Long Distance Hikes

Ever since Boo, the dogs, and I completed the 20 mile, 3 day hike from Max Patch to Hot Springs, I've been itching to do another long distance hike. There are two that I think would be great to try out over a 10 or 7 or 5 day period. The first one is the 76 mile Foothills Trail. It is a woodland path along the Blue Ridge escarpment of the southern Applachian Moutains. It goes from the Oconee State Park in South Carolina to Table Rock State Park in North Carolina (or vice versa.) From what I have read, it sounds like a great beginning to long distance hiking/backpacking trail, and one that my dogs can travel on with me. We would go from SC to NC, starting with the gradual terrain and leaving the tougher, higher climbs for the end of the trail. I am looking forward to trying it out sometime in 2009, maybe Spring.

The second long distance trail is the 70 miles through the

Great Smokies National Park in North Carolina. Its a bit tougher and higher elevation and I've read the rangers are pretty strick in enforcing the 7 day policy through the park. I know you have to register b/c you can only camp at the designated shelters (no stealth camping) so the shelters are what would dictate the mileage for each day and NO, the shelters are not quite spaced out 10 miles apart. That would be too easy!! hahaha!! On this hike, some days we would do 6 miles, and some days 15 miles. So its a bit more of a challenge for us novice long distance hiker wanna-be's. Plus, the GSNP does not allow dogs, so this hike would be just Boo and Me. Considering our longest hike we've done so far is roughly 20 miles, I've got some lofty dreams of doing the Foothills or GSNP. But I am confident we could do it because, we (me, Boo and the dogs) make a great backpacking team. So it there will lots of gym time to get in better shape, and a few real hikes sprinkled in this winter to get us ready for a nice long distance hike sometime in 2009! Wow, its not even New Years and I've got a new year resolution/goal already.... hahhaha!! I suppose I'm so excited at the prospect of doing this, that just the planning is motivating me. :) Til next time, GET OUTDOORS!!

Kings Mt. Hike

I was very surprised when just a week ago my dad expressed interest in going on a hike. WOW!! I thought, it was a chance to convert another one! I was sooo excited. So I knew, THIS hike had to be a good one for my dad to keep interest. Well..... imagine my luck when my boo suggests taking my parents to Kings Mt. for two VERY good reasons. First, it was a nice easy hike with just a small amount of uphill on a well maintained trail. Secondly, it is a Military State Park where and my dad is huge US history buff. PERFECT!! I have the best Boo ever! So on Sunday my parents, boo, the dogs, and the little rug rats my mom sometimes babysits for ventured out to Kings Mt. for a 5 mile hike, picnic, history lesson, and family time. Here is some info on Kings Mt. from the website "Thomas Jefferson called it "The turn of the tide of success." The battle of Kings Mountain, fought October 7th, 1780, was an important American victory during the Revolutionary War. The battle was the first major patriot victory to occur after the British invasion of Charleston, SC in May 1780. The park preserves the site of this important battle. This battle—fought by 1,000 plus militiamen—without orders, formal military training, uniforms or provisions, and with no promise of pay. English Col. Patrick Ferguson, is credited by most early historians with having changed the course of the Revolution in the South, and may have even insured that the original number of colonies in these United States of America would be thirteen, not ten."
The dogs (thing 1 and thing 2) led us along a beautiful trail where the leaves were bursting with all kinds of colors. The weather was a cool 65 degrees, so we were all bundled up in our fleece jackets. The trail had a nice gentle grade, soft rolling hills feel to it and the it was mostly down hill. After walking 4 1/2 miles we finally get to the spur trail to climb the .6 miles up to the top of Brown Mt. I was so proud at how well my parents did. We finally reach the top and because it was such a clear day, the the views went on for miles and miles. We took it all in for a few moments then had a nice picnic of my dads favorite snacks; sausage, cheese, sourdough bread and GORP! (Ok, so the gorp was my fav.) After everyone enjoyed the picnic, we headed down Brown Mt. and back to the trail to take us to the ranger station. The trail going back was a bit more challenging because we were hiking a lot more ups then downs. So we took it a bit slower, which was fine with me. It gave me time to look around and really enjoy being outdoors. I snapped some great photos of the "naked" trees that had lost all their leaves. On the way back, we came across a tree that looked like it was struck with lightening. My mom was the first to noticed that the burn markings looked like a giant black bear. I took a photo of it and it DOES look like a black bear. We finally make it back to the ranger station and learn there will be a short 30 min. film about the history of Kings Mt. We decide to look around the museum until the film started. After the surprisingly interesting museum tour, we entered the dark theater and almost immediately my Boo and my mom fall asleep. Suffice to say, neither are big history buffs. hahhaha! The rest of us enjoyed the film and I learned a lot. All in all it was a great day. I got to share my love of the outdoors with my parents, we learned some history about the revolutionary war, and the best part... My dad said "the next time we come back we should do the lake trail." Important words here were "THE NEXT TIME" hahaha! I converted another one. :) Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!

