2nd half of May pics and journal entries

McAfee Knob

JOURNAL ENTRY - MAY 15, 2004
Camp to Sarver Hollow Shelter
Todays Miles = 15.9      Total Miles = 666.5     Miles To Go = 1507.6
Today we had some trail magic - Super Dave! GA-ME '01. 2 coolers of beer, soda, organges, tons of candy bars, graham crackers - it was great!! Not as tired feeling today but not happy with the trek to this shelter. We hoped to tent it when we got here. First off, it was straight down hill about 1/2 mile off trail to get to the shelter. Which means starting tomorrow with straight up hill to get back on trail. The....around the shelter is all rocky. So...no tent sites. Have to stay inside full shelter. So, im sitting here in the shelter about to go to bed - mosquitos are loving me. All in all the shelter is nice though. New, so it smells like a cabin, niced covered porch to cook on. Hope mice aren't too bad. UGH.
Met 83 year old hiker man. Talk about desire! 83! It is never too late. He is really sick though, I hope he feels better.

MAY 16, 2004
Sarver Hollow Shelter to Pickle Branch Shelter
Todays Miles = 15.9      Total Miles = 682.4     Miles To Go = 1491.7
Well didn't sleep a wink last night. Annoying guy came in late while we were all asleep and was telling us stories as if we were all awake or cared. Then he lit his stove and almost lit the shelter on fire. After that, mice were running across my legs, smelly guy sleeping next to Sean and annoying guy with loud farts all night. Not to mention the snoring and the mosquitos. I couldn't sleep at all. I missed my tent.

MAY 17, 2004
Pickle Branch Shelter to Pigs Farm Camp
Todays Miles = 16     Total Miles = 698.4     Miles To Go = 1475.7
Today was neat. Late start again. Fun scrambles in our hike today. Almost felt like we were rock climbing. It was a nice change. It was a hot day. In the middle of the day we got a lot of rain. Wet and cold again. Sean loved it - cooled him off from the heat. It wasn't bad since it is hot out. I just wish at the end of the day there would be a dry warm place to go. Oh well. I will appreciate home more when we are done. We ended our day at McAfee Knob. One of the most beautiful sights yet. Since we were only 1/2 mile from camp, we decided to stay there to watch the sunset and eat dinner. Oh what a night!

May 18 Tinker Cliffs, looking over to McAfee Knob

May 19th & 20th Smitty joins us, 40.3 miles from Troutville, VA to
Blue Ridge Parkway #76.3

 

 

VA was super hot so the beard had to go!

Ofcourse without the beard, it gave sure notice
of Sean's weight loss. Now looking like he is truly a
"DINNER SHORT"

JOURNAL ENTRY - may 24, 2004
Todays Miles = 13.6 Total Miles = 817.7 Miles to Go = 1356.4
Here I am at the Tye River sitting on a rock sticking out of the
middle of the rapids, writing in my journal. Life doesn't get better
than this. We were going to camp a little further up the trail, but
we just couldn't pass up this spot.

 

May 21, James River, Day of Haunted Hike
another rainy day!

 

 

 

 

 

pictures, 1st half of May 2004

WATAUGA LAKE, end of TN

AT hikes around a lot of this finger lake, reminded me lots of home.



 

April 30th- Good Bye Tennessee HELLO Virginia!
456.3 miles down / 1717.8 To Go!

May 1st-6th, Bernie joins us in Damascus VA.
75.3 miles

Mt. Rogers

FATMAN SQUEEZE

Laundry & Bath Time in the Holston River

GRAYSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK

cow traffic

approaching the wild ponies

 

May 11, DISMAL FALLS
beautiful long break at the falls for a swim to cool off on a hot day

 

 



10 years ago! May email update #3

Subject: Haunted Hike

Date: Thursday, May 27, 2004, 11:11 AM

Haunted Hike:

Hey!   Before I forget. We arrived in Waynesboro, VA on Wednesday May 26^th. (Rockfish Gap). We are very excited to get a visit from Kathleen, who picked us up at the gap to take us to a friends cabin in Wintergreen. Our bodies have been going strong and have not had a day off since Hot Springs (Mid April), so we are enjoying a “ZERO” (no hiking/miles) day today, Thursday. Of course, we had to leave the trail  with a bang….. 20-30 minutes before getting to rockfish gap, the thunder rolled in, a nice refreshing rain started, but it didn’t last. It soon turned into this monsoon rainstorm with hurricane like winds. We walked fast to get to the gap. The winds were so strong I couldn’t walk straight and the rain hurt so bad – it felt like hail. Luckily, we knew we would be able to shower and get dry clothes on and sleep in a warm dry bed that night. PHEW!!!!

