Back In The Mississippi Mud
This is not really a post. It’s another hiking collage. Some of you probably don’t find that interesting so I thought I would give you a warning right off the bat. Consider yourself warned. You can now go watch soccer playing alpacas on YouTube. I won’t even trick you into a Rickroll this time. I know, I’m the goods. For those of you who do like hiking stuff read on.
I’m back in southern Mississippi for work. My son, Dusty, is stationed only three hour from here and he was nice enough to come hang out with his old man for Father’s Day weekend. He caught the hiking bug from me a few years ago so while he was here we decided to knock out a 12 mile hike. We did this for a couple of reasons. First, we like it. Second, we are training for a two week hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail in September. In order to reach our destination on time we need to average 12 miles a day. This trail happened to be 12 miles so we thought we’d give it a go and see how we did. I know real hikers are probably laughing at this pitiful mileage, but we gotta start somewhere.
The trail here in Mississippi is the Tuxachanie Trail. You might remember that I hiked half of it back in May on my first trip here. This time we would hike the whole thing from beginning to end. We were able to accomplish this by taking two cars and leaving one at the destination trail head. This made me very happy because I don’t much care for having to reverse a trek I’ve already taken. I was afraid the heat was going to be unbearable but we caught a break. It lightly rained off and on all day and while that might sound miserable to some, it actually worked to keep things cool. While things were a little wet and muddy, it was still very enjoyable. We completed the 12 miles in 5 hours. Granted, this was without full packs and there were no elevation changes to really speak of, but we were satisfied that if we could do 12 miles in this amount of time here, we could probably do 12 in a full day in the mountains of Virginia. Below are some of the pictures we took.
After our successful stroll we did what any hiker would, we found a trail shelter with a casino in it! I don’t think they have these on the AT yet. They should get working on that.
14 thoughts on “Back In The Mississippi Mud”
MOOBS!
I am not a fan of the long-distance hike, although I did used to enjoy hiking up one of our local spots (Fryman Canyon is better than Runyan Canyon, IMO, because it STARTS with a climb and ends on a descent, rather than vice-versa, and that is true from either direction). Back when my cats were wee, I would take ONE of them with me on a “hike”… neither of them ever opted to walk, though, and spent the entire time clinging to my shoulder. Still, I enjoyed it. Especially enjoyed the comments of passersby: “oh, look at that cute little… is that a CAT?” <3
Glad y'all were able to get on out there!
emelle recently posted…Day Four, or That Time I Tried Cleansing While On Set
Thanks for pointing that out. Not the sexiest wet T-shirt contest you’ll ever see. I debated wether to post those pics but then said fuck it. Part of the reason I’m out there is to get in better shape.
I’m surprised your cats stayed with you the whole time and didn’t run away.
harness/leash dealio, duh. 😉
emelle recently posted…Apparently, I’m getting ADHD
Ahhh gotcha.
It looks like whoever built that trail expected there to be some mud, which makes sense for Mississippi lowlands.
And twelve miles may not sound impressive to some hikers but it’s okay to take it slow and enjoy the scenery. You’re hiking, not running a marathon.
Christopher recently posted…Confessions In The Dark.
I totally agree with you Chris. It’s more the journey than the destination.
You had me at Hiking. This looks like a great hike. Gotta admit, I really miss the Trail right now (and not just because its hike naked day).
Which section are you planning to hit in September? I’m thinking about hiking the Long Trail (Vermont) around this time. It’s cool to think that we might both be on the Trail at the same time!
And this might make you feel a bit better but a 12 mile/day is considered average for a thru hiker on the AT (sure it included zero days, but still).
Gabe recently posted…June 21 is International Yoga Day AND Hiked Naked Day #multitasking
We are going to hike SOBO from the north entrance to Shenandoah National Park to near Amherst, VA in the Blue Ridge. My wife runs a FB group for golden retrievers from the same breeder and we are having a reunion in Amherst two weeks after we start. Sawyer, the trail wonder dog, will be hiking with us so I have to get him there by that time. It does help to hear that mileage average from a seasoned thru hiker like yourself. Too bad we won’t be on the same section of trail.
Love the photos, Lee!! What a wonderful memory you made with your son. Hiking is something I have never had the itch to do, mainly because I have an irrational fear of being murdered, and then eaten by a pack of wild pigs. I have never claimed to be normal! But I am not going to lie; your photos have set something in motion. I love camping and the outdoors and moving my feet, so duh, maybe it is time to put all three together and take on a trail! I will just make sure I take someone with me who I can outrun to the casino! Ha! Love that you had such a great day with your son!
Tanya recently posted…not so stupid after all
Thanks Tanya! There is something very mentally soothing that happens to me when I am on the trail. It’s a great cure for what ails me sometimes. If you already like camping and outdoors you should give it a try. I bet you would love it. Start off small and just put one foot in front of the other. 🙂
Hey, make sure you check out the post before this one. You inspired it!
Over the last month I have fallen so far behind in reading blog posts, so thank you for nudging me to read the previous one! So funny, and you seriously can’t make this stuff up! haha.
And thanks for inspiring me to go on a hike, I am totally going to do it this summer. Stay tuned!
Tanya recently posted…not so stupid after all
Yes! Please let me know how it turns out. I’m sure you will let us all know with a wonderful blog post.
Hiking used to be a pretty regular part of my life. Then babies showed up, and have only just evolved into small children who whine about having to walk anywhere. Hopefully they’ll be more enthusiastic when they’re older. It’s not looking good so far, though 🙁
Luckily my babies grew up to like hiking. Of course in their younger years I would have had to drag them away from Nintendo.