winter hike 2009: go hard, or go home.

my saturday started on thursday, planning via text messages to spend a day with mr. forte, my co-best man and disc golf buddy. despite sub-zero temperatures and mountains of snow, we were looking forward to some disc golf action during the extended weekend. instead of being ridiculous, we decided to just be stupid instead. rather than disc golf, we headed to hocking hills for a 6-mile hike. why? two reasons: (1) it's beautiful (see pictures below) and (2) it's free.
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we waited friday night for sarah's mom to arrive. then we shipped the girls to bed and headed 2.5 hours south to circleville. though we didn't say much, i felt it was good quality time spent in the car. on the way down, our car's thermometer hit a low of -9 (yes, that's a minus sign before the 9) excluding windchill. arriving around 11, the fortes were welcoming, providing a nice hot cup of tea for an itchy throat.
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after spending the night in a twin bed (our choice), we woke up to multi-berry pancakes and lecrae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7uAiig9Pd0)... which is much better, i must say, than the rap my college roommate used to wake me up to every morning. post-breakfast, we were off to hocking hills.
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thousands of hikers walk this 6-mile strech of hocking hills trail every 3rd saturday of every january. the lodge awaited us with school buses to ship us and these other hikers to the trail's head. cramming ourselves into the tiny bus seats, we mused at how buses used to seem a lot larger...
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the first half of the hike is lined with hemlocks and icicles. due to the cold temperatures this year, most of the waterfalls were solid ice. those that weren't petrified were equally as dazzling, forcing the gazer to wonder how there could be any unfrozen water in such a cold environment.
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the half-way point greets hikers with a hot cup of cocoa, a hot cup of bean soup, and a piece of cornbread. there's also a hot fire to help restart the blood flow and make you feel like you can finish the hike.
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overall, the second half of the hike isn't as impressive as the first. however, the end of the 6-mile stretch ends with the most breath-taking sight: a ~20-foot mound of ice.
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sleepy heads and some aching muscles and joints headed back to the forte home. mr. forte and i settled down to some halo action while his wife cooked some of her chili. i can't say it's world famous simply because it hasn't made it around the world yet... but had it...
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it was a short trip, but well worth the drive. we not only got to see some of God's awesome creation, but we got to spend it with two good friends.
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