Ok, so we left Smitty and started hiking on without him, miss having him with us. The backpacks were feeling heavy, we certainly didn’t miss those for the 2 days. That afternoon, we were up on a ridge hiking north, of course. This ridge was kind of desertish. The path was full of pebbles, the trees spread out, the sun beaming on the rocks making it really hot. Sean went up on the ridge a bit higher to see the clouds and what was coming since we were hearing thunder in the distance). Major dark clouds! As he came back down and got closer to me, a step a little to the side of the trail to tell him to go in the lead….The haunted hike began…..The loudest rattle noise ever heard. A RATTLE SNAKE, under the leaves of this small bush on the side of the trail – right by my leg. Sean was about 10 feet back as we heard it and he started yelling “get back get back run back”. I think my face went white, and Sean I think was having heart problems (just kidding). I saw the rattlesnake and ran back. It took a while before we could get by it, but as soon as we did, the winds whipped up and it started to drizzle. So, we ran ahead to get way away from the snake and put our pack covers on our packs. At this time the winds got extremely violent, another hurricane like wind. The trees were sideways.  We were both pretty afraid. We continued to walk fast and hope no limbs would come down on us. Got through it and eventually the storm passed. That night, nice evening, we set up our tent and went to bed. Same storm came in again, lightening and thunder, limbs were falling in the distance, heard a tree fall near by. Luckily above us looked like good solid trees. We still were afraid though. The next morning, it was funny, leaves and limbs all around our tent but never on the tent. Man – someone is looking after us. And that is why this 24 hour period was haunted for us.

We have continued to really enjoy the VA mountains. We have crossed the Blue Ridge Parkway many times, what an incredible drive that would be – beautiful!

We have had a lot of thunderstorms/rain this month. As I’m sure all of you have had on the East coast. 18 out of 19 days it rained somewhat with thunder. Not always a bad rain, in fact, most days it was a very refreshing rain. The heat continues, but looks like it will be cooler the next few days.

We have more to look forward to here in VA/MD. Our friend Gregg will be hiking with us starting this Sunday to the following Sunday. And during the week we have family coming out to take us to dinner on Tuesday at Thornton Gap. We hope that many of you can come out and see us on the trail. Again, you don’t have to hike with us, you can just come out and say hello. If not that then we hope to see you in Alexandria at the BBQ. 

As we say each day…..”Life is Good!”

Live Life! Be Happy

Sean & Jen           

10 YEARS AGO, 2nd May email

Subject: Troutville, VA (Daleville)
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2004, 7:02 PM

McAfee Knob

Hey Everyone! Sorry my last email didn't give much of an update. I am feeling much better and have myself back together to type our happenings. Since i didn't write much of our hike out of Damascus VA, i will start there. As you know our friend Bernie started hiking with us there. It was also the beginning of our hike in Virginia. We can't tell you how excited we were to hit VA. Many hikers dread the length of Va (it is 25% of the entire AT). But we have been thrilled since we have so many friends and family that live here and want to come see us. (starting in Damascus and all the way up to New York where many of my friends are). Bernie got to experience every kind of weather with us: Sunny Hot & humid, Hot and rainy, Collllld and rainy, Cold and windy with ice forming on the trees etc... It was great ;-) We realized how great the club that maintains this portion of the trail is...beautiful shelters and they believe in Privy's :-) (TN did not :-(. We had "traffic jams" on the trail due to the cows. A few spots they would be around and we wouldn't be able to walk any further until they "mooo"ved. We hiked by wild ponies and their babies. Cute as can be. Went over Mt. Rogers, our last big elevation until we get more north. Bernie also got to experience the blisters and muscle aches that we have been for 2 months. (hope you have recovered Glyda). We enjoyed his company tremendously. The energy he brought to us was so helpful to get us to this next stage of the trail. We said good-bye to him in Atkins, VA (where he drove us around some so we can get real food, resupply at the grocery store and do our laundry), then we set off for a few more miles to end the day.

