Go on, you can do this!

Good morning to you and to the new week!


I hope your weekend was a good one!
Mine was!

Peter and I took on a pretty hard and LONG hike on Saturday.
We rolled out of bed a little after 6.
Got ready.
Made a picnic to bring with us.
Checked our backbags.
Grabbed our water bottles.
Grabbed our walking sticks.
Got out of the door.
And yes, we left before sunrise.

This time around we hiked in Maryland.
On the Appalachian Trail. Our “little baby amongst trails”.
Our goal is to close out the AT in the state of Maryland. You know, so we can say that we have hiked the entire state.
That goal IS within reach.
Virginia is a harder state to knock out since it is SO big. A quarter of the entire AT runs thru Virginia.
Maryland is a small state, so the trail is much much shorter  to hike there.

The woods still look so green and lush.  What a strange fall we're having ...

We were out on the trail at 8:40.
The weather was great, around 52 F (12C).
We were in great spirits as we were out on “our” beloved AT again.

Rocky trails.  Very tiring in the long run.  Very, very, very much so.

The sun is rising over the ridge.

And we hiked, hiked and hiked some more.
And, hiked.
And, cursed.
And, whined (more me than Peter).
And, praised.
And, hiked.
And, laughed.
And, enjoyed.
And, got pissed.
And, hiked.
And, got TIRED.
And, ACHED.
And, hiked.
And, wanted to be FINISHED already!!!

Peter's walking up a hill on the ridge.

The trail was challenging.
I would rate this hike easy to hard.
We did not have a lot of climbs, but the trail was so ROCKY!!!
And, rocks are hard to TAKE.
You cannot get up any kind of speed since you have to be so careful where you place your feet. AT. EVERY. STEP. ALL. THE. TIME.
It takes a toll on you.

A young couple (they were going to camp overnight at a shelter along the AT) enjoying the view at White Rock.

Let me tell you, one's legs and feet get so tired of the rocks.
Your soul gets tired, too.

My own hiker.

Fun fact:
This is the area where they filmed the horror movie The Blair Witch Project. SPOOKY!!

Gathland State Park and a memorial from The Civil War.  This used to be one of the battle grounds for Robert E Lee and his army.

My mom always tells me (nowadays); " we do not get to see any pictures of you on your blog!"  Okay, so here is one of a very, very tired and sweaty Yours Truly at the half way point of our hike, Gathland State Park.

We did not take many breaks. We had one break at White Rock, and  we had our packed lunch in a state park halfway, Gathland State Park.
We did have a short break at the prettiest view, Weaverton Cliffs. But at that point we were so tired that we could hardly enjoy the tremendous beauty it offers.
Peter and I just wanted to FINISH UP and be done.
We have also hiked to Weaverton Cliffs once before, so we’ve already seen this wonderful place and view. We love it  (you can read about it here, in case you're interested).
But, at this point we were just BEYOND!

Gathland.  

Time for us to take on the second half of our hike,

We had to descend down the South Mountain (the ridge of said mountain we had been hiking the entire day), and it was steep as can be. The descent contains a steep series of 16 switchbacks, and more. It’s tough. It is even tougher to climb it (been there, done that).

HAHA, tired people in the end of the hike ... Or, we still had a little ways to go here.

When we got down to the road--and had finished up the hike--it was a fantastic feeling.
The time?
16:30.
The distance?
16,5 miles (or 26 kilometers)
How we felt?
Beyond tired. Totally spoken for. BUT, also GREAT!
How we got back to our car?
UBER!!
How we felt that evening?
ACHY as sin!
How we felt Sunday?
SO achy, but so accomplished.
Would I do it again?
Hell, yes! But not anytime soon, haha.
It has to be shorter hikes for a little bit now.
But, we will finish up the AT in Maryland sooner than later.

Weaverton Cliffs overlooking the Potomac River.

Have a good Tuesday you all.