Today, “Black Friday,” Karen and I joined the REI challenge and opted for outside. The weather, in the 50s, with scattered clouds, made this easy. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and the cool air was perfect for hiking. Well, perhaps the wind was a bit too much on the cold side, . . . but I’d be a fool to complain. (God, if you’re reading this over my shoulder, “Well done!”)

We returned to Shenandoah and resumed our southbound hike at Thornton Gap. The first three miles was all uphill, and after an hour Karen and I were both wishing we had brought quick energy food. “Should we bring some gorp?” she asked me this morning as we rushed to leave the house. “No, we only have 6.4 miles to hike,” I answered hastily, mentally relegating the mountains to obstacles of little consequence.

Most of the trail was on a ridge cut into the side of the mountain, which provided us with great views through the leafless trees. We stopped for lunch about a quarter mile north of Bird’s Nest No. 3. We saw a flat and grassy patch of earth with boulders just the right size to sit on, and with an amazing view toward the west of the park, and we couldn’t resist claiming the spot for our lunch break. The peanut butter and jelly sandwich didn’t quite meet my calorie needs, but the cup of hot coffee that followed somehow left me feeling content.

The Bird’s Nest is a very nice shelter, with a fireplace built into its northern side. Next to it are several designated tent spots and a compost privy, concerning which I have it on good authority that “It was fresher than a daisy.”

By the time that we made it to our destination, the park had become surprisingly active with visitors. We were glad to see that so many had decided to skip the madness of consumerism and, instead, opt for outside experience.

On Saturday, Tod (trail name “Birch”!) and I left the gravel parking lot of PA 183 to hit the trail for Port Clinton. We backpacked and had a pretty heavy load. The Appalachian Trail at 183 starts on the ridge so we had the benefit of having a pretty level hike. Once again we were prepared for hunters by wearing ugly orange clothing. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before we met a hunter carrying a big firearm on the trail.

As the hunting heated up, the temperature cooled down. Significantly. This past weekend was cold! Hiking was not a problem. We certainly generated enough heat as we hiked on the rocky but easy trail. Amazingly, we ran into the father and two kids that we saw at the shelter last weekend. This time, they traveled South. Otherwise, there were very few people on the trail.

By 3 pm we arrived at Eagle Mountain Shelter. A man from Reading, Sam, and his two girls were camping out at the shelter. They had a robust fire going and this gave us a chance to hang out with them, warm up, and make a delicious cup of pumpkin spiced latte.

We came prepared for the weather and had winter clothing. We used our new Seatosummit collapsible cooking pot to make a hearty amount of spaghetti with chicken and four cheese sauce. Am I a gourmet or what?!?

There wasn’t much to do except freeze so Birch and I climbed into the tent early. I woke up to frost on my eyeglasses and we both strategized to figure out what to do next. Coffee!

The trail north from Eagle Mountain started pretty easy but after reaching a beautiful vista it soon turned rocky. You know the story. I am NOT going to write about rocks again! Instead, I’ll say that the trail this weekend was stunningly beautiful. The bed of red and yellow leaves on the floor of the forest made the hike incredibly enjoyable. The beauty of the trees inspired us so that we now finally have trail names.

The last part of this hike made us ready to reach the car. Down, down, down! My knees were not happy! Ten minutes off the trail it began to rain. Our timing was perfect and so was the hike.

Finally! Another hike on the AT!

It is amazing how addictive it is to hike along the Appalachian Trail. Now that spring is here, I couldn’t wait to check out the trail. Would I see green leaves?

Karen at the Trail head

Tod and I have completed the Maryland and West Virginia sections of the trail, so we need to venture further and further out if we want to hike new areas. On April 18, we hiked an 11 mile section that begins at Caladonia State Park, Pennsylvania. We parked our car near US 30 and the park’s entrance. After walking a bit on US 30 we were soon on the trail.

The first part of the hike is uphill. The trail has a sign on it that says “most difficult”. This was a little unnerving but for those who have been on the Maryland portion, it really isn’t that different than other steep areas. The trees were not yet with leaves but things were definitely greening up a bit.

We passed two major shelters on our journey. The first was Quarry Gap. It had amazing tent platforms. They were large, clean and flat, enabling tents to be well off the ground. (I would definitely come back!) One wonderful thing about the ascent was the beautiful path of rhododendrons along the way. At one point, there was a beautiful arch!

Finally, at about the 4-mile mark, things leveled off. We walked along a ridge and had some beautiful views, thanks to the lack of leaves. However, it was a warm day and we really could have used some shade. I really appreciated the diversity in trees and vegetation. It was so nice to finally get to some pines and feel the softness of the needles under our feet, the cool canopy of branches above us.

After stopping for lunch, we continued along the trail, crossing roads, power lines, and bypassing a very nice cabin. I was tired and ready to be done. (Tod might tell you I complained but I was really just expressing how impressed I was with the length of the trail.) I was very happy to see Birch Run Shelter, about a mile from our final destination. We stopped to take a break (and admire the beautiful shelter!) before completing our trip, where we left one of our cars at a small parking lot on Shippensburg Road.

Tod, hiking along the trail. My motivator and supporter!

Our trip to Salt Lake City offered us the opportunity to hike some beautiful trails. One was the Church Fork trail to Grandeur Peak. Located in the Watsatch mountains in Mill Creek Canyon, this hike began above 5,000 feet, an elevation that is pretty new to us. The trail begins under a blanket of trees and goes along a stream. Up, up, up! For some reason, we felt the elevation more on this hike than others. I had a tough time at first.

At the trailhead.

All that changed when we peaked above the tree line and saw the incredible view. I took a ton of photos at first, but soon realized that the views would only get better as we used the switchbacks to climb higher and higher.  Because this was our first time in the area, we had no idea what our ultimate destination would be. Where was Grandeur Peak? Luckily, I didn’t realize that we would be going so far. I’m not sure I would have thought it possible to complete our goal if I knew we would be hiking so far!

See that peak over my shoulder? That is our destination!

For those familiar with mountains, this hike may seem routine. For us, it was spectacular. We eventually reached the saddleback with views of Salt Lake City. We continued on and the 360 degree views were amazing. We had ascended about 3.5 miles, to 8299 feet, an elevation gain of over 2,300. 

On the trip back, I tried to soak in the views. The trees were a beautiful mosaic of greens, reds, yellows, oranges and silvers. The evergreens, combined with the aspens and maples, made the mountains look prettier than any painting.

We got to the car and finished up just in time to go to the airport for our trip home. The opportunity to hike in Utah was a nice change from Maryland. We’ve had some great hikes so far this year!