Last minute packing

Ellen, Keegan, and little Sophie are home from Korea for a bit and hosted a picnic in Lynchburg to celebrate. It's been on the calendar forever and honestly I had forgotten about it until Aaron brought it up (more like made a comment about how I fill all the weekends - this weekend is now his job, let's see if he remembers). Lynchburg's not that far away, but since it was a 3-day weekend, I thought I'd make a little trip out of it. Course with end of the school year and one million things to try to get done, time for planning this weekend hadn't really been on the top of the list. Noon on Friday after checking out some maps online, I called the ranger at the Peaks of Otter Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway just south of Lynchburg. Yes, noon on Friday for a Saturday reservation for Memorial Day weekend.

The ranger at first was a little short, but once I demonstrated that I actually knew what I was talking about and asked the right questions, he opened up a bit. He couldn't make a reservation for me, but assured me that there would probably be available campsites when I showed up. He also gave me shortcut directions from Lynchburg and recommended the lodge for a meal and maybe a drink. I printed a few maps so Aaron and I could do some hiking and I spent the rest of Friday afternoon working, sorting, and cleaning up my classroom. Friday night when I got home I packed the tent, the air mattress, and the sleeping bags into the car - joking that I didn't want to forget them. I also found the jet boil and some freeze-dried dinners and tossed those in as well.

Saturday morning was a leisurely wake up. I read two of the twenty papers that have accumulated (we called to complain about our delivery and now we get it everyday... soon to be changed back to intermittent weekend delivery) and then we walked downtown to the Farmer's Market. I purchased the biggest chard leaves I have ever seen and some radishes. It is difficult for Aaron and I to buy more because we never really know when we are going to cook or what, but we try to at least get something. Aaron would have bought steaks, but they only had one left. Maybe next week.

Once we got home, we got ready to leave. For no particular reason I couldn't decide what to wear and annoyed Aaron by asking him what he thought. He was actually helpful and I finally got ready. I packed a bag and asked Aaron if he wanted to cram his clothes in my bag. He declined and packed his own bag. I remember leaving the car open and walking back and forth a few times to put more stuff in it. It's a lot harder to think of all the things you need for camping and hiking when you are far frm home and they haven't been packed for the entire summer. Lastly I put everything food related in the fridge to keep the ants out (a possible future post) and we drove off. Aaron drove because he wanted to try a shortcut through the back side of Orange and so I could read a bit for my class and we arrived at the picnic on time.

It was nice to see Ellen and Keegan and beautiful little Sophie as well as Jamie and her new babe. I can't remember her name, but its pretty, and is similar to a freshwater grass in the pond (Elodea?). Hmmmm. I used my magic touch to put her to sleep so that Jamie could enjoy a quiet comfortable meal with friends. Holding sleeping babies is easy - and no I still don't want one. Chrissy's baby bump is showing and she looks good. She's excited, but daunted at making sub plans. I was the only one there who didn't have kids actually, kind of weird, but most likely a trend that will continue.

Eventually we said our goodbyes, crossed our fingers, and headed south. The drive was pretty and the shortcut the ranger gave me was right on. We arrived at the campground and were able to get a campsite. I hate choosing a campsite. Mmm. Let me rephrase, I obsess over choosing a campsite and it drives Aaron crazy. I want a good one, looking while driving is not ideal, campground loops are often large and one way, and Aaron does not want to appease me by driving round again. When given a choice, I'd rather walk and look. There are considerations - how close to the bathroom (both a pro and a con because of noise of other campers and because the lights), how close to a road, how close to other potentially noisy campers, and other site features. I want to choose a good one so I have the potential to overanalyze. This time our decision was pretty easy - #1 - because it was available and not smooshed up in with all the other sites that appeared to be full of families. 

I had read online about a waterfall hike where sunset views were nice so we decided we were going to set off after setting up the tent. Neither of us were dressed for hiking, so we were going to change and go. That's when Aaron discovered his bag was not in the car. Oops. Plans change. We drove back down the mountain to a nearby town and looked for the Walmart. Not difficult to find, a quick shopping trip, a nice drive in and back, and straight to the trailhead. We both changed in the parking lot and that's when I discovered my hiking shoes were not in the car. Oops. Luckily I had a pair of sneakers, but purple saucony's are not hiking shoes. But that's what I had, so that's what I wore. They weren't actually that bad going uphill, but going down hill was tricky. At this point it was time to start making the list of what was forgotten.

THINGS WE FORGOT (in order of discovery)
1. Aaron's bag
2. Pillows
3. Kim's shoes
4. Coffee cups (though we had coffee and a press)
5. Lantern was dead - no batteries
6. Sugar cubes (in case we had coffee)
7. Aaron's deoderant

orchard falls in the fading light

The strenuous Apple Orchard Falls hike was not so strenuous. Aaron seems to think we should get some sort of recognition for our speediness. The waterfall was pretty, but turns out sunset (which was obscured by clouds anyway) is best seen from the parking lot where the waterfall trail originates. It was dark and late when we stopped by the lodge to see about food, but the restaurant stopped serving over an hour before. We decided on a beef and potatoes dinner at the campsite and then went to bed.

Aaron woke me up in the morning, as usual when we are camping, yet not when we are at home, and I answered him with an emphatic no. Apparently I needed a half hour more sleep. After packing up the tent we hit the lodge for breakfasts with names like Mountain Mama and the Mountaineer. Our first hike was to the top of Sharp Top peak across the lake from the lodge and up the hill from our campsite. We could have taken the bus up and down, but where's the fun in that? (you can see the lodge on the far side of the lake on the right side of the photo)

The hike was pretty much straight up the mountain and not a lot of switch backs, but it was shady and pretty. The top was covered in big boulders that were fun to climb around on. Aaron's new passion is "Stag on the Promontory" photos and there were plenty of opportunities.

After the hike down, we peeked into the Nature Center and into the Visitor Center before heading north on the parkway. We stopped at one more trail White something falls and did the loop trail there. It was a beautiful waterfall with many cascading tiers and a nice trails as well. On the way we encountered a trail crew with motorized wheelbarrow with a tank tread nosily coming down the trail.

aaron at the top of a sideways waterfall

The rest of the day we leisurely traveled the parkway north. We stopped one other time to hike, but it was pretty much the wrong trailhead - a nice streamside trail, but not the waterfalls we were looking for. We had to get off the parkway once to get gas and then we continued north into Shenandoah because it was actually the shortest path home. Although Culpeper seems centrally located there are not straight line roads to get there.

Hopefully all those things we forgot will ensure that we will remember them when we pack for this summer's road trip to Maine.