Into the Woods

So today we decided to take a hike into the woods for our first family hike in many years. We decided to try out the trails in Greenwood Furnace. I researched which trails were best for beginners, fed the kids lunch, and out the door we went. The kids were very excited, and their chatter in the van was deafening. When we reached Greenwood, we forgot that the information center would be closed due to Columbus Day, so unfortunately we were unable to find a map of the where the trails began. We walked down the lake for a restroom break, and went towards the lower portion of the park and found a trail a half mile away. Jeff felt ambitious and said this is the trail we will attempt. It was the Fire Tower Trail, a total of 3.3 miles marked most difficult...um that should have been a sign. lol

Well as most know I am not in the best of shape right now, but I have spunk and determination on my side, so off we went. By golly I was going to get up that mountain if it killed me. We started at 12pm, and we had to be back home by 4:30pm for the counter installer guy to fix the counter top mistake. We could do it!! At first it was quite the adventure. We were the only ones on the trail, and as it narrowed down, we climbed over rocks, tree roots, streams, and over logs. We even went through the gated deer fencing, and sat on a makeshift fire pit/dining area. We even signed our names to the roster book within the mail box for all those that attempt the trail. We were in good spirits. Finally we came to the most difficult part of the trail, the hike of hell was upon us. Preslee and Logan needed their breaks, and I was huffing and puffing up the trail. We were climbing the mountain, and there was no end in site. Jeff the Ranger boy was clear up front, taking on the role of Conductor as I was taking the caboose role, which I must say I was lagging far behind. Around 2, I had it..I was beat red, heart pounding and the trail seemed to reach beyond anything I imagined. I finally caught up to Jeff and the kids, and Jeff took one look at his out of breath wife who was profusely sweating, and said he would run ahead to see if there was an end. For we had to be almost to the end.
The kids and I sat on the pile of rocks and waited a good 10 minutes or so, when Jeff came running back and said, Turn around there is no end and the terrain was much worse ahead too hard for the kids and I. This was music to my ears, and the kids were happy as well though they really wanted to see the fire tower. We made our way back down the mountain and took a rest by the makeshift fire pit to have our snack and drink. We finally made it out of the woods around 3 pm. Preslee was done we all were happy to have made it out alive. lol

In this picture you can see Miss Preslee had it, she was hiked out for the day. We really enjoyed this experience and plan on going on more hiking trips. We even discussed possibly hiking the Appalachian Trail later down the road...when I am in better shape and the kids have more stamina. There is something very inspiring about being in the woods and sharing nature with my children. What a perfect day today was.