Shawn and I have a really cool book called
60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Richmond. We decided to put it to good use last weekend. The weather was great...sunny and around 45 degrees and we had a little bit of cabin fever. After narrowing down our choices to a true hike in Charlottesville, a quick walk around Pony Pastures on the James River or a walk around Dutch Gap Conservation Area, we chose Dutch Gap. We didn't really know anything about it except that it was an 8 mile walk (4 miles out and 4 miles back) around a body of water. Being as though I don't really know how long a mile is when you are walking, I thought "8 miles...no big deal!!" Our walk started off really nice.
We didn't see hardly any people and about 2.5 miles into the hike we found a great place to have our picnic lunch overlooking the pond. A little while later we got to a section that had tall fences with barbed wire on one side and nothing but trees on the other. We weren't sure if we were actually in the right place but then the real path started again and we could tell we were getting near the end of the first 4 miles. It was also around this time that I noticed I was getting a blister on one of my feet. We turned back to finish the last 4 miles. Since it was all repeated scenery we walked much faster and took fewer side-trails, but I decided around mile 6 that I was done!! My foot was killing me, my body was tired, and I wanted Shawn to carry me to the car. Obviously,
that wasn't an option so I started whining and walking very, very slowly. Shawn was often several paces in front of me encouraging me to keep walking. I never claimed to be in shape or to love exercise and I just wanted to sit down and quit! I have never been so glad to see the end of the trail. We finally got to the car, I took off my shoes and I was missing a chunk out of the back of my foot. When Shawn saw how bad my blister was, I think he felt a little bad for the lack of sympathy he gave me on the trail. Overall, though, we had a great day together. It is rare to have 3-4 hours of time uninterrupted by tv, cell phones, or activities that need to be done. We are looking forward to doing another hike from the book. I don't think I will sign up for 8 miles anytime soon...or at least not until I get a new pair of hiking shoes!!
Shawn and I have a really cool book called 60 Hikes within 60 Miles of Richmond. We decided to put it to good use last weekend. The weather was great...sunny and around 45 degrees and we had a little bit of cabin fever. After narrowing down our choices to a true hike in Charlottesville, a quick walk around Pony Pastures on the James River or a walk around Dutch Gap Conservation Area, we chose Dutch Gap. We didn't really know anything about it except that it was an 8 mile walk (4 miles out and 4 miles back) around a body of water. Being as though I don't really know how long a mile is when you are walking, I thought "8 miles...no big deal!!" Our walk started off really nice. 
We didn't see hardly any people and about 2.5 miles into the hike we found a great place to have our picnic lunch overlooking the pond. A little while later we got to a section that had tall fences with barbed wire on one side and nothing but trees on the other. We weren't sure if we were actually in the right place but then the real path started again and we could tell we were getting near the end of the first 4 miles. It was also around this time that I noticed I was getting a blister on one of my feet. We turned back to finish the last 4 miles. Since it was all repeated scenery we walked much faster and took fewer side-trails, but I decided around mile 6 that I was done!! My foot was killing me, my body was tired, and I wanted Shawn to carry me to the car. Obviously, 
that wasn't an option so I started whining and walking very, very slowly. Shawn was often several paces in front of me encouraging me to keep walking. I never claimed to be in shape or to love exercise and I just wanted to sit down and quit! I have never been so glad to see the end of the trail. We finally got to the car, I took off my shoes and I was missing a chunk out of the back of my foot. When Shawn saw how bad my blister was, I think he felt a little bad for the lack of sympathy he gave me on the trail. Overall, though, we had a great day together. It is rare to have 3-4 hours of time uninterrupted by tv, cell phones, or activities that need to be done. We are looking forward to doing another hike from the book. I don't think I will sign up for 8 miles anytime soon...or at least not until I get a new pair of hiking shoes!!
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