Apple Orchard Falls

January 8, 2018January 6, 20181 Comment

After completing our hike to White Rock Falls we continued south on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The next hike on our list was Apple Orchard Falls. We did an out-and-back hike that ended at the falls for a total of 2.4 miles.

These were easily the newest trail markers we’ve ever seen!

By the time we started the hike, the sun was already setting. We knew we’d have to book it to the falls in order to be able to see them before it got dark. The foliage along the way was beautiful, and the trail was covered in leaves.

I was a bit nervous about making this hike at all because I knew that the return trip would be in the dark. I’m so thankful that we made the decision to go ahead with the hike, as the Apple Orchard Falls were beautiful!

We went ahead and donned our headlamps before setting out on the return hike.

Making the return hike in the dark was a bit intimidating, but we didn’t encounter any issues along the way. We’ve backpacked in the wilderness before, but we’ve never hiked after dark, so this was a first for us. I’m thankful that we had the foresight to put our headlamps in our backpacks before setting out.

Shenandoah National Park – Part 2

November 14, 2016May 12, 2017Leave a comment

We picked out the hikes that we wanted to complete during our trip ahead of time. We put quite a bit of thought into how many miles we thought we’d be able to hike (and drive) in a day. We also tried to pick hikes that featured different things (waterfalls, good views, interesting terrain, etc.). There are a ton of hikes to pick from, so having a game-plan ahead of time will allow you to make better use of your time. The three hikes that we did on our first day in Shenandoah definitely reflect our thoughtful planning process. We chose one with good views, one with good trees, and one with a waterfall.

Hike With A View

Our first hike of the day was Stony Man. We started in the Stony Man parking area and took the Appalachian Trail to the Stony Man Trail. We spent some time taking in the views at the Stony Man summit and then headed back to the parking lot. The views were amazing, and the total hike distance was only 1.4 miles, so it was definitely worth the time/effort. One of my favorite things about the view from the summit was getting to see Skyline Drive winding through the trees down below.

Squirrel on Stony Man Trail

View from Stony Man Summit

Skyline Drive via Stony Man Summit

Skyline Drive via Stony Man Summit Continue reading →

Laurel Highlands – Pennsylvania

October 9, 2016December 13, 20161 Comment

We hadn’t initially planned to visit the Laurel Highlands, but we found ourselves in need of an area to stay for two nights that was between Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Shenandoah National Park. The Laurel Highlands region of Pennsylvania was the perfect spot. We stayed at the Quill Haven Bed and Breakfast in Somerset. We highly recommend staying there — both for comfort and the good location…and the wonderful breakfast — if you ever find yourself in need of a place to stay in the area.

Our day in Somerset County was jam-packed and wonderful. We started our day with a self-made-tour of three covered bridges. It is worth noting that the first bridge featured, Barronvale Bridge, is the longest covered bridge in Somerset County. It is also worth noting that you can drive over the last bridge, Lower Humbert Bridge; we took advantage of the opportunity to drive over it, and I photographed Bryan’s car in the bridge.

Barronvale Bridge