April 1: The Henry Lanum Trail over Mount Pleasant and Pompey Mountain in the Mount Pleasant National Scenic Area. 7.2 miles.
This is a great hike for early in the spring when the trees are not in full leaf, allowing views as you make the climb up Pompey Mountain, at just over 4,000 feet. But the real payoff for this walk is the open, rocky Mount Pleasant summit, with its stunning views to the east and west. It is one of our very favorite lunch spots, and even old-dog Gunnar, who has always had trouble with the last little hop up onto the rocks, seemed to be excited to be there: She passed on her usual tendency to balk and instead joined us and young-dog Fluff without hesitation. On our way back down, we met two men on the trail, who provided further evidence of both the smallness of the world and the magic of the trail. "Hey, I know you," said one of the men, looking at me. We exchanged names and possible contexts before he came up with it: "I used to play softball for the public TV station in Roanoke, and one day we scrimmaged and you all didn't have enough players; I played for you and hit a homer. My team never forgave me."

April 15: The Cinque Terre. About 8 miles.
Well, you can't ALWAYS hike in the Appalachians. And on this day it was the Apennine Mountains along the Liguran Sea--the Italian Riviera! The hike connects five small villages which flourished centuries ago, fell victim to pirates and later to more subtle but equally destructive economic forces, and have been revived, over the past decade or so, with their transformation into a national park with a system of trails both along the coast and up away from it. The most popular route, which we walked with our fellow Italy visitors Randy and Karen Scott, runs along the coast, and connects the villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. The advance publicity on the area is of a hidden getaway and quaint villages; the reality, on the Saturday of Easter weekend when we visited, is a non-stop parade of people heading both north and south along the trail, which is at some points a wide promenade and at others a skinny dusty pathway along the rocky ledge--wide enough for only one person. Still, our hike was a delight, with stops in each village--for lunch, wine, ice cream, more wine, and dinner. And perhaps the best part: You walk the full distance and then catch the train back to your starting point (or to any of the villages).

April 23: The Appalachian Trail from U.S. 220 north of Roanoke, up Tinker Mountain to the view of Carvins Cove. About 6 miles.
This is a favorite hike, for its crossing of Tinker Creek, its gently ascending wooded section, its strong and switch-backed ascent of the mountainside and its rewarding views from rocks directly on the AT. Our stopping point this day was still a mile or so short of Hay Rock--the landmark of this section--but we have always felt that "Hey" Rock (as in "hey, there's Carvins Cove) is equally satisfying. We chose it too because it is short enough and gentle enough for what may have been the last hike for old-dog Gunnar, at least for a time. The large growth under her belly slowed her relatively little on this day, but it subsequently grew worse and was removed, precluding her joining us on our first hike in May. For The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All, finding her dog in some peril has proved to be the first real damper ever on going out into the woods. On that first May hike, we snuck our backpacks and boots, our water and food out of the house, hoping to overcome the dog's keen sense of when a hike--perhaps her second-favorite thing in the world (after only warm toast)--is in the offing.

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