Shenandoah National Park, Hiking Appalachian Trail

Snapshots of Shenandoah National Park

Shenandoah National Park

A little over two years ago,

(before the pandemic was even a whisper)

Taido and I drove to Pennsylvania to attend the wedding of a dear friend.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

On the way there, we took a slight detour to take in the sights of Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia, Skyline Drive

It was early April so the trees were still bare, but spring was blowing in.

We rolled the windows down to feel the mountain air.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia, Segregated, History of White Supremacy in the USA

We made several stops in the park.

We walked through the visitor center where the history of the park

and of white supremacy

was on display.

(Even our national parks were segregated, y’all.)

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

We stopped at the overlooks.

We watched mist roll over the hills.

We paused when we found streaks of blue sky.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

We didn’t have a lot of extra time,

but we stopped for a short hike.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

Stretching our legs in the woods,

we covered 2-3 miles of the Appalachian Trail.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

The trail runs all the way through the park for 100 miles.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

We walked over mossy rocks

and peeked at the views through the naked trees.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

Patches of snow were hiding in high places.

The last dregs of winter hanging on.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

Our short hike was over far too quickly,

so as we drove out of the park we started to

dream about

coming back one day.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

Wouldn’t it be fun to hike the whole stretch of the park?

To wander the trail for 100 miles over several days?

Maybe with friends?

Or our kids?

Or both?

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

To set up camp in this forest.

To stay for more than a few hours.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

We drove on to the wedding,

a sweet celebration and a reunion with friends from Germany.

Our time in the Shenandoah turned to memory,

but a seed had been planted.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

Next week, we are loading up our car with tents and backpacks and trail mix and raincoats.

We’re driving across the country to meet up with friends

(including the ones that got married).

And we’re hitting the Appalachian Trail.

Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail, Hiking, Virginia

We’re all vaccinated and ready to breathe that mountain air again.

Shenandoah National Park, here we come.