Category Archives: Uncategorized

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AT – NC Wayah Bald to Winding Stair Gap

Day 6: June 29, 2017

A quiet morning to hike.  Ten miles, then boom, my trip to North Carolina would be over. Back to Maryland, back to everyday life.  I was looking forward to getting back home even though the mountains in NC have been delightful to hike.

This hike had Momma Puma shuttling me to a trail head for the last time.  Afterwards, she would be off on her own adventure and we planned on meeting up at Google’s cabin in the evening.

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A quiet morning with sounds of grass brushing against my hiking pants broken by the occasional cry of a bird or crunch of tires on the fire road.  I watched as the sky clouded up, to the point I thought rain was imminent, then, in a blink, the sun would break through and make the forest glow.

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The trail passed by a campsite before the Bartram trail diverged to the right.  I took a little break there.  I sat back against a tree and thought about the week I’d had hiking here in NC.  The mountains are just so darn dramatic!

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Rounding a corner near Wilson Lick trail, I heard a crash and looked up to see a bear butt running up hill! How exciting!

I moved on down the trail with a smile…yes, wildlife, finally!

The AT crossed the fire road a few times before reaching the paved road at Wayah Gap.

Now, I was going to be headed uphill for awhile and hopefully, hopefully I wouldn’t miss the turn-off for Siler Bald!  More people, actually a lot of people were on this stretch of trail.  That made the trip up seem shorter and the variety of body types made me think this “up” wouldn’t be too bad.  The uphill did go up for a good ways, though! Definitely break worthy, so I found a nice log and had a snack.  It was getting humid, whew!

And I missed the turn-off for Siler Bald!!!  Unbelievable. I saw the sign for the shelter, but nothing for the bald.  So I backtracked. ugh! But I knew I would regret not going to the bald!

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This is why I missed the turn-off. So overgrown! It got worse, before better…and I was separating grasses with my hiking poles to check for snakes before plowing through!

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Once climbing to the top of Siler Bald, I was happy I had backtracked! What a view! I didn’t stay long because it was unbearably HOT in that field!

Having had my most excellent view from Siler Bald, I was ready to hoof it down to Winding Stair Gap.  However, I had to cross through Panther Gap first…and I was in a silly mood by then as I was on a very warm and humid mile 8.  Coming down into Panther Gap, I thought, “why do they have to call it Panther Gap?  Why not kitty cat gap? or Hello Kitty gap?…what if there really are panthers in Panther Gap? Wait, is a panther the same as a cougar? a mountain lion? I wonder if they are black?…”

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Then I stopped to stretch my neck…too much looking at the ground.

OH. MY. GAWD.  I looked hard, not believing what I was seeing.  Tan color…Is that a bobcat?  No, that is a long droopy swinging tail!!!  The cat, kitty, panther, cougar, mountain lion, whatever you want to call it was about 25 yards in front of me casually walking down the AT away from me!!! Holy moly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  He paused for a moment to look over its shoulder at me.  A sweet little head with rounded ears, no tufts, definitely NOT a bobcat,…I quickly inhaled then clicked my hiking poles together.  (No need for him to get too curious.)  He turned back around and began to trot down the trail.  I waited, gave him time to find a safe spot before I walked on.

He was no where to be seen when I passed through.

I felt so blessed, wow, so, so blessed to have this cat make his presence known.  exhale. We all share this one world.  All creatures great and small.

Hike on.

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AT – NC Wayah Bald to Tellico Gap

Day 5: Wayah Bald to Tellico Gap, June 28, 2017

“I’ll just hike a little ways with you”

Words from Momma Puma as we pulled into the Wayah Bald parking area.  I barely heard her as my senses were overtaken by the sheer jaw-dropping vista this morning at Wayah Bald.

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The Wayah Bald fire tower, substantial as it is, sustained a clear amount of damage from the fires.  It’s majestic nature has not been affected in the slightest, I am happy to report!  The interior chamber of the fire tower on the ground level would be a great hiding place in a storm.

