Bryan was very happy to try out all of our new backpacking gear, including the new stove and pans. This was a good test run before we set out for our over night backpacking trip.
On Friday we saw a bear while hiking, it was about 30 yards away from us, it was amazing to see such a large animal in its natural habitat, I was glad that we saw him before he saw us. We made a lot of noise in order to scare him off (after I got a picture of him). This little encounter also helped Bryan and I to properly identify bear poop, answering the old question of "Does a bear shit in the woods?" - by the way check the pictures if you really want to know.
The best part of our adventure was hiking on the Appalachian Trail, some of the pictures are on a bluff on the side of a mountain, which is on the AT. We were hiking in the woods and then all of sudden the trees part and you see the most beautiful scenery that I have ever encountered. It is moments like that (mostly expressed in nature - for me), where I know there is a Higher Power out there. This just further pushes Bryan and I to fulfill our dream of one day doing a thru-hike of the AT, from Maine to Georgia.
Unfortunately, I encountered some terrible blisters due to my boots (which will be going back to REI this week), therefore we had to end our camping/backpacking trip at a nice campsite at the Holiday Inn Express in Warrenton, VA.
We have plans to go backpacking on upstate New York in July, if only my job would allow for weekends off, we would be gone all the time.
One month till Michigan!!!
Link to pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/simmo1k/ShenandoahMay2010?locked=true#
