First hike with our two Hoos!

Who: Bryce, Kristen, Stanley, Trevor

Kristen and I were feeling a bit lonely without any of our kids at home to go hiking with since Trevor started school at UVa in August. We had sent our old minivan with Stanley to school, so we arranged to meet them for a hike. We decided to meet up at the Food Lion in Madison and then drive up to the White Oak Canyon trailhead in Syria to do the White Oak Canyon trail from the bottom up.

We had discovered this version of the trail the year before and really enjoyed it. We used to go see the various falls starting at Skyline Drive and working our way down. By the time you get to the upper falls, all you can think about is how far you'll have to go uphill on the way back, and there's never much incentive to see more than the upper falls. But working your way up from the bottom, you get to see several pleasant waterfalls, knowing that the return hike will be downhill all the way.

It's a bit further of a drive to get to the trailhead this way from Harrisonburg, but it was fun to meet the boys. The trail itself was delightful. There are multiple nice waterfalls along the way, providing both visual interest and a reason to stop and take a rest every half mile or so.

We took the boys to get Mcdonald's fries (of course) before sending them on their way back to UVa. All in all, a nice way to see our college-age sons on the weekend!