Being the avid National Park fan that I am, of course I stopped in the visitor's center to ask the rangers for hiking suggestions. They gave us a map, circled several trails and told us to go have some fun.We headed off on our first trail. After walking about two miles on it, we figured out it was actually the Appalachian Trail, which for those who aren't familiar with, starts in Georgia and ends in Maine. We made the wise choice of heading back to look for another trail. The cool part of making this first pick of trails, not only can I now say that I've hiked part of the Appalachian Trail, but we also saw this... (press play)
As we meandered back to look for another path we had a chance to pass by nature working her magic. So of course, there I am, surrounded by it and I have camera in tow. Here are just a few of the beautiful things we saw on the way back down.
Our second pick for a trail was suppose to be "hard" according to the park ranger that I had spoken to. It was a steady climb to the summit of the tallest peak on the Appalachian Trail, but she told us that it had the best views, and was well worth the effort. So Christian and I headed up our second trail.After just a little effort, we arrived at a lookout point, which we thought was the summit. We were amazed at how easy this "hard" path was.
Until Christian looked up and saw a steep-rock filled pathway with other hikers walking down. It dawned on us, we were not at the top. So we carried on, determined to see the summit.
A little taste of the mile and a half "path" that created a challenging hike. (Below a look down at the rocks we had just hiked up)
Finally we reached the summit and were ever so pleased to sit down! The ranger was right, the view was spectacular. And even though the quickest way back down was the way we came, we chose to play it safe, by searching for an easier, yet longer trail, that twisted it's way back down the mountainside.
When we arrived home, after a long day's adventure, with the Empire State building as a back drop, we were treated to New York City's firework display on the Hudson River from the comfort of our apartment. So enjoy the show and I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Christian and I certainly did.
1 comment:
WAY COOL!!! What a great day you two had. Cool photos. But, yea, right a "bear" in the woods. That's a myth! They live in zoos. (This from you Dad, Taryn, and you know why.)
Nana and I watched the LIVE feed here on the west coast of the fireworks on the TV. It was still sunny and bright here. Some how I knew you guys where watching from your window. They were neat-o!
Dad
Post a Comment