Hiking: Angels Rest (VA)

For hiking we had already been to Cascades, Dragon's tooth, McAfee's knob, Tinkers cliff and Kelly's knob. All were fun and with varying difficulty levels. So last weekend we thought of going to Angels Rest. Why ? First, we wanted to. That's a good enough reason. Second, because we had not been there. Third, it seemed to be "the hike". We wanted something which would be the toughest hike we had done recently. Checking on the internet it seemed that Angles Rest would be it. Reading about it we got the impression that it was a (about) 2.5 mile hike. The last 1.5 miles being really tough. Plus the vertical profile was pretty much a straight line with a nice positive slope. So there we had it.

Considering that it was going to be "the" hike we took special care that we had lots of water and enough food. The hike was fun. Just that it did not meet my expectations.

In short:

(1) From the starting point to the Angles Rest view rock its a 1.7 mile hike.
(2) This 1.7 mile portion is indeed a good hike. Just that we were expecting that it would be a total of 2.5+ miles.
(3) I think the view from the Angles Rest is ok, not great.
(4) If you go further, about 0.6 miles beyond the Angles Rest view rock, you will get a very good view of the Wilburn valley.
(5) Considering that its just a 1.7 miles portion which is tough, the overall hike is not as tough as I had imagined.

Time stamps:
First photo showing the AT sign: 9:12am
Photo showing the wooden sign for the view rock: 10:22am
Photo showing the view of the Wilburn valley: 11:14am

We started from the intersection of State Route 793 and the Appalachian Trail (AT). (US 460 --> VA 100 --> Johnston Ave --> Morris Ave). There is limited road side parking available. Also note that probably you can start from some location further down on the AT and then maybe its a 2.5+ miles hike. However this is the starting point mentioned on most of the websites. 

 

The trail is shaded with lots of trees. Also since it was spring we had lots of greenery.

 

Its all an uphill climb for 1.7 miles. That is when you will come to the following sign which will point you towards the Angels Rest rock. 

 

From the rock, among other landmarks, you can see the new river.

After you have rested and seen the view, you can go back to the wooden sign and proceed in the direction of "Wilburn Valley View". On the way you will cross a sign which says "Spring".

You can continue and pretty soon you will reach a portion on the left which has some rocks on which you can sit and enjoy a very good view of the valley.