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Done exploring at the fire tower, we headed north on the AT and downhill.  We passed the sign for the shelter, then promptly, went the wrong way!  I figured the sign for the shelter meant it was a blue blaze, twenty minutes later I am shaking my head as it seemed we were headed around the mountain and below the fire tower.  The one time I have used technology on the trail to actually check my location…and a good call!  Guthook’s guide app showed that we were indeed off the Appalachian Trail…it didn’t show what trail we WERE on (a drawback to the app is that it doesn’t show all the intersecting trails) but we knew we were on the Bartram Trail.  It was encouraging to see that I was correct in where I thought I was…anyway, we backtracked…ugh.

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You know some people get off trail because there is no signage…me…sign right in front of me, but I assumed it meant a blue blaze to the shelter. 😀 Extra credit miles today.

Once back at the intersection, Mama Puma, decided she didn’t want to climb back up the hill to her car.  Too funny! So she joined me, for better or worse, to Tellico Gap.

The woodsy trail was a delightful change from the rugged, eroded trail into the NOC I’d hiked the day before.  Lush green engulfed us all of the way to Tellico Gap.

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It was a long hike with my pesky blisters making themselves heard with every step after four miles.  At the shelter I sat down for a break…a real break…and changed the bandages on the blisters.  After about 25 minutes, Momma Puma indicated we needed to get moving, so I regretfully pulled on my boots.

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Momma Puma

The new bandages were helpful, but as we neared Tellico Gap I was singing “Tellico, Oh Tellico, these old boots have got to go” as my feet screamed for freedom.  You do whatever gets you down the trail!

Yes! The light at the end of the tunnel was NOT an oncoming train!!! After being teased with peeks at the fire road for a mile or so, we reached the parking area at Tellico Gap.  Flip flops here I come!

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In my trusty RAV4 once again, we drove down the not scary side of the mountain, then made two more stops: 1) back to Momma Puma’s truck at Wayah Bald, then 2) repark my car at Winding Stair in preparation for my last hike for this trip…Wayah Bald to Winding Stair.

Blisters be quiet because I am hiking on!

 

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AT – NC Tellico Gap to NOC

Day 4: Tellico Gap to Nantahala Outdoor Center 6/27/2017

Backpack between Deep Gap and Winding Stair complete, Momma Puma let me know that she could not continue hike due to the knee injury she acquired climbing up Albert Mountain.

hmmm…

hmmm…

You know that sound a video game (and I am so dating myself right now), the sound right before the end, …

Insert deep foreboding voice, GAME OVER!

Anyway, that was what played in my head as Momma Puma told me this news.

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Then I started planning for how I could continue the trek.  I came down to NC to complete the section from Deep Gap to the Nantahala Outdoor Center, or NOC, and gosh darn it, I would find a way!  Momma Puma graciously extended the offer to shuttle (thank you, thank you).

I was willing to backpack it alone, but needed more information on the trail.  I sent out feelers to hiker friends in the area.  Ann L. texted back, stating there wasn’t anything harder ahead than I had already encountered and no more Albert Mountain-like stuff.  My hiker friend Google (remember her from my GA, MD, and PA sections?) got back to me with a sweeter offer.  Stay at her cabin in Hiawassee and day hike from Winding Stair to the NOC.  She had split it up into three sections that would make the shuttling easier: 1. Tellico Gap to NOC (leaving my car at Tellico Gap), Wayah Bald to Tellico Gap (pick up my car at Tellico Gap and repark at Winding Stair Gap), then the last section would be Wayah Bald to Winding Stair.

Great plan, Google!

So here we were climbing the fire road (Tellico Road) to Tellico Gap, me in my RAV4, and Momma Puma in her big ass truck.  Holy Moly, people…that road is ridiculous!  I kept thinking “jees, this should be a one-way stretch. God forbid, I meet someone coming the other way!”  It was one lane, dirt/gravel, with a massive drop off that became visible at every hairpin turn.  Momma Puma had to actually back up to maneuver around one particularly tight turn in the road. Pretty sure she was holding her breath!

At the top, we parked the cars, exited our respective vehicles and silently (well, almost silently) mouthed “Holy shiiiiiiiiiit” to each other. That was crazy!

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Look! Another RAV4 🙂 🙂 🙂 Great little mountain climbers

Gathering my day hiking gear, I set off headed north to Wesser Bald Fire Tower.  It was a gorgeous day, sunny with a temperatures that were going to climb no higher than the mid-70s. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Lucky me!

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And off I go!

