By Katy Lord
Guest Post
Saturday was sunny and 45 degrees, perfect for a winter hike in the snow at the Cascades, a 70-foot waterfall west of Blacksburg in Giles County. The falls were icy and, a week after more than a foot of snow fell in southwest Virginia, there was still plenty left on the ground.
The parking lot was full when we arrived at this very popular recreation area. The snowy, slippery conditions weren’t keeping anyone off the trails.
It was chilly in the woods but the sun was warm as we hiked the four-mile trail that follows Little Stony Creek.
We have hiked the Cascades trail many times but this was our first time in the snow, a perfect cure for cabin fever.
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Katy Mitchell Lord grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and currently resides with her husband in Blacksburg after living in Charlotte and Nashville. A 2012 graduate of Staunton’s Mary Baldwin College, she earned a BS in Sustainable Business with a minor in Marketing. Katy is the daughter of Lynn R. Mitchell and shares her love of photography.