Misery and Joy in the SNOW .....

The snow in this photo is newly fallen.
on the 4th day of SPRING!!!  

..... on March 25th!! With 4 Nor'easters in Pennsylvania - all in the month of March - snow was to be expected on the trail today. What was not expected was hiking in a steady more than a flurry of snowfall. I felt stuck in a roller coaster of emotions from "Wow! This is so pretty.? to "Um, this is nuts. It's SPRING. Enough already." I would have been caught in more of the former if it hadn't been for the wind in places.

This was hike #2 in preparation of our long hike on June 23rd. Our hike lasted just under 2 hours and covered approximately 4.5 miles. We started going up and over Mount Joy from the Knox HQ Parking lot. Then crossed over route 252 to return via Mount Misery. The story of Mount Misery and Mount Joy names is allegedly (emphasis on allegedly)

"William Penn went with some associates to negotiate with the Indians near the Susquehanna. Returning they took a short cut, got lost, and had to spend a miserable night lost on a mountain. The next morning they went off the mountain and up another mountain where they recognized where they were. The first mountain was thereby named Mount Misery and the second one Mount Joy." For the source of this quote and some history of Valley Forge Mountain, click here. 

Today's group included Sara, Mike and his dog Freya, Julius, Kathy, and Maritza. Kathy and Maritza.

Next week we will go out and back on Forbidden Drive for a total of 3 hours. 

Keep smiling and keep moving
-Paula