Hiking with the Pops

Last weekend Dad and I went for our (attempt at) annual hiking days. We were a little uncertain of the weather prior to the days, but it was absolutely perfect!

 Dad and another friend have been doing the Appalachian Trail in sections, so Dad and I picked a stretch of the AT to do. It is situated perfectly between the two of us. Above is the view from Max Patch where we started. Day one we hiked close to 7 miles to our campsite and then 8 miles then next day back to our car.

 Me and Dad at the start of each day of hiking. We realized while hiking that I am exactly half of his age right now (well for one more day). It is too much math for me to think about if this happens for everyone, but it is kinda fun. Dad is great to hike with....first he is a champ. He can take on all the elevation and my long legs..it is impressive. He also has a lot of great knowledge about wildflowers and birds and the AT. He pointed out all sorts of wildflowers while we were hiking: wild iris, wild orchid, these crazy things called may apples below. We only saw one snake, no bears or other scary wildlife.

 We also passed a lot of thru-hikers....these are people who are hiking the entire AT. The whole thing is 2,181 miles and runs from Georgia to Maine. People who set out to do the entire things leave late March or early April and finish late September. We were going from North to South, so we crossed paths with about 20 hikers each day who were making the trek South to North. We talked with people who were doing it for the second or fourth time, to a girl who was on crutches, to a group of retired guys who named themselves the AARP, to people who had barely camped before taking this on. It is a fascinating thing to think about doing. The trail was originally thought of in the 1920s and completed by the 30s. It is crazy to think about hiking and carving out all of this trail and how long it would take. There are volunteers who keep up the trail and they do a great job of it.

Very fun times. Being outside and being away from all of the daily grind is so refreshing to my body and soul. I need more time like this to be in nature, to appreciate it and who created it, to be still and silent, to listen, to challenge my body (I was sore for a good 2 days afterwards). I can't wait for our next adventure together.
And happy early birthday Pops!