The climb was a long one, but not especially strenuous.  The trail was flat, not a lot of rocks, and it moderately climbed to the fire tower.  I pulled over for a break under the fire tower.  The fire towers I passed in this section of North Carolina are so cool.  I love climbing up and taking in the view from the top.

However, something weird happened on this trip that is new to me…vertigo on the fire tower steps.  Never had that happened before.  At Albert Mountain, I got to the second platform and stopped.  Here at Wesser Bald, I made it half way up the second flight of steps, then had to sit down. I could of butt climbed the rest of the way to the top, but since I had a good view where I sat, I decided to stop there.

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Wesser Bald Fire Tower

After my break I headed down towards the shelter.  The trail started to narrow dramatically after passing the shelter.  Fire damage and erosion has taken an immense toll on this section of trail.  Most of the day I was on a narrow strip of trail, the sides of the mountain falling off on either side of me.  I watched my step!

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Skinny trail just past the shelter

The damage to the trail came to a head at the “jump-off”.  I was flabbergasted at the condition.  I had thoughts running through my head like, “I shouldn’t even be walking on this.” and “Holy mother of God, is this the trail???”  Just below the jump-off, the trail was about 10 inches wide on an otherwise precariously steep slope that had seen some slide damage due to erosion.  There was a place where a tree had fallen or shifted, leaving a gaping hole in the trail that needed to be stepped over.

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I was happy to leave that part of the trail behind as I continued steeply downhill!  I found a nice log to sit on down the trail a bit and had some lunch, while texting Momma Puma my approximate time of arrival to the NOC.  The rest of the trail down to the NOC was steep in places, and there were signs of erosion, but nothing like what I experienced at the top.  I was soon down and headed across the Nantahala River to don my flip flops and relax in an Adirondack chair while waiting for Momma Puma to show up. Bliss, I tell you!

The NOC has free Wifi, so I tapped into it.  After sending another message to Momma Puma, I checked out Facebook.  and there I saw it…Momma Puma was having a beer somewhere here at the NOC! What???? Beer??!!

Apparently, even though I had Wifi, my text messages weren’t reaching her…travesty when there is celebratory beverages concerned!  …oh, I found her pretty quickly after that… 😀

Grab a cold one and Hike on!

 

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AT – NC Deep Gap to Winding Stair

Day 1 Deep Gap to Carter Gap Shelter 6/24/2017

Oh how fitting, how absolutely perfectly perfect in a way that is just not cool, not cool at all!! When I finished the Georgia section (a few years back) I ended by splashing down the trail turned creek into Deep Gap.

On Saturday morning, my hiking buddy, Momma Puma, and I set off for Deep Gap in a heavy, dripping fog.  You know the kind.  It wets the roads, damps down sound, and makes mountains disappear.  I dropped my car at Winding Stair, then jumped in with Momma Puma for the ride down to Deep Gap on the fire road.  We wound around on that road so long that we both were convinced we had somehow missed Deep Gap!

A magical, if a little messy, start to our traverse from Deep Gap to Winding Stair (then eventually the NOC).  “Welcome back” I heard the woods whisper as I slipped past the first white blaze.

I glanced back at Momma Puma a couple of times.  This was her first long distance backpack and she was visibly excited! I remember that feeling…the awe, the nervousness, then the reality of climbing the first big hill.  The loss of confidence, the gaining of confidence, then the reality that every hike, every backpack, no matter how many I have completed, brings the loss and gain of confidence…every.single.one. ! 😀

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Momma Puma

The first day was a gain in confidence for me.  Standing Indian is not as hard a climb as it looks on the map.

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credit to Momma Puma for this pic!

Before we knew it we were cruising into the Carter Gap Shelter while still early in the afternoon. And just in time…soon after we arrived so did the rain.  A few others came in after us and then…Torrential for about 10 minutes.  I was feeling pretty dry, happy, and quite literally, smug, until I realized the shelter was leaking ON MY BAG.  Could this get any better?

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Cozy until my bag got wet. 😦 Darn drippy shelter!

After the rain, a few more hikers showed up.  And let me tell you, this was the worst bunch of shelter mates I have ever had, in terms of bear safety, that is.  No one was going to hang their food.  These two younger guys were literally going to leave their dirty dishes in the shelter (near to where I had put my sleeping pad, mind you!).   A man with a dog was throwing chunks of cheese to his dog…who missed several times and would not eat the crumbs off the ground.  SERIOUSLY???  NO. NO. NO!!!!! Momma Puma and I were incredulous.  Speechless.  Are these people for real????

