The Weekend Schlep

The LTR and I took a weekend hike on the Three Sisters mountains in South Central Virginia, in the George Washington National Forest. We didn't come across any naked Italians, as I hoped below, but we did see a young buck (above).

Our adventure started in Waynesboro, VA, in the heart of Old Red Virginny, where we spent Friday night so we could get an early start on the trail Sat. morning. An old, grizzled man greeted us at the desk of the Days Inn and said to us, "I see we have you down for a king sized bed. That won't work, will it?" Without missing a beat the LTR said, "no it will be fine." Then the guy turned to me, as if he didn't believe the LTR and asked me if it was okay. "Sure, I said. Makes it easier to suck his dick in the middle of the night." You should have seen the guy's mouth drop.

Ok, I didn't really say that, but I might as well have when I affirmed the sleeping arrangements. Still, he gave us the key.

I did my best to pack light, since this was our first back country trek in years. Still our packs must have weighed more than 50 pounds each. I don't know what I could have left behind. I didn't use one tee shirt nor sweat pants, but other than that everything carried in was used. I'll be going online for tips on packing light...for me, planning and packing carefully is part of the fun.

We started at elevation 3,600 feet at Reed's Gap. We ascended to nearly 4,000 at the highest peak on three sisters, then descended to 2,000 feet to Harper's Creek where we made camp. Overall we hiked a total elevation change of 5,000 feet.

Here's the LTR preparing dinner on our camp stove next to the crackling fire I built.





Sunday morning we rose, ate breakfast and ascended back to Reed's Gap.

I'm a bit stiff and sore but otherwise feel like the trip was a great experience and a step towards getting ready for our five day hike on the Inca Trail in September.