Hawksbill

The 4th of July was predicted to be an unseasonably lovely day this year.  Which partly made me want to kick myself for pushing to do the 4th in DC last year (so hot) and partly made me want to go up to the mountains.  Kicking myself proving to be increasingly difficult, I opted for a trip to the mountains.  Hawksbill Mountain, the highest point in Shenandoah National Park, became our goal.

And then invited our friends and Nana.

Nana, I think, still regrets saying yes.

Which isn't to say that the weather wasn't perfectly lovely and that the views from the highest point in Shenandoah National Park weren't gorgeous, because it was and they were.  

But the trail was a loop.  Going one direction was the easy way and going the other direction was the very hard, completely uphill, not-so-nice-way-to-get-back-into-hiking-after-a-two-year-hiatus (for Mom) way to the summit.  Sadly, Alison and I completely missed the entrance to the easy way and just started heading up the only path we could see.

Unfortunately, the last time Mom went hiking it was with Rachel and it was also a strenuous hike.  And the time before was with both Rachel and I (and Jason and the boys) and she (Mom) eventually gave up and decided to head back to the car via Skyline Drive.  After waiting a while at the car that day, Jason and I decided we should go have a look see to find Mom and Rachel and found them walking on the road.  I am not sure if Mom has ever been more excited to see us.

So, you can see why part way up the mountain she became convinced that Rachel and I are trying to kill her and that Doug is the only one who loves her.  Doug takes her kayaking and she loves kayaking.

Anyway, back to Friday.  It was actually rather chilly when we got up to the trail head, but nothing some good exercise wouldn't remedy.  We all (eventually) made it to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain and enjoyed the gorgeous view.  Sadly the wind was quite strong, so we decided against letting the boys scamper around on the rocks next to the steep drop off.

The Millers and their hats.  Oh, and the boys now all have water backpacks and I could cry with joy.  Hiking with kids who carry their own stuff is wonderful.

The boys and their buds.  Our boys always have so much more energy on these hikes when they have friends along.

The rest of the hike was just lovely and so easy that I hesitate to use the word hike.  Maybe saunter or stroll.  We didn't see any wildlife other than the critters pictured below.

In the final analysis, I think we all had a reasonably good time (wobbly legs and all) and would do this hike again...now that we know where to start.