Wilderness Area in West Virginia. That is a great state. I think I could live there but then I realize that no, its better to just go there for adventures. :) Friday it rained and we did so many wet stream crossings that we just gave up
hiking in boots and doned the Chacos which are awesome. [See blog about canoe] I wasn't sure about hiking in sandals with a pack on but it went alright and there really wasn't much choice. It was a chilly weekend but it stopped raining once we had our campsite set up and Saturday was a beautiful, mostly clear day. The route we were going to hike required crossing a "creek" that is probably normally a creek and knee height at most but the roaring river would easily have come up to my waist. We changed our plans. :) We ended up hiking about 20 miles 
instead of the intended 15. According to Eric's GPS our stoppage time was at least an hour more than the time we were on the move which proves we knew how to enjoy pretty views, take munch breaks and soak in the sun - limited as it was. We did cross the river at a lower point Saturday morning (so cold!) 
and had to recross it Sunday on our way out. It was a fight of the will to put our sandals back on, roll up the pants as high as possible and just to make it more memorable, it started to pour as we stepped in. We just smiled, shook our heads and got to the other side as quick as possible. With all the rain everything was so lush and just smelled good! I tried to imagine I was hiking in a rain forest in south america. Highlights were experienceing West Virginia culture (country music, oh yeah!) at a pizza place prior to hitting the trail - also home of the most valuable bus boy EVER!, baking blueberry muffins in orange peels in the fire, hours around the warm campfire, tent time with Mindy and the scenery.It was so enjoyable I felt like I wasn't really there and couldn't take it all in. Good job God and thanks for a sweet weekend.
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In other news... another fav passtime of mine is the wonderful game of soccer. I must love it for all the driving I do. My awesome co-ed team played an extremely wet & muddy game - we're talking standing puddles on the field that were ankle deep. Its good for the inner child though to play in the mud every so often. This was the Championship game against the other division. Finally, a competitive game and in ideal conditions! (it rained and then the clouds put on a nice show). To prove the point that this was one of our few competitive games, guess who was the female scoring champion of the league.... yup, Kendra the defender who Never tops out on any scoring records. Cherry picking proved effective as I averaged about a goal a game in season. I even got a trophy. Yes, its cheesy but yeah... i'm kinda tickled. The top
male scoring champ was Nate, second guy standing on the left. We went down a goal first half but managed to tie it up in the second - not by either scoring champ and I was even playing defense. 5 minute OT no goals. Down to PKs. I had flashbacks of my season ending shan back in college against Va Weslyen... and opted to let others shine under pressure. All 3 of our guys missed but 2 out of 3 gals made it. The opposition also made 2. Next reserve guy on their team - blocked! Joe steps up - having missed a wide open shot in OT and puts it away. RELIEF! VICTORY! He got a big hug for that one because I would have been the next one to go. Note: I'm making this sound so competitive and serious but we just have a ton of fun together. Ok, all for now... your champ (but not when it counts). ;)
