Like the last year, the first two training hikes Brian and I did were done at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach. The stats for the first hike are 3 miles and 1000 feet of elevation gain, so it wasn’t worth it to drive three to four hours to hike for an hour.
We had beautiful weather, and our friend, Cliff Graf, joined us on our hike.
Crabtree Fall to Priest Shelter to Crabtree Falls to Crabtree Falls. 15 miles and 4000 feet of elevation gain.
After photographing a wedding in Williamsburg on Saturday evening, Brian and I headed to Charlottesville to spend the night so we could get an early-ish start on the longest of the ten training hikes.
We arrived at the Crabtree Falls trailhead around 8:30 and were surprised to find the parking lot almost empty. I had never hiked Crabtree Falls, and now that I have, I’d definitely do it again.
The first part of the hike was pretty steep. 1.7 miles to the top and about 1,000 feet of elevation gain. The path is well-maintained, rocky in spots, but gorgeous. It’s almost all shaded and there are several sections with steps and rails.
From the top of the Crabtree Falls train, we hiked part of the Appalachian Trail to Priest Shelter. Not a big fan of this one. It was steep, which we needed, but overgrown in parts and no view from the top. (Apparently there is one, but you need to go off trail about .25 miles to see it, and we didn’t realize this till we were on the way back to Crabtree Falls.)
We had a little adventure on our way down. Just a few hundred feet from the Priest Shelter, four grad students from UVA caught up to us. I was in the front of the pack and came within about a foot of a copperhead snake lying across the middle of the narrow, grass-lined trail. I stopped. We all backed up and weren’t quite sure what to do. I decided I didn’t want to be in front anymore, so Brian came to the front of the line.
He decided it would be a good idea to try to get the snake off the path by throwing rocks at it. All that did was get the snake mad. It didn’t budge. He pulled a seven-foot weed from the side of the trail and pushed and prodded it until it slithered off the trail. Problem was, we had NO idea how far off the trail it went. Brian threw the large weed in the direction the snake headed to see if it would reemerge. Nothing.
The six of us decided we should make a run for it. We stood close together. As one grad student remarked, “COVID is not the most eminent danger to us right now.” We counted three, took off running, and jumped over the section of the path where the snake made its exit. All ended well. We had a brief conversation with the UVA posse and continued down the trail.
Like most hikes around here, I needed to repeat a few sections to get the elevation I needed. We decided we did NOT want to go back up to Priest Shelter so we opted to rehike beautiful Crabtree Falls 2 1/2 more times. I’d make the same decision again.
Since the weather turned out beautiful, the trail was packed when we got back to the beginning of Crabtree Falls for rounds two and three.
When you rehike trails, people notice and often comment. I was able to give out about ten of my hiking business cards and had some wonderful conversations with folks on the trail.
Gaby, one of the UVA grad students, donated toward my Freedom Hike as did a sweet couple, Mary and Brian. Thank you! It’s encouraging and affirming to experience the generosity of so many strangers and unite with people you just met to fight human trafficking.
Thank you again to my business sponsors:
Here’s everyone who was part of Team Freedom this week. They either sponsored my hike at $1 per mile or donated in other ways. Thank you for being part of someone’s freedom story!
Old Rag is one of my favorite hikes. I love the rock scramble, and the 360 degree view is like no other in the Shenandoah National Park. It’s a beautiful and challenging climb and worth the effort.
Like most of the other hikes, one trip wasn’t enough to fulfill this hike’s requirements: 14 miles and 3800 feet of elevation gain. We did the Old Rag loop and then re-hiked another two miles to the first false summit to hit the elevation needed.
We saw a deer and two snakes: a copperhead and black snake. The weather was hot and sunny, but the shady trail made the trek comfortable.
When we finished the hike, I was .2 miles shy of 14 so I walked around the parking lot while Brian headed for the car. I’m pretty legalistic when it comes to hitting the numbers I need for each hike. Some people in my family mock me for it. Well, on my little .2 mile walk, I found a $20 on the bridge between the parking areas. I took it as an anonymous donation. One of my hiking friends commented that money seems “to fall from the sky” sometimes. And it does. My obsession with doing “all” the training brought another $20 to free a woman form exploitation. So glad I didn’t tag out at 13.8 miles.
As is our tradition, we had gourmet burgers and fries for our post-hike meal. This week we went back to Beauvine Burger Concept in Richmond. DELICIOUS!
MANY THANKS to my business sponsors. (If you’re interested in being a business sponsor, check out the link on this blog and text or give me a call.)
In addition to my business sponsors, big thanks to the following folks for your donations this week:
Special shout out to Jennifer Napier who has lost 120 pounds and donated $1 per pound to pay it forward. Amazing! Thank you for using your victory to help others, Jennifer!
