Your Father’s Punchbowl to the James River

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AT and Old AT
from the AT Punchbowl Crossing on the Blue Ridge Parkway to U.S. 501 and the James River.

10.5 miles, Strenuous terrain
80-mile drive including car shuttle, 13-mile shuttle $8.00 carpool

Start at Punchbowl crossing and quickly pass the Punchbowl Shelter, Bluff Mountain, the Ottie Powell Memorial, and Fullers Rocks with a spectacular view of the James River. The AT then descends steeply to the Hercules Road, where the current trail heads south to the James River Footbridge. We will hike east instead, using the old AT alignment, superseded in 2000 and no longer found on maps, to vehicles that have been dropped at the parking area near where U.S. 501 crosses the James River.