Happy Birthday Hike on Shenanndoah

Saturday the 13th we drove out to Skyline Drive in Virginia for a hike. We hiked the Swift Run Gap trail, about 5.5 miles round trip. A little further than anticipated. I was hoping for about 3 miles, because of my foot, but clearly I didn't read the fine print on the map. But in the end, my foot was fine, it was the heat that did the kids in.

Here we are on Skyline Drive.

and

and

The hike down to the falls was long, but downhill, so not SUCH a big deal, although there was some complaining. Because it was hot and such a looooong hike.

But when we got the falls, all the blah blah whiny whiny was forgotten. Lucy was a bit tentative of the water at first, but she did get into it a bit.

 

Then ... the long hike up. Up. UP. I actually carried Q9 on my back a bit because it was easier than her complaining. I also gave lessons on how to pee in nature but nobody else could do it. Instead, we bemoaned the fact that boys have it slightly easier. But, it is a useful skill to learn, girls, so if you are reading this, you should reconsider not learning how to do this.

We were all glad to get back to the car and air conditioning. While the mountains were cooler than home, it was still super muggy. Bleurg!

Happy Birthday Hike to C46!