Come Take A Hike

After the wedding that I posted about below we took a few days off and drove up into the mountains of West Virginia.  We went way up high where the air is thin enough for the only spruce forest south of New York!  It is an area we have visited many times, and this time the leaves were peaking.  Put on your hiking boots or waterproof walking shoes (because we are going to cross a cranberry bog) and grab a sandwich, an apple and some water.  We will be home before sunset.

The rains that fell as Hurricane Matthew collided with a cool front from these mountains left a full day of heavy rain and the rivers that are usually just trickles of water were not so easy to cross.  In the photo below at the top is a patch of rhododendrons which will be lovely and fragrant in the spring.

When we got to the promontory and looked out at the falls a fellow hiker said she had been there just a few days before and the waterfall was just a trickle!  (I did not set the camera to stop the water but still like this version.)

You can hear the power of this rushing wall of water, can't you?

Then we drove to the summit for more hiking.

Up ahead after parking is a selection of trails.  As we got out of the car and headed to an overlook near one of the trails, dogs began barking furiously off in the trees at the side of the slope.  We later learned from the man at the hunter's two trucks that the hunters were training their dogs although the hunting season was over.  The noise we heard was because the dogs had tracked a bear.  Nothing more stimulating than thinking you might encounter a running and fearful bear on your trail!

We headed out over one of the trails we had not taken a prior time.  The trails are rocky as you can see from the geology above.  It is hard to enjoy views and vistas because you always have to keep secure footing and avoid the pockets of water.  We were crossing a cranberry bog that had intermittent islands of blueberry shrubs.

And, yes, there were cranberries.  Very bitter, but beautiful.

Hubby was able to keep his shoes dry as he had a different style.  My feet got wet several times, but the day was warm and it did not bother me to have slightly damp feet.  The air is as pure as it gets and the views are phenominal.  It is a harsh and unforgiving land with trees that struggle against winter winds.  Maybe next I will post about our lunch and the woods and our afternoon.