We, Momma Puma and I,  contemplated putting up our tents down the hill…but with the rain threatening, decided we would stick with the shelter.

We began reciting every story we knew of a bear coming in because someone had barely sneezed cheese crumbles in their tent. hahaaaa! 🙂 🙂

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Bad hiker leaving dirty plates in shelter until we told so many scary stories they were at least shamed into getting this crap out of the shelter.

Thank you to Laralee Bliss for the recent story about the tent snooping bear in Shenandoah NP.  It did the trick.  I don’t know how they hung their bags and don’t care.  They all got their food out of the shelter.  And we had a quiet night…for the most part.  There was talk of an animal crashing through by Momma Puma, but I heard nothing in my Benedryl induced slumber.

Day 2  Carter Gap to Long Branch Shelter 6/25/2017

We were up and moving the next morning as others in the shelter were just starting breakfast and I was happy to move on…hoping the food offenders would not show up at the next shelter!

The trail was quite exciting between  Carter Gap and Long Branch.  I was hoping to walk through some of the fire damage from last fall’s fire and boy, did we ever.  Miles of burned out areas left us in an indescribable state.  I was floored.  I have never seen anything like the fire damage we hiked through.

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View from the charred ridge

Just after Mooney Gap, there is the area I will just refer to as the land between the fire roads.  It started off innocently enough with a nice climb through rhododendron bushes, but then circled the mountain and became a cliff side walk…one wrong step…haha! And then, the big event of the day…Albert Mountain! I was looking forward to this in the same way I was looking forward to Lehigh Gap when I hiked Pennsylvania.  However, I knew less about Albert Mountain.  Was it really a rock scramble?  It was fitting that I was set to climb it on my dad, Albert Cross’ birthday! What a way to celebrate, too bad there was no birthday cake at the top for me! 🙂

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Momma Puma in the land between the fire roads

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View from a slightly scary place on the trail in the land between the fireroads.

Albert was a combination of rock scramble and stairs.  Without a backpack on, it would have been a lot more fun, for sure!  With the backpack, it made me nervous, then made me feel like a badass. I would definitely climb it again! At the top, sans birthday cake, was a great fire tower with great views.  Wonderful payoff!

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Hugging the white blaze on Albert. Happy Birthday Daddy! (credit to Momma Puma for this pic)

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Momma Puma on Albert Mountain

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A just reward!

 

It began to sprinkle while we were taking a break at the fire tower.  To don the rain poncho to not…

We descended the mountain, passing the old location of the shelter.  It was a rough, but exciting day of hiking!

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We were plum tuckered out when we reached the Long Branch.  Thoughts of my dinner kept me going…I packed an avocado! Downright exciting! Dinner was Capellini with tuna and avocado…and it was exceptional!!!  Afterwards I crashed in this most beautiful of shelters. 🙂

Day 3 Long Branch to Winding Stair Gap

Morning came and I set out to retrieve our bear bags.  No one else was awake so I sat out on a stump and watched far off mountains go from black to purple to pinkish to blue.  I stretched out my legs and my arms.  I felt so at home here in the woods this morning.  It was so quiet.

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Greeted with new blooms this morning!

We made the last day of our first section without incident.  We were both sporting new aches…Momma Puma strained her knee on Albert… and I had a few raw spots on my heels from blisters.  The blisters irritated me.  I had hiked several miles on rockier terrain than this with no blisters before this hike.  The only thing I can think is that the added weight of the pack caused my feet to rub differently.  Oh well, the NOC is calling…wrap them up, put on those boots and hike on!

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The end of the first leg of our hike

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I can smell summer from here!

I am in the last week of my semester, both at my own community college where I teach math, and at my grad school where I am working on  second masters (for promotion…and the learning…).  Four days, peeps, FOUR DAYS!

I am ready for a break and am patiently crossing my t’s and dotting my i’s until Friday when I can officially close out this semester. It’s soooooo close I can barely stand it! 

My days have been filled with math, math, math, along with brief intermissions by the great outdoors.  No time for a big post today. Just want to share some pics of recent hiking adventures! 

