This morning, the day after Christmas, it seemed as if we were settling in to be couch potatoes. It was brrrr cold, but sunny – the calm before tomorrow’s storm – so I suggested a hike up Catherine’s Mountain.

Hannah and I headed out with somewhat vague directions: Blackwoods Road – an old house on the right – a field on the left. What should have taken 20 minutes to find took an hour. There was no old house, nor a field at the trail head.

The hike was a bit more vertical than I expected, and in 27degree weather, we were both breathing hard, our calves screaming. We ultimately made it to the top, but didn’t follow the loop around the crest. The sun was getting lower in the sky and I didn’t want to be stuck on Catherine’s Mountain at dusk. Legend tells of a young woman who died along the road. It’s reported Catherine’s ghost attracts the attention of passersby. I’d be perfectly happy not to meet her.

We had fun, got some fresh air and exercise and made some memories. I was able to test out the new mini tri-pod Paul gave me for Christmas. It fits right in my backpack for our hike self-portraits. Although I think during our stop for the self-portrait, we managed to lose our emergency Christmas cookie rations! ?Click on a thumbnail to scroll through larger images.