Shenandoah National Park, 9/16-18/11

We did it.  107 miles over 3 days.  Day 1:  33.2 miles from Rockfish Gap in Waynesboro, Virginia to Pinefield Hut in 13 hours.  Day 2:  36.6 miles from Pinefield Hut to Skyland in 15 hours.  Day 3:  37.2 miles from Skyland to Chester Gap in Front Royal, Virginia, in about 16.5 hours.

Ready to hike! Thanks, Annie!

Before beginning this adventure, we knew Day 1 would be the exciting & energetic one.  Our friend Annie hosted us Thursday evening, and dutifully drove us to Rockfish Gap in the dark 5:00 hour Friday morning.  We got our backcountry pass and waved farewell.  She had a huge smile of pride with a little of ‘what-in-the-world-are-they-getting-themselves-into’ on her face.  It was dark and cool and misty, and we were going on a hike.  That trail started straight up.

So straight up we went to Bears Den Mountain.   Our arrival at the summit was timely; the early sun was blazing for us.  We were hiking!  Our faces had huge smiles and we were indeed full of energy.  We had a brief stop to refuel and take in the summit’s juxtaposition of tranquil meadow bathed in morning sun punctuated by a public art installation of tractor seats and an unsightly cluster of radio towers.  The tractor seats were useful.  The radio towers too.  We had cell reception and let our loved ones know we had had a successful start to the Crooked Trail 100.  Right from the start we got encouraging texts; this was fun!

Good morning! Nice tractor seats!

8.7 miles to Wildcat Ridge Trail...

That entire first morning was simply awesome.  We saw our first bears – a momma and her cubs.  We saw many deer, we saw just two other hikers.  We saw a wonderful trail angel station full of water for the weekend’s hikers.  At one point we saw a very serious sign with bold, capital letters warning hikers of a bear danger area.  The silver lining to this is that we saw this sign as we were leaving that area.  Nice.

Verdant Blackrock Gap.

The morning trek led us to Blackrock Mountain.  We had lunch on the warm rocks at the summit.  Unanimously the favorite stop along the trail.  The other unanimous conclusion was that we each had way overpacked sweet protein bars, granola, and gu, but were lacking salt in a major way.  We savored Jason’s packet of tuna and devoured his beef jerky.  We needed more salt…

Happy hikers!

Loft Mountain view.

Another bear, an afternoon of hiking, and the camp store at Loft Mountain.  We had one thing on our minds.  We ate an entire bag of chips in record time and stocked up on Day 2 lunch in advance.  Tuna, salt, pretzels, salt, cheese crackers, and salt.  We were good.  A nice little pause in the afternoon sun and a whole lot of water to wash down that salt and we were ready for the day’s last hike.

Hiking the trail...

The Crooked Trail 100 was divided into small hikes.  Jason proposed this early on, and his reasoning was clear.  Who wants to hear, “Great!  5 miles down, 102 to go!”?  It was easier to hike a few hours at a time with short rests in between, longer breaks for lunch.  So after our camp store stop, we had another 2 hours to hike to our camp.

Pinefield Hut was a welcome sight at 6:30 that first day.  After 13 hours of hiking, I was so excited to see our faithful friend Erin.  We had visions of strolling into camp, seeing our tents warmly awaiting us, sitting down to a nice sandwich, and calling it an early night.  Imagine our surprise when, at 6:30 and nearly 40 degrees outside, night was falling and Erin was nowhere to be seen.  An extremely polite thru hiker named Denver had settled in nicely at Pinefield Hut and was happy to have the company.  Jason anxiously waited for Erin 100 yards up from camp by the road, knowing he was bound to appear momentarily.  Denver and I exchanged stories next to the warm fire he had built, and he assured me that Erin would come.  Jason returned without Erin.  Amidst our worry, our choice was to make a plan.  Denver divided up his belongings between us, deciding how to best keep us warm for the cold evening.  Jason said we would sleep a little and then start hiking when we got too cold.  My teeth chattered and I nodded.  Plan in place, cup of tea in hand, and alas!  Erin!  His headlamp bobbing in the dark was the most reassuring sight.  His unintended tardiness was due to HOV restrictions on 66 coming from Washington.  Who cares.  He had arrived bearing the best Italian Store sandwiches ever made, and tents, and warm sleeping bags, and warm clothing.  Breathe.  Sandwiches disappeared, tents pitched, and I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Marimba takes on a whole new sound at 4:45am in the woods.  We reluctantly opened our eyes, stretched, regrouped, and were off.  Good-byes and thank-you’s to Erin.  Time to hike.

