First Day Hike

Me: I think we go this way Mom: How do you know? 

For the past few years, my mom and I have made sure to go out for a hike on New Year's Day.  There's a New Year's superstition that says whatever you're doing on New Year's Day, you will do the whole year through.  I want to hike the year through, so that's what we do.  We opted for a hike on the Appalachian Trail heading south from Pine Grove Furnace.
The trail on this stretch isn't too bad.  The start has a gentle incline that works your muscles pretty good without causing too much pain.  I am of course basing that on my own personal injury and issues.  Inclines kill me, or rather, they have me begging to be put out of my misery, especially when I have some weight in my pack.  But this section of the AT wasn't too bad and gave me a work out without needing too many breaks.

Right near Tom's Run, we came across a blue blazed trail called Sunset Rocks.  We decided to take a detour and check out the trail.  It was nearly sunset, and we thought perhaps we might manage to see a spectacular one.  As we headed up the trail, we passed a group of young men, perhaps in their early 20's, coming back down the trail.  They warned us to be careful because the trail gets steep.  We thanked them and we all went on our way.  I mentioned to my mom that my idea of steep and their idea of steep probably aren't the same since they had on skateboarding shoes.  We just figured they saw two women and thought we might be delicate.  Then we came to the steep part.

The photo doesn't do the incline justice.

Steep doesn't even do it justice.  It's around 1,000 feet of elevation gain in about a quarter of a mile.  Parts of the trail require the use of your hands.  I had to stop a lot on the way up, and I considered turning back more than once.  But I was determined to get up the hill.  Especially when I spied two guys below me on the trail (not carrying any packs or extra weight I might add).  They were also stopping often along the way, and not because we were in their way.  We stopped and moved to the side to let them pass, but they were resting (Ha!).  So we continued up and eventually made it to the top of the ridge.  The view was gorgeous, but I was too tired to take a photo, plus there were a lot of trees in the way.  After making taking some time to catch our breath, we started making our way back down.  I was concerned about the descent because the trail still had some snow and ice on it, but we managed to get down quickly without too many problems.  My "Badass" was acting up a little, and my knees were screaming.  By the end I was exhausted, but very pleased with myself.  Prior to getting my injury treated, I would not have been able to make that hike up that incline.  There's no way.  It was worse than anything we had encountered on the Appalachian Trail so far, and the inclines I have done previously sent me off the trail early.  It was a complete victory for me: I made it up a huge elevation gain without too much pain, and at the end when I stopped, so did the pain.  On our overnight trip, the pain never let up and only intensified which is why I had to end my hike.  If the pain lets up when I stop and allows me to sleep at night and rest, I think I can manage.
I wouldn't mind doing this blue blazed trail again.  The trail actually takes you through the former WWII POW camp in Michaux.  I knew the POW camp was there, but didn't realize this was the trail that went by it.  I checked out info on the camp for possible inclusion in my book about paranormal happenings on the AT, but this POW camp wasn't a bad one.  The prisoners were treated well, and they were often plied with liquor to get them to reveal enemy secrets.
All in all, it was a great hike and one I'd recommend checking out.

Pine Grove Furnace

This past weekend, myself, my husband and my cousin  drove out to Pine Grove Furnace State Park to hike a section of the Appalachian Trail out and back.  We're getting close to our departure date for our trip, so we're trying to get ready.  Some of us are testing out how injuries are healing to see how we do and some of us are working on fine tuning our packs to get the weight and fit just right.
The weather was a little iffy at first.  Winds had been gusting to 60 MPH the night before and while they had died down some it was still quite blustery out.  And it was cold.  It gave me a chance to try out the $5.00 base layers I purchased on clearance at Walmart.  I'm happy to report that a top base layer, a long sleeve moisture wicking top and my Columbia Omni-Heat jacket were sufficient to keep me warm.  In fact, I had to unzip halfway through because I was sweating. On the bottom, I only had on a pair of fleece lined leggings (also a Walmart clearance steal) and I was good to go.  Should the weather be chilly, that will be the clothing I plan to wear.  Clothing is my one issue at this point.  The weather is so up and down (it was almost 80* 2 days before this), I won't be able to really make a choice until closer to the time we leave.
Our goal was to hike a mile or two, eat lunch then turn around and head back to the cars.  We ended up hiking 2.9 miles before stopping.  In total, we hiked just shy of 6 miles (5.8) in 3 hours and 30 minutes which includes the time we spent eating lunch.  All three of us were pleased with our pace, especially since the start was a steady incline.  I had to stop and take a few breaks on the way up and still we made decent time.  I was carrying about 19 pounds in my pack, and I was pleased with how well I did.  Those of us who are nursing injuries also did well and were encouraged that we didn't have any significant issues. 
All that is left for me to do is to start packing and deciding what goes and what stays based on need and weight.  I want to try to keep the pack around 20 pounds as much as possible.  I'm hoping for warmer temps because that means lighter clothing.
It was a really great hike full of positives- beautiful day, no problem with injuries and a faster hiking time than expected.