As we were eating dinner on Friday night, Rob introduced himself as the lodge’s wine guy (I really don’t think that’s what came out of his mouth but nor did “sommelier.”). We talked for a bit about where we were from and that was that. After a bit of a stroll around the lodge grounds, Storm and I headed back inside for one more glass of wine. Rob poured me his favorite sauvignon blanc and poured Storm some pinot noir. Then Storm started to tell him why we had both driven to meet in the middle of nowhere and how we’d met. Before she could spit out how we’d both hiked the A.T., Rob finished her sentence. He went on to tell us that hiking the A.T. had been a dream of his when he was about 16-years-old and how he now does some work with the US Forest Service. In there somewhere was also a mention of the Student Conservation Association (SCA) which got my mind running. I knew my dear friend, Melk (Real Life Name: Liz), who I hiked with from Virginia to Maine with in 2007, was working with an SCA group in Pennsylvania for the summer. I didn’t know where, I didn’t know when. Actually, I didn’t really even know she was with an SCA group. I just assumed based on her Facebook status saying she’d be in PA for the summer. We hadn’t talked in a few months and it had been about a year since we’d seen each other. But I threw it out there. Rob’s response was, “Liz is here. And if she is she’ll probably be at a party we’re all having tomorrow night.” But he said he’d let us know for sure the following day.

So, the next day at dinner, Rob informed us, “I can’t confirm that it’s your friend but I can confirm that there’s a Liz from Rhode Island.” That’s pretty much all I needed to know my friend Melk was nearby. How many women named Liz can live in Rhode Island but also be working in PA for the summer? I sent her a text message just to be sure and, as we raced to the party through the hills behind Rob and Jody, who’d also come along from the lodge, she called to confirm. When we arrived to the party, it was dark and there was a large group gathered around a campfire with a few folks playing various instruments. I scoured the illuminations of the fire on each person’s face until I saw Melk.  When our eyes landed upon each other we ran and hugged and started shrieking and talking about how in the world all of this had happened. It was a great moment. And I was so thankful it was happening.

We spent about thirty minutes talking before Melk had to leave with her group. Storm and I spent the rest of the evening around the campfire with a handful of people we’d just met talking about a handful of topics and realizing what great company we were in.

I told Rob later in the evening that it seems every time I’m near the A.T. or am with any of my trail friends, something incredible like this happens. He said it was serendipity and the fact that we were open to it all and had put ourselves out there. It seems that, even though I thought the story of my hike was over, I’m still learning such great lessons from it all and I’m still finding so much magic and so many amazing people. I feel lucky to have learned over and over in my life just how many wonderful people are out there in that great big world of ours. I feel so lucky to have met Rob and Jody and to see Melk again!

…

Speaking of seeing Melk, here’s a photo from our reunion! Thanks to Storm for sharing the photo!

And here are a few we took back at the lodge after the festivities. Thanks to Storm for her masterful self-timer action (through which I appear to be sleeping) and to Rob for getting a photo of Storm and I.

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Welcome to the world, Lauren! We love you!

Heather, Chris, Calen & Nathan: Congratulations! Lauren is completely adorable and I can’t wait to watch her grow. And try to play something other than trains. Love you all!

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Our plane landed in Seattle just before midnight on a Friday night and Mike and Katie met us at the airport. As we headed back to their apartment, they stopped to let the wonder begin. This is the very first view we had of the Seattle skyline:

On Saturday, we walked around their Queen Anne neighborhood and then walked over to Fremont to take in the parade the neighborhood was having to celebrate the summer solstice. It was quite a sight to see and I’ll just leave it at that because, well, as it turns out, lots of people were celebrating with no clothes on and I’d like to keep this post family-friendly. So, just another cool view for you:

For years, in celebration of Eric’s birthday, we’ve gone to a baseball game in a new city so – technically speaking – that’s what this trip was all about. So, later that same evening, we took in a Mariners game and found out we were good luck when they won. I took this photo just moments before it started sprinkling and they closed the roof. It was pretty neat to be there to see the roof close and it took about 15 minutes to complete.

The next day, Sunday, we set out for some hiking which I was SUPER excited about. The only place out west I’ve ever hiked is Arizona so I felt like this scenery was going to be all new to me. We picked a ten mile trail and, even though it was drizzling and even though I admit I’m a fair-weather hiker, this was a dreamy hike. The trail was super easy and I was actually really surprised anything like that existed out west. After about five miles, we were rewarded with a gorgeous pond and, though much of it was socked in with fog, it still looked amazing.

