a walk across town

Yesterday was our big hiking day. Suzanne had this crazy idea that we should walk from South Mountain to North Mountain. I can see both mountains from my neighborhood and they are both FAR FAR FAR AWAY!! We dropped a car off at North Mountain then drove everyone across town. We drove and drove and drove and drove and arrived at our destination 40 minutes later. I think the reality hit everyone about how far we were really going to walk. As we were planning this, I was kind of visualizing it in my mind, where we would park the cars, who would be walking this first section with us, how we would transport everyone etc. Friday morning as I was driving to Seminary at 6:40, I was shivering cold and it was dark outside. It suddenly dawned on me that I was picturing this Saturday morning hike in my head as bright daylight and kind of warm. Luckily, the early morning temperatures were pretty moderate and pleasant. We started down at the entrance to South Mountain just as the sun was coming up. I just realized I didn't take any pictures with either of the mountains in the background. So just trust me, this neighborhood is at the base of the mountain. And it was a gorgeous sunrise.This is Levi. He is four and he has more energy than any human body ought to possess. We walked a little over 15 miles. Levi probably ran 22 miles. That even takes into consideration that he spent part of the time in his stroller. He ran ahead, then ran back to us, then ran ahead and ran back. ALL DAY LONG!! And he looked absolutely this happy all day long.

We walked through residential areas, across the river, through the industrial areas, through downtown high rises, past museums, through commercial areas then back into residential areas.

We had to make one short stop at the drug store to buy some moleskin. We had a few people that were starting to develop blisters on the bottom of their feet by the time we got to McDowell, the half-way point.

Levi and Cooper were real troopers. We all enjoyed them and I certainly think they enjoyed the day.

I thought Claire would leave us in the dust - she is a very athletic girl. But we enjoyed her story telling. The best story of the day is about her teaching a 1st grade class and trying not to tell anyone she was in labor for most of the day.

Melanie came along with us. I spent a day trying to make sure I had everything I needed for the day and anything we might need for any emergencies. I walked regularly to get back in shape a little bit. etc. etc. I asked Melanie if she wanted to join us at the last minute. Sure, she said, Let me grab my chapstick and I'm ready to go.

There are some pretty buildings, gorgeous landscaping and sculptures to enjoy along the way.

Virginia even joined us for 2 or 3 miles. Levi loved driving her scooter! You are a real sport Virginia!

Including the 2 little guys, we had 14 people on the hike. Four of us went the whole 15.2 mile distance. Melanie had a blister issue and had to drop out at 14 miles. Gayle went 10 miles and others did pieces and portions. It was fun to visit with everyone.

We began at 7 a.m. and arrived at North Mountain at 2 p.m. with an hour for lunch. So it was 6 hours of hiking. Not bad! It was about an hour faster than we estimated. Suzanne posted some cool photos of all the sights along our way. It was a great day - great weather, great sights, great friends, great conversation, great exercise.