Flat Top Trail, Blue Ridge Parkway, VA, 9/6/2020

An hour and a half hike to Sharp Top says the sign above! It it took us almost two hours to reach the summit trudging along a steep trail, and stopping frequently to let faster hikers pass.   

Since the time of the early settlers, Sharp Top was believed the tallest summit in Virginia until better measurement showed there several higher tops, with Mount Rogers to the south now officially the highest in the state. 

Views of the lake, about half way up the hill. Notice the three long buildings along the lake? That's the Blue Ridge National Park lodge where we stayed for two nights on our way from Albuquerque to Columbia, MD.  A beautiful and restful refuge, except that it was Labor Day weekend and quite busy.   

There really is a large rock formation in the shape of a turtle.

 Our reward at the top: 360-degree views with Peak of Otters, the Shenandoah valley and Allegheny mountains to the west, and the Piedmont to the east.  

Total distance: 5.4 miles; elevation 1,417 ft. Max elevation: 3,868 ft.