Family Bike Trip

We had so much fun on the first trip down the Virginia Creeper Trail that Boo and I decided to invite my parents to enjoy the bike ride. We were actually supposed to go last weekend, but the weather was terrible, (rain all day Sunday) and the horrible "gas scare" saga was continued. But it actually turned out for the best because this past weekend was absolutely the most perfect fall day for this trip. It started with a phone call on Saturday to remind my "always late" mom to make sure she is ready to go by 8am. Not wake up by 8am, but be dressed and READY TO GO by 8am. She is notoriously late for everthing. I'm surprised we are even related because if I am on time for something, I think I'm late. I am notoriously early for everything. Hahahaha! Makes for an interesting childhood. ;) Anyways, so we show up at 8 on the dot and she is, of course, still getting ready. I bust into her room to hurry her along and see that she is bundled like she is going skiing! Layers upon layers of clothes, ugg boots, a sweater, AND a coat. I'm like "mom, what are you doing? I said it was going to be brisk, not blizzard." I had wait for her to change. In the mean time, my dad is nowhere to be found. He dropped off the twins my mom sometime watches back at their house. Boo thinks it would be cool to see the little rug rats biking down the trail, so we decided to pick them up along the way and take them to VA with us. After only getting lost once, we FINALLY make it to Whitetop VA and the bike rental shop. The nice lady tells me she remembers me b/c I have a good personality about me. Blushing, I thank her for compliment and for keeping our reservation so late. We start handing out the bikes and realize there is only one childs blue bike and one childs purple bike. Problem is we have two BOYS who refuse to ride on a purple bike. The tears start streaming and I think... here we go...... We have to convince them to share both bikes and trade off at each stop. I try to distract them with the reward of Ice cream as soon as we finish the trail and that purple is a way cooler color than blue (they don't buy it). Finally get everyone going. Boo, my dad, and one of the twins takes off for the trail head, which is 1 mile from the bike rental shop. I wait on my mom, who hasn't been on a bike in like 20 years, and the purple biked twin. Mom starts out a bit rusty, but gets the hang of it. We are about 1/2 mile away from the trail head when the purple biked looses controland crashes right on the pavement. My mom, who has forgotten how to stop a bike, jumps off to help the now screaming twin, and comes to a tumbling fall. ( I think, wow, we aren't even to the trail head yet, can this crew make it 17 miles?) I use tough love and force the whiney twin back on the bike. I tell him to follow directly behind me and to use his hand brakes. Mom finally gets back on the bike and we make it sloooooooowly to the trail head. We stop to zip up the jackets b/c it's a brisky fall afternoon and my mom, once again, falls off the bike and tumbles to the ground. She then starts to pick apples off the apple trees at the trail head. I yell over to her and she braves the bike again. We are FINALLY off, down the 17 mile trail to Damascus for our reward of ice cream. I pray that no one will get fatally wounded and try to enjoy my trip. Boo holds up the front with my dad and blue bike, while I take up the rear watching my mom and purple bike closely. As it turned out, my mom only crashed 3 times. Once with each twin and once on her own. Both twins crash only 2 times, once with my mom and once with each other. Oh.... and purple bike.... he got stung by a bee, but he was a trooper and kept going once I reminded him of the ice cream at the end. We stop about mid way for a picnic and by then, everyone has worked out all the kinks and are pretty confident on their bikes. The last half flew by pretty fast and we finally make it to the ice cream shop. It was definately a nice reward, we pedal thru town like pro's and get to the shuttle for the ride back up to the car. The twins, (who are 6 by the way), are having a hard time keeping their eyes open. On the way back home, we relive our biking adventure and how it was one of the best things we have ever done. I just smiled deep down inside, knowing that everyone (after all the ruckus) experienced the peacefulness I feel when I'm in the outdoors. I'm so glad I was able to share this with the ones I loved. Til next time GET OUTDOORS!

