John R. Barnard (right) leading a hike in the Dan River Gorge, August, 1936. Barnard was the man responsible for laying out and maintaining the Appalachian Trail in Patrick County, Virginia from 1930-1952. He regularly led hikes along the Trail and throughout the Dan River Gorge throughout this period and continued to do so long after the Trail moved 50 miles west.

In 1933, members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) traveled to Meadows of Dan, Virginia, to hike the Dan River Gorge, including the Pinnacles of Dan. They stayed at the home of John Barnard, who had laid out and maintained the Trail in Patrick County on behalf of the ATC. Barnard led hikes over the Pinnacles and was a regular host for PATC excursions in the area. Visitors such as this group typically camped on his land or stayed in his barn.

[Reverse of image] "Members of the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J.R. Barnard near Pinnacles of Dan, Patrick Co. Va., July 1,2,3, 1933. Myron Avery with wheel."

This panoramic image of Lover's Leap in Patrick County, Virginia, is compiled from three photographs taken by ATC Chairman Myron Avery during a hike on the Appalachian Trail in Southern Virginia in January 1932. Avery was scouting the new route of the Trail in this region with local Appalachian Trail leader Shirley L. Cole and his brother Earnest.

The original route of the Appalachian Trail in Virginia crossed the Pinnacles of Dan, a route described by hikers at the time as second only to Mt. Katahdin for its difficulty and beauty. In 1952, the ATC moved the route of the Trail more than 50 miles north and west, abandoning this region of Southern Virginia and removing the Pinnacles from the Trail's route forever. Today the Pinnacles are accessible only by permit from the Danville water authority. This image comes from former ATC Chairman Myron Avery's personal scrapbooks in the ATC Archives.

This map depicts the Appalachian Trail between Fries and Damascus, Virginia in 1941, including the crossing of the New River at Dixon's Ferry. This original route of the Appalachian Trail was abandoned in 1952, when the Trail was rerouted west into the Jefferson National Forest to the route it follows today.

This map depicts the Appalachian Trail between Roanoke and Fries, Virginia in 1940, including the legendary stretch over the Pinnacles of Dan. This original route of the Appalachian Trail was abandoned in 1952, when the Trail was rerouted west into the Jefferson National Forest to the route it follows today.