Mountain Hike in Virginia (LA Photo Challenge, 23OCT2022)

Posted on by Prior...


Amy chose the theme of “mountains” for the Lens-Artist Photo Challenge this 2nd last Saturday in October.  I decided to share some photos from a mountain hike in June 2022. It was special because there were so many flowers along the entire trail. The floral delight was unexpected and while there was a lot of pink and white looking up – these next two images show the beauty looking down.

ABOVE: Our June 2022 hike was to St. Mary’s Falls, which is considered an easy hike. Even though to reach the Falls, we had to climb twice and also had to cross through water a few times (many folks change shoes for the water crossings).

BELOW: Climbing up to continue along the trail. 

ABOVE: Need to look out for root shoots because they can cause you to trip.

BELOW: Many trails have paint markers for navigation help. We were following the blue trail markers on this hike. 

BELOW: There are usually a variety of camp sites and some have rock benches or other little helps  – like this peg in the tree for holding a backpack. 

That’s all for today….

Thanks for checking out this post.

Have you been on any hikes or nature outings lately?

Check out Amy’s post for the Lens-Artists Challenge if you want to join in this week. 

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101 thoughts on “Mountain Hike in Virginia (LA Photo Challenge, 23OCT2022)”

  3. Thank you for sharing your hiking adventure, Yvette! Love the close-up images of these rocks.
    Beautiful views of the mountains through your lens.

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  4. Fun choice for the week Yvette. Any time I’ve hiked mountains I’ve always used the trail markers for directions. Sometimes they get quite faded and are the source of severe angst!!!

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    1. Hi – yes – I can imagine the angst. And I have not been hiking very long (only since 2019 and then I don’t go too often) so I have not really seen the worn out ones – I think the times I have gone have been after they were recently painted.

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    1. Hi – yes – “easy” is so relative and it was easy in some ways but maybe not in others (like climbing up two small sections is not the easiest – but quite doable because we could take off the backpacks)

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  10. Lovely photos, hiking is wonderful! We got to do a lot of hiking when we were in Texas recently and it was great. So beautiful seeing different landscapes compared to here in Pennsylvania.

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    1. Hi Joyroses… Texas and Pennsylvania are states with so much beauty and so it seems like you have lots of options
      And I heard many of the “great writers” were walkers (and some hikers) and so another perk to “get moving outside” is that it can help those creative juices
      🙏 😊

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  11. I love hiking trails, each one of them telling a million stories. I also love how nature always finds a way through, as evidenced by those flowers that took the long way home.

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    1. I like how you said nature finds its way through – so true and also – as much as I enjoy hikes – I am not always eager to go but then when I get out there I am glad I went (if that makes sense)

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    1. Hi JT
      I hope you get a trail walk in – even though your everyday walks seem to be so refreshing already – esp with the art.
      😉

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  13. That looks like a great hike. I’m always tripping over things while out on trails because I am constantly looking around. I either watch where I’m going and miss the views, or look at the views and stumble. Not sure which is best 🙂

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    1. Janis! You made such a god point – when we look down too much we miss the view and if we look up too much we can trip or hit something ….
      I don’t know the answer either but I do know that going slower helps me ! Ha

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    1. BB – those sandals my hubby is wearing are called “earth runners” and they are made for certain rugged terrain – even though he actually only out those on for the water crossings and he knew the trail well so he left them on because the next water crossing was coming up quick – but he changed into “zero” shoes for most of that hike – (and I am using old school “teva” sandals for the next time I cross the water)

      And cheers to making the most of the rainy times
      🙏⛈💧

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        1. yes, it is a two-mile hike to the main falls and a lot of college students do this hike – this also means there can be litter (and lots of leftover socks and scarves sometimes)

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        3. Well the good news is that because it is such a popular and well-used trail – there are many folks who also do clean up along that stretch of it – 😊💛

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    1. Hi – I think you need to unfollow my blog for a little while
      Because that is what I had to do with “sherry lens” blog – it was something on my end and her posts kept coming up as a comment
      So I think it is some glitch on your end – try to unfollow my blog and let it rest for a few weeks and see if that helps – it worked for me with that other blog

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Robbie – well thanks for coming back to comment – and sigh! A few folks said they can’t leave a comment here (like the awesome Denise from happy haute hone) and I am not sure why! But I do appreciate you coming back to try again – and I just started an email to let you know you inspired me to write poetry again this fall.
      I had taken a break all year and after your treasuring poetry series – it was a catalyst!
      Anyhow – hope your day is going well

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi Yvette, I am beyond thrilled to hear that. Very little deters me from writing and I am happy if I help others get back in their writing grove. Another writing friend was inspired for a new book by something I read to him. How amazing is that!

