What happens when you get 9 Trail Dames (Hemlock, Shemeah, Leslie, Kelly, Denise, Kristen, Sandi, Diana, and me) together in the rugged mountains of North Carolina?
You get your script flipped
when you find out the forest road you need to go up is closed, haha!; You get a new plan that insists you hike UP hill for two days; you get a beautiful warm up 2.4 mile hike of dynamite exploded trees, triliums, yellow violets, carpets of moss and little white flowers (sorry Hemlock, I forgot their names! candy something right?); 82 degree weather; a 1.5 mi
le climb to our campsite; a lovely rhododendrum lined river cascading next to our campsite that helps soften my snoring (hee hee!); hours of bear bagging attempts; great conversations; an awesome fire to keep us warm when the temperature plummets; some vegan chocolate (who knew Godiva makes vegan chocolate? and it was GOOD!); the birthday song sung to Shemeah and birthday vegan carrot cake (which was delish!); Sandi's 3.5 inch bed buddy (hee hee!); stories of the red eyed monster (Thanks ladies, I 
was the closest to the trail that night and it took me a good half hour to stop thinking about that monster! haha!); sleeping soundly to the sound of the water rushing by; waking up late and rushing to pack up; some steep up hill 3 mile climb; a giant tree that you could live in!; crawling betwe
le climb to our campsite; a lovely rhododendrum lined river cascading next to our campsite that helps soften my snoring (hee hee!); hours of bear bagging attempts; great conversations; an awesome fire to keep us warm when the temperature plummets; some vegan chocolate (who knew Godiva makes vegan chocolate? and it was GOOD!); the birthday song sung to Shemeah and birthday vegan carrot cake (which was delish!); Sandi's 3.5 inch bed buddy (hee hee!); stories of the red eyed monster (Thanks ladies, I 
was the closest to the trail that night and it took me a good half hour to stop thinking about that monster! haha!); sleeping soundly to the sound of the water rushing by; waking up late and rushing to pack up; some steep up hill 3 mile climb; a giant tree that you could live in!; crawling between some down trees that were in the middle of the trail; steeper switchbacks; stopping for a snack with Leslie and Kelly on some caterpillar infested rocks and not caring that they crawled all over me b/c I was too tired to move; getting stuck on a fallen log and not minding because I was so tired and the log felt comfortable; pulling a muscle trying to do a cheerleaders split to get over said lo
g (haha!); praying that I wouldn't have more climbing; feeling of relief at hearing cheers from Denise and Sandi as we round up to the top of the mountain; utter bliss at dropping my pack and seeing the view at Naked Ground; realizing that I will be camping at a place called NAKED GROUND! haha!; forgetting how tough the climb was as I take in the amazing view; napping in the sun for an hour; setting up camp for the night; finding out Kristen needed a sodium b
oost to get her up the hill and thinking her trail name should be SALT; finding out Hemlock hiked up that dreaded mountain TWICE! to check on everyone (She is hard core); a bunch of hikers and dogs stopping by on their way up to their campsites; a hike down to the water source; a hike back up from the water source; plummeting temperatures; a clear, windy night; perfect view of the super moon that only comes around every 18 years; debating if we want to have our own "Super Moon" but deciding not too because of the 3 gentlemen campers near our 
site (haha
g (haha!); praying that I wouldn't have more climbing; feeling of relief at hearing cheers from Denise and Sandi as we round up to the top of the mountain; utter bliss at dropping my pack and seeing the view at Naked Ground; realizing that I will be camping at a place called NAKED GROUND! haha!; forgetting how tough the climb was as I take in the amazing view; napping in the sun for an hour; setting up camp for the night; finding out Kristen needed a sodium boost to get her up the hill and thinking her trail name should be SALT; finding out Hemlock hiked up that dreaded mountain TWICE! to check on everyone (She is hard core); a bunch of hikers and dogs stopping by on their way up to their campsites; a hike down to the water source; a hike back up from the water source; plummeting temperatures; a clear, windy night; perfect view of the super moon that only comes around every 18 years; debating if we want to have our own "Super Moon" but deciding not too because of the 3 gentlemen campers near our 
site (haha!); another warm Shemeah fire; finding out that sitting on hard rock is actually very comfortable; night time yoga; sleeping warmly in my hammock; waking up to what felt like sub zero temperatures; cooking breakfast with a view; starting our 4 mile descent back to the car; hiking in my PJ's; Sandi falling flat on her bum (don't worry, I don't think anyone else saw. Hee hee!); Denise tripping and eating the trail (yeah, I think we all sa
w. haha!); 5 dames sqeezing into a hollowed out tree for a photo op (so much fun!); contorting my body (with a pack on)to weave through some down trees; climbing up a boulder to continue 
the trail; 20 water crossings; a giant grin at reaching the end of the trail; a 1/2 mile walk back to my car; changing clothes in the gorss privy; slipping on flip flops and my feet thanking me for it; saying good bye to some old and new friends; getting a good bye Trail Dame, trek pole salute (so cool, I loved it! thank you everyone!) ;speeding down the mountain to a warm cheeseburger and icey cold diet coke; and finally, thinking I can't wait to do it all over again with this group of ladies.
w. haha!); 5 dames sqeezing into a hollowed out tree for a photo op (so much fun!); contorting my body (with a pack on)to weave through some down trees; climbing up a boulder to continue 
the trail; 20 water crossings; a giant grin at reaching the end of the trail; a 1/2 mile walk back to my car; changing clothes in the gorss privy; slipping on flip flops and my feet thanking me for it; saying good bye to some old and new friends; getting a good bye Trail Dame, trek pole salute (so cool, I loved it! thank you everyone!) ;speeding down the mountain to a warm cheeseburger and icey cold diet coke; and finally, thinking I can't wait to do it all over again with this group of ladies. 
I had a wonderful time with all the Trail Dames and look forward to more trips with you all soon! I'm so glad I had a chance to talk to every single one of you. You guys are hilarious and so much fun. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!
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4 comments:
Oh,I loved this trip sooo much! I had to laugh out loud throughout your post (. The funny thing is while you were changing in the stinky privy, I just went behind it and stripped down and changed! )
haha! Yes that was one of my top favorite trips. You guys are soooo much fun! Can't wait til the next one. :)
This was a trip I'll never forget! Laughed so much reading your post and remembering all the good times.
We did have some fun didn't we. haha! Looking forward to the next trip!
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