Shakin' off the funky feels and stretching my legs

Yesterday was a zero day (no hiking)... and with time on my hands I got into my feelings about something from long ago. Today I hit the ground running. I went to Sky Meadows State Park and completed a few loops. With a well planned trip next time, I should be able to finish all the trails there.

It's nice to see trees starting to bud!

Big day in GWNF!

Today I stayed close to home for my hike. Here's the low down: Parked at Elizabeth Furnace and set out on Botts Trail where I picked the Sherman Gap trail. From the ridge I turned onto the Tuscarora trail up and over High Peak to Shawl Gap trail, and back down to where I'd parked! Whew! that was a boot buster!

3 hikes on the AT in a day

I knocked off 3 hikes along the Appalachian Trail (approx 10 miles). I've been meaning to do these, but I've been concentrated on finishing up a few state parks too!

Above: Jenkins Gap to Compton Gap - there's a nice camping spot along the way!

Above: Keyser Run to Gravel Springs. There were five places I had to shimmy over blow downs. I love the big views of rolling waves of mountains!

Above: Beahms Gap Loop. I tied together three trail to form this loop. Rocky Branch, Appalachian, and Neighbor Mountain trail. There are signs of fire recover along the back side of the mountain. New shoots of mountain laurel are popping up everywhere! I stopped at Byrd's Nest #4 for lunch before finishing up my day.

North and South Ridge Trails

I started on the North Ridge Trail today...

This is the North/South Ridge Trail junction (about a half mile to the AT)

Views from the South Ridge Trail

A cool sight along the trail

Cast Iron Pizza 🍕

Okay, this is my first attempt at making a cast iron skillet pizza - pass or fail? I'm going to call it a huge success! I've made tons of pizzas at home, but this tasted restaurant quality!

Urban hiking is a thing!

I got up this morning and hiked the Royal Shenandoah Greenway around town. It's a nice 5.5 mile leg stretcher.

SRSP - A goal accomplished

This afternoon I completed my last couple of miles to finish my hike of Shenandoah River State Park! I wonder what's next? The Shenandoah National Park 500 is going to take a while (due to logistics), so maybe Sky Meadows State Park (which I already started)