Hull School and Thornton River Trails Hike
Yesteday I went hiking with two of my Barra friends Ryan and Ashley. The sun shone and the wind blew to create a gorgeous day for hiking -- as long as you kept moving. While the hike lacked the constant vistas of our Old Rag hike from earlier in the year, it did have delights near at hand on the trail. Some parts of the trail were steep and tough, but most of it was a pleasant walk.
According to the thermometer on the car, the air temperature on the ridge at Shenandoah NP was 32 degrees when we set out. Sitting inside, you might know the air was cold until you stepped out. Happily, I had remembered to pack enough layered clothing to keep warm. Once we started started downhill, as is the course of many trails at Shenandoah, we got out of the wind and was able to strip off some of the layers of clothes. The weather held steady throughout the day with clouds creeping late to create the kind of dusk painted by Baroque artists: clouds opening beams of light that shone down on farms or highlighted a bend in the river. On the drive back, the car thermometer indicated that the temperature had dropped to 31 degrees. I was glad not to be camping out.
The Hull School and Thornton River trails were close in hikes. From Skyline drive we descended into a hollow where I almost immediately missed the trekking poles I left at home. The fresh fallen leaves coated many loose rocks that shifted with most of my steps. There was no abandoned school at the end of the Hull School Trail, but along the Thornton River, we did see several waterfalls. The river trail also necessitated several stone hops to cross the river, which was more properly a creek. We also saw a rusting car from the 1930s. We couldn't figure out how it got down there. Did someone try to drive it down the mountain, or was this a failed revenuer's attempt to investigate moonshining, or perhaps it was pushed down the mountain to cover up a crime? We followed the ridge along the Appalachian Trail for the last section of the hike, which revealed a few vistas east and west, the best looking miles to the east from the Byrd's Nest #4 picnicking shelter. We also saw a couple of deer on the trail and one bear that lumbered across the trail in front of us. The bear was the second one I had ever seen at the park.
All three of being at least six feet tall, we were able to stride through the downhill and level sections. On the steepest uphills, though, we were reduced to trudging. My training regimen of laying on the couch before going hiking was woefully inadequate to prepare me for the trail. The joints at the top of my legs paid for that -- they still hurt today, too. The uphills at the end of the day were the most difficult.
I enjoyed the hike. Getting home last night, I was sore, but I had a good level of energy: I felt alert. On the trail, I enjoyed the sound of footsteps on the trail and water running over rocks. As is my habit on the trail, I occasionally imagined AD&D encounters. Most of the time, though, my mind followed the trees swaying in the wind.
According to the thermometer on the car, the air temperature on the ridge at Shenandoah NP was 32 degrees when we set out. Sitting inside, you might know the air was cold until you stepped out. Happily, I had remembered to pack enough layered clothing to keep warm. Once we started started downhill, as is the course of many trails at Shenandoah, we got out of the wind and was able to strip off some of the layers of clothes. The weather held steady throughout the day with clouds creeping late to create the kind of dusk painted by Baroque artists: clouds opening beams of light that shone down on farms or highlighted a bend in the river. On the drive back, the car thermometer indicated that the temperature had dropped to 31 degrees. I was glad not to be camping out.
The Hull School and Thornton River trails were close in hikes. From Skyline drive we descended into a hollow where I almost immediately missed the trekking poles I left at home. The fresh fallen leaves coated many loose rocks that shifted with most of my steps. There was no abandoned school at the end of the Hull School Trail, but along the Thornton River, we did see several waterfalls. The river trail also necessitated several stone hops to cross the river, which was more properly a creek. We also saw a rusting car from the 1930s. We couldn't figure out how it got down there. Did someone try to drive it down the mountain, or was this a failed revenuer's attempt to investigate moonshining, or perhaps it was pushed down the mountain to cover up a crime? We followed the ridge along the Appalachian Trail for the last section of the hike, which revealed a few vistas east and west, the best looking miles to the east from the Byrd's Nest #4 picnicking shelter. We also saw a couple of deer on the trail and one bear that lumbered across the trail in front of us. The bear was the second one I had ever seen at the park.
All three of being at least six feet tall, we were able to stride through the downhill and level sections. On the steepest uphills, though, we were reduced to trudging. My training regimen of laying on the couch before going hiking was woefully inadequate to prepare me for the trail. The joints at the top of my legs paid for that -- they still hurt today, too. The uphills at the end of the day were the most difficult.
I enjoyed the hike. Getting home last night, I was sore, but I had a good level of energy: I felt alert. On the trail, I enjoyed the sound of footsteps on the trail and water running over rocks. As is my habit on the trail, I occasionally imagined AD&D encounters. Most of the time, though, my mind followed the trees swaying in the wind.