LauraLiz: October 2008

Sunday, October 26, 2008

The Summit

Once we reached the summit, hot and sweaty from the hike, we were suddenly exposed to wild winds that instantly froze us! My hair does not always look quite this bad--I usually wear a hat while hiking.

No photo can do it justice. We had a 360 degree view of mountains. Lovely!!

And here we are, at the very top--eating lunch and trying not to let the gusts blow us off!

We hiked a portion of the Tanawha Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway--9 miles.

The Paths We Trod--Part 3

The marks on this rock may not look like much, but to the seven of us hiking behind the "running" group, it was a lifesaver. We got to a place where the path split, and as I stood there looking at the signpost, trying to remember if I even knew the name of the outlook we were headed toward, a hiker behind me said "look down." Some kind person in the advance party had anticipated our predicament, and wrote "CHOA" (the name of our outdoor club) with an arrow pointing in the right direction. So sometimes our paths have clear directions from those who have gone before...if we look closely and don't try to figure out every single thing all by ourselves!

The Paths We Trod--Part 2

Continuing yesterday's musings, sometimes our paths are sun dappled, making the uphill climb a little easier....

Sometimes we catch sight of an easier way....but is it the better route?

And sometimes the path goes steeply downhill, with treacherous footing.

The trail I hiked Saturday was varied, but characterized by wet leaves covering roots and rocks, making it necessary to pay careful attention to foot placement. Sometimes even that did not prevent mishaps...on one big, smooth rock that sloped downhill, I chose what looked like the drier portion. My feel flew out from under me and I landed hard on my seat and hands. To everyone's amazement, I wasn't hurt, but it reminded us all how easy it is to slip (and how we can learn from others....everyone else chose a different part of the rock to walk on!!).

The Paths We Trod

As with Saturday's hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway, our paths often vary markedly. Sometimes there are big obstructions, causing a detour before we can even find the path again.

Sometimes they are wet and slippery...

And sometimes they are uphill and rocky.

Long Time Friends

We stood a long time marveling at how long these trees must have been here, and how they managed to grow (hey...any excuse for a rest will do toward the end of a mountain hike!).

Tanawha Trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway.