Since there was no hiking last week ( and the weather was glorious!) due to the opening of buck season and the entire male half of WV out there with guns, and also since my trip for this week got rained out, I've decided to fill in when there are gaps with some hikes that we've done before the blog was begun. There aren't that many, but they will be out of order from the rest.
The first was my first hiking trip since Burt and I used to hike in the Olympics, over 20 years ago. My very dear friend, Hilly Holly, arranged to meet me in Waynesboro, Virginia for a few days of hiking, touristing, tennis, and catching up after too many years apart. She is an avid hiker, and I owe a huge thanks to her for getting me and my family involved in this great adventure.
HH researched the hiking possibilities carefully ahead of time and sent me several to choose from, Crabtree Falls being the winner. My main impressions were that we got off to a late start hiking, due to fuzzy directions from the website, and it was an incredibly hot day. We didn't begin until 11:00, and we experienced the heat. I still loved it. Other vivid remembrances were that I was wearing Encyclopedia's Combat boots since I did not have a pair of hiking boots. They ALMOST fit perfectly, but that little "almost" resulted in major blisters and pain, so I wisely switched to my running shoes, which I had packed just in case. And finally, even though I walk the dog about 4 miles every day at a pretty brisk pace, I quickly learned that walking shape is not the same as hiking shape, especially when a mountain is involved.
All of that sounds very negative, and yet, I totally loved it and wondered why in the world it had taken me so long to get back to this. I took notes in my journal, which I will copy down here.
Crabtree Falls
July 26, 2012
George Washington National Forest
My first hike. Hiked with HH. We got lost getting there and didn't get started until 11:00. Hiked 1.5 miles to the summit, where we lunched with the most glorious view. Nine switchbacks, lots of stairs, and view of the waterfall in its entirety.
HOT. 105 degree heat index.
That's it. First hike. Loved it.
The first was my first hiking trip since Burt and I used to hike in the Olympics, over 20 years ago. My very dear friend, Hilly Holly, arranged to meet me in Waynesboro, Virginia for a few days of hiking, touristing, tennis, and catching up after too many years apart. She is an avid hiker, and I owe a huge thanks to her for getting me and my family involved in this great adventure.
HH researched the hiking possibilities carefully ahead of time and sent me several to choose from, Crabtree Falls being the winner. My main impressions were that we got off to a late start hiking, due to fuzzy directions from the website, and it was an incredibly hot day. We didn't begin until 11:00, and we experienced the heat. I still loved it. Other vivid remembrances were that I was wearing Encyclopedia's Combat boots since I did not have a pair of hiking boots. They ALMOST fit perfectly, but that little "almost" resulted in major blisters and pain, so I wisely switched to my running shoes, which I had packed just in case. And finally, even though I walk the dog about 4 miles every day at a pretty brisk pace, I quickly learned that walking shape is not the same as hiking shape, especially when a mountain is involved.
All of that sounds very negative, and yet, I totally loved it and wondered why in the world it had taken me so long to get back to this. I took notes in my journal, which I will copy down here.
Crabtree Falls
July 26, 2012
George Washington National Forest
My first hike. Hiked with HH. We got lost getting there and didn't get started until 11:00. Hiked 1.5 miles to the summit, where we lunched with the most glorious view. Nine switchbacks, lots of stairs, and view of the waterfall in its entirety.
HOT. 105 degree heat index.
That's it. First hike. Loved it.
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