Been too long!

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted on my blog!  It's been a busy Spring, but dad and I are still hiking.  Just a run down of a few of our trips this Spring....

We attempted (notice I say attempted) backpacking for the first time.  We rented our gear from REI, packed and unpacked and packed again, removed a few items (but obviously not enough) and headed to the Eno for what was to be 3 days and 2 nights.

We hiked the Mountain to Sea trail starting at West Point on the Eno.  Enjoyed a nice lunch break by the river and continued on towards our destination.  We hiked about 6-7 miles that day.  We knew this trip was going to be a learning experience and it was.  Dad learned that 37 lbs is too much to carry and that he needs to drink more drinks with electrolytes.  After the 6+ miles and many cramps in the legs, we decided to call my sister and have her and her hubby come pick us up.

I'm not sure if the people driving by were honking to say "hi" or if they thought we were homeless.  Either way we had fun (I may have had a bit more fun than dad).

After many emails and conspiring conversations, my family and I decided to buy dad some light gear so we can get out there again.  Being the impatient people we are, we couldn't wait until Father's Day to give him his presents :)

Between the 13 oz sleeping bag and the less than 2 lb pack, I think we just knocked about 6-8 lbs off!  I think with some tweaking he should be able to get down to less than 25 lbs.  I can't wait until we try again!!

After that big adventure we decided to find our pride again and head out on an 11+ mile hike on another section of the Mountain to Sea trail at Falls Lake.  For this adventure we brought my oldest son, Kyle.

My lesson for this day was that a 19 year old eats way more food than my dad and I!  I will definitely bring more food next time!

This tree was huge!!  Along with seeing the enormous tree, we saw a couple of old barns, some old farm equipment and what my dad thinks was maybe the foundation for a barn (??  I'm a city girl, don't laugh) that was used to milk the cows.  I don't know what you would call that.

The day was perfect and the scenery was beautiful!  I felt like I was in the enchanted forest.  I've never seen such a beautiful place.  I do wish we had more views like the marina below.  But still, the forest was amazing!

After that fun adventure, we had another one this weekend.  In honor of Memorial Day, my dad, sister, Mary and her hubby Tim, and I did a charity hike for the Fisher House Foundation.  For this, we headed to Umstead State Park.  It was another beautiful day and the company was great!

Thanks to American Backcountry for the T-shirt....will be wearing it on my next adventure this week.  Stay tuned for details of all our fun from that!

Peace, love and happy trails.....