Ahhh summer, I see you coming and I am all set…hike on!

C&O Canal near Shepherdstown, WV

Me (BoobOnARock) & BearSpray at Bob’s Hill overlook

Leading a TD Hike – Crossing Burnside Bridge at Antietam National Battlefield

Me (BoobOnARock) &Sidekick Pauli at Monocacy National Battlefield

Lunch spot at Sky Meadows SP

Leading a TD Hike on the Appalachian Trail in Maryland (between Pogo campground and Wolfsville road)

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AT – VA South River Picnic Area to Big Meadows

Shenandoah National Park seemed a reasonable choice for leading a Trail Dames backpack.  Fool’s Weekend was so apropo for this event!  We had some new backpackers along and this route tested the limits of some.  However, WHAT FUN!!!!  Who better to test limits with but Trail Dames!

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On our way! White blaze of the Appalachian Trail.

Clouds moved in and out all day.  One moment we would be basking in the warmth of the sun and the next pulling on an extra layer to guard against the gray sky and stiff chilly breeze.  We hiked about six miles on day 1, and that was quite enough for some of our group.

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BoobOnARock skipping down the mountain 🙂

We all set up our tents around Bearfence Hut, then gathered around the firepit to eat dinner.  AND OF COURSE, there was a fire! Kathleen & Overkill did a fantastic job getting a fire started with wet wood.  Nice! Smoky at first, but worth it. 🙂

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Trail Dames leaving Bearfence Hut – Morning of Day 2

As I sat in my tent, snuggled into my bag for the night, I realized I was exhausted.  Leading a day hike is one thing, but taking responsibility for a group of women on a backpack, is leveling up in a huge way.  Did I pass? I think so.  Could I have been more supportive? Probably.

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A welcome break at Hazeltop summit

So I sat there and thought about things that had happened during the day and found myself writing a silly little poem…which I will now share here…remember I am a math instructor not a poet.  🙂 🙂 🙂

Wind blowing

Fire crackling

Where did the miles go?

Water boiling

Teeth chattering

Listening to everyone’s woes.

Snap of a cracker

Crack of a twig

Make the tea

Take a swig

Feeling the warmth of my insides grow.

Hike On!

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Sniffling and Sniffing at Big Meadows 

All week I’ve been on the fence about whether to go backpacking this weekend. I’ve been sick on and off since, oh, I don’t know, maybe like mid February. I have had this backpacking trip scheduled for Trail Dames since January and have been really looking forward to it. 

So here we are, Sidekick Pauli and me, in Big Meadows…where I must add that it is currently 25 degrees with the wind chill. Anyway, here we are to check it out and decide one way or another: am I going to throw caution to the wind and backpack or am I going to shrivel and stay in my bed at home, hoping that this never-ending cough goes away? 

Oh-and yes I’ve been to a doctor! We aren’t talking major illness here…it’s the last lingering vestiges of a common cold. 🙂

So as I sniffle and Sidekick Pauli sniffs her way around Big Meadows I started to notice something.   My nose is the only thing running in Big Meadows – it is the only thing with any kind of moisture in it – everything else is bone dry.

 So, in hopes that my nose stops running before Saturday, the day of the Fool’s Weekend Backpack with the Maryland Trail Dames, I am making an homage to all the dry things in Big Meadows hoping that it will rub off on me! 

By the time I got back to the car I had decided I don’t care if my nose is running! I’m not coughing. I don’t feel sick. And I did, in fact, just yesterday, walk up a mountain (not with a full backpack mind you…but shhh…) and I walked up the mountain and I only coughed twice!

 Decision made. I’m going to do this! I want to go backpacking! I need to go backpacking! This is the last weekend of my spring break!  Here goes… across the street… into the visitor center… register for our permit… and away we go! Hike On!

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Trying to be Ok at the Oklahoma City Memorial

I am at a conference this weekend in Oklahoma City and after sitting through a couple of good sessions this morning, I decided to take in some fresh air by walking up and touring the Oklahoma City Memorial.  You know…Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols…the bombing, the homegrown terrorists.  I felt compelled to visit and pay my respects.

I didn’t know it was going to be so hard.

