,063 feet). The gypsy moth has infested the area between these summits and has defoliated some of the forest along the Trail. From The Priest, the AT descends four miles and 3100 feet to the Tye River (920 feet) and then meets the blue-blazed Mau-Har Trail just before Three Ridges.