The Sunday morning outdoor bootcamp I’ve been attending for a while now never fails to combine a fun social hour with an excellent workout, in an altogether satisfying fashion. As a bonus, we like to remind ourselves--during days that we’re feeling particularly tired, or sore, or hot, or cold--that it’s also a fabulous excuse to visit Whole Foods afterwards for all the coffee one can handle (or, bacon also seems to be a motivating factor for those who partake).
It was during one of these post-exercise breakfast sessions toward the end of the long, sticky, sweltering Summer that our group began to longingly express how much we were looking forward to the change of seasons. This progressed to a discussion about how enjoyable it would be to—as a change of pace--replace one of our usual meetups with a hiking field trip, perhaps when the weather turned more Fall-like, and the leaves began displaying their Autumn hues.
And wonder of wonders: it was one of those ideas that did not get uttered, then instantly forgotten...but actually came to fruition! The target date for our excursion was set for last weekend--not my personal first choice, due to the fact that the stupid switch back to Standard Time always disrupts my internal clock for a few days…but it turned out to be a fortuitous decision, since the trees were definitely cooperating with the dazzling array of colors.
The plan was to congregate at a local grocery store just before 7 a.m. (ugh), form carpools, and hit the road for the 75-ish mile drive to Hanging Rock State Park. I’d volunteered to be a chauffeur, so I ended up with two gal pals from the gang sharing the Subaru with me. This of course helped the ride to pass pleasantly…and also meant that I had a navigator to keep us on track, with the crazy-ass back roads and myriad turns Maps wanted us to make.
When we all arrived at the park, several other friends who’d driven themselves joined us, and we set about planning the actual trek. Our fearless leader had already looked into one route that consisted of approximately 1.3 miles out and back, with the namesake “rock” being the scenic goal, as well as the turnaround point. However, another one of our number (we’ll call him “Bill”) took it upon himself to speak to the Ranger in the Visitor’s Center, and got a different recommendation, for a slightly longer ramble that still included the promised lovely vista, but added “about a mile” of tromping through the woods.
Thus everyone had to choose their own adventure, so to speak: to follow the shorter, quicker path, or the additional-distance, meandering one. Almost all of us opted for the latter, so we divided ourselves up and hit the trail, assuming we’d reconvene in the middle at whatever time we all happened to get there.
It was with great energy and abundant high spirits that our merry little band set off through the forest. We hadn’t been at it very long, however, before Bill turned over his shoulder and casually, cheerfully tossed back, “I’m not totally sure we’re going the right way…but we’re making very good time!” Oh dear…that didn’t sound ominous at ALL, right? However, we all chuckled and kept moving, since we were entertained by the company, and the gorgeous foliage…regardless of whether we were, you know, technically “lost”.
It was also amusing some time later when I suddenly, inexplicably picked up cell service again (maybe we’d reached an elevation sufficient to pick up a signal? Who knows…) and received a text from the other half of our contingent….who’d already arrived at the overlook and were now chilling, and waiting for us. At that point my best guess was that we were at least an hour out, but what can you do? Oh yeah: keep on strolling!
Which we did--and without ever having truly been misplaced, we eventually found our way to the huge quartzite formation that lends the park its name, and upon which you can walk around and admire a sweeping, stunning view of the landscape across the Dan River valley, to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and Virginia. Here we reunited with the rest of our buddies for high-fives, photos, and of course admiring the glory of the Great Outdoors.
Once we’d had our fill of Mother Nature’s splendor, we banded together for the return jaunt…which took about TWENTY MINUTES. Seriously, a couple of us who’d participated in the lengthier expedition looked at each other in disbelief when we realized how many more steps we’d actually covered. Suffice it to say, the Ranger might have fudged the numbers a little…or vastly underestimated the extra loop she advised us to take…or we goofed up ourselves, and failed to stick to the prescribed route. In any case, my FitBit indicated that we had traveled more like 5 miles…
All I’m saying is that we definitely earned our lunch, which we gathered together to eat in a picnic shelter before heading back east to the Triangle. So to sum up: we had charming companions, pristine weather, awesome scenery, and a wonderful hike. Therefore I’m proclaiming the inaugural Fresh Air Fitness Field Trip to be a rousing success! Now, please feel free to take deep breaths and ogle these mountains while I go stretch my (still) weary legs…
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