Saturday

We set out for another weekend hike. Both the Blue Ridge Parkway and Shenandoah Park were closed in anticipation of some bad weather. We had few options for hiking so chose St. Mary’s Wilderness Trail. We hiked for 7 hours in temperatures in the low 20’s! We met just one other brave hiker along the way. It was nice to get back to the hotel for some dinner and a nice soft bed.

 

Sunday

After breakfast, I set out with fellow hiker, Nancy, for a 4-hour mini-hike. Elaine had foot problems and couldn’t risk hiking again today. It started to snow on the way to the trail – it was really beautiful. We enjoyed a great hike and welcomed the opportunity to test out all of our cold weather gear. My hydration system froze so I had to come up with a solution – I decided the best thing was to put the tube inside my coat – it worked! I was also really glad to have my trekking poles – they made a huge difference in the snow. The temperature never went past 23 degrees and we did not meet any other hikers today!