Another special thanks to Krista who I met on the trail at Mary’s Rocks. She recently got married and moved to Montana and donated $225 this week!
And to the person who dropped the $20 bill on the bridge. Your loss has been put to a good use. It’s going toward someone’s freedom and future! Thank you!
This week is the last BIG training hike…15 miles and 4000 feet elevation gain. The last hike is only six miles and 2500 feet. I fly to Idaho on August 9 and hike on August 13.
I am so thankful to everyone who has supported, prayed for, and encouraged me. We are close to meeting out goal of $10,000 which will FREE FIVE women!
Shenandoah National Park: Cedar Run to Hawksbill to the AT to White Oak Canyon. This is one of the most gorgeous hikes I’ve done on the east coast. One reviewer I read said it was “the best of the SNP.” Trees, streams, swimming holes, a view, and waterfalls.
We hiked clockwise beginning with Cedar Run. The trail is surrounded by gorgeous trees and water the whole way up, up, up. The lush foliage and gurgling sound of the water almost made us forget the climb.
Once we got to the top of Cedar Run, we continued up, up, up to Hawksbill. The view from the summit is spectacular, especially on a beautiful, blue-sky day. There really is nothing like the Blue Ridge.
From Hawksbill we hiked along a portion of the Appalachian Trail where we saw three deer who didn’t mind sharing the trail with us and hardly moved when we walked by. The AT took us to the top of White Oak Canyon where the descent was fairly steep but provided the beauty of one waterfall after another. We stopped at the second fall for a snack–my favorite: dried mango.
About a mile from the end of the hike, I fell. It was lovely…and embarrassing. My pole got caught in a rocky section, and I did a slo-mo fall to my arm, then leg, and then my head hit a rock. Thankfully, I fell slowly and wasn’t on a steep downhill portion. I made it out with only a small bruise on my right thigh.
Honestly, I was discouraged and scared, and I cried. And not because I was hurting physically.
Have you ever felt like just when you start to build confidence and feel good about something, you get your feet knocked out from under you? That’s how I felt, not just because that’s what literally happened, but that fall made me start questioning my ability. I thought things like, “What are you doing? You’re too old to be out here? What makes you think you can hike?”
I quietly wept as I walked the rest of the way down the trail. And I realized that giving up isn’t an option. My little fall (and self-pity) is nothing compared to the pain and suffering of millions of women and children who are caught in human trafficking. They need help. They need hope. They need a future. SO, I’ll be back out on the trail again this weekend. 14 miles and 3800 feet of elevation gain. For FREEDOM.
HUGE Thank You to Hike #7 sponsors and other generous donors
I’m six hikes into a ten hike training program that will prepare me for a 23-mile, one-day endurance hike on August 13 in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. I’ll hike with a team of Freedom Hikers raising money to support Rescue: Freedom International in their fight against human trafficking. There are a lot of great organizations in the fight to end sexual exploitation and modern day slavery. Here are a few reasons I love Rescue: Freedom International:
Training Hike #6 was beautiful. I needed to hike nine miles with a 3200 feet elevation gain. Brian and I hiked Raven Rocks just outside of Bluemont. It’s nicknamed The Rollercoaster because it’s up and down the whole way even though it’s an out and back hike. We needed to hike it twice to get the mileage and elevation we needed, but it was such a great hike, it was no trouble to do it twice.
Most of the trail is shaded. There are quite a few rocks and a couple of very small rock scramble-type crossings, but nothing too difficult. The view is gorgeous! There are four spots at the top to enjoy the valley below. Raven Rocks is in both Virginia and West Virginia, so we hiked in two states on one day.
On our first trip up the mountain, we met two men who were training to hike to the base camp in Nepal. One of them went to UVA–GO HOOS! We had fun conversation about Virginia sports, hiking, and our kids. I gave both men one of my fundraising business cards, and today they donated $50 to Rescue Freedom!
Shout out to Brian for doing all these training hikes with me, for driving, and being OK with my obsessive, 3-ish need to make every hike a competition.
HUGE thanks to everyone who sponsored this week’s hike and made other donations:
How about you? Would you like to join the fight to end modern day slavery? You can use the button below to donate.
On Juneteenth, my husband and I drove to Richmond to pick up our daughter, Taylor, at the airport. From there we got take-out from Croakers Spot to celebrate Juneteenth. That was some delicious food! Be sure to check them out if you’re ever in Richmond or Norfolk.
After eating dinner, we drove to Waynesboro to spend the night. Hike #3 was on Saturday at Hanging Rock near Lyndhurst.
