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Apple Orchard Mountain - Jefferson National Forest, VA

1,585 views · Published 31 August 2018 · 22:45 · Indexed 11 October 2026

Channel: Zachary Robbins · 2018 · Travel & Events

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A peakbagging hike on June 30 in Jefferson National Forest, Virginia, doing two hikes from Petites Gap off of the Blue Ridge Parkway. First I hiked north on the Appalachian Trail to quickly bag Highcock Knob, the highest peak in the James River Face Wilderness at 3,073 feet. Returning to Petites Gap I picked up my gear and hiked south on the AT into the Thunder Ridge Wilderness. The trail passes by the Thunder Ridge Overlook, which provides a cool view of Devils Marbleyard to the northwest. Next I passed by the Thunder Hill Shelter, which had a bear locker and a bunch of nice, grassy campsites. 

The final climb up to Apple Orchard Mountain becomes rocky, passing through a well-known landmark called The Guillotine. The summit of Apple Orchard Mountain is a cleared meadow with an FAA Radome station and decent views over the treeline to the west. The true summit is hidden amongst trees in a large boulder cluster and has a good view south of the Peaks of Otter. Apple Orchard Mountain is the highest peak in the Virginia Blue Ridge Escarpment (4,225 feet) and is also the most prominent peak in Virginia (2,825 feet). This is the highest elevation thru hikers cross until they reach Mount Moosilauke, NH. (The AT does not pass directly over Killington Peak, VT.) I also bagged the high point of the Thunder Ridge Wilderness off the side of Apple Orchard, approximately 200 feet from the road in the middle of waist-high nettle and poison ivy. Not really worth it! Considering the mileage and elevation gain this is a surprisingly easy hike. By the way, those aren't spots on my camera. There were an insane amount of gnats and flies following me around Apple Orchard forcing me to ditch my planned snack break.

By the way, I did film a long segment afterwards of my hiking gear. But it was consistently too jerky and I didn't feel like I should include it. One of these days I'll do an updated day hiking gear video.

Hike was 14.6 miles with 3,801 feet elevation gain in 6 hours and 30 minutes.

Hike location
https://goo.gl/maps/Hmd6bPDJFTz

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