Photos: Devil's Marbleyard

As president of the Southern Virginia University Outdoor Club, I was excited to go on the hike to the Devil’s Marbleyard. I had been there once before and wanted to go again. Some of the people who came along expressed that they had been wanting to do this hike for a while too. It was the perfect opportunity for them. Others said they had been wanting to just get out and go on a hike in general.

It was a beautiful morning for a hike:  blue skies, a little cool but not cold. It’s crazy to think that the next day it started snowing! We picked a perfect day and time. We got to the trail early enough that we were almost the only ones there. It wasn’t until we were leaving that boy scouts and others started appearing along the trail. We hiked up the trail to “the marbleyard.” Now, the great thing about Devil’s Marbleyard is that it’s basically a huge pile of ginormous boulders that you can climb all over. Maybe one of the reasons it’s called the “devil’s” marbleyard specifically is that it seems like you are just about to reach the top of the peak when all of a sudden you get there and it keeps going. It was a great adventure.

The purpose of the Outdoor Club is to just help people get away from homework and all of their stresses and enjoy the beautiful Virginia landscape. By the end of the trip everyone was a little tired and maybe a little sore or bruised, but we were all happy we had taken advantage of such a great opportunity.

If you feel depressed sometimes or just completely overwhelmed by all of the homework that you have to do, maybe you should consider joining the Outdoor Club on one of our little ventures. It’s amazing what a little bit of good hiking company, sunshine and rocks can do for you. Or as Jane Austen wrote, “What are men compared to rocks and mountains?” 

(Post by Catherine Bowen ’13. Photos by Lindsey Morgan ’14.)