Busy, Busy Weekend!

Having been out of school for 3.5 days this week had left me with a bad case of cabin fever so I had to get out this weekend!

I had plan on Saturday to go hiking at Catocin NP in MD, however I'd gotten reports of bad ice from some hiking boards I follow, so I decided that I'd bail on that. I needed to find something else to do, I have been lurking on Meetup.com for a few months but not gone to any events. Saturday morning I surfed over and discovered that there was a movie meetup happening - they were going to lunch and then to see "Children of Men". Sounded perfect for a cold windy icy day!

We had a lovely lunch at Ireland's Four Courts in Arlington. The other people I met were very nice, easy to talk to, we had lots in common and it was great fun meeting new folks!

The movie on the other hand wasn't quite so thrilling. It had a lot more violence and was a lot more graphic than I was expecting. I should have read the book so I'd know what was going on and who was who. The story line for the movie was good, however the ending sucked (I won't spoil it, although there's not much to spoil!)

Today I decided that I had to get out and go hiking. I found a hike with the Center Hiking Club that looked doable - on the schedule it said that we would do an 8 miles hike on Bull Run Mountain, when we arrived at the meeting place however, the leader informed us that we'd be going to Manassass Battlefield - to do a 5 mile loop with an option to do another 5 - because the ice was quite dangerous on the mountain. No big deal, we'd still be getting out to hike! We actually had a big group - 12 of us all together! It was about 28 degrees with a fierce wind - cold doesn't even begin describe it! The trail was much like a luge run - a sheet of ice! We did more slipping and sliding than actual hiking! My legs ache not from walking, but rather from trying to control my body and move fast enough to keep up, yet slow enough to not break my neck. On a few of the downhills I actually sat down on the trail and slid! It was easier to start on my bottom than to let gravity get me there! Near the end of the hike it started to snow! I wasn't able to capture any pictures of the snow falling but it was really pretty! Also the snow helped to increase the traction on the ice! :) We aren't sure if we were "hardy souls" or "certifiably crazy". We were the only ones out there hiking. Once we got back to the visitor center I decided that my legs had had enough and bailed out on the extra 5 mile option. Even the hike leader bailed on that, although there were a few folks talking about doing it!

Here are some pictures from today's adventure:

That's not me coming down the hill...but this is one of the hills where I sat down on my bottom and slid my way down!