I almost skipped Smith Mountain. I know it's one of the easier Appalachian Six-Pack hikes, and I had driven from eastern Kentucky to Rocky Mount, VA just for it. But, holy hell was it hot this week. My experience in Kentucky had made me want to take bear spray along with me on subsequent hikes, but it seemed like nowhere in Rocky Mount had it for sale (WTF!) And I was having a tough time at work with a corporate re-org. So I told myself that if I didn't wake up by 6:30 AM, I wouldn't be doing Smith, and I'd have to replace it with a different mountain somewhere in Georgia or something. If I woke up after 6:30, it'd be too hot by the time I reached the summit, I figured. Well, lo and behold, I was wide awake at 6AM. So I figured, hell, let's do it.

I had purchased the Virginia state pass that's required for land access, but it was never once checked. The trailhead was well marked and very easy to find, and there were two other cars parked at the trailhead already when I got there around 8AM. The trail up Smith is a very gradual uphill, following a gravel road, followed by a ridge hike. AllTrails estimated it'd take me about four hours, but it ended up taking me less than three. I guess I'm getting into better shape! It's a good “workout hike” where you don't have to worry too much about the quality of the trail and pretty much just get your heart rate going. There also is good, tall tree cover the whole way which made the hot weather a bit more bearable.

(Speaking of “bearable” — I did see one bear, about a hundred yards away in the woods, and when it heard me it ran off pretty quickly.)

As a couple of other hikers have mentioned, there is no marker for the end of the trail (in fact, the trail does not end at the summit), and given the tree cover, there are no views of the lake. There's apparently another radio tower (you pass one on the way up) about another mile down the trail from which there are great views of the lake, but I didn't have enough time or water to do another two miles even though it'd just be on flat terrain. So if you want to get views, expect a 10-mile hike rather than a bit over 7.

And that's a wrap on this trip to the Appalachians. I'll be flying to Atlanta in a few weeks for at least two more (maybe three? or four?!) and am looking forward to revisiting two peaks I've only done in the winter — Sassafras and Brasstown Bald!