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        1. That is so amazing – and I just added your name to the acknowledgement section of my book – along with a few others who revived my soul with poetry (and treasuring it!)
          And your friend getting inspired by what you read to him reminded me of yet another way literature trickles to infuse us humans !’
          We share informally and it ripples!’
          My son suggest I do a poetry slam with poems from avian friends – bwah! Lol

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        3. Hi Robbie
          Poetry slams can be done anywhere and in my definition – they are just where poets get together and do read aloud poetry (some memorize them)
          And I have heard some on public radio too!
          Like a few months ago a young man wrote a poem about when he was a bully in school and shared it rap style – it was interesting
          But there might be another version of poetry slam that I don’t know about

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  18. Beautiful photos – I love the pops of colors of the flowers too. Connecting with the earth via a hike in the mountains must be so wonderful. I’ve only hiked a couple of times, and never on a big mountain like you did. I wonder if I’d be looking down too much to prevent a fall or a trip? 🤣🤔😄

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    1. Hi Shelley – I look down a lot – and also go slow when needed – keeps things safer – now I do sometimes video record while walking a flatter area – but am very careful – I like going on bikes and can shy some folks do it weekly (but that would be too much for me – ha- so twice or thrice a year is good for overnight hikes)

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    1. Hi Patti – I have never been on a hike with so many flowers in the trees (well I have not been on that many big hikes overall) and maybe I will do a part 2 to this post showing some of the tree and shrub flowers (I limited my number of photos shared it this post would have been lonnnnng! Ha)

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    1. I hope you get to get a hike or two in ;and get to see those Aspens!)
      And your comment about the phone made me smile – I intentionally added that in the post to show that modern touch (lost smart phone) but also because it stood out to me that day ….

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  33. That’s an “Easy” hike? Yikes! I love to hike, but not when it’s going up rocks, or really steep. This is a beautiful hike, Yvette. Your photos are wonderful. I hiked Mt. Monadnock in NH a few times. Nice but too up-hill rocky for me. I hike the woods here in New England a lot and love the trails.

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    1. Hi – I also don’t like the too up hill – and my husband accidentally brought me on a steep hike for our first long one together – I managed okay – thankfully – and he carried the heavy stuff – but we learned a lesson and now when I join him on hikes – I triple check what it entails –
      Oh and I bet the New England trails are just marvelous to hike in especially right now in fall! Good for the “rough writer’s “soul!

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      1. I’m kind of laughing about the accidentally bringing you on a steep hike! It’s like when my guy accidentally took me down a steep hill for my first skiing experience. I have never skied since. 😳😅

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  34. Ditto what Pam said about an easy hike. But such beauty. Which mountains? We just got back from a trip to NE Tennessee in the Appalachians. And yes, we went hiking. But our hikes were the EXTRA easy trails. I put a few pics up on my last post. More will go up tomorrow (Friday). On the way home, we drove through Virginia and the Cumberland Pass. Gorgeous views there.

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    1. I look forward to checking out your posts and I heard that Tennessee has many hidden beautiful areas!
      And regarding easy – – I prefer the “extra easy” and it sure Can be so relative as to what is easy vs challenging
      Thanks for checking out this post
      😊

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  35. Beautiful photos Yvette – it looks like an inviting place to hike. When I finally got to the state park with the beach in early October, I decided to return two more times, hoping to catch some colorful leaves. They have a six-mile hike that goes around a huge marsh – we are almost 10 inches rain deficient right now and it was startling to see that about 80% of the marsh was totally dry. This was not the only marsh/lagoon/vernal pond that I have seen this happen in my Autumn walks. Those roots out of the ground are dangerous and at this state park, I will return again next year, however their six-mile hike/bike path around the marsh was horrible to walk on because huge tree roots made deep furrows or high mounds all along the asphalt path. I took some photos and will honestly not plan on doing that hike again and will visit other parts of the park instead. If you have to be looking down constantly to avoid a trip-and-fall incident, it takes away from the enjoyment of the venue.

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    1. Linda – you are so right about the looking down all the time and how it pulls from a good hike
      And here we have some civil war battlefield trails that someone spray painted roots a bright orange (to protect the roots and to warn us to step over) but those trails make me dizzy looking down all the time! Blah!
      And sounds like the six mile hike might be better when the water levels are normal
      I look forward to seeing some of the photos you did get to take from that area
      ☀️😊

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      1. Yes, you have to be watching all the time on the rustic trails and I was on a rustic trail in a woodsy area and looking up/across, when out of the corner of my eye I saw a big Eastern Fox Snake slither across the path near me. Didn’t like that too much. So I spend a lot of time looking down on rustic trails these days. All the orange would make me dizzy too Yvette.

        I need to have a large block of time to get to the camera card. Right now I have some Fall and harvest shots taken on the small camera as well. I hope to sit down and do some over Thanksgiving break. The beach … going three times and twice in one weekend was fun. The third weekend in October and people were dipping their baby’s toes in the water. Not a usual occurrence for Michigan. We’re usually bundled up by now.

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  38. Delighted you shared this hike with us, Y. Lovely to hear there were flowers along the entire trail. The flowers must have been happy to see you 🙂 Crossing the water a few times sounded exciting. It looked rocky and good that you were careful and followed the trail markers. It can be so easy to get lost on a hike. Love the fun shadow selfie and wave. I haven’t been on a nature hike in a while. It has been really cold here this year here in Melbourne, and I’m not a fan of the cold at all. Slightly warmer now that it is summer and perhaps a hike or two at some point 🙂 When hiking I like to keep track of the time since time can really get away from you especially if you stop to admire scenes along the way – factoring in how long you can stay out there and when you need to get back. Safety always comes first.

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    1. Hi Mabel
      You are so right about the time thy can get away from us on a hike –

      And we usually have a destination to reach and that does keep us on track

      Thanks for the comment and wishing you a great day!

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