Virginia #18 return of the hike

We would have liked to include Virginia's highpoint during our October 2007 marathon highpointing trip, but the long hike didn't fit our schedule. So we made a weekend out of it and brought Pig.

Becki and I haven't had this long of a hike since we did Colorado's highpoint in 2006. Our guide book says it is 8 miles round trip, but we took a wrong direction at some point so we probably made it 9 miles.

We hit the trail early in the morning. About 1 mile in, Becki emphatically whispered, "PSST" and awkwardly pointed to a group of wild ponies up the hill. We saw many more groups in the distance, but the prize was a mother and two foals in the middle of the trail!


They even came up to me but when I pulled my hands out of my pocket they jumped back. Becki kept her hands out and petted these two babies.


I wore "trail shoes," the North Face ones on the right. Not a good idea. Now I know why there are hiking shoes. These lightweight shoes flexed with every rock I stepped on and really made my feet sore. I'll remember in the future lightweight shoes are only good for flat even terrain.


As you can see the weather and hike was beautiful.
I think this is the first time we tried out the trekking poles we got as a wedding present. They really made hiking a breeze. Thanks Sarah, Trey, and Kathy!

Trees blocked the view from the summit.
Pig (our dog) came on the trip but because she's 15 years old and hates rain, we decided to let her hold down the fort. We left her at our campsite underneath a giant 12'x12' rain tarp. We came back to find a soaking wet yellow dog whose leash was tangled up in the picnic table . She didn't quite figure out the shelter we left for her. Not too smart, but she sure is cute!