Spring Break!

Spring Break was crazy early this year - the 3rd week in March! This is not really a good thing as we have nearly 3 long months of school left with only 2 days off - 1 teacher work day the 1st week of April and Memorial Day. The distinct advantage to an early break though is low pollen counts and this week anyway near perfect hiking weather! I got out 2 days over break!

On Mon I went out to SNP and hiked a 3 mile (6 miles round trip)section of the AT. The hike itself was not all that scenic and I didn't take any pictures, however the trip back up Skyline Drive presented many photo opportunities! The clouds had begun to build to the west (it had been crystal clear and sunny the whole hike!)and made for interesting light with the sun and the mountains! Many of my pictures are repetetive, but I think they all came out pretty cool! There was no traffic whatsoever on Skyline Drive since it was essentially still winter in the mountains all the lodges, campgrounds, and waysides in the park were closed, effectively keeping out the riff-raff! This lack of traffic made it very easy to stop in the middle of the road to snap pictures whenever I saw something interesting!

On Friday I drove north to Catotcin Mountain Park - another small National Park. It's a neat little park! And another stamp in my National Parks Passport! The park borders Camp David and frequently parts of the park are closed. On Friday the mid-section of the park was closed "by order of the secret service" so I was limited in my exploration a bit, however the main features of the park - Chimney Rock and Wolf Rocks were still accessible. The hike was relatively short but delightful! I'm looking forward to heading back and exploring the rest of the park!

Check out my pictures!