Yard Work....

So last weekend was supposed to be fun. Thanks to the gas scare in our area (no gas in most stations due to the hurricanes), we were forced to stay home for fear we would be stranded somewhere with no way home. It ended up being a very productive weekend. We had a tree company come and take a few dead trees that didn't make it through the drought. They also thinned out or "topped" up most of our trees so more sunlight was able to seep into our backyard and finally let our poor hollys, that we have been trying to grow as screeners in the backyard, get some light. Well.... Boo took the "forced IN" weekend as an opportunity to do some serious yard work. We rented a tiller, bought hay, seeds, pine needles, and mums and went to work! We tilled up the bald patches of ground (which was about 1/4 of my yard and let me tell you, tilling is some seriously hard work!), we sprinkled LOTS of seeds around, covered it all with hay/straw, watered it, and said a nice prayer to the Grass Gods to please, please let the little seeds germinate and grow. We transplanted about 9 big monkey grass plants (picture on right) 2 fire shrub bushes from the back yard to the front yard and insulated them with pine needles. We then planted a couple of burnt orange colored mums (perfect for fall) in my two big containers at the front door. Believe it or not, that took ALL DAY to do.

On Sunday we took the tiller back and bought more straw, mums, and some needed hardware for our closet system. Seems that our closet system, on my side, no longer wanted to stay bolted to the walls. (Boo blamed it on too many clothes... oops) So, after another trip to Lowes, we finally get back and finish up haying the yard and watering everything. The extra orange and wine colored mums were transplanted in a container in front of the garage and in a small flower bed next to the garage. Boo gets an idea to "trim" up the holly bushes in the front yard. Well.... he basically gave them a "high and tight" crew cut like they were signing up for the military! I about cried over one of the holly's . It seriously looked like a bunch of sticks. He said he had a design in mind and wanted to try something. I think he was in some power trip/ testosterone fog with the chain saw and just hacked away to his hearts content. :) (Tim "the tool time" Allen would be proud.) Hopefully they will grow back soon. While he cleaned up, I went inside and pulled out all my fall decorations and put them out around the house. We finally get the energy to tackle the closet project, and I weeded through all my clothes and tossed/packed things I didnt' wear or were too summery. Eventhough I didn't get to do anything super fun this weekend. I was still outdoors most of the time :) and it is definitely fall in the Sweetpea household. Til Next time. GET OUTDOORS!

Diverting Ducky's

While in Hot Spring NC, we decided to kayak down the lower French Broad River. So we stopped by Huck Finn Rafting Outfitters (who were great by the way) and rented a couple of ducky's for an unguided trip. We took a quick shuttle to the river, unloaded our boats, marched into the river, plopped on the ducky's, and off we went. Our destination was Murray's Branch Park. It was only 5 miles away, so we figured the trip would be quick and easy. Well.... with the drought this year, the river was pretty low. In fact, it was REAL low in some spots. So low that we got stuck on a lot of rocks and in a few places we actually had to get out of the ducky's and walked it over to a deeper section. Not only was the river low, but the wind was blowing hard and was working against us. In some spots, even though I was paddling my heart out, I didn't even move! Needless to say I got a great upper body work out. So what should of been a nice, easy, 2 1/2 hour trip took us 4 hours to do. But in our defense, we took it real slow, snapped lots of photos, goofed around a bit, and just enjoyed being outdoors. The lower French Broad River is fairly calm and only has a couple of class I and class II rapids, nothing to crazy, but enough to make it a little fun. The last section was probably my favorite. A bit rowdy, with a couple of crazy rapids. All in all, it was a beautiful day. Oh, and in true Boo form, he fell in the river. I swear, I can take that boy rafting down the NEW RIVER or OCOEE with class III and IV rapids and he will barely get wet, but get him on a class I or II river like the Nantahala or French Broad, and he will fall in each time. hahhaah!! Poor thing.... luckily we had a change of clothes and a nice camp fire to keep him warm. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!!