Since then...the cold weather is gone (phew) but spring was skipped and summer is here. Sean is having trouble with the heat and humidity. I am loving it right now. But yes, we are sweating more than ever. We have had thunderstorms every day for 14+ days now. It is really neat to hike in and the rain really cools us off. (funny how the times have changed :-). Listed as a favorite - Town food that became my enemy and listed as a not so favorite - wind and rain which has become a wonderful relief on a hot day now.

We have come across some of the most amazing creeks and waterfalls that we have been able to take long breaks at and actually get in to cool off. We have even bathed in them. At the falls, i sat down under them and let the water just crash down on me....let me tell you....life just doesn't get better than that. As much as we go through the rough and smell and crave....life is so wonderful and beautiful out here.

So, we hit Pearisburg, ended up having to stay in the motel after i couldn't handle normal food and threw up lots of blood. Felt much better the next day. We set off back into the woods. Since then, the hikes have been amazing with views. If you ever get to chance to hike in VA....go south. McAfee Knob was unbelievable. Think of a cliff high up in the sky with a view of the moutain ranges. The great thing about this knob too is that it was at the end of our hike, 1/2 mile before our campsite. So, after the rain during the day, the sky cleared up, we ended up cooking our dinner up on the knob on the rocky top - watching the sunset - then hiking in the dark to get to camp. It was just so wonderful. The next day our first break was as Tinker Cliffs - another amazing spot. We hiked over huge rocks - our hike turned more into bouldering. How fun!!!!! we had a blast.

We have enjoyed picking fresh mint growing in the woods and putting it in our tea or water. We hope to find some ramps again (onions) to spice up our freeze dried food and raman noodles. The wild berries are starting to come out so we will be keeping our eyes out for those to give us some new flavors to enjoy. The wildflowers in the moutains are amazing. The beauty of them just can't be put into words. And of course, on the bad side, the bugs are horrible now....the bug bites are driving us crazy. :-) as well as the stickyness and never having dry clothes or skin for that matter. Sleeping has been rough, feeling damp all night. But we have managed.

Our mood - although beautiful views, since Pearisburg, Sean and I have probably had our most down week. Our motivation was lacking, sluggish and tired and just feeling like the hikes each day were forever. Usually we have the other one to get us out of that mood, but it was rough for us to both be feeling that way. The good news, Troutville - got here on Tuesday May 18th, our friend Mike "Smitty", from Deep Creek Lake, as promised, came down to see us. His family lives near Roanoke, near the trail, and came down and has been spoiling us. He set us up in a hotel the first night, took us to dinner and a movie. It was just the perfect night and the perfect medicine we needed to get our motivation back. The next 2 days he hiked 20 miles with us (day hike) and we are staying with him and his family for 2 nights. We will be back with our large heavy packs on our back tomorrow, Friday. Again,. to see a friendly face from home, Sean and I hiked so fast to get to Troutville to see him as early in the day as possible. Again, as with Bernie, it brings us new energy to get us to the next stage. And again, he also got to experience blisters and foot pain and fatigue.... (we really are not evil, don't fear coming out to hike with us....;-) We will see Sean's family next week in Waynesboro and then we have many of you planning to see us in the days and weeks after that. So, we think we are going to be full of energy for a while.

Most of you have read this already but just in case you haven't, you should read the book "a walk in the woods" by Bill Bryson. It is a great read, and all about what we are doing out here.

That is all for now. Again, we will be starting to hike the Shenandoahs on Friday of Memorial day weekend. For those that are interested, we will be hiking over I-70 in Maryland on Monday June 7th and camping at Greenbrier state park. I know many of you are already planning to come out and camp with us...the more the merrier. Hope to see as many faces as possible.

We will be in D.C. area for a couple zero days. We will get in Tuesday night June 8th and leave Sunday morning June 13th.

So, keep thinking of us out here in the moutains. We are so greatful for this opportunity.

Again, we miss you all. and look forward to hearing from you. Your emails have been great. we have been really enjoying reading your 10 things in life you want to do. Keep them coming. And next week i will have more fun things for you to do....heeheehee!!!!

LIVE LIFE!!! BE HAPPY!!!

Sean & Jen

10 year AT anniversary, 1st May Email Update

Subject: A fun project for you
Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2004, 2:29 PM
Hey Everyone. First off - your emails have been so touching. I never thought that our story, in our last email, could be so inspiring to you. My eyes are tearing with joy reading your replies...thank you so much!!

