Turk Mountain Hike

Spring Break presented the perfect opportunity for a youth event.  All youth in grades 6-12 were invited for the day of adventure.  We met up on Wednesday morning at the church and set out to Shenandoah National Park for a 2.2 mile hike up Turk Mountain, which is one of the first hikes inside the park.  Although it was a bit chilly at first, our quick pace and the warm sunshine warmed us up quickly.  At the summit, we enjoyed a picnic lunch - and a spectacular view at almost 3,000 feet above sea level.

Some pics:

Picnic lunch

The whole gang, plus a glorious view!

Making our way back down the mountain...

One of my favorite moments of the hike was toward the end when Will spotted this amazing "Godsight*" in the middle of the path.  No one had noticed it on our way up the trail, but Will easily spotted it on our return trip.  In our Sunday School classroom, there is a beautiful poster of hearts found in nature - exactly like this rock here.  The kids enjoy looking at the photos, and they quickly agreed that this rock photo would be a perfect addition to the poster.  But more importantly, it was a pretty great example of a Godsight*, and a powerful moment when we all paused to take in this sight of God's good works.  It made our hike feel a little bit more special, a little bit more memorable.   

*see next post (or embedded link)  for more on Godsights.

The travel there and back was just long enough to require some car ride entertainment, and we played everything from Celebrity Alphabet to Bizz Buzz to Charlie's Brother's Made Up Word Game to "I'm going on a hike at Shenandoah and I'm going to bring...." (water; a machete; an apple; a bottle of toothpaste; a bearskin rug; a packet of Sweet N Low; an Arizona Arnold Palmer; a cinderblock; batteries; a clock; socks; a sweatshirt, and.. and.. and...) - in other words, we had all the hallmarks of a great road trip, without the "are we there yet?"s or "I have to go to the bathroom"s!  Despite a fully functioning GPS and two drivers who have been to Shenandoah many times, however, there was one wrong turn and one turn around.  Because in addition to not playing the guitar, Fearless Leader also has no sense of direction.  None.  But apparently, I'm not the only one.  At the summit I asked the group, "Now which way do we head back down?"
And this is the answer I got:

This way!  No, this way!!