Day 2! Let's go!

Hiking in Saturday morning’s pre-dawn silence clarified my realization that when we have a break at a gap, that gap follows a mountain.  Mountains up, gaps down.  Onward.  Day broke in an uneventful manner in comparison to Friday.  We loved seeing the deer so close, so quiet.  So many!  Another bear too.  This is getting fun.  Our bear count was up to five by mid-day Saturday.

Bring it on, Bald Face Mountain!

Hightop Mountain this way...

In our pre-hike forecast, we both agreed that Day 2 would be the hard day.  The newness of Day 1, gone.  The morning’s hikes were to Powell Gap and Swift Run Gap.  Some of the mountains did not have names to us, Hightop was the one before Swift Run.  The day’s long hike came prior to our intended lunch stop at Lewis Mountain campground.  8.3 miles before lunch was long.  We were both bonking, and were dreaming of our tuna packets and our cheese crackers.  After a hard morning we were there, and we were hungry.  As for the temperatures and weather in general, we could not have been more fortunate.  It was perfect; fresh and good.  Not too hot, cool enough to be a bit chilly, but we warmed quickly once we were moving.

Lewis Mountain campground lunch was a necessary slow process.  We ate, refueled, and regained strength.  We were good.  How about a hike?!  We were about half-way to Skyland.  The afternoon’s first two hikes were great.  Because we had energy again, we could talk!  I got a one-on-one lesson on chocolate.  I highly recommend Jason as a teacher.  He knows his chocolate.  I am sure I held up my end of the deal in talking, but I have no idea what I talked about.  Thank goodness for Jason’s patience.

One of the afternoon's views...

Rock Spring Hut was the starting point for our last hike of the day, the hike that would take us into Skyland.  A warm dinner, a hot shower, and a cozy bed.  So close.  Yet so far.  As dusk fell, it was time for headlamps.  Evening headlamps are entirely different from morning headlamps.  Here’s why:  in the morning, wearing headlamps is temporary.  The sun is going to rise.  In the evening, it gets dark, and then it gets darker.  You are tired and nearly beyond yourself.  Animal eyes are unbelievably reflective.  The willies set in.

Again, thank goodness for Jason’s patience.  He confidently reassured me that we would be at Skyland in no time.  Just two short hours.  He was going to stay close, and we would take it carefully.  We were both convinced.  Good.  As he turned to take his first step onto the dark path… BEAR!  Standing right there on the path in front of us.  Staring at us.  Confidence temporarily shot.  Oh, that bear was looking right at us.  A beautiful side profile with his face turned to us, his eyes reflecting our headlamps.  We stated our intentions to him, clapped our trekking poles, and he sauntered off.  Good lord, that one gave us a jolt.

Every single time we encounter a bear, we go through the motions of letting her know we come in peace.  Once we know we are safe, we admire how cute they look and how cuddly.  And then we silently reassure ourselves that the bear is gone, and we are safe.  Phew.

Almost to Skyland...

We made it to Skyland.  Tara was so right about all of those beady reflective eyes deep in the woods.  Super creepy.  We were exhausted.  Once we found the trail marker for Skyland, it seemed unfair to walk 0.7miles to the lodge, but we did.  We had a plan.  Jason was to go to the bar to get us a table.  I was to check us in and meet him at the bar.  Easy.  Ha.

I am normally quite good at managing more than one thing at a time, but this was an exception.  I recall calling Chris to check in at home.  To let him know I was at Skyland.  I remember telling him about camp last night, about the bear, and that I was hallucinating.  The two wooden doors in front of me were undulating.  I had best go, check in, and eat.  I stood outside the two wooden doors with their brass handles for a good minute before realizing they were not going to slide open to let me in.  I had to exert myself to pull the handle.  At least I did not swipe my iPhone in front of them.

