Before the Rain

You know how it goes, you have plans for the weekend and then Mother Nature promises cloudy days and rain.  So, do you take a chance and see if you can beat the weather clock?  Absolutely!

We had planned to walk the next leg of the New River Trail this morning, but the weather was calling for rain and when we got up it was cool and cloudy and a few drops were already in the air.  However, the weather channel said the rain wouldn’t be here until late afternoon, so we went for it.  And so glad we did, because we got in 6 miles of the trail (walking from Allisonia to Draper) before the rain started. . . just barely.  Even though we didn’t get a downpour, there was definitely enough precipitation to have made the walk uncomfortable if it had started any sooner.

A couple of very friendly dogs, got us started on today’s journey – they walked with us for the first mile.

 

Even though it was a cloudy day, the greenery on the trail was beautiful.

Hubby, looking relaxed. . .

Me, patiently waiting for him.

No idea what this is, but it was unusual, so picture worthy.

The New River Trail

 

The New River Trail is 57 miles of what used to be a railway and is now a beautiful hiking, biking and horse back riding trail that goes through Southwest Virginia from Pulaski to Galax.  This week I was lucky to have walked on it twice.  First on Thursday with my hiking buddies and again today with hubby.  My goal is to walk all 57 miles in stages, by the end of the summer.

On Thursday, four of my friends and I hiked 5 miles – 2.5 out and back from Draper.

 

 

Then we had lunch at the Blue Door Cafe, which is a lovely restaurant located inside the Draper Mercantile.  It is so fun to get in a good workout and then eat a guilt free lunch.

Today, hubby and I started at downtown Pulaski where the trail begins,

and walked to Draper – about 5.8 miles to where we had lunch on Thursday.

Here is just a glimpse of what we saw today.

There’s really no need to travel very far when we have so much to see in our own backyard.

Here Comes the Sun. . .

And with it a wonderful weekend outdoors!

I’m a hiker, a power walker, a leisure walker – but never a runner.  This is mostly due to my knees, but also because running never brought me joy.  So whenever I enter a 5K – which I do at least once a year, I’m mostly going to be walking.  Hubby talked me into doing a fundraiser this past weekend. It was for a free clinic and his students had asked him to participate.  Saturday was beautiful, and we enjoyed the walk, finishing somewhere in the middle.  But the best part was that we did it together, and when we got to the end, we aligned ourselves to cross the finish line together.

Sunday was equally beautiful weather, and surprisingly we were both up for a hike.  A friend told me about a waterfall nearby that was supposed to be an easy hike – 3 miles round trip and the only thing was you had to cross a creek a couple of times. Since it was close and we had talked about going there in the past, we decided to give it a try.

First of all, the hike might have only been 3 miles, but it was at least another mile walking on a gravel road to get to the trail – so there’s 5 miles.  The first stream crossing was pretty easy.  The second one gave me pause.  But the third one had me standing on a rock for quite a while as hubby encouraged me across.  Considering how challenging it was, I felt lucky that only one foot got wet.

But as usual – once we got to the waterfall, it was all forgotten and we just enjoyed the beauty that seems to be so prevalent here in Southwest Virginia.

Here’s hoping Mother Nature is finished fooling around and will let Spring stay a while.