 

So, Sean and I are out here, step by step getting closer to our biggest goal! So, in honor of that, i want you to do something for us. Don't worry - it is very simple. All i ask that in the next week, write down your top 10 things in life you want to do. That is it. Write it or type it and either send it to me or put it on your fridge or somewhere you won't lose it. Have this done before my next email (which should only be a week away this time).

 

The last 2 weeks have been great. Having Bernie hike with us for a week was just what we needed (we miss you already Bernie). The weather has been great, except for the first few days out of Damascus (2 more cold fronts came through, going over Mt. Rogers was extremely cold - ice on the trees from the horrible rain storm the day before) But, since then, it has been hot and humid - I LOVE IT!!!!! Sean isn't liking the heat too much, but neither of us are complaining. We certainly don't miss the below freezing temps.

 

Not a whole lot of stories to tell so we figure we would give you some stats:

 

Trail Names - Sean "Dinner Short" - given to him by Hillbilly when we told him Sean is always looking for another dinner after we finish dinner. Not to mention the weight loss.

Jen "Figit" - given to her by Sean who always gets on her case when in the tent because of how figity she is. And, how each day she just can't stay still - always has to move or "figit"

 

Weight - Sean and I both tried to gain weight 2-3 months prior to leaving for the trail. Sean was successful with gaining about 10-15 pounds and Jen 8-10 pounds. We hoped to have a safety to lose to limit losing our average weight. Since starting - Sean has lost all he gained plus a few xtra (16 total) and Jen about 8 pounds. We think we have maintained since Hot Springs, but will find out whenever we have a scale.???? Sean is truely a skinny minny now :-)

 

Favorite things - Mountain views, wild flowers and blooming trees, butterflies, Privies :-) (although Tenn. didn't believe in them), Campfires, SUNSHINE!!!, Flat Tentsites, Pinetree smell, close and nice water sources, coming to a road crossing and a store or resteraunt being there to get food :-)

 

Not so Favorite Things - digging a hole, steep climbs that lead to no view, rain with a cold front, Sloped tentsites, shelters, being cold, Bug Bites

 

Animals Seen - Rat, skunk, mice, snakes (garter, black, and copper head), rabbits, toads, deer, Owls, Coyotes (well we hear them lots and they went through friends campsite one night), Wild Turkey and many other birds, Bulls, Cows, Ponies, wild boar (well their hair on trees) and i'm sure much more :-)

 

Tentative dates on where we will be in VA, in case you want to meet up with us for a hike:

Waynesboro - Friday May 28 we starting hiking north of here into the Shenandoahs

Harpers Ferry - Sunday June 6

I-70 Bridge in MD - Monday evening June 7

Tuesday evening June 8 to Sunday Morning June 13, we will be staying with family in Alexandria, VA - i hope that many of you can come by and visit. We would love to see you all.

 

Date: Wednesday, May 12, 2004, 7:26 PM
hey

i forgot to mention where we are. We are in Pearisburg, VA. And it is quite funny. After my email earlier today, we were to hike 4 more miles to camp. But, you know how i said in our favorites coming to a road crossing with rest. and food to eat. Well, that is Pearisburg. And it bit me in the Ass. We went to an all you can eat buffet at Pizza hut and ate and ate and ate. Well, i got really sick. If fact, when i wrote the email i was not feeling well. So hopefully it made sense. It got worse as we finished up at the laundry mat and i got sick bad...oh yeah, it was not good. i threw up about a pint or 2 of blood. Yup. not throw up but blood. Well, i didn't get any better, i got the shakes - we ended up having to get a room, unfortunately. It stinks to have to spend $$ we don't have, but i might of passed out on the trail. So, our favorite things, turned out not so good. I don't think i was able to handle normal foods and in such large quantity. I am getting better, and look forward to a "new day" tomorrow :-)

 

i also forgot to give our next mail drops that some of you have ask for. Troutville, VA will be on the 18th.19th. Montebello, VA will be on the 23rd ish.

 

Once again, don't forget to write your list of things you want to do in life. We have already got some and i have really enjoyed reading them, and that you have enjoyed writing them.

