Done

Joe and I drove up to Afton Mountain to pick up Emily and Keiran at the end for their 100 mile hike yesterday. 

We got there a little bit early and went to meet them on the trail. I think they were glad to be done. Emily said she did not need to do that again.  It just took her a few days longer to come to Joe's conclusion that it was torture. 

 There was quite a bit of hobbling. Both Emily and Keiran had sore knees. On the way to drive them up to where they left their car we stopped and had lunch at a nice pizza place then crossed the street for some gelato (I opted for a brownie). 

Keiran shared this cool face he saw.

They saw surprisingly few real faces.  There was an Indian man from India that ended up at the same shelters several times.  

Food didn't seem to be an issue other than they said they carried too  much.  Any future hikes will probably be shorter with lighter packs.  

After we dropped them off at their car, I will say that I was glad I thought to bring a can of Febreze.  It made the 5 hour drive back more bearable.  

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Not Like Planned

Joe, Emily and Keiran headed out Sunday to hike 100 miles of the AT trail through Shenandoah National Park.  

Things seemed to be off to a good start.  

Joe's pack weighted 25-30 pounds.  Emily messaged me Monday that she didn't think Joe was going to make it.  

Tuesday Joe called me and sounded like things were fine.  He had slept better and liked hiking in shorts instead of long pants.  

Wednesday, he called it quits.  

After 40 miles he wondered what he was even trying to do.  He was just walking in a green tunnel all day and not sleeping well at night.  He said it was torcher.  He came around to my way of thinking that it was a "forced march".  I drove 4 1/2 hours to go pick him up.  He was very disappointed to have not finished.  I think if I had gone, it may have made things a little better for him.  Maybe we will try some shorter destination type hikes in the future.  

Meanwhile, Emily and Keiran have continued on.  Emily has been taking some great pictures.  

We plan to go pick them up on Monday.  

 

Overnight Trip

Joe had never been to Brevard to see Emily and Keiran’s house. This weekend he finally got there. 

Parts of the drive are really beautiful. 

After getting there, touring the house and yard, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and to downtown.  We stopped at an outdoor store and Joe tried on some hiking boots and backpacks.  No purchases were made.  

Emily took my picture at the White Squirrel Shoppe.  

It was a very pleasant town to walk around.  

On the way back, I spotted this unusual shaped flower.  Apparently, it is a gooseneck loosestrife.  They look exactly like geese.  

Emily and Keiran have a passion flower plant.  It is lovely.  It is making me consider trying one.  But they said it spreads, so I'm not sure I want to deal with that.  

Emily had asked Joe to bring a chain saw.  He was able to cut all of the unwanted trees and limbs.  Homemade pizza was for supper and Carol joined us for an evening of Scrabble.
Saturday morning we headed to Pisgah National Park for a 6 mile hike.   

Joe carried Emily's backpack for practice.  Are you wondering yet why all this hiking gear? 

Anyway, it was easy hiking. 

With a beautiful view at the top.  This is a view of Looking Glass Rock.

We got a togetherie. 

And a nice picture of Emily and Keiran.

And even a decent one of me and Joe. 

 

Joe spotted this damsel fly,

and Keiran saw this Click Beetle.  I have never heard of one before. 

And there was a very cute squirrel eating a mushroom. 

                                                 

There were lots of huckleberries.

I ate a few handfuls.  

It was a very nice hike. 

Back at the house Keiran wanted to show Joe how light and easy his tent was to set up.  

Then we went to REI and Joe made his first purchase towards his hike, a pair of hiking shoes!

I found out a couple of years ago that he was wanting to hike the Appalachian Trail.  Keiran suggested that he start smaller, The Long Trail in Vermont, 272 miles.  The plan is for Joe, Emily and Keiran to do the hike in August.  We are still trying to get Mitchell to go too.  I get to stay home and take care of the farm. It is starting to get real now. 

The Channels

Joe wanted to do something different than usual on Sunday.  So, instead of walking around here, we drove and hour and a half to walk around somewhere else.  I had seen something about The Channels in Saltville and thought it sounded interesting. 

It was purchased by the Virginia Department of Forestry in 2008, so it is a relatively new attraction.  There are only 10 parking spots, violators will be ticketed and towed.  There were 12 parked cars and another waiting when we arrived and another pulled in right after us.  Joe was pretty put out.  He thought that no one would bother to drive 30 minutes up a very winding road in the middle of no where to go on a hike.  I had already read that you needed to get there early to get a spot so I was not surprised by the number of cars there.  And since we were already there, I didn't mind waiting to see if a spot opened up.  It turned out we only had to wait about 30 minutes.  Then off we went.  The trail was 3 1/2 miles up hill the whole way.  

I enjoyed spotting wildflowers like these fire pinks, 

Mountain laurel, 

rhododendron, 

galax, 

goat's beard, 

blue eyed grass, 

And wild azalea.                                                                                                                                             

Finally, at the top there was a lookout tower.  Unfortunately, it was closed to the public.  

But there was a rock outcropping that had a beautiful view.  

I had eaten my lunch in the parking lot while we waited, but Joe packed his up the mountain and ate here.  

Then it was just a few hundred yards to The Channels.  

It doesn't look like much from the top.  

But it is amazing from the bottom.  

Joe said it would be a good spot for a Gunsmoke episode.   He said he could just hear Chester getting lost and calling out, "Mr. Dillon, Mr. Dillion."

I, on the other hand, thought about True Grit when Joe said he would take my picture.  I took off  my hat and my sunglasses immediately flew off and down into a hole.  I just thought about the snake pit.  Luckily, there was a stick near by that I was able to use to fish my glasses closer so I could reach them.  And there was no snake. 

We explored all of the nooks and crannies for about half an hour.  It was fascinating.  

Then it was 3 1/2 miles back down the mountain.  

It was a very enjoyable 4 hour hike.  We had no idea this was nearly in our backyard.