New Year's Hike

On the first day of 2017, we took our first hike as a family of five. We hiked for about an hour and fifteen minutes on the Appalachian Trail, which happens to run just about a twenty minute drive from our house.

We had a really fun time. The weather was cold, but not uncomfortable. And this time of year, with no leaves on the trees, the vistas were incredible!

We eventually had to turn back. The trail literally went along the side of a massive mountain. The whole trail was covered in fallen leaves, was about two feet wide, and had a couple hundred foot drop on the side. I walked about ten yards with Nathan, turned around to Scott, and yelled, "Nope! We're not doing this. Not safe!" If I had just taken a stumble, Henry and I would have been loooooong gone. So, we decided to turn around.

Nathan enjoyed climbing on the boulders along the side of the trail, and Jack had fun collecting LOTS of acorns. See his jacket pocket in this picture? He must have stuffed about seventy or so acorns in there!

Henry only fussed a couple of times. We kept him bundled up and warm!

What a special way to welcome in 2017!