As I approached on the west of the memorial my eyes rested on a chain link fence with tokens attached for the victims of that day.  I couldn’t stop tears from welling up in my eyes.  I couldn’t stop a small shaking that had overtaken my body.  I looked at each small momento and avoided looking at anyone else on the street.  All the sudden the last 22 years melted away and this was real again.

Slowly making past the fence, I turned right to enter the museum.  Let me just say, this needs to be experienced.  The museum is set up to take one through the day, from the moment the bomb goes off, to the time of the last survivor found.  It is powerful and at one point shook me to my core.

I share my pictures, but there is no way for me to share my feelings, the rawness, the sheer impact this memorial had upon me.  I wish I could hike away from what I am feeling right now, but as always, we must hike on.


The Survivor Tree

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Winter Shiverfest Backpack – Ed Garvey Shelter

Last weekend’s adventure was another in the category “I’m trying to love winter”.  I led a backpacking overnight for Trail Dames of Maryland from Crampton Gap to the Ed Garvey Shelter, then out the next day ending at Weverton.  A very short, doable winter backpack, 4 miles in and about 3 miles out!

Four other crazy ladies joined me on this shiverfest.  We met at Weverton on Saturday afternoon, shuttled down to Crampton Gap, snapped a shot at the AT sign and off we went!

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Off on our Shiverfest!

While it had been slightly chilly when we stepped off, as usual, we were ready to shed a layer within about 25 minutes.  At just after an hour of hiking one dame asked THE QUESTION”, you know the one…Are we almost there?”  Hahaaaa! Yes, we were almost there, I assured her…maybe 15 – 20 more minutes…I think all the ladies were pleased with that answer. 😀

It was only 3:00 pm, but the sun had started to sink taking with it the warmth of the light.

True to my word, we stumbled upon the shelter soon after.  Three big guys greeted us.  I had been hoping for the second floor of the shelter as it is more protected from the wind.  No such luck, two of the big guys had already moved in.  Bummer! Oh well, they were building a fire, so I quickly forgave them!

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Vicky & Kathryn putting up their tents. This was Kathryn’s first backpacking trip and Vicky’s second! Great job, Ladies!

Two of our group tented, I stayed in the shelter with two others.  I have had to put up my tent with freezing fingers before and didn’t need that delightful experience in the morning.

Big guy #1, Bob, and his buddy, Big guy #2, Aaron, were trying to think of a trail name for their friend, Big guy #3.  They asked what we thought.  I looked over at them sitting around the fire.  Big guy #3 was sitting with his back to me, feet comfortably snuggled in bright orange down booties… “yeah, all I am I thinking right now is ‘BootyMan’!”  BootyMan it was!  Bwahahahaa!!  He took it well telling all of us we were going to be wanting his booties at about two in the morning!

Laughing, we spread out our stuff, made dinner, then joined the big guys at the fire.  The comradery of the trail is one of my favorite things about backpacking.  You meet up with other backpackers and it’s like you’ve been friends forever.  These guys were a lot of fun and they definitely made our shiverfest great.  🙂 🙂

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“BootyMan”, Aaron, Vicky, Kathy, Kathryn, & Anne enjoying the warmth of the fire.

The weather cooperated as well.  Cold, yes, but not dreary.  We huddled about the roaring fire watching daylight fade and the lights of houses in the valley twinkle up at us.  The sky sparkled with a million stars and we sat back, heads tilted to the heavens, taking in Orion and other lesser known constellations.  Good food, great conversation, we stayed up until about 8:30 pm before crawling into our bags.

Fast forward several hours…now huddled in my bag (rated 20 degrees + liner that advertised +20 more).  I slept off and on, not totally uncomfortable, but every once and awhile a shiver would start at the back of my neck and run down to my toes.  I had on all my layers…so even fitting into my bag was hilariously snug (but I did it…champ that I am). My feet were cold all night even with my big puffy socks…and all I thought about were those damn bright orange down booties!!!

Checking my Fitbit later that day showed that while I slept for 7 hours and 15 minutes…I was 51 minutes awake or restless!!!  Maybe next time I will go ahead and take my partner’s bag that is rated negative 15 degrees even though it is heavier!  It took all my will to get up and go to the privy! Brrrr!

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Finally up, I decided I would sit in my bag to stay warm while writing in my journal.  It was still dark, but I could see dawn trying to make its move on night.  The dark blue sky was now streaked with a sliver of light blue and I wondered whether we would get the reds and pinks with sunrise.