On Monday, we had plans to meet Sean for the very first time in person. It’s so cool to finally meet people that you’ve only ever spoken with online – and a little surreal too! Before we headed into the city though, we took another stroll around Queen Anne:

And then we were off to meet Sean who I’d been corresponding with through our blogs and email for some time. He’s from Vancouver of all places so I really never thought we’d meet in real life. Well, not this easily at least. But, just like magic, it all came together and I’m so glad it did. Sean, it was SO great to finally meet you, even though I felt like I already knew you from the internets. Thank you so much for making the voyage from Vancouver and taking a whole day just to explore Seattle with Eric and I. It was incredibly cool to see that the person behind all of the inspiring photos on your blog is just as inspiring. I feel so lucky that we were able to arrange such a meeting and hang out for a day!

We all headed over to Pike Place Market and grabbed some lunch. Yes, we ate crepes. Yes, I ate crepes three times while I was in Seattle. Yes, I love crepes. Yes, I was in heaven.  Take a look at all of the gloriousness that is contained inside the walls of the market:

Peonies are my absolute favorite flower. And that’s all you need to know about how long it took me to select just these few peony photos to share with you.

Did I mention that we also ate doughnuts? With cinnamon and sugar. They were warm. They were to-die-for. Is it time to go back to Seattle yet?

After Sean left to head back to meet his bus, Mike and Katie met up with us and we had some wine on a roof nearby. As the sun started to go elsewhere for the night, it made for some pretty cool market photos:

Tuesday. Where do I even start with Tuesday? Much like Seattle had been painted grandly to me before I arrived, Tuesday was a day full of big plans and adventures. And, much like Seattle was even better than I expected, Tuesday was a definite highlight of the trip for me. By the end of the day, we were all referring to Tuesday as “best day ever.” We started Best Day Ever by kayaking on Lake Washington:

After our paddle, we had some lunch overlooking the lake and sped on over to Redmond to rent a few bikes. We were on a mission to take the Sammamish River Trail to a local brewery and a few wineries that were along the way. The trail was gorgeous and picturesque and you’ll have to take my word on that because I was apparently too busy enjoying it to pull over and take photos. What I can share with you, however, is how we carried our new finds back with us. Just before I took this photograph, we realized we had about 18 minutes until the store from which we rented our bikes would close and we were still several miles away. We raced back to town in what felt like we were cartoon characters in warp speed…eat my dust, Lance Armstrong. Riiight.

Bikes returned, we raced out to Snoqualmie Falls and then did a bit of off-road driving to see some sights nearby. Forty-five minutes outside the city of Seattle, this is what we found. And, as we drove home that night, Mike declared that our day was a little like a sunny Super Bowl Sunday.

The sun setting on Best Day Ever:

Then came Wednesday and we knew we probably couldn’t top Tuesday (not to be confused with Sunday) but our hike of the Little Si Trail definitely gave it a run for the money. It was only five miles roundtrip but it packed in some amazing scenery and a fun, challenging trail. Loved it!

We were lucky enough to get a view of the Skyline with Mount Rainier in the background that day. The weather was totally perfect!

And a sunset from Ballard that night. Second Best Day Ever.

To Mike and Katie, if you’re reading: Thank you SO much for hosting us all week and for being the absolute best tour guides ever. I’m so glad we were able to come visit and get to know Seattle a bit with you guys! Eric and I both had a blast and we hope each of your Saturdays continue to feel like the best day ever.

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Happy birthday, Eric, I hope you have a most excellent day. Thank you for being my best friend and for getting me. And for loving me despite it all. You are the best.

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

For my friend, Sean, who told me the Pure Michigan ads are getting harder and harder to resist, here are just a few more images to tempt you.

The North Country Trail is blazed with traditional rectangular blue blazes while the Jordan River Pathway is blazed with blue circles. Together, they remind me of little exclamation points to add excitement along the way.

These dandelions were all over the trail and couldn’t resist stopping a few times to capture them. Something about these are just so dreamy to me…

Hope you had a great weekend!

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

nicole

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

It all started with three cars. One traveling from Pennsylvania, one from Massachusetts, and mine from Michigan. None of us had made plans on where to stop for the night so, through many text messages and phone calls, we organized a reunion about an hour northeast of our final destination of Damascus, Virginia. We all agreed we were glad to have had no solid plans…it meant we were all free to the possibility of gathering together. So, we did just that and enjoyed our Tuesday evening in the comfort of hotel beds before hitting the trail the next day.

I’d like to take a time out here and explain a quick thing before I start making introductions. Each of us has previously hiked the Appalachian Trail (AT) and on the AT, it is tradition for hikers to take on a trail name for the duration of their hike. So, when I introduce you to my friends, don’t be alarmed about their off-the-wall names. Most of them have pretty normal names in real life.  So, here you have Storm, who hiked the AT in 2009. Then you’ll see Cobweb who I hiked a good stretch of the trail with back in 2007, followed by Rocket who hiked in 2009 with Storm. Then there’s me; my trail name is Persistent. And, on the far right, is Andy from Baltimore. Not just Andy but rather Andy from Baltimore. I thought we made a rather colorful and fun group! In this picture, we’re about to set out into the Grayson Highlands, a wonderfully picturesque portion of the trail.

