While many Charlottesvillians spent their evening with native son Dave (Matthews, of course) – we decided to explore a different genre of rock.

 Humpback Rock, to be precise!

Located just about 35-40 minutes outside of town, this natural site features an unusual outburst of ‘hump’ like rocks atop the peak which shares its namesake (Humpback Mountain) just six miles south of the northern entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The weather was perfect – see, we didn’t head out until late afternoon, so the temperatures were already in the comfortable 80s – and by the time Hubs and our friends Kris and Emily made it to the trailhead, the air wasn’t thick with humidity either!  Score.

Of course, the visit wasn’t without a little hi jinx!  See, we THOUGHT we were at the right place at first – a place called the Hump Back Rocks Visitors Center…but it turned out that the trail there was just a gravel path to a little old farmstead…with some slimy pals!

Ruh Roh.

Soon enough though, we were on the right path (literally) and had an enjoyable hike – about 40 minutes up!  Some parts were more challenging than others, but it was all worth it…

The air was so crisp and clear…ahhh, mountains!  Sure, they might not be MIGHTILY HUGE, but I’ll take ’em!

From the top of the rocks, I looked down at the valley and had a moment…sometimes it is just overwhelming how beautiful simple things are.  Cheesy, I know…but to think, 700 million years ago, this was all part of in inland sea?  The planet Earth is a crazy place.

The hike back down was MUCH easier and probably took only about 1/2 the time – pretty nice!

We had a really nice time, and it made me even more excited about Fall and the possibility of even more exploring in our (sorry to steal an Al Rokerism) “Neck of the Woods.”  Next time though, I think we’ll have more of a game plan and I think an order of hiking boots might me in order!

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Are you a hiker?  Where’s your favorite place to hike??