We Rocked Mt. Mitchell... Almost.

Long-term Goal: Write blog every day. P90X. Nutrition. Fit. Live better. Be happy.

Longer short-term Goal: Must lose 10 lb. before Japan vacation.

Short-term Goal: Hot yoga.

Got back last night around 9:30 and was SO happy to take a shower finally. Feel like I accomplished something this weekend though. 

Weekend synopsis:

On Friday night, we got to the campsite super late. It was about 3am once we finally arrived. It felt like we drove forever. We got a little lost on the way, several times, and everyone was a little frustrated by the end of the drive. It ended up taking us about 10 hours to get there. Two more than anticipated. Had some poppycock and two McDonalds cheeseburgers on the way. And some hot tamales. Ended up having about three beers on the way too. At one point I stopped the car and had the boys get us each a beer out of the trunk. It was just taking too dang long. The campsite was closed, so we 'jumped' the fence and carried everything in on foot. We set up the tents and everyone went to bed immediately. 

Me and Jacob at the trail head.

Jacob and Monty at the trail head.

One of the many streams on the hike up.

Got a little bit of a late start, but we finally got to the trail head at about 10am. Had some instant coffee and creamer, some grapes and a granola bar for breakfast. We took the Mt. Mitchell trail, including the longer loop, which in total was 5.8 miles and an elevation increase of 3689 feet. We got to the top of Mt. Mitchell at 1:45, making our hike time 3h45m. Pretty damn good in my opinion! For the last hour of the hike I seriously thought I was going to die. The boys seemed to be doing much better than me! Jerks. Hahaha. Just kidding. Stopped about halfway for a little snack. Had a banana and a handful of trail mix. Needless to say, when we got to the top we were done for. Had some hot apple cider once we got to the top and the grapes and pb&j that I packed. The temperature change from the bottom to the top was quite large, at least 20-25 degrees. It was cold up there! Especially since we were all sweaty and then the temperature drop on top of it. I caught a ride with Vince, one of the Park Rangers, and then drove back up to get Jake and Monty. We got back to the campsite and had some hot dogs and camper potatoes and passed out around 7pm. I couldn't even finish the beer I tried to drink! Slept soundly throughout the night.

A great little camping spot about half way up the mountain (if  you take the long loop).

A little pool on the way up with a small waterfall and plenty of dams.

An overlook about 3/4 of the way. Breathtaking.

A little plain near the top. We thought we were finished, but it was still another hour and a half to the top.

Eerie scene near the top. Apparently close to what the nature looks like in SW Canada.

View from the top. You can see the parking lot below.

View from the top. Amazing!

Jacob and I on the second hike. Sunday.

On Sunday we didn't look at the clock until later on. Woke up feeling good and not a bit sore amazingly enough! Apparently we got up super early because when we did look at the clock it was barely 10:30am and we had already made a fire for coffee, had breakfast, packed up the campsite, changed and finished another hike! We're awesome! Had instant coffee and creamer and a granola bar and a few grapes for breakfast. This hike was the River Loop trail and though it is labeled moderate, it seemed really easy in comparison to Saturday's big hike. This one was 3.1 miles but had an elevation gain of just over 200 feet. Really pretty and we found our next campsite along the way.




The Black Mntn. Campground was awesome though and I would suggest it to anyone who is interested in hiking/camping in this area. The South Toe River supposedly has good trout fishing and we saw quite a few that the children in the campsite were feeding bread. The hiking is obviously amazing. The campground is maintained well, it's really clean, and all of the campsites are pretty and unique. It's a beautiful place to stay in and the staff is super friendly and pleasant. We left and ate at a little mexican restaurant just outside of Asheville, NC. Probably not the best meal for us but it was good. I had Arroz con Pollo, or something like that. Basically it was chicken strips over rice covered in that awesome cheese sauce. Add in a lot of chips and a large Dos Equis. Had some snacks on the way home too. It didn't take us nearly as long to get home. I'd say we were under 8 hours. Dropped Monty off at home and Jake off at the office and then I stopped at the Taco Bell for two bean burritos and some nachos. Got home, ate, showered and passed out!

Back to today:

Got up and was into work by 8am. Definitely need to clean the house when I get home tonight! Especially clean out the refrigerator. There are some funky science projects going on in there. Had my REAL coffee and creamer (yum) and some honey nut cheerios for breakfast. Still hungry and had some sweet tarts and pb crackers for a snack. Did quite a bit of work this morning and now it has slowed down a bit. Ordered a sandwich from Jimmy Johns for lunch. Finishing up my latest K-Drama this afternoon and trying to get things organized. Scheduled my car for maintenance, balanced my checkbook, etc. Looking forward to getting back to hot yoga this evening. I'm a little stiff so I think it will be good to get in there and stretch everything out!

Went to hot yoga and did one hour of Ashtanga! Mission of the day accomplished. And I signed up for studio on a monthly basis so I can go whenever I want. I'm hoping that the idea of paying them every month will motivate me to go every time that I can. :) After yoga I went grocery shopping. With coupons and my discount card I saved 31% of my bill. Free money is great. I think that's the most I've ever saved in one shopping trip though. Feel pretty good about it.

Got home and had a southwestern salad and some icecream. Had a beer later on too. Was a little worn out so I didn't get much housework done like I had planned to do. Watched some K-Drama and was in bed by 10:30.