One Fine Day

My days here are numbered (sixteen, in case you were wondering), so I've been trying to pack my time off work full of family, preparation, and "I won't be able to do this for a while!" activities.

This weekend the padres and I made the five hour trek down and back to visit my step-dad's family in southwestern Virginia. The point of the trip was definitely to spend time with la familia, but luckily, there was some time in there for me to get my hike on too.

Saturday morning I headed out bright but not-too-early for Tinker Cliffs, a short section on the Appalachian Trail that's been on my to-hike list for a while. It was a beaaaaaautiful, sunny, and not terribly cold day, with just a few other people on the trail- practically perfect. I spent a few hours getting there, meandering my way up the mountain and exploring the cliffs, then making my way back down and home. All in all, an excellent way to spend my third to last (WOAH.) Saturday in the country.

Have some peeeectures:

Trail courtesy, left by some kind soul who thought it very important that we respect the bovine.

 

 

The engineering of this bridge looks a little dubious, but it held up just fine.

 

 

This was part of the 900 foot gain/.4 mi stretch without any switchbacks. What a hill.

 

 

In general, presence of icicles like these indicates sub-freezing temperatures, just in case you were unaware.

It'd snowed semi-recently, but not recently enough for it to still be on the trees, so the mountain sides looked like they'd been cross-hatched by a giant artist in the sky.

 

Enjoy more landscapes:

 

This shot courtesy of 3G service on the top of the mountain, and google, who was kind enough to tell me how to activate the self-timer on my camera.

 

 

And you know your hike has been good when you get back to the car and your boots and the bottom of your pants (not visible here, obviously) are caked in mud. I was still stoked about figuring out how to set the timer. So sue me.

 

In all likelihood, I won't make it out on another hike before I leave, but this was an excellent note to end on. Luckily, there are mountains in Ethiopia, and I'll have a bit of time to adventure over there as well.

 

In other news, I (finally) purchased my ticket. I totally could've put it off longer, but why not give myself a little more time to look at my bank account and be amazed at how quickly the money disappears?