With tomorrow being a day off of work, I wanted to do something outdoors today that would involve low intensity cardio for an extended period of time. My first inclination was to walk miles around Washington DC. I've been there more times than I can count, but I just *love* walking the mall and the surrounding areas. Second, I thought about finally walking from National Harbor to Old Town Alexandria, across the Woodrow Wilson Bridge and back. It's about 7 miles round trip. Great long walk.
I was leaning toward the bridge when I remembered Carderock. I suggested it to Josh and he was thrilled! We went to this entrance:
It's on the Maryland side of the park. Apparently the Virginia side costs $5. This side is FREE. (Erin & Josh <--- Winners!)
Josh wanted to take the Billy Goat Trail A. There's an A, a B and a C. Apparently B and C are reasonable. A is not. I did some online research. According to this website, the A section is:
Note: I classify this hike as being moderate but those with balance problems and other certain phobias may have issues with this hike. I won’t go into a detailed explanation but will just say that the trail’s name was aptly applied.
Huh. *I* have balance problems and many phobias. I should not go on this hike. Let's see what the comments say. Like, Ryan:
"...I would say that so long as you don't have balance problems and/or a fear of heights, anyone should be able to do this hike....Watch for snakes- I have run across black snakes and copperheads on and near the trail..."
Or Christi:
"Its pretty difficult, and we turned around when we got to the very difficult rocks..."
Or Leslie:
"I'm not sure I would say it was for beginners. It has some steep declines/inclines on rocks and it would be challenging for beginners..."
Why, thank you, Ryan, Christi and Leslie! Your warnings have been duly noted. It seems that unbalanced, irrational fear of falling, newbie climber Erin should stick to the easy sections. Right?
Josh disagreed and assured me that he'd done it three times and I'd be fine.
And it was lovely! Check out the beautiful photos:
Wait--what's that 3rd photo? OH! You mean the steepest, most terrifying rock I've ever had to get from the top of to the bottom?!? I'm not sure that picture does it justice. Here:
I had to get from the dot, down. All the while on that terrifyingly steep decline, ledge thingy. I scooted down most of it on my butt. And I say that with no shame whatsoever.
As it turns out, I tore my pants, but did not know. Until I went into the grocery store afterwards. Black pants, purple spot. I guess that's one of the risks you run being so incredibly tough and outdoorsy as me. :D
All in all it was a wonderful day! It took us 2 hours and 20 minutes to go ~3.5 miles. To be fair the trail was about 2 miles and took us 2 hours. The final bit was a speedwalk for the mile and a half or so back to the park entrance (we were running late). It took us a long time for several reasons:
1) I am slow;
2) I was terrified in many places, slowing us down even more;
3) EVERYONE was hiking Carderock today and the Billy goat trail goes both ways so we constantly got bottlenecked waiting for others to pass;
4) there were so many college kids having loud conversations about things I did not care about and we intentionally stopped to let them pass us so we would not have to hear their conversations; and
5) we stopped for 10-15 minutes to sit, eat a powerbar and enjoy the gorgeous river. <3
I definitely got better as I went and if I ever forget my fear and do it again I will be excited to see how much more confident I am with all the rock climbing up and down!
Josh and I then cleaned up and attended a residents-only tasting party at the Stonewall Kitchen store. And put back on every calorie we burned today. The way it should be. :)
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