I checked in.  I was holding myself up on the counter, and I was watching the face of the woman behind said counter.  Her eyes were squinting and her head was dodging around a little.  She said something softly, and I had to ask her to repeat herself…”Um, ma’am, your headlamp…”  I quickly turned it off, of course.  The room was ready, the bag we had left a week ago was there, it was all good.  Just imagine the look on my face when she told me my room was “just a short 5 minute hike down the path”.  She repeated herself, and I thanked her.  I needed to find Jason.

Found him!  He was at a corner table of the bar, staring at a menu.  We ordered food and sat in silence while we waited to be fed.  Correction.  Truth be told, we did not speak with each other because we were so wasted.  Completely beat.  The silence part is in need of the correction.  An acoustic guitar player entertained a scant crowd with his covers of Jimmy Buffet, John Denver and a few originals.  Really.  Really?  Yes.  And most of the crowd was pleased.  It was comical to us, totally surreal.  The important piece is that we were fed warm food that was great.  Jason sends a shout out for the house salad.  Real baby greens.  Green ones!  Nice.

So that five-minute hike down the hill was fine.  We had our hot showers and our big cozy beds.  Once again Marimba came way too early.  At that hour I was feeling every step of the five-minute hike between the room and the lodge, because it was uphill.  We checked out and were off.  A little later than the last two days, at around 6:30.  We were doing our best.

Stony Man came and went.  The morning’s clouds were a sight, hanging below us like giant pillows.  Seeing them from above was a treat.  Mary’s Rock was the first stop of the morning, and it was 7.6miles from Skyland.  So we hiked.  Getting there we agreed that the 0.1mile to the summit was unnecessary.  We had both been there.  Mary’s Rock was our first hike together a year and a half ago, so we ate our bars and gu and were off.  En route to Beahm’s Gap we started seeing other hikers.  A few sizeable groups, one led by a hardcore ambitious dude, the other modelling the Fall 2011 North Face line.  Elkwallow picnic area could not come soon enough.  I was bonking again.  This was hard.  Much to our surprise upon our arrival there was a grill serving hot food, and we indulged.  The hot food was nice and it did its job, but what Jason really seemed to like was the nub of chocolate at the bottom of his Nutty Buddy.

Depth perception way off on this one...

Above the clouds!

We are here.

Much of the conversation throughout the hike turned to food.  The chocolate lesson took it to a whole new level.  We talk about recipes, restaurants, what the kids eat, what the kids won’t eat, and then some.  I am stuck on the avocado toasts Jason described.  How I would have loved one then.

In the aforementioned thoughts pre-hike, we had ear-marked Day 3 as an easy one.  The home stretch.  Not so.  It was a really long day.  Literally our longest.  We were tired, a little achy, and done.  My mantra had pulled me through Day 2.  Today I resorted to counting.  Endless.  To 1,000 and back down twice.  And more.  It’s what kept me going.  Looking back I was physically prepared, no doubt.  The mental part was really hard.

Tired but smiling. Sort of.

Late Day 3 and this is the trail ahead.

So we hiked.  The downhills became the dreaded hardship for me, banging my feet into the rocks.  For every 15 or so rocks, 14 were stable.  It required constant attention.  We trudged on and on and on.  I think it was after Jenkins Gap in a burnt out forest when we hit 100 miles.  100 miles.  We had hiked 100 miles.  The Crooked Trail 100.  Fait accompli… almost.  My legs collapsed as Jason was asking if I wanted to stop for a quick break.  It was getting dark, and we needed to get up the mountain.  We had a little high-five moment that proved to open my flood gates and the emotions poured.  We had another bar, another gu, and another hike to do.  So we hiked.  We heard a huge thud, a black bear jumping out of a tree about 10 feet away in the dark of the forest.  I told him to watch out, I was coming through.  That’s how much I cared about black bears at this hour.