Sweetpea in a PeaPod

This weekend we attended the 23rd annual SEHHA (South East Hammock Hangers Association) in Hot Springs NC. I've been curious about hammock camping for a while, so when this opportunity came about, I jumped at the chance to go and check it out. It all started with a call to the SEHHA to see if there was still room available for a ground dweller like me to come, pitch a tent, and learn about hammocks. So I called and guess who answered the phone? None other than Ed Speer himself! The author of the "Hammock Camping" book and owner/creator/inventor of Speer Hammocks. I was a bit nervous asking him if there was room for a tent at the group camp site b/c I thought everyone would be hanging. He graciously told me there was plenty of room and even offered to put us up hammocks!!

We loaded up the car and headed up to Hot Springs. As soon as we roledl up to the group campsite, Ed walks uped and greeted us. What a super nice guy. He was way casual and made us feel very comfortable and welcomed. There were lots of other "hammock hangers" there. I met LOST, NO TRAIL NAME, THE CRUMB, SHADOW MOSS, MR. PREZ, Karen, and some other hanger enthusiasts that were more than willing to show me their gear, and even more proud to show me their DYI hammocks, tarps and quilts. Ed Speer showed us our camp spot and helped us put up two hammocks and a tarp so we could get a feel of how the system worked. I was even privileged to get the use of the Speer PeaPod. Its a down under quilt that Velcros up to keep you snugly warm like a pea in a pod. :) It kept me warm and I probably had the best night sleep I've ever had outdoors. The next morning we woke up lazily and "hung" around camp longer than normal. We usually are up, have camp packed, and are on the trail by 7am b/c sleeping on the ground hurts our backs so much. Well, we probably got out of out hammock around 9am. We just lounged around for a couple of hours, relaxing and enjoying just being outdoors. What a weekend, we met some interesting people who told some great stories around the camp fire of their AT thru-hike experiences and we discovered an awesome way to sleep comfortably in the woods. I think I'm a convert. :)

Hammocks

Whoo hoo! Looks like I will be going to the 23rd annual "Hammock Hangers" camp-out this weekend if all goes well. I'm looking forward to seeing it, learning about it, and becoming a convert! I've been talking about trading in my sleep pad ground dwelling days for a the comforts of a hammock for a while now. Don't get me wrong. I love my tent and my sleeping bag, but backpacking or camping on the ground makes for a grouchy Sweetpea the next morning. I get rough nights of sleep and my hips and back hurt from sleeping on the ground. So, when I discovered ultralight hammocks for backpacking, I was totally intrigued. I've read alot about Hennessy Hammocks with their built in mosquito net and tarp. I know that JackRbetter hammocks have great quilts, and that Speer Hammocks makes kits you can sew yourself. But what I want to know, is how COMFORTABLE are each of these hammocks and can a side sleeper like myself get a good night sleep. We will see what I learn. Til then, GET OUTDOORS!

