Dragons Tooth Hike

Yesterday dawned early on activity,starting with yoga therapy just after dawn, a beautiful spot in my week that I have come to rely on as I make my way through the changes of my life's path.

We went up the AT to Dragon's Tooth yesterday. It was so humid, we our clothes were damp within the first mile, and the mosquitoes really showed the strength and merit of our Badger bug stick.

I was relaxed-tired from yoga when we started out, but never really got worn out, a sign I take as a real win.

At the foot of the trail as we returned, a miss covered rock caught Harvey's attention, and I noticed it looked like a happy, hippie bear. Too cute.

Tinker Cliffs Hike

We hiked the farthest yet today - 8 miles total. The view from Tinker Cliffs is glorious, and we found a whole grove of wild blueberries along the way.

Poor Mountain Hike

The longest hike as regards distance that we have done so far this summer. I'm having a glorious time discovering the trails, and couldn't ask for better companionship on the journey. We seemed to have been the first person on the trail since the storms ripped through over the past couple days, and we did some service work clearing the trail as we could, and walking around it when we couldn't.

 Antlers!!

Read Mountain Hike

Went up Read Mountain, despite the thunder that sounded just as we got to the trailhead, and I'm so glad we did. It was a beautiful, delightful time, perfectly lovely.

Summer Solstice Hike

After court today, I took some time to decompress (which mostly consisted of messing around with organizing files and notebooks and calendars and suchlike) and then Harvey and I donned boots and backpacks and went up Sharp Top. And I do mean up: with a nearly 6:12 pitch over the entire 1.5 mile trail, it certainly got our cardio on. The Seven Summits of Roanoke guide rates it as moderate-to-strenuous. I am getting a bit nervous about what straight-out strenuous would be.

And boy, was it worth it. The side trail to Buzzard's Roost (an additional half mile, round trip) was breathtaking. We climbed up the rocks and looked over the valley -- the air was so clear we could see the stacks of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the distance. I confess that we were high up enough that I got a little woozy trying to center.

And then another very steep jaunt up to the peak, where we saw 360 degrees of the Blue Ridge. It is truly spectacular, and even though it's not on the Appalachian Trail, it is worth going out of your way for.

After coming  down the mountain (see the Super Action Shot below!), we went to the sauna and hot tub at the gym, at the end of which I think I had forgotten how to use basic speech functionality. We drove to a house I had spotted and got the owner to show us around -- I kind of fell in love with it for the foundation, and for anything else.

Then the gorgeous full moon shone her blessings all over us on the way home, where we had a fabulous salad with steak and awesome leftover everything from the vegetable drawer, complete with homemade ranch dressing.

Life is very, very good.