I got a text from my mom asking if we were done.  When I told her we had 4 more hours of hiking, I sensed her tears through the phone.  Her texts, along with so many others, were invaluable.  So many friends sent strength and energy up into those mountains and I used up every bit of it.  I am forever grateful.

We really did hike 4 more hours into the night.  Compton Peak was our last big one, and Jason said that after that one, “Heartbreak Hill” as he had named it, was our last.  After crossing a farm road in Front Royal, we only had Heartbreak Hill to climb.  We had made contact with Chris and Jane.  They were going to start hiking towards us.  They sounded like they were having fun and they were saying how cool it was to have headlamps and hike at night.  We just wanted to be done.  A hat left on a post along the road caught my eye as we crossed that farm road, and went straight up Heartbreak Hill.  I culled every ounce of energy left to keep going.  Jason had the lead, and the speed, and I swear I was taking some of his energy too as I did my best to keep up and follow him.  Conversation that late at night, that late into our hike, resorted to middle names of family and friends.  We were looking for material.

So we peaked Heartbreak Hill and the trail seemingly abruptly ended.  We stumbled around looking for it, and Jason found it.  Those white blazes were hard to see.  There were trees down and lots of deep debris.  We oriented ourselves with the blazes and kept them in sight.  All the way back down to the farm road.  Yes.  We back-tracked.  Just imagine how that felt.  It was worse.  As if we were not done before, we were now DONE.  New plan.  Jason pulled out the maps, and after about 6 attempted calls, our skimpy single bar of service allowed Chris to answer.  We gave him directions.  He and Jane were on their way.

We were sitting on the side of this farm road, and I wanted to walk.  Seriously.  I did not want to be still.  Why now?  So we got up, walked several paces, congratulated ourselves for doing this, and fell into stride.  Our new environs were on a road through a 4-H complex, and we woke all sorts of animals.  We got to an intersection with Route 604, and at this point I decided no more walking.  I made Jason stop, and within minutes Chris and Jane appeared.

We did it.  10:45 Sunday night and we were in my minivan riding back to Arlington in style.  Just like that.

Culpeper, Va, 9/15/11

We are so ready for tomorrow!

Bluemont Trail, Arlington 9/15/11

Today is a good day!  The weather is BEAUTIFUL.  I am ready!  Jason and I have been texting each other since about six this morning… Did you see the Washington Post article?  Is your pack as full as mine?  What can we leave behind?  What else do we need to bring? 

I am down yet another pair of Smartwools thanks to Fenway.  Why does  she love them so much?  When she came walking down the hall this morning with one of my hiking shoes in her mouth… yikes.  The shoe is fine.  She was helping me pack.

My kids were excited to do my last official training walk with me this morning.  We walked to school together.  Liam is excited for me, as excited as a 9 year old can be without being too showy.  Charlotte pranced the whole way to school; she is thrilled with her mention in the article.  She thinks the article is about her.  7 year old girls are awesome.  Luke is protesting my leaving for three days.  He’s a Momma’s boy, and he simply does not want me gone.  He will be cool though.  He marched right into school this morning with his backpack on, saying hi to Georgia and Zach patrolling the doors, and owned the place. 

Our friend Chris took this picture for us.

The emails, calls, posts, and texts are awesome!  I am as ready as I will ever be.  Please know your support is paramount.  Keep it coming.  We need it! 

Scott and Bernie are due any time to pick me up.  We will get Jason and head to Culpeper where we meet John.  He takes us to Charlottesville where we meet Annie, and finally all of our new friends from the Trust!  We can hardly wait.

We will write more when the opportunity arises.  Cheers!

Skyland, 9/12/11

We are going on a hike on Friday!  September 16 is just about here!

Jason and I went to Skyland first thing this morning to drop off a bag for Saturday night.  We are good to go.  We have a simple change of clothes and enough food to feed anyone hiking in the park next Sunday.

We hiked our final training hike, beginning at Skyland.  We went down Big Meadows on the Skyland Horse Trail to the Corbin Mountain Trail and Indian Run Trail, and then back up the Nicholson Hollow Trail to the Appalachian Trail back to Skyland.  We walked fast.  So fast we had no time for pictures!  Yesterday’s weather was glorious.  I love September.  A good sign for this coming weekend.