VA Creeper Trail

We made it to the Virginia Creeper Trail this past weekend and it was a gorgeous day to bike 34.... er.... 17 miles. Yes, we were only able to do 17 miles. NOT b/c we couldn't do the entire 34, but it seemed as if Ike had different plans for us. No, we didn't get hit by hurricane Ike per say. We got hit by what hurricane Ike caused.... gas shortages. Our 34 mile bike ride was short changed b/c the shuttle service didn't have fuel. Seems as if the gas stations in the area were closed b/c they were out of gas. All in all, it worked out for the best. I was a bit nervous about doing the entire 34 miles anyways. Not b/c I couldn't do it, but b/c of how long it would of taken me to do it. See.... we went with a group of VERY fit people. Infact, some of the people in our group biked 68 miles that day! So when we heard that the shuttle couldn't pick us up at the end of the trail in Abbington VA, I was a bit (no, ALOT) relieved. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and I was able to relax and enjoy the day knowing we had 3 1/2 hours to do 17 miles. I was seriously worried that I would have had to pedal my ass off and not taken in the scenery or get any good photos b/c I had to make sure I kept up with the fast crew in order to catch the shuttle on time. Anyways.... enough about hurricane Ike, stress, and the fit bikers. About my trip. So we get meet up location for the group and all follow each other to the bike outfitters (Creeper Trail Bike Rentals.) We pick out our bikes and are ready to go around 12pm. The rental shop is about a mile away from the bike trail head, so we pedal on over. It was a nice 1-mile ride, mostly down hill and passing through farm land. We get to the Whitetop Station trail head (which is an old train station thats now converted into a little store/museum for hikers and bikers), snap some photos and Boo begins the trail. The Virginia CreeperTrail by the way, is a former railroad bed that passes through the beautiful, rugged, backcountry of southwest Virginia. The entire trail is 34 miles in length one way and can be biked, or hiked going in either direction. There is even a section of the Appalachian Trail that merges with the Creeper trail for a few miles. (I wonder if we would be able to cross that section of the AT trail off since we technically were ON the AT? hahaha!). So we rode the 17 miles from Whitetop to Damascus going down almost the entire way. What a gorgeous trail. It passed through the woods of Mt. Rogers National Park, it passed through open meadows, Christmas tree farms, and at times even wooded private property. The trail rides along a meandering river that likes to snake from right to left, sprinkling the entire trail with about 100 tressles and bridges. About mid way, we stopped for lunch. We hiked down about 15 feet to the river, sat on some large rock croppings that had some good views of a few small waterfalls, and ate PB&J sammies, bananas, and chocolate chip cookies. After a nice 30 min. break, we hopped on the bikes, pass Green Cove Station, and continue on our way. At mile 11 there was a busy cafe aptly called the Creeper Trail Cafe. I've read some good things about it, but we weren't hungry and continued on to Damascus. The trail gets a bit more flatter, but it was nice to actually pedal for a bit. Soon we enter the town of Damascus VA, and see the ice cream shop that I've read has the best ice cream. We still weren't too hungry, so we continue through the tiny town and head to the shuttle area. We ride back up to Whitetop and to our car. Both of us agreed that we would definately come back and do the entire 34 miles someday. Boo wants to do it going warp speed to see how fast he can complete it. Me... I just want to enjoy being outdoors, letting the breeze flow through my hair, watching the river float on by, and working up an appetite for that reward ice cream cone! Can't wait to go back. Til then.... Get outdoors and PLAY!!!

Morning Hike

We woke up this morning, had a breakfast wrap, and were in the car by 7:30am to go on a 5 mile hike with the dogs. I had bought these new harnesses for the dogs and was pretty eager to try them out. By 8:50 am we were on the trail and it was getting pretty warm out. The first 1/2 mile was small rolling hills. THEN we get to the 1.5 mile steep 1000 foot ascent. Lots of boulder scrambling, lots of calf burning, and lots of sweating! The dogs did amazing as usual. I've got some tough pampered pets. :) I took a couple of great photos of the dogs scrambling up the rocks. We stop mid-way to take in the view and for a water break. We trudge up and up and finally reach the top to a great view. I love the rewarding view especially after exerting so much and knowing YOUR legs were the ones that propelled you up that mountain. After a liter of water and a 20 min. break, we decided to climb down the mountain. 3 miles to go, but it was mostly down hill with a few soft rolling hills. I always power thru this section. Its like its testing me to see how strong I can hike thru this 2 mile. Once we get back to the 1/2 mile section to that takes us back to the car, we cool down and take it slow. All the streams were bone dry so the dogs had to wait til we got to the trail head so I could pump water out of the spring for them. As soon as we got there, they lapped and lapped up water for over 10 mins. We load back up in to the car and head back home. The dogs were asleep in 2 mins. and didn't make a peep til we got home. The rest of the day was spent doing household chores and relaxing. I love getting outdoors, even if its just for a bit. Til next time. GET OUTDOORS!

Mt. Bike Ride

Today we decided to go for a bike ride. Well ,really we needed to train for our upcoming 34 mile bike adventure! So we started with a 10 mile trail that was in town, hoping to get our leg muscles used to some pedaling action. It was a beautiful day and perfect for a ride in the woods. Not many people out there so, it made for a nice trail ride. I've been hiking so much that I thought my legs would be in shape for the bike ride, but I quickly realized (and felt) that bike riding uses some different leg muscles than I was used to working out. Namely, my quads and hamstrings. WOW were they burning on some of the uphill parts. But a good burn :) I feel like I need some more time on this trail to feel comfortable on our upcoming trip. So I'm going to try to make it out at least 2 more times this week. The first 5 miles started out pretty slow and easy, then on the way back, I don't know if I was feeling fatigued or if I was just riding faster and harder. It's probably a combo of both, but it seemed tougher coming back. Either way, it was a great ride to assess where my bike skills were.