Several paragraphs later I glanced back up, ahh, light pink was seeping in at the lower edges of the light blue and I heard a flock of geese honking in the valley.  It was still too cold to go get my bag of food though.  No matter, I was warming up my hiking pants and insoles within my bag…my hiking socks were somewhere down in there too.  “Get warm little sockies, I need you!” I thought as I watched the sky dissolve into more of a peachy color.

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As I enjoyed the warmth of my bag, a few coyotes started yipping and singing, a beautiful moment.  I could now see the blue blaze on the trail to the spring.  Light had again conquered the Dark.  Time for hot chocolate – Hike on!

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Poking Around at Pokagon State Park

Ah, Indiana in the winter…always a pleasure.  Don’t get me wrong, I love visiting my family around the holidays, but the weather, not in the slightest.  I hail from southern Indiana, where winter is more survived than enjoyed.  I did not grow up skiing the slopes or even sledding a whole lot.  I do remember being cold as heck huddled up to the barrel stove (built by Dad) in the cabin (also built by Dad).  I also remember slipping and sliding, in my shiny dress shoes, as I negotiated an ice laden porch in terror and my Dad lighting fires under my Mom’s car to warm it up enough to start so she could get to work.

And then there was Sara W.’s mom, who slipped on the ice and broke her hip.  She couldn’t walk for a really long time…and as I remember, the Methodist church built that ramp out back so she could be wheeled in for the service.

I want a more positive view of winter.  I really do!  I want to learn to love it, because I only have a maximum of 50 of them left in my lifetime.  😀  Therefore, I planned my visit to Hoosierland this year with a specific purpose: Do something that equates to winter fun.

Enter Pokagon State Park.  There is a toboggan ride!  It showed up on my Facebook feed since I follow Indiana State Parks…and it kept showing up…and I kept thinking about it.  I posted it to my son’s page, “Hey! Doesn’t this look super fun?!”…as insurance, I posted it to his girlfriend’s page too, “OMG, doesn’t this look like a blast?  Let’s all go on Christmas Eve!”  To which she responded that yes, it would be fun, but Logan (my son) would probably not ride.  Sounded like a challenge to me…

I made reservations for December 23 at the historic Potawatomi Inn at Pokagon State Park and literally prayed that 1) there would be snow on the ground but 2) there would not be a blizzard to keep us from going.

An old postcard of the Potawatomi Inn

With my niece in tow, we headed out to Terre Haute to pick up my son on the 23rd.  Two hours and a coffee shop stop later, we had him in the car.  Turn around, get on I-70 headed back east across the state to Indy, then north on I – 69 to the park.  No snow, but I drove north in a cold, dark, yucky rain for 3 hours before reaching our exit north of Angola.  But Hurray!! Food was still being served, there was SNOW on the ground, and sun was in the forecast for Christmas Eve!

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Nothing like a hot buffet with really good food!

 

Getting up early we headed down to the buffet and gorged ourselves, then headed to the Toboggan Ride!  The line wasn’t long, but we had to wait for the park staff to finish their inspection of the ice.  It was very cold, but sunny.  I looked at the slide with nervous anticipation – it was steep!  I would have fun, I would not freak out, I love winter, I love winter…

We got the toboggan.  Jesus Christ, this thing is heavy.  Well, this is why we have children, yes?  We managed to get it up the stairs to the beginning of the ride…and to contort ourselves into the requested riding position.  Niece in the front, son in the back, me in the middle, legs intertwined like we were playing some sort of weird twister..Here. We. Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was scary BUT a ton of fun! We got up to 38 miles per hour before shooting out the end onto the snow covered lawn of the inn.  The line was pretty long after our first ride, so we opted to turn in the toboggan and take a hike instead.

Midwesterners seem to be incredibly pragmatic in naming their trails…we took Trail #3 as it went to one of the few spots with a descriptive name “Hell’s Point”.  The trail was short (2.2 miles) but had nice variety to it as it traversed marshes and woodlands.  Hell’s Point wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped, but it didn’t matter.  I was spending time with my son and niece, in the snow, in the cold, and I was loving it!

Of course, coming down from Hell’s Point on the stairs, all I thought about was Sara W.’s mom and breaking my hip…Hike On!