Now For Something Completely Different
I am tired of snow. I want to complain about the heat and humidity not the plowing and the cold. If you feel like me take a look at a series of photos (from 2007) by Phil Riggins on Hiking in the James, as in literally hiking the James by walking from rock to rock. He breaks the 100s of photos into slideshows of his 3 hikes. Great stuff and makes me summer-sick. Check out his blog Richmond on the James.
- Hike 1: Boulevard to Powhite Parkway Bridge
- Hike 2: North Bank to Belle Isle
- Hike 3: Main Section of the James River Park System








Thank you for the link and glad you enjoyed it. I am ready for spring and a return to the river after all this snow and ice.
you two aren’t the only ones. I hate the snow….
I loved those photos but I remember not being sure how to do the hike myself just based on the info in the features. Phil, do you have any advice on which routes to take or difficult areas to avoid, etc.? Also, I’m guessing this would be pretty easy when the Westham gauge is reading 3 feet, but what’s too high? 3.5 feet?
I was thinking about following your hikes with my dog. We have no trouble crossing the river at Pony Pasture up to about 4 feet on the gauge.
Pony Pasture can be done, even with a dog, at higher than 3 feet. I cross to Williams Island often (mostly by kayak, but sometimes walking) when it is low.
My hikes were when it was less than 3 feet, and I made my own unplanned “path” through the rocks (much like a dog would…).