What a beautiful day to be outside. Yesterday promised to be a beauty and by gosh did it deliver.
We met bright and early at Total Wine and I know how happy the boys (and some parents) were to be up and at ‘em at 6:45 on a Sunday morning! It was dark but reassuringly warm.
We had a two hour drive ahead of us due west into West Virginia. As we approached Front Royal the sun was coming up (and looked beautiful in the rear view mirror) and the temperature started to climb. By the time we got to the trail head the car said it was 72 degrees, on Oct. 30th!!!!
The 13 scouts and 11 parents huddled up at the start and then lead by Philmont Crew Chief, Braden, headed off for a 10 mile lollipop hike. Within the first 15 minutes most had stripped down to just a t-shirt. This was perfect hiking weather and with frequent snack breaks the gang headed south along the valley and then up onto the ridge heading back north. For a smidge of the hike up on the ridge the hiking crew snuck back into Virginia.
The overlook at the top was truly spectacular as you could see due east and the ridges of the three ranges between us and home.
Congratulations to 4 of the guys who completed their first 10 miler, Patrick, Kalen, Scott and Graham. Awesome job and here’s to many more.
Again, the hike took about 5 hours elapsed time and we then headed back to McLean via an ice cream stop.
There were some car issues at the end (lost key and some damage) which I know put a bit of a dampener on the day for some and I hope it all worked out to be ok in the end.
Our next hike is on Nov. 20th – details to come.
MWS