April 21st - Shannon and I took two vehicles and parked one at the A.T. crossing at US 421, and then parked the other at TN 91, which is where we began our hike.  We set out north on the A.T., which immediately goes across the scenic hay fields at Osborne Farm.  The views here looking down into Shady Valley were very nice and we stopped to take some photos.

After the fields ended we went into the forest at Cross Mountain, passing some nice springs and campsites along the way.  About 3 miles into the hike we reached the crest of Cross Mountain, and it was at about that point that we met a nice couple from Buffalo, NY that was on a 3-month A.T. hike.  We stopped to talk to them for about 15 minutes then headed on.

We soon passed the Double Springs Shelter and then Locust Knob (elevation 4020).  It was not far past there that the trail opened up to the east giving us wonderful views of Shady Valley and Mount Rogers.       

(Click all images for larger photos)

Views from Osborne Farm

Shannon

Looking Back Toward Osborne Farm and the Cross Mountain Fields

This was a very easy hike with not much elevation gain.  Shannon and I both regretted not saving this hike for the children since they could have handled it easily.  The entire trip was 6.5 miles with probably no more than 1000 feet of total elevation gain.  We finished it easily in 3 hours with a leisurely pace and a couple of stops along the way.     

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