It rained a bit when we first started walking but later in the evening, the rain had subsided so we took in some gorgeous views…

Along the trail, there are privies (think: outhouse) near various shelters. If it’s possible to have a favorite privy, the one we passed on our second day out was mine. Someone had taken the time years ago to write the entire story of The Lorax on the wall. Gotta love it!

Later on the second day, we made it to an incredible space with plenty of room for our traveling neighborhood. Storm, Rocket, and I all have the same tent so I definitely had to get a few group shots!

It truly was a very cozy space. We each set up our shelters, made some dinner by the campfire, and relaxed for the rest of the evening. It was so great to be out backpacking along the AT again and especially great to be with such a fun group of friends!

I just love this last image because I really think it captures a little bit of everything that happens on a typical night along the Appalachian Trail. Relaxation by the campfire, dinner and chats near the shelter, food hanging up high and out of the reach of bears, and wonderful scenery.

The next day, we packed up our things and hiked the remaining miles into Damascus, Virginia. I felt so lucky to be out there again, smelling the amazing smells of the woods and hearing the sounds that you can only find out there! Thanks to my old friends and my new friends for making the trip such an adventure! I can’t wait to do it again!

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

nicole

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Last Monday, we drove down to Hot Springs, North Carolina, ditched our car, and made our way to a trail crossing about 35 miles outside of town with the help of a local shuttle. We hiked a quick few miles to our campsite near a stream and set up our home for the night. Here’s the tail end of the sunset that night as well as the sun a little while after rising the next morning. Sooo pretty.

Later during our second day – and after much uphill climbing – we came to the highlight of the hike, Max Patch! Max Patch is simply a stunning place to be. It’s a bald mountain amidst plenty of others so we had some amazing views of the Smokies and a few neighboring ranges. It was such a treat to sit up there in the grass and take everything in for a while and just …feel small.

While Eric and I were on Max Patch relaxing and taking a break in the fresh air, it seemed like the world just kept giving us little gifts and all by sheer coincidence.  First, we met a hiker who, as it turns out, I have a few friends in common with so it was such a pleasure to meet him and hear how his thru-hiking had been going so far. Then, out of nowhere came a girl I’d been corresponding with before her hike began a few weeks earlier. I had no idea she was already at this point on the trail and it was a total surprise when she came walking up that hill. We sat and caught up a bit as if we were all old friends – one of the things I love most about the trail. What a delight. And, though I’m saving this for a separate post, one other amazing thing happened. Again, out of nowhere, a bride in her wedding gown came strolling up that hill with her groom. They were up there to take in the day and get some pictures with the mountains. It was too much of a coincidence for me not to head over and do an impromptu session! Amazing!

Here’s a shot of our new hiker friends. Can you tell just how tranquil that mountain makes you feel?

On our third day, we knew the rain was coming (insert large sense of dread here)! We hiked for about an hour before the skies let loose so I only have one image (the one on the left) from that day. The other image is also from Max Patch. Anyway, I’d been telling Eric about this tree for a while now – how huge it is, how grand it is. We even have a photograph of it hanging in our home. It’s massive and I love it! So thanks to Eric for snapping this shot as we passed by. About twenty minutes after this photo was taken, the rain came pounding down and did not stop all day long. We decided that, rather than freezing in our wet clothes that night and again in the morning, we’d keep on hiking all the way to town that day. It made for a big day but it felt really nice in the end!

So, since we now had a full day to explore the area, we visited a few spots in the town of Hot Springs. This is a gorgeous area at the edge of town:

The other edge of town is just as gorgeous:

And here’s the tiny little town itself:

We also headed over to Tennessee to have a picnic at another amazing spot on the Appalachian Trail called Beauty Spot. When we got there, we realized it was way too cold and windy for a picnic but we spent some time just taking everything in and sharing some food with the only hiker that passed by. This area of Tennessee is commonly referred to as Valley Beautiful which I find soooo fitting.

There were amazing barns all over the place so on our way back to Hot Springs, we made a few stops:

Okay, to those of you who are easily creeped out by spiders and their webs, I’m sorry. But I think they (webs, not spiders) are fascinating!

We had to get a shot of the train for our nephews; they would have LOVED this!

And later in the evening on our last night, we went for a little walk along the trail and ran into these guys. I’ve always thought cairns are so neat…

I hope you are having a great spring and have a little time to take in the sights, sounds, and smells wherever your path takes you.

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

VISIT ME ON FACEBOOK — EMAIL ME — FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER