This weekend, Florian and I had most of both days free so we decided to pack up the dogs, pack up a tent and go camping in one of our favorite spots, the swimming holes along the Thompson Hollow-Overall Run Trail. This is a place where Dahlia's been before, but we wanted to go there again to celebrate a little milestone in our family...more on that in a future post.
When we got there Saturday afternoon, the camp site we'd had in mind was unoccupied so we set up the tent right away.
Then I took the dogs down to the water to cool off.
This is our favorite place to go on a hot, humid day.
Somehow nature has conspired to create an absolutely blissful spa-like environment nestled in a fragrant forest, where every feature seems designed to relax and generate fulfillment.
We were not surprised that there were a number of people already enjoying the swimming holes ,
but the great thing about this place is that there are a series of depressions carved out over a long stretch of cascading rock.
So if one is occupied when you arrive, and you wish to enjoy relative privacy for whatever reason,
you can just descend further to one of the other perfectly carved swimming holes to meditate and relax.
Everyone we've ever met there has been mellow and nice, so once we ascertained that the natives were friendly we let the pups off the leash so they could explore.
There are a bunch of trails that converge near these swimming holes, and if you wanted to you could hook up with the Appalachian trail from here or you could do a loop trail that takes you past the 93' high waterfalls--the strenuous Tuscarora-Overall Run hike that we did with Lamar, bless his angelic heart.
So we explored down the trail in the other direction, and turned around when that trail started to go uphill.
Great time for a dinner break at the tent, then some after- dinner relaxation and reading on the flat rocks by the water.
The dogs were completely exhausted by this point.
But some fellow campers out on the rocks let us know they'd heard about a sighting of some bears just down the trail, so time to leash up.
Pretty soon, it was time to hunker down for the night.
As you know, I am not the greatest sleeper and it was a bit of a crapshoot whether I'd sleep away from my beloved latex mattress.
But I was still looking forward to spending the night with my yawning, snoring beasts
right by my side and unable to escape to their own personal space.
Sure enough, come morning the bipedal among us were groggy and sore but we felt good anyway, and even better after going down to the water once more and enjoying a cool swim.
So relaxing and refreshing.
Exciting too, once the crayfish started crawling out of their rocky hiding places and waving their claws around. We saw about four of them, and I was only mildly terrified and certainly less so than was Florian at the news of a gray water snake slithering about.
So much wildlife!
And so much adventure and restoration. Hard to believe we were just a few hours from DC!
The short hike to the car was enough to thoroughly exhaust those dogs, and Dahlia snored in my lap the whole drive back home.
I think we're going to have to do this again soon!
Next time, with a cushy inflatable mattress pad for those of us who lack Dahlia's ability to be at home wherever she finds herself in the world...as long as she's with her people.
When the world feels harsh, and tiring, there is no better medicine than getting out into the woods with the dogs. Preferably to a place where we won't see a whole lot of other people and can forget that the outside world exists.
One of our favorite places to do that is the swimming holes along the Tuscarora/ Overall Run trail in the Shenandoahs.
The trail climbs just 20 minutes or so up to a side trail that leads to the edge of the stream, which cascades down over rocks into a series of perfectly swimming pool-sized depressions.
It was a short hike but a steamy one, and even at 10 in the morning the heat and humidity were truly astounding.
Fozzie knew just how to fix that. A recreational swimmer if I ever saw one, Fozzie wastes no opportunity to go in for a dip.
Daria was less certain about the whole thing,
though the rocks were slippery so there were a few times when she ended in the water without trying to.
Whew, nothing better than a refreshing swim in a cold mountain stream when the air is thick and stagnant.
Even better when you are in solitude with your man and your dogs, miles away from any human noises or disturbance,
and when the water has the most blissfully fresh smell, like mountains and flowers and moss, that you inhale as your nose skims its surface during your swim.
Only thing that marred the tranquility was that Fozzie and Daria, since they are dogs, could not resist walking along every narrow ledge and slippery surface they could get their paws on.
Perhaps they feel that worrying makes our lives richer.
Fozzie did a fair amount of worrying of his own; whenever anyone went in the water he took it upon himself to accompany that person to make sure nothing bad happened.
And then he just stood there in the water, shivering, until one of us escorted him onto dry land. But poor Fozzie continued to be nervous even out of the water, who knows why?
Perhaps it was the biting flies that came out, nipping his hips and back paws even more relentlessly than Daria had been before we gave her a leashed time out. Or maybe he felt the beginnings of the thunderstorm that came later that evening.
Fozzie, you are such a good sport. Protecting everyone from water monsters and hypothermia, patiently indulging a pesky little foster dog, then hiding from the elements in the only makeshift shelter you could find. Rest well buddy, you've earned it!
After our relatively dog-free day last weekend, we wanted to head back to one of our favorite dog-friendly places, the swimming holes on the Overall Run Trail.
This is the trail we visited in the spring, and vowed to come back when it was warm to cool off in the swimming holes.
It is such a gorgeous place. A steep trail through the woods along reddish dirt, a trail that continues to intersect with the Appalachian trail or the Tuscarora Trail, of which I have fond memories from the early months after I had met Florian.
Overall Run flows over smooth, sculpted rocks that are carved into deep, rounded pools perfect for swimming. Three big pools are joined by cascading falls over slick rock, very slippery for humans and dogs to navigate but fun for the adventurous to slide down.
We didn't think the water would be too cold, since it's been raining so much and its been so bloody hot.
In any case, we were determined to go in the water no matter how cold it was because we were in danger of melting from the humidity and the heat on the hike in.
It was definitely cold! But it felt incredibly refreshing, and the water in this pool was at least 7 feet deep in the center. Lamar and Fozzie loved getting to cool down too.
Lamar found a comfy vantage point in which to relax and survey the action,
and Fozzie spent a fair amount of time anxiously checking everything out,
meeting the other people out enjoying the spot, venturing in to the water,
barking at us when we were in the water, and stealing the lunch foods left unattended by innocent picnickers.
We knew there would be other people at this spot, since we knew its a popular place and in this heat, who in their right mind wouldn't be out enjoying a cool swimming hole in the woods? And its always a crap shoot whether strangers and co-recreationists are going to appreciate our particular unruly pooches.
But on this occasion we were lucky, everyone who came by stopped to give our dogs a pet and remark on how handsome they were. It seemed like the beautiful spot just brought out the best in everybody who was there.
And despite friendly people and irresistible little kids, Fozzie didn't jump up on anyone!
He was even quite nice to an 11-year-old lab who showed up and proceeded to swim after every stick, rock, and tennis ball her dad threw in the water for her.
Such joy!
From our vantage point, with the clear water we were able to observe the mechanics of an excellent dog paddle in action.
Gotta hand it to the labs.
What a great place to enjoy a summer day and some family lovin'. Thanks for a great day, guys!
A couple of weeks ago, when we went on the Tuscarora-Overall Run Trail,
we had been expecting to find some nice swimming holes carved out of
the rock below the falls. We didn't find them, but on our way off the
trail we met a sturdy looking guy with a bunch of photographic equipment, who
clearly knew the area well. He told us how to find the swimming holes,
and that we wouldn't need to hike another 5 hours and 8 miles to do it.
Turns
out that instead of an arduous climb, the spot we were thinking of was a
relatively easy 30-minute hike to the stream, well below the waterfall
we saw last time.
There were waterfalls here too, not so dramatic as the first one but far more accessible.
And these waterfalls landed in perfect greenish-blue swimming pools. We will certainly be coming back here in the summer.
A perfect place to bring the dogs, with watery traverses for the most adventurous
and nice flat rocks to relax on, for those who are older and more sensible.
This trail was much less physically demanding than the other one, but there was still some challenging rock climbing to do.
Again Lamar surprised me with his agility.
I only had to give him a boost a couple of times, on the way up those slick rocks.
Fozzie was in heaven, like a kid in an amusement park.
On the ride home, even Fozzie was so tired he eventually lay down, and stopped trying to bite passing cars.
Or maybe he just wanted to provide a nice headrest to his old buddy Lamar.
Ever since we went to Ithaca Florian has been fascinated with waterfalls, and recently we found out that there is a 93-foot high one in the Shenandoahs. We have this old packet of topographic maps showing the Shenandoah Mountains in detail, and for some reason have never really broken them out.
So this past weekend, in our brief window of just having two dogs, we decided to load them both up and go find this amazing waterfall.
If we hadn't had a good map and known roughly where we were going, we never would have found the trailhead--which was at the end of a small local road off VA road 340 south of Front Royal.
The trail followed a stream for a while before starting to climb, which I always love because the dogs get to cool off their paws and get drinkies.
I always worry about the
dogs on hikes, as I know they can dehydrate quickly. I also knew this
trail was going to be a challenge for all of us, as all the guide books
said it was steep and tough.
And Lamar, at the age of 13, is getting a bit unsteady on his back legs so I was particularly worried about him.
He did incredibly well though, even on the long steep stretch up the mountain.
Near the top, there was an overlook and a pretty neat waterfall that we looked down on.
Then there was the long trek back down the mountain, which is in some ways even harder on the legs and knees and feet and paws than going up.
I think we're out of shape!
I can't wait until we can hike in sandals...so much nicer than hiking boots.
Back down on the flat ground, we took a long rest and had a picnic on a mossy rock.
Lamar was relieved to find some nice soft leaves to stretch out on.
I gave him a thorough massage while Florian took a nap and Fozzie wandered around, contentedly sniffing.
By the time we got back to the car we could barely walk, and Lamar's hips and hind legs were stiff and shaky.
But there's always time and energy for a dumpster run! And even loaded down with 300+ pounds of dumpster-fresh dog food, the Honda Fit got 41.7 miles to the gallon.
A successful conclusion to a great day.
When we got there Saturday afternoon, the camp site we'd had in mind was unoccupied so we set up the tent right away.
Great time for a dinner break at the tent, then some after- dinner relaxation and reading on the flat rocks by the water. 
Exciting too, once the crayfish started crawling out of their rocky hiding places and waving their claws around. We saw about four of them, and I was only mildly terrified and certainly less so than was Florian at the news of a gray water snake slithering about. 
