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Shenandoah Foliage Hike



On Saturday Valerie and I went for a strenuous hike in the woods.

Take a moment. Read that sentence again. And again. Now read this one:

On Saturday I went to a Bar Mitzvah celebration at the home of Abu Bakr al-Bagdhadi, the leader of ISIS.

Which sentence surprised you more?

Well, the fact that this hike happened and was in fact a big a success proves that anyone can change, so maybe there's hope for ol' Abu yet.
The circumstances were a visit to Ted down at JMU. His college sits in the Shenandoah Valley and it was pretty close to peak foliage season so we decided that as our big activity Saturday we'd do some leaf peeping. To tell you the truth, I had set the bar low in terms of what we were going to do - stop at a couple of overlooks, do a short hike up a fire road and then turn back.

After an unexpectedly delicious breakfast at Ted's favorite breakfast place and a quick stroll through the Harrisonburg farmer's market we headed for the hills. There was a backup of cars at the entrance to the park (I thought it might not be bad since we were entering via the Swift Run Gap entrance - far from any cities - but I was wrong). We got a nice surprise, though, when we finally got to the gate - the ranger waved us through the gate without collecting the entrance fee. What's better than peak foliage? FREE peak foliage!

We parked at the South River picnic area lot (mile 63). I figured we'd stroll the South River Falls fire road with a stretch goal of reaching the falls. I didn't bother mentioning the "real" trail, which I figured would be too strenuous. As it happened, on our way out of the parking lot we passed the trail head for the "real" South River Falls Trail. As we looked at the map some people came out and assured us that it wasn't an overly difficult trail. And so off down the trail we went!

Well, it's true it wasn't a killer trail, but it had a lot of elevation change for a non-hike who only recently took up walking - and only on flat, paved trails. Plus there were stream crossings, switchbacks, and rough tread in places. Valerie did really well!!! We wound up hiking the whole South River loop - out on the South River Falls trail, stopping at the falls overlook, then continuing on to where it hit the fire road. From there we took the fire road back. As it happens, this particular fire road isn't that much easier of a hike than the trail, so the way back wasn't a piece of cake either. We made the climb back at a slow pace and skipped the opportunity to do the last little bit on the Appalachian trail, opting instead to hike up to Skyline Drive and finish up on pavement.
Stream Crossing

Along the trail Ted made fun of us a lot for our slow pace, frequently skipping ahead down the trail. I don't let that sort of thing bother me - I can always write him out of the will :) Plus there have been plenty of warm days when he's collapsed into an exhausted lump at a point where I've barely broken a sweat (heat is the penguin's Kryptonite).

The scenery was as grand as expected. Brilliant hues, leaves of all colors all around us. The day was crisp and sunny. Everyone finished the hike happy and a little bit worn out - in a good way.

Perhaps my favorite foliage hike ever, because I did it with my family.
Ted, Out Ahead

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