This was one of the most breathtaking sunrises we have seen, and the morning fog made the view even more surreal as it slipped over the valley and provided a contrast against the Blue Ridge Mountains …
Category: Trails
Hiking is humbling. It is the only place where one can feel infinitesimal and yet mighty at the same time. Here are our trail stories . . .
Andy and I head to a little-known national park with the best views of the Potomac River as it continues to carve its way through the Mather Gorge …
The color blue surrounded us as a bird soared high in the blue sky and the mountains took the shape of an odd sea of rippling blue waves.
We hike to Woodstock Tower in a historic part of Virginia where Shenandoah National Park and the North Fork Shenandoah River stretch.
This is the East Coast’s version of Antelope Canyon in Arizona, which is why the area has been touted as a natural wonder and one of Virginia’s best kept secrets.
Andy and I are preparing our son for remote forest hikes. Here’s one of Ly’s first walks — Virginia’s Powhatan State Park.
Beautiful wild succulents clung to moss and tree trunks as we made our way to a twenty-five-foot waterfall in one of Virginia’s largest forested areas.
Just as the sun went over the blue horizon, we reached the summit where the most brilliant light threw color into the sky.
Named one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World,” Virginia’s Natural Bridge is a unique limestone arch that has towered 215-feet tall in the Shenandoah Valley for at least 500 million years.
“I can’t believe we made it and didn’t kill ourselves,” I told Andy.
“I can’t believe you made it and you didn’t kill yourself,” he said and he was right.
Another (smarter) couple had turned around before reaching this ridge-edge trail with ankle-deep ice-covered snow. But not us — We had kept going out of sheer determination and, sure, stupidity — but we had kept going.
After our cat walked one of the longest recreational bridges in America, Andy, Ly, and I set off for a historic tunnel that was the longest tunnel in America when it was built.
The snow made the air fresh and pure and so we continued on the Appalachian Trail, holding onto dreams that one day Andy and I will thru-hike this white blaze.
The calmness spread to our minds, bodies, and souls, and I learned — again — a valuable lesson. Mountain air is medicinal and so, with a deep breath, Andy and I found ourselves cured.
For a moment — for an afternoon — Andy and I were able to escape it all and simply take our cat on a leash for a walk in the mountains . . .
On this hike, we embraced the beauty, the impulsiveness, and the excitement, which is why — on the way back — our hearts beat to the rhythm of happiness and I found still more appreciation for nature . . .