We feel prepared.  The plan for this week is to rest and pack.  We need to get Friday evening’s and Saturday day’s bags to Erin who will meet us to camp our first night.  My kitchen countertops are loaded with bags of granola, muffins, bars and goo.

We had the opportunity last week to talk with a writer from the Washington Post.  She plans to have a piece about our adventure  in Thursday’s Local Living, so check it out!

Thursday we head to Charlottesville for the Radical Reels 2011!  We will be at the Festival at 7 to meet friends and supporters.  Jason is bringing treats to share, and of course we hope to keep up the fundraising.

Stay tuned!

Arlington, 9/10-11 weekend

Walked my errands Saturday afternoon all over Arlington.  The afternoon’s weather was hot and sticky, but I had fun seeing various friends along the way.  I really felt like Forrest Gump.  5.5 miles in all, and very productive.  I got to see Julie and pick up some goodies from her, I took care of a few phone calls, and I stopped in at Casual Adventure to get a map and some of those attractive pants that have zippers around the knees to transform them into shorts.  The guys there have been supportive of the Crooked Trail 100 and were full of well wishes.

Sunday morning Karen and I walked about the same distance with a pit stop at Northside Social.  Conversation with Karen is endless and never feels like enough.  She is so fun and positive, I love our walks.  So does Fenway.

Jason and I have been talking, texting and emailing back and forth about all sorts of last minute “needs”.  We ran into each other at REI stocking up on bars, goo and snacks.  I am making Crooked Trail granola for us, he is making G.O.R.P. and bars.  Yum.

Logistics for dropping our necessities at different points are falling into place… we are just about ready to hike!

A must share… one of my favorite singer/songwriters, Martin Sexton, signed my Crooked Trail 100 postcard.  Thanks, Julie!!!

Washington, VA & Sperryville, VA, 9/07/11

Today’s training was in the form of antiquing.  It has been a tease for me to drive past the many shops en route to Shenandoah National Park, or as we head back to Arlington after a day of hiking.  I was so excited to dedicate today to exploring a different side of Rappahannock County!

Along with my fellow designer Lauren, I paid a visit to Ginger Hill Vintage Finds & Antiques.  What a great shop!  Prints, etchings, tables, a Charlie Harper and various accessories came with us; a camera card full of images may likely warrant another trip.  A marquetry salesman’s chart is a totally cool find, as is the Japanese lacquered box with fern fronds.  And the Italian leather bookends.  The winner is the Charlie Harper.

Copper Fox was our next stop today.  We got to pick up Lauren’s coffee table and a French ’50’s pot with excellent tomato red glaze.  Many pictures were taken to share with our colleagues, with high hopes for purchasing a beautiful hook rug to hang in the stair hall of a home in Leesburg.  This beauty is 72″ long!

Dan from Ginger Hill said to visit the River District Arts collective next to Copper Fox Antiques, so why not?  An old apple storage building that has been converted into the Torpedo Factory of Rappahannock County with a cafe, a Virginia foods shop, and a bunch of working artist galleries.  All local good stuff.  Fantastic lunch and discussion over heading back to Ginger Hill to buy two more tables.  We got them.

Check out my van before heading back to Arlington.  Virginia pickers were we.

Riverbend Park, Great Falls, VA, 9/05/11

This morning I had a special guest on my hike… my awesome, cool, sporty friend Diann!  She was game to be picked up at 7 for a little hiking adventure with me.  We drove to Great Falls Park and headed up the Potomac Heritage Trail through Riverbend Park, and back down the Bootlegger Trail via Conn’s Farm Meadow.  Somehow we made our way all over that meadow… that’s what happens when good friends get a chunk of time to catch up.  We did 6 miles in all, never stopped talking, and quite possibly walked through a world record number of spider webs.  Cases of the willies came and went, but the important thing is that we enjoyed ourselves. 