 

Here is to a new day! Time to curl up in bed and start feeling better. :-)

 

Tomorrow is a new day........Email update #3 April 30, 2004

From: Jen Sober <jennifersober@yahoo.com>
Subject: Tomorrow is a new day.....
Date: Friday, April 30, 2004, 2:35 PM
If you don't read all of these emails...please be sure to read this story:

 

I think that Sean and I have really experienced a life changing experience. Changing our views on bad days and how to overcome them. We all have them, jobs, family, weather, LIFE.....something makes certain days just seem so miserable. Well.... What a difference a day makes!

   The other day we got to camp, set up hung out in the grass and went to bed. In the middle of the night the weather turned really bad...major downpour. Next morning...still raining bad, and cold. We had nothing to do but pack everything up in the rain, everything all wet - esp. the tent being stuffed into its sack getting even the inside wet. Packed it all up, skipped breakfast and started hiking. It was just such a miserable day. And neither of us were feeling to happy.....just plan old miserable. We felt so bad that when we passed this church along the way, I wanted to break in just to get dry and warm. It was the only thing in site. But we continued. The thought of hiking all day in the rain to get to a place and sleep in the wet as well just was making us feel worse. Sean looked at me and said "I promise we will have a dry place tonight. Our goal of 16 miles for the day turned to 18 just to get to the next shelter and maybe we could get our things dry in there. We couldn't stop to break since we both got cold real fast while it rained on us. Got to the shelter, it was cold and wet and the fog was making everything in the shelter wet. Our stuff was wetter than wet. Sean looked at me and said "let's keep going" 6 more miles was the next hostel where we were to pick up our next mail drop the next day. We went on.... 24 miles...long miles. We were limping from the long miles and no rest and cold. Got to the hostel.....booked up. 27 people staying at a place that help only 15. :-( I almost cried. But the owner drove us to another place 5 miles away where we were able to get a bed and a shower...finally, as Sean promised - a dry place to stay. Our moods were way down that night, from the day and how our legs felt. But.....

"Tomorrow is a new day" The next day, back on the trail. And let me tell you...it was the most beautiful hike we had yet. Unbelievable. The first 3 miles were along thse waterfalls called Laurel Falls. We almost took more pictures this day then all the days put together. The weather was 60 and sunny- perfect! Few mile later we were hiking around this huge lake (it reminded us of home - Deep Creek Lake). We ended up stopping so many places to just sit and look out at the view - words just can't explain.

My Point - when times are rough...tomorrow is a new day. You may wake up to the best day of your life. Instead of wasting time in misery, go to the things that bring you joy. Wildflowers, waterfalls, butterflies, etc... these are few of hte things that get me through the miserable rainy cold days out here.

   So next time you have a bad day, remember this story and that "tomorrow is a new day"

 

sorry for the sap. :-)

Other things that happened last 2 weeks:

** Great weather, other than that one day. We have actually had a little bit of everything. Hot and sunny, Hot and rain (very refreshing) Cool, Cold and Rain......

 ** Sean almost got bit by a very large black snake. It was quite funny. Since he is paranoid with snakes, it didn't help him much. His foot stepped right next to this snake and it got just as scared and cinched back as if it were going to strike, which is when Sean saw it and jumped 2 feet in the air and 2 feet sideways. I was behind him and it was so funny! I don't mean to make fun - it wouln't of hurt if it bit him, but i'm sure it would not help his fear of them - may of even caused shock - UGH - No Good! He is very watchful now :-)

** We have had quite a few days of high miles - a couple 19's, 21 and 24.

** Had our first true experience with Trail magic. Came to a road crossing that had a parking lot and 2 people were there grilling hot dogs for thru hikers. So we both got 2 hotdogs, an apple and orange, carrots, cookies and brownies. YUMMY!!!! We filled our bellies up. It is magic because it is food you can't carry with you so you get to eat it with out packing it. It is a nice treat when you are starving. So if you are ever by the AT, be sure to bring some magic to some Thur-Hikers. We also got a small dose a few days later with an apple, trail mix and a peanut butter sandwich.

** Sadly i lost my favorite jacket (marmot dry climb) in a wind storm on top of a mountain. If $$ allows, I hope to be able to buy a new one soon. It kept me so warm and for the last 2 years, went with me everywhere. You don't realize how much you are attached to things until they are gone.

