Shenandoah Hiking Series: Little Devils Stairs
Instructors: Nathan and Matt
Classmates: Alison, George, Scott, Jayne, Adriana and Al
Start Time of Hike at Shenandoah National Park: 9:15 a.m.
End Time of Hike at Shenandoah National Park: 1:30 p.m.
Total Miles Covered: 5.5
Weather: Rainy, chilly and super foggy

I received a classes/events email from REI and noticed they had some great hikes planned through their outdoor program. I began hiking in 2013 with my Framily (yes, that’s how my crew spells it), but I missed going on hikes last year because of the freaky weather and moving. So I decided to go for it, and signed up for a class. What’s more fun than an adventurous day of fresh air, education and exercise?! At the time, I didn’t know Mother Nature would drench our area with rain for weeks. REI is hard core and naturally, the class proceeded as scheduled. We met up outside my local REI store at 7:30 a.m. and boarded the pimped out 11-passenger Mercedes van. Way to go REI!

The van, nicknamed “Teddy” by REI staff was new, but the front right corner had a dent in it that I found out was accidentally done by one of their unnamed associates. Nathan and Matt were knowledgeable and entertaining. Everyone had a blast. We learned about various invasive and non-invasive plants. Nathan shared this interesting tip with us … whenever we finish hiking we should always clean the bottoms of our shoes, because while walking through the parks the soles of our shoes get impacted with plant pollen and that’s one way both good and bad plant populations are spread. The more you know! (cue music) Despite the bad weather, it was a very fun day and I was able to take some cool pics. Visit my blog next week for tales and pics from my hiking adventure to Overall Run Falls.

#optoutside