Jun 1, 2004

mc afee's knob

I just came back from my very first hiking ang camping trip! It was awesome! I have been wanting to try out this outdoor stuff but i cannot get anybody to come with me. Sure, i have been snowboarding with friends in CT but we never hiked or camped anywhere.

I went to NYC to meet up with Mike in his pad at Symphony Apartments (52nd st between Broadway and 9th avenue). From there, we drove to his house in Limerick, PA to get his hiking gears. We then drove towards Virginia where we will be meeting Mark and Melissa at a hotel. It was pretty late when we got there so we just crashed for the night. The following day, we starte our day bu eating at Waffle House. Hmm...best breakfast ever! So greasy and yummy...oops. After th tasty breakfast, off we went to find the trailhead parking lot. There was two so we chose one on the northern part. I was so nervous as it was my first hike. Each of us has their own backpack for our camping gears. I couple of wine bottle on mine and a few liters of water on it without thinking that it would greatly compromise my hiking abilities, if i had any at that time.



So off we started the trail. The hiking trail was called Mc Afee's Knob which is 3.5 miles [one way] for moderate to experienced hikers. It was ascending slowly on curves but it got steeper by the minute. The boys were ahead of us and [thank heavens] Melissa never left me behind although i have been panting out of my breath every 20 steps. I was that damn backpack with all the weight of the world on my back. I thought i was never gonna see the top of that hike. Water & Melissa's undying patience were my only best friend at that point.

The hike became more steepier on the last mile up. Now, i am stopping to rest every 10 steps. I am almost dehydrated and i think the lactic acid on my muscles are starting to eat them up because i am in so much pain at that time. At last, Mike shouted from a short distance that he saw the trail end. I can hear Mike, yelling "Wow!" but it did not register just yet until i came to the spot where he is.

It was incredible! I dropped my forsaken backpack on the ground and started admiring the beauty of nature that surrounds me. The view was spectacular and grandiose. I can sea a huge valley clearly with the blue sky above me. I went to the cliffside, sat down and dangled my feet. One by one we took turns taking pictures of our triumph and then broke into one of our wine bottles to celebrate our feat.

By the way, Mike discovered the reason i was falling behind. They thought the reason for my lagging behind was just because i was an amateur hiker. But when mike tried to pick up my backpack to get the wine, he stumbled down 'cause it was so heavy! He couldnt believe that i carried that thing without saying anything. Everybody decided to split up my load which was a great deal for my aching back.

We ate & drank while we breath in the fresh air of the mountain. an hour or two before the snset, we decided to head back down to find a place to camp. e found one a mile down near a shelter. We built a bonfire and were soon loopy of the wine we drinking. I shared the tent with Mike. It was a fun adventure and we were exhausted.

The next morning, it wwas drizzling quite a bit so we stop on the shelters on the way down and met some Appalachia hikers. They were the people who were hiking the appalachian train from east to west for a total of 2500 miles! Kudos to these people who have the guts and energy to do such a thing. Maybe someday i'll be able to do it.
We left the trail happy, tired and in dire need of bathing facilities. We went straight to Roanoke Hotel in Roanoke, VA. We got a big discount since Melissa works as a lawyer in DC (government perks i guess). It was an awesome place sonce it is one of the historical sites in VA. Needless to say, we were all refreshed after a few hours of bathing. We heas out downtown to grab dinner and some drinks. We really liked the place. Everybody was friendly and ther shotglasses were all shooters. Food was incredible at Corned Beef & Co. It was pretty late when we got back to our hotel.

I love that trip!. It was wonderful and i think i would want to do that again. Now that i have people to go with, i'll have greater opportunity to be able to fulfill that wish.
Posted by nixinne :: 12:27 PM :: 0 Comments:

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