 

*** We have finally been given official trail names. If you have read anything on the AT (A walk in the woods by Bill Bryson is an excellant one) you may have heard that all hikers end up getting a trail name and that is usually what other hikers will introduce themselves as (you never really get to know anyones real names)

Well, Sean has been given Dinner Short and I am Figit. I will explain in the next email why we were given these.

 

Where are we? We are in Damascus, VA. We just crossed the TN/VA line today. Our buddy Bernie is meeting us here in a little while. We have been so excited to meet up with him. He will be hiking with us for a week. It is amazing the kind of energy you get when a friend or family meets up with you out here. Since there are many of you near the trail in VA and further up. Let us know if you want to come out and hike a day or so with us, camp or even just say hello.

We should be hitting the Shenandoah Mtns. on Wed. May 26. And starting to hike them on Friday the 28th. There are many places there to meet up. Our buddy Gregg should be hiking about a week or at least a couple days  somewhere in there. We are looking forward to that as well.

 

I hope you are all doing well. Please keep in touch via email.
We do love hearing from all of you!

 

Don't forget:

 

LIVE LIFE! BE HAPPY!

Jen & Sean :-)

aka - Figit & Dinner Short

Mid-late April Pictures & Journal Entries



                                                     

                                                                               French Broad River 4/18/2004

                                                     

 

Breakfast at Hogback Ridge 4/21/2004

 

Indian Grove Gap, Frist Trail Magic 4/23/2004

 



Unaka Mt Forest Peak, 5180', 4/23/2004

Big Bald, 4/25/2004
High winds, Lost Dry Climb Jacket, Wild Bulls & Cows
keeping warm with it. :-(

Apple House Shelter, 4/25/2004
Great tent spot, cold rain starts 1 am and continues 24 hours :-(



JOURNAL ENTRY - April 25th, 2004

ASH GAP to APPLE HOUSE SHELTER

Todays Miles = 16.2 Total Miles = 385.1 Miles to go = 1789

Great morning at Ash Gap. Great weather. Got more trail magic over Roan High Mtn. Went over 2 balds - Little Bald and Big Bald. It was extremely windy at this point. My favorite jacket was tied onto my bag and miles later I realized it was gone. It must have been blown off with the strong winds. When I realized I threw down my pack and told Sean to wait as I ran back 15 minutes to see if I could find it. Im sure the wind took it and the wild bulls and cows we saw on top of Big Bald were keeping warm with it. We got to Apple House Shelter and pitched our tent in a great spot. We were on an old apple orchard. So pretty - green, flat and soft grass, just a great night. But still sad about my jacket.

 

JOURNAL ENTRY - April 26th, 2004

APPLE HOUSE SHELTER to DENNIS COVE

Todays Miles = 24.1 MILES

About 1 am it started to rain lots and all night and all morning and all afternoon. And in addition.... a cold front. We had to pack up in the down pour - everything now wet wet wet. We were both very cold - to the bones. It rained on us till about 5 pm. We decided to take our planned 16 mile hike to 18 so that we could dry our stuff in a shelter. So, we got to the shelter and it had way to many people - not to mention the fog mist coming into it making everything in the shelter wetter. Tears were all over me today. Earlier in day, Sean looked at my sad face and said "I promise you I will get use to a dry place tonight." And he meant it. We went on past the shelter for another 6 miles to get to Kinkora Hostel. So we did 24 miles in the rain. My feet and lower legs are not good. Swollen feet, really puffy. And my calf feels like I pulled a muscle. I limped the last 6 miles. the last mile Sean had to carry my pack on his chest. We got to the hostel - FULL!!! Hikers were even sleeping on the porch under and on top of picnic tables. But once the owner saw how sad my face got when he said they are full, he brought us into town to another hostel that had space. Dried everything out in the living space. Iced and elevated my feet.

 

 

Laurel falls
 

JOURNAL ENTRY - April 27th, 2004
DENNIS COVE to WATAUGA LAKE
Todays Miles = 10.6 Total Miles = 419.8 Miles to go = 1754.3
Wow, what a difference a day makes! I was so miserable yesterday that I wanted to break into a church to get warm. Today - the best hike and day yet. The scenery was unbelievable. First 3 miles hiked along waterfalls - Laurel Falls. Then we hiked around the lake. Reminding me of home - Deep Creek Lake. I needed a day like this. It reminds me to keep my head up when times are rough. Cause, you never know what tomorrow will bring!




Watauga Lake