Turned out to be a pretty good day for hiking on Monday…

In my piece this morning about Bill Bryson’s Appalachian Trail book, A Walk in the Woods, I mentioned that a friend of mine was going to be hiking the AT today. She happened to read the piece before she set out, so she decided to send us back some pictures. (Photos by Caity Stuart)

Caity and two of her coworkers were hiking in Shenandoah National Park. Most of their hike went along Shenandoah’s trail system, but for a three-mile stretch, between mile markers 46 and 43, they hiked the AT.

It was a clear day with blue skies and lots of sun and just a touch of wind. Temps along the base of the Blue Ridge rose to 40 degrees or so, but they only barely cracked 25 along up on the crest. There were still plenty of signs of winter up there.

As cozy as my office was on this first day of classes for the semester, I wished I was out on the trail. Even painted in browns and grays, mottled with a dusting of white, the forest looks beautiful.