Day 10 – Big Schloss
Today’s Blog Entry
On Saturday morning we had an early start for the two hour drive south to Swover Creek Farm near Woodstock, Virginia. This would be the third and final Harvest Host visit for this trip.
We arrived a little after 11 AM and met up with our host. Lynn pointed out a lovely spot for us to camp just across a quiet country road from their brewery building, tasting room, and outdoor dining area. It was close enough to be convenient, but out of the way from any day-trippers that might show up later. Best of all we would be alone as no one else would be camping there that evening.
Swover Creek Farm is recognized by the state of Virginia as a Century Farm, i.e. one that’s been operated by the same family for over 100 years. They make their own sausages, brew their own beer, and twist their own pretzels so naturally we wanted to sample their products. Of course we had to pay the piper in the form of a long walk in the mountains before we could do that, though …
As usual Cindy found a great hike for us but it required an interesting drive on some fairly narrow mountain roads to a primitive campground. We found our trailhead after a little wandering around and set off for what would be a five mile round trip to the summit.
We followed the Mill Mountain Trail to the Big Schloss Trail, which as you might guess took us to a rocky promontory known as Big Schloss (pseudo-German for “Big Castle”). This was by far the busiest hike of the trip, most likely because it was a Saturday, the weather was decent, and the trail is reasonably accessible to both Washington DC and James Madison University.
After completing the hike we returned to Swover Creek Farm where we enjoyed some of their Dirty Blonde Ale with a homemade pretzel while sitting on the terrace under their not-quite-finished pavilion. This will be a nice spot to spend some time once the construction is done.
A quick trip to the farm store meant that packages of their andouille sausage and bratwurst would be riding home with us in the morning. After stashing these treats in the Airstream’s refrigerator we wandered back across the road to order dinner.
We decided on a wood-fired margherita pizza and a growler of their Dirty Blonde Ale as our reward for the day’s hike. After our order was ready we returned to the rig where Cindy made a fresh salad while I set up the chairs and lit the campfire. This al fresco farm-to-table dinner was the perfect ending to a great trip!
Today’s Map
Today’s Photos
