Urban Hike

A week ago I listened to Rick Steves radio program on the Appalachian Trail and John Brown. I remember going to Harper's Ferry when I was a kid and found Tony Horwitz's segment interesting.  I plan to read his book on John Brown soon.  I thought it might be fun to visit Harper's Ferry and some other Civil War sites.And then there was the segment on the Appalachian Trail.  I love hiking.  I can't really see walking the whole thing because of the time it would take but I can see taking some day hikes along it.

So then I started looking up Shenandoah National Park, where I spent a summer as a kid when my brother in law was a naturalist there.  I could possibly stay there or nearby and take day hikes there.  I am thinking about going there next summer.  Then I kept thinking about going hiking.  Maybe I need some practice.  So many friends go to Hocking Hills, which is about a couple hours away from where I live.  It would be a great place to hike, take photos and have a nice long weekend.

I started to plan an imaginary trip to Hocking Hills and ended up booking a cabin in November.  Because I have been sick all summer I am out of shape.  I'm going to have to take some hikes around town so it won't be so hard when I go.  I also haven't had my camera out for a long time.  I am using the camera on my phone so much instead.  I like to hike to take in the view, nature on the trail or buildings and people on an urban hike.

Urban hikes and trail hikes will be my training for Hocking Hills and maybe for the Appalachian Trail.  I walk downtown often and sometimes I walk home from work.  I haven't all summer but I really do enjoy walking in the city.  There are city parks and county parks with many trails to try out.  I plan to do both an urban and a trail hike a week.  I am taking my camera with me.  I'm getting practice on using it again and finding out how heavy it is.

This weekend for the urban hike I thought I'd follow the little signs that are downtown marking out a 2 mile hike. It wasn't easy finding out why these were there but finally I found the website of GoVibrant  and saw a map to follow (in case I miss the signs).

Here are some other photos from the hike.  And you can see the full album on my flickr page