Oh, it's going to be a glorious Columbus Day weekend! The only thing I could think about was how gorgeous the Shenandoah mountains would be...and how fun it would be to share the views with my sister, Jen, and my niece, Hannah (6).
I set out early on Friday morning to find a campsite and go for a hike. Ended up doing a hike that passed right through Matthews Arm Campground where I was staying for the night. I went for about a 6 mile hike on the Knob Mountain and Elkswallow trails. Temperature was just right. Used my new backpacking stove to cook up a great lasagna meal and failed miserably at building a fire as all I had were tiny twigs and big logs. After finishing the book, "The Shack", I enjoyed a great night's sleep in my tent. Ahhh, bliss!
On Saturday morning, I headed back down Skyline Drive and into Front Royal to meet up with Jen & Hannah. We were so excited about the adventures ahead and the perfect weather in which to enjoy them. First stop was a 3 mile hike to the summit of Compton Mountain and back. I wasn't sure how Hannah would do this being her first "serious" hike. Well, the long and short of it is she rocked! She was the hike leader and was like the energizer bunny going up that mountain! I was SOOOO impressed - and Jen was very proud and excited, already dreaming of many outdoor adventures in the future with her daughter!
After going to the campground and fueling up on lunch, Hannah wanted to go for another hike - so we did! This was a loop hike around the campground about 2 miles long. While enjoying the scenery, we collected kindling - of all sizes - in hopes of having a camp fire. We taught Hannah how to make the Reynolds newspaper logs and how to build a teepee with the sticks over the newspaper logs to get a good fire. She did an awesome job and before we knew it, we had a roaring fire, perfect for roasting weenies and marshmellows...which, of course, we did.
Reluctantly, at about 8 pm, we put out the fire, packed up and headed back to NoVA, fully refreshed in body, mind and spirit from our time in the great outdoors. Can't wait to go exploring with Jen & Hannah again soon!
I set out early on Friday morning to find a campsite and go for a hike. Ended up doing a hike that passed right through Matthews Arm Campground where I was staying for the night. I went for about a 6 mile hike on the Knob Mountain and Elkswallow trails. Temperature was just right. Used my new backpacking stove to cook up a great lasagna meal and failed miserably at building a fire as all I had were tiny twigs and big logs. After finishing the book, "The Shack", I enjoyed a great night's sleep in my tent. Ahhh, bliss!
On Saturday morning, I headed back down Skyline Drive and into Front Royal to meet up with Jen & Hannah. We were so excited about the adventures ahead and the perfect weather in which to enjoy them. First stop was a 3 mile hike to the summit of Compton Mountain and back. I wasn't sure how Hannah would do this being her first "serious" hike. Well, the long and short of it is she rocked! She was the hike leader and was like the energizer bunny going up that mountain! I was SOOOO impressed - and Jen was very proud and excited, already dreaming of many outdoor adventures in the future with her daughter!
After going to the campground and fueling up on lunch, Hannah wanted to go for another hike - so we did! This was a loop hike around the campground about 2 miles long. While enjoying the scenery, we collected kindling - of all sizes - in hopes of having a camp fire. We taught Hannah how to make the Reynolds newspaper logs and how to build a teepee with the sticks over the newspaper logs to get a good fire. She did an awesome job and before we knew it, we had a roaring fire, perfect for roasting weenies and marshmellows...which, of course, we did.
Reluctantly, at about 8 pm, we put out the fire, packed up and headed back to NoVA, fully refreshed in body, mind and spirit from our time in the great outdoors. Can't wait to go exploring with Jen & Hannah again soon!
2 comments:
Way to go Hannah! I am especially impressed with her pink ears - how feline of her!
-Tiffany
Hannah puts my kids to shame . . :)
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