Hiking in the Heat

We have been allowing this heat wave to derail us from our outdoor activity.  We both love to be out in the woods on a trail (hiking or biking).  It has been a large part of our relationship.  It is where we go to unwind, destress and exercise.  But the heat this past month has been relentless! We have tried to stay inside as much as possible.  But this weekend we just got tired of it and we went hiking.....twice!

The first time we went out was on Saturday.  We had spent a portion of the day running errands and taking care of some of those mundane things that pop up in life, like grocery shopping.  We decided to head to a regional park, Little Bennett.  This park is a favorite of ours for mountain biking, but we were going to go do a section on foot.  It was hot!  But we didn't die. (Obviously)  We each carried a fair amount of water and it wasn't too bad.  I somehow left home without my phone, so I only have this one picture that I had Jason take!   We found some berry bushes that had a few straggler berries.  They were delicious!   We hiked for a bit over and hour and had a great time!

On Sunday it was just as hot (ok, maybe hotter) but we were feeling confident after our successful hike on Saturday.  We decided to get outside again!  We talked and I did some research and we finally settled on a visit to Weaverton Cliffs off of the Appalachian Trail in Maryland.  I knew it was going to be an uphill, but I was even more excited about that because I really wanted to try out the trekking poles I purchased a few weeks back.  (I wrote about the purchase here.)     

The climb was uphill and it was rocky.  Perfect to try out my LEKI trekking poles!  Oh my word!  I love them!   I did feel myself stumble a few times, but that extra anchor kept me steady as a rock!   Climbing up and down rocks was a cinch.  The poles helped take the pressure off my arthritic knees.  The decision to buy these poles was a good one! After one 'real' hike with them, I am convinced of their worth!!!

The climb up is about a mile and a half and at the top, you come to a fork in the road.  You can go left to stay on the Appalachian Trail or you can turn right and hike 0.2 miles to the cliffs. Of course we went to the cliffs.  

After we enjoyed the view at the top of the cliffs, we turned around and made our way back down the mountain and back to the car!  It was a great hike.  We may have only been our for an hour or two but it was exactly what we needed!!!!