This morning Wayne said he’d like to go to Blackrock Summit on the Skyline Drive. It seemed pretty ambitious to me given that he had major lung surgery in early November, but spending a day on the mountain seemed like a good way to spend a surprisingly warm December day.
A short while later when checking my Facebook “memories,” I was very surprised to see that we’d visited Blackrock Summit on December 12, 2015. Quite the “coincidence”!
Early in the afternoon we drove up to the mountain and turned north onto the Skyline Drive, enjoying the views and stopping at random overlooks.
We noticed a lot of cars on the Skyline Drive, so we weren’t too surprised to find that the parking lot at Blackrock Summit was full. We parked along the road and walked back towards the trail. Then, after some quick pictures, we started up the mountain.
This is actually one of the easier trails in the Shenandoah National Park, but there are still some inclines, plus you always have to watch your feet to avoid tripping over roots or rocks.
We took it slowly and stopped to rest when we needed to, but finally we reached the summit!
To say this was a big accomplishment for Wayne is an absolute understatement; I felt a mixture of awe, concern, and gratitude that he was able to do a hike like this so soon after his surgery. We took a “selfie” in the spot where we’d taken one five years before, and it should be noted that in December 2015, Wayne was recovering from another serious medical procedure!
We also took a picture with our masks on, and we were so pleased to see that the majority of people on the mountain had masks they would put on whenever they had to pass on the trail or were otherwise close to people.
What’s so special about Blackrock Summit? This!
After enjoying the sunshine and the scenery for a while, it was time to start back down the mountain on a different trail (which actually included some uphill climbs).
The Skyline Drive (and the Blue Ridge Parkway, where we go most often) are both scenic roadways built along the spine of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Overlooks sometimes offer east views and sometimes west views. We enjoy both. 🙂
At some point, Wayne admitted that he’d kind of forgotten how far it was to the summit (about 8/10 of a mile) and how long some of the inclines were. I hadn’t forgotten, as we’ve been up there several times!
While this was undoubtedly the most challenging trek up to Blackrock Summit, it may be remembered as one of our favorite trips, given the circumstances…. Wayne still has a ways to go with his recovery (which includes physical therapy and a pulmonary rehab program), but holy cow–he climbed a mountain today! <3
Until next time,
Sharon & Wayne
WOW! Wayne. What an accomplishment. Things like this is what makes survivors. Keep on keeping on. Hope to see you soon.
Unreal my friends….! Kepone Trucking….
Larry the Indian