The clock is ticking to the commencement of the Crooked Trail 100.  Jason texted me this morning from Bethany Beach saying we need to meet one evening this week to talk.  We need to solidify our plan.  It’s so exhilarating to think that in ten days we will be heading to Waynesboro for a good night’s sleep before we begin.

My hope is to make some lists.  I love lists, and I love crossing off  things from my lists even more.  First on the list, walk.  I did some walking around Arlington this past weekend, a few miles here and there.  The upcoming weekdays will be more of the same.  Rain is on the weather forecast, so I am prepared to get wet.  Stay tuned.

As for the rest of the list, it’s what to pack to leave with Erin for night one, what to pack to leave at Skyland, what to pack for the day, what to eat, who to remind to pick us up, drop us off, or meet us… it’s a bit of a tangled web right now.  I’d best refine it a bit.

One last thing, our little friend from Riverbend…

Arlington, 8/29/11 week

This week’s hikes have taken to the streets of Arlington as Jason and I have both been busy taking care of other stuff.  I started my day on the 29th at the DMV renewing my expired driver’s license!  My advice is to not let this happen.  When you have an expired driver’s license you are unable to purchase beer at Fenway Park.  I shuttled the kids to and from camps, took care of some organizing at home and did some menu planning for a little fundraiser I had on the 31st. 

Jason hung out with his daughter Sophie and recovered from a major bike ride in Massachusetts over the weekend.  He mapped out our itinerary and together we worked with Susan and Julie from the trust to iron out details for Radical Reels!  We are so psyched for the evening and look forward to meeting cool people from the trust and the Hundred Mile Club.

Transportation has been secured for our journey to Charlottesville and Waynesboro for the commencement of the Crooked Trail 100.  Thanks to Scott, we will have a ride from Arlington to Culpepper.  There we will antique for a bit before my friend John picks us up and takes us to Charlottesville.  We will meet Annie there for Radical Reels, and she will take us to her home in Waynesboro for a good night’s sleep before dropping us off at the trail early on the morning of the 16th.  Phew.  I love that the pieces of the puzzle are settling into place.

Along with major help from my friend Julie, I hosted a fundraiser for the SNP Trust last night.  Julie sells Silpada Designs jewelry, and we had a sip ‘n see at my home.  The invitation came to sip wine, have a snack, and see jewelry, with the opportunity to buy if interested.  My generous friends had fun, ate savories and sweets (Jason’s chocolates and Michel’s macarons, thank you gentlemen!), and bought silver jewelry!  A lot of it!  I am completely delighted with the success of the evening. 

My party remains open through Friday for anyone interested… www.mysilpada.com/julie.wells

Huge thanks to Julie as she donates 25% of the sales to the Crooked Trail 100.  Even my Liam got it:  Wow, Momma, so your friends get to support your hike AND get jewelry?  Yup!  Nice.

Sandy Neck, Cape Cod, 8/25/11

I picked a beautiful day to take advantage of what looked like a great hike very close to our vacation rental in East Sandwich, Massachusetts.  It was a great hike.  It was just a little unexpected.

Sandy Neck is a cool public beach we had visited on the 24th.  We spent hours beachcombing and found crabs, starfish, snails, fish, shells, & rocks.  The tidal pools provide limitless entertainment for our three kids, our neice and nephew, and us!

Sandy Neck also offers hiking – over 12 miles in all – so I decided to check it out.  My family dropped me off with a promise of returning in an hour, so off I trekked.  The young guys working at the gatehouse had no idea who they were talking to when they told me to be careful, the hike was long.  6 miles one way, ma’am.  I smiled.

So 5 minutes into my hike I turned a corner and the packed sandy trail became soft sand.  My little hike became a cardiovascular adventure.  Kinda like snowshoeing, but in sand.  Warm wind, ominous skies and deep soft sand.  Lots of seemingly endless deep soft sand.  It was a fun change of pace, and I had to laugh because I got quite the workout.  4 miles in an hour.  Barely saw any other people except for the nice couple who warned me that the sign posts were missing and they had gotten a little lost.  Sandy Neck needs a little love from an organization like the Shenandoah National Park Trust!

Check out the tell tale bangs! Serious ocean breeze!

