Ahh, Autumn

A glorious season, isn't it? I am lucky to live 30 minutes away from the Shenandoah National Park. I don't go there enough, but decided today would be a good idea to try and go take pictures of the foliage. I had a feeling I was a week or two early for peak foliage, but I am away at my cousin's wedding next weekend (YAY), and who knows how cold it will be the weekend after that!

I had a constrained time period (1.5 hours of hiking time....1 hour of driving), but my boss mentioned going on Humpback Rocks. Sounded vaguely familiar, like I have done it once. Sure, why not! I was just going to drive up there and see what I see. A plan sounded better.

Up in the mountains 10 degrees colder than in town. 45 is a BIT chilly, but I knew once I'd start hiking, things would get better. I park and see this sign:

Hmm. 40 minutes? I can do it! The way down is so much easier than the way up!

I ignored the map to the left of this side as these trails are well marked, and practically sprinted up the mountain. You know, as fast as you can sprint UP anything, and with a camera. And in Danskos

 

Admittedly, NOT the best shoes to hike up a mountain, but as we can already tell, I don't really think ahead of time. I almost broke my ankles about 10 times, but I am a TROOPER.

What felt like 4 million years later, I  f  i  n  a  l  l  y  made it up the mountain to the most spectacular view.

(click to enlarge any photos!)

 

 

Note to self: Check your camera's ISO before you leave the house. ISO1600 does NOT work well for daytime pictures :( These could be so much better...oh well.

After I hurtled my body down the mountain as fast as humanly possible amongst the slick, moss-covered rocks, I decided to look how far up I just went. I guessed maybe a mile up, a mile down.

 

A: 4.2 miles....lol

B: I did it in 1 hour and 10 minutes! Suck that Mountain.

C: (not pictured) Oh my knees!

There is nothing better than enjoying the day outdoors, feeling the crisp wind across your face as you breathe in nature's beauty. Not a bad way to spend my saturday.