Day 2 Begins

The Devil’s Race Path

Began walking at 8:30 a.m.

Thugs and hooligans have always been a part of the historical landscape.

As the push into Kentucky continued, pioneers became targets for thieves who would rather steal than forge their own way in life. A prime spot to do so was along Purchase Ridge and the steep road that slowed heavily laden wagons.  Today this road is US 23 which enters Duffield, Va., from the southeast.

Photo Credit: waynerd via Compfight cc

In an attempt to outrun the bandits, pioneers would race their wagons at top speed up this incline. It became known as, and is still called today, “The Devil’s Race Path”. With the roadside bandits gone, making their living as cybercriminals, the area seems to continue the theme of “flying” up the hill with side road names like Dove Dr., Swan Dr, and Partridge Dr.

There was an alternate path, however, that could be taken which was not as steep but a tad longer. Today it is the Natural Tunnel Parkway. I imagine that Joshua, was a hardened, adventurous man and strolled up Purchase Ridge fearing neither bandits nor the devil.