I also took advantage of beach walks on the Cape, and an awesome walk with my fabulous sister-in-law Marnie one afternoon.  She is a rock star in training for the 3-day breast cancer walk the weekend after the Crooked Trail 100.

A change of scenery is always good, but I miss the park!

 

 

Hawksbill Mountain, 8/15/11

Today was a good day for hiking a mountain!  We started off at the White Oak Canyon parking lot and climbed up Cedar Run.  The water was low, the morning was cool, the humidity had not quite hit us.  At the top of the Cedar Run trail just before we got to Skyline Drive, Kelly spotted a large black squirrel coming down a tree 5 yards in front of us.  It wasn’t a squirrel though.  It was a bear cub!  Then another!  By this time Jason spotted them too.  Momma bear came barrelling down after her cubs and the three sauntered away into the woods.  We continued onward, crossing Skyline Drive and heading to the trailhead for Hawksbill.

We had a new first today.  A search and rescue group.  Throughout the morning we saw six groups along the section of the Appalachian Trail between Hawksbill and Skyland.  Sadly, a hiker went missing Saturday afternoon.

The hike up to Hawksbill was now somber.  The terrain is rocky and steady, and the humidity set in.  Approaching the summit we waded through a very thick mist and had zero visibility once at the top.  We were soaked, and cold.  The cold feeling is so refreshing in contrast to the nasty humidity of the summer.  We settled in against the rock wall at the summit’s overlook to nosh on our Crooked Trail granola and fresh fruit.  We had absolutely no view of our gorgeous surroundings, so it was time to head to Skyland.

See Jason in the mist?  I love my Hipstamatic App!

A unanimous decision against cotton has been made.  It’s awful.  No new news, just another confirmation.  No cotton on the big hike.  Or again.  Blech.

Back down Hawksbill to the Appalachian Trail.  We decided to stop in at Skyland to make reservations for September 17.  This leg of the trail was once again, pleasant and easy and beautiful.  Happening upon the rescue groups kept us alert to the dangers of the park.  Dense vegetation, steep cliffs, big rocks.  Unbelievable.

Walking up to Skyland is like walking into a 1950’s time capsule.  It’s a great little resort with just enough amenities to keep you smiling.  Our smiles faded when we learned that the night we need to stay there is overbooked.  Boo.  Someone is likely to cancel their reservation and we will get our rooms, surely.  Our families plan to join us that evening during the big hike.  We will need their smiling faces and big hugs of support!

Back down the bridle path and down the White Oak Canyon trail to the car.  This time we paid more attention to the waterfalls.  Pretty cool.  There is a big water slide that looks like just the thing to do to celebrate the end of a long hike.  Next time.

The trail down remains rocky, a little steep, but always beautiful!  We passed many more hikers and saw groups enjoying the rocks at the base of one of the falls.  This is why we love this park.  Barely two hours from home and we are in a different world.  Dirt, mud, rocks, sand, trees, brush, all of it is excellent.  We are lucky to experience the Shenandoah National Park every Monday.  We highly recommend it!  Look how happy we are!  Today was my favorite training hike!  14.5 miles of bliss.

Post hike and back in the real world, we made it to Charlotte’s and Luke’s camp just in time to sneak into the carpool line.  We then got Liam just in time from his camp.  Jason dropped us off, picked up Sophie (just in time), dropped her off at my home, went to his home to shower, and returned to mine with venison and salmon and potatoes to roast.  I handed him a Racer 5 and a handful of fresh rosemary and dinner was in full prep.  Jane and Abigail showed up, soon followed by Chris.  I made the salad, the potatoes were roasting, the meat grilling… an awesome dinner.  Liam devoured the venison, as did Sophie and Charlotte.  Luke took the helm with the potatoes.  The meal was delicious.  The grande finale was the strawberry pretzel salad I made.  A recipe Jason thought I made up when I first mentioned it.  Growing up in Pittsburgh, it was a staple at all family gatherings, and was considered a side dish.  We are not really sure where “salad” comes into play, but why bother?  Once Jason tasted it, he was pleasantly surprised.  He liked it!  Jason liked it!