2/10/13 MD – AT Wolfsville Rd to Warner Gap Rd (and back!)

Today was the first decent day for hiking in about a week and a half! We have had some cold, rainy, icy weather that makes me want to curl up in bed instead of hiking. But today I had a window of opportunity! No time to plan for a shuttle ride, and since this section is pretty short…3 miles out, 3 miles back…I just grabbed my Sidekick Pauli and headed out!

Even though I have been pretty good about getting out and hiking all winter, my body doesn’t seem to like it very much. I don’t know if it is the cold dampness or what, but towards the end of this hike my left knee was twinging. I had to actually think about how to climb down the rocks without straining it and making it hurt. CRAZY! This has not happened to me before and I was not happy about it. Am I getting old…or was this just an anomoly? I am choosing to ignore it for the moment.

: The first white blaze of the day!

: Headed north

: Up the hill before the shelter.

: Tent pads near the shelter

: Crossing the first set of powerlines.

: Sidekick Pauli! We worked out walking while avoiding the hiking poles on this trip!

: Wonderful old stone walls on this section.

: The field headed north to MD77

: Yours truly

: The field headed north to MD77

: Looking back across the field

: Approaching MD77

: MD77 looking south

: Headed north across another field just after cross MD77

: Another great stone wall!

: Sidekick Pauli livin’ large!

: Approaching stone stairs down the mountain. I love that I can see the ridgeline through the trees!

: Starting down the steps!

: I found some signs of spring!

: We made lunch here. It was sunny and warm!

: Hey! I didn’t know there would be pine trees!

: I love pine trees!

: The foot bridge is leaning precariously. This is just before Warner Gap Rd so I decided to turn around and head back, rather than risk wet boots and feet.