It’s been a rough couple of years, and I’ve been crap at posting anything besides book roundups, but I’m going to try for a little more variety–no promises, because I’m still struggling, but I’m going to try.
We spent a long weekend at Canaan Valley (the first time we’d been hiking since November, which is a really long time for me) and although the weather was meh for part of the weekend, it was wonderful to be back in the woods.
By meh, I mean Saturday was either rain or this:
(Guess what Michael did.)
But we did hike, and of course we our first walk was along the Blackwater River Trail. It’s my favorite.
The beaver dam is starting to fall apart; not sure if the beavers have moved or it was just the ice melting. We’ll see in the coming months.
Since the ground was frozen Sunday morning, we decided to try to Abe Run and Mill Run trails.
Why that caveat?
Those trails are wet.
There are several boardwalks throughout that system.
Luckily the water was mostly frozen (or avoidable) so we get to enjoy this view.
We started the hike at nine, so there was still a little fog when we reached the rocks.
It was a perfect morning for a hike.
Saturday we decided to take a scenic drive with occasional stops to hike.
Our first stop was Seneca Rocks. From the visitor center we could see how busy things were upon the rocks, so we walked around a bit and then headed off to our next destination.
We hit the Blackwater River trail at Canaan Valley much later than normal, so the light was different.
Not at all bad, but the things I normally look at were in the shade.
I was pleased to be able to see things I don’t normally.
It had been several years since we’d been to Freeland Boardwalk. The entire thing has been completely replaced and rerouted in areas.
Last we went to the Beall’s Trails area in Canaan Valley Wildlife Refuge.
Just a short hike, but gorgeous, even though most trees were past peak.
I ended up flipping through my hiking books to find a trail near where we were going to be Saturday, which is how we ended up at the Shavers Fork Area, which is (I’m pretty sure) part of the Cheat River WMA.
Aside from our GPS disagreeing with the map, we found our way there and hiked the Crouch Ridge Trail.
It was lovely. We saw no other humans, the leaves were turning, and we there was even a tiny bit of snow falling from the sky!
I really do like hiking Otter Creek. I almost always find solitude there, and the entire hike is beside the creek, which is one of my favorite sounds.
I’ll be honest–all these pictures are simply ones I liked, rather than ones that show the landscape. These stills reflect how being there makes me feel.