I loved this hike. The weather wasn’t always great, but the trail was well-maintained and it was gorgeous. It was sunny, cloudy, foggy, and poured during our hike. Though we couldn’t see the view we were hoping, it was incredible to summit the mountain and be in a cloud. It was beautiful in a way I hadn’t expected.
We made a new canine friend on the way down the mountain. He followed us to the car and was especially fond of Taylor. We orginially named him Ralph but quickly changed it to Buddy.
After the hike we made our way to Charlottesville for some Mellow Mushroom pizza and a walk around the U.
HUGE thank you to the awesome folks who sponsored this week’s hike and who donated to Rescue Freedom! Freedom Team 20 is amazing!
Next week’s hike is six miles and 2500 feet of elevation gain. I’ll be looking for ten people to sponsor me $1 per mile next week, too! Thanks for your support, encouragement, and prayers.
I’m doing what I love to fight what I hate.
On August 13, I’ll hike 23 miles in one day to raise money to fight human trafficking. In preparation for that hike, I’ll be doing ten official training hikes, and I’ll blog about them here.
I’m recruiting people to join my Freedom Team 20. All you need to do is make a donation–no amount is too small.
I recruited people to sponsor me $1 per mile for my training hike this week. Don’t worry if you missed out. I’ll be asking for sponsors for the rest of my hikes, so you have eight more opportunities to join Freedom Team 20! Next week’s hike will be five miles. Will you consider sponsoring Training Hike #3 for $1 per mile? You can click the button below to donate.
There are many excellent organizations that fight sexual slavery. Here are a few reasons I chose Rescue: Freedom:
Training hike #2 required five miles, 1200 feet of elevation gain, and 100 minutes on my feet. Back to Mt. Trashmore I went…this time with Stef, Brian, and Laura. I was thankful for an unseasonably mild and cool Virginia Beach day. Good conversation and a sweet breeze made for a pretty easy hike.
I’d like to thank these Freedom Team 20 members for sponsoring Training Hike #2:
Thanks to these amazing people, we raised $75 on Saturday!
In addition to the people who sponsored Hike #2, I want to thank all my Freedom Team 20 members for their generous donations, encouragement, and support.
We have raised $6587 so far and are at 66% of our goal! THANK YOU!
My Freedom Hike 20 goal is to raise $10,000 which will free FIVE women from human trafficking and provide them with a year of holistic care. I can’t do it alone, but together we can.
Click HERE to learn more about Rescue Freedom, and click HERE to read about last year’s training and Freedom Hike.
Training hike #1 needed to be three miles and 1,000 feet elevation gain. When you live in Virginia Beach, that elevation is easier said than done. Last year, I “hiked” the Jordan Bridge and walked nearly eight miles and still came up short on elevation.
This year, I chose to hike Mt. Trashmore for hike #1. For those of you unfamiliar with this unusual Virginia Beach park, the “mountain” is indeed made of trash, and it’s the steepest thing we’ve got in Hampton Roads.
I met a few friends at the park at 7:30 on Thursday morning, and we did some social distancing training together.
To get the 1,000 feet I needed, I had to hike up the steepest side, down the opposite side, and then back up to the top TWELVE and a half times. My friend, Sally, insists I misled her when I told her twelve; she says it was 24. But I don’t think she was paying attention whenI explained what counted as “one.” =)
I’ll be hiking Mt. Trashmore again this week for hike #2–five miles and 1, 200 feet. Anyone want to join me?
Starting this week, I’m going to ask ten people to sponsor me $1 per mile during training hikes. I’ll be posting on my blog, Instagram and Facebook stories. (Stef did this last year. I’m borrowing her brilliance.)
If you’d like to donate $5 to sponsor this week’s five mile hike, click the link below or Venmo me. If you donate on my fundraising page, let me know who you are and that you’re sponsoring training hike #2.
Let’s work together to end slavery.
On Friday, Brian, Kerri, Stephen, Laura and I headed to Fortune’s Cove in Lovingston, VA. The trail head is about 3.5 hours from our home in Virginia Beach…when you can find it. After exploring the surrounding area for a bit, we finally found the trail and began our hike around 12:45.
Friday was a beautiful day to hike… sunny and mild. Fortune’s Cove trail starts with a steep incline and continues that way for about half of the five-mile hike. The trees there are beautiful; shades and textures of green surrounded us for most of our hike.
Training for Freedom Hike 2019 will become increasingly hard as the weeks move toward our August 2 hike, but the difficulty serves to remind me of the millions of women and children whose lives are far more difficult than my hikes and whose difficulties don’t end when a hike does.
Please join me in supporting Rescue: Freedom International‘s work to end slavery and to rescue and restore those who have been its victims.
Team Wasko Hikes for Freedom 2022 Tahoe & West Virginia 