January 5. Appalachian Trail from I-81 at Groseclose south to crest of Glade Mountain and back. 13 miles. It was great to start the year with new AT miles, and these 6.5 – beginning through fields and then running through rhododendron thickets, healthy hemlocks and nicely flowing streams up the side of Glade Mountain – were more pleasurable and scenic than we thought, given the proximity to I-81 and U.S. 11 and the relatively modest elevation, at least before the final rise to the 3,900-foot northern crest of Glade Mountain, where we found a sunny spot for lunch. The Greatest Day Hiker Of Them All dragged son Adam and me up the climb in two hours and 10 minutes – 20-minute miles to the minute through mud early on and then up to two inches of slushy snow as we rose in elevation; coming back down, she kicked us up to 17-minute miles, rendering "13 miles the new eight miles" or some such. And two muttering hikers following

January 19. Appalachian Trail from Va. 614 at Jennings Creek north to Bryant Ridge Shelter and back. 6.4 miles. A cold day with some snow still on the north faces called for a relatively short walk not too far from home. The area around Jennings Creek was busier that you'd think, with fishermen and a few hikers; in fact, The Day Hiker spent most of the miles in trying to use footprints to try to determine who'd walked in front of us. At the shelter, the prints led in to the front and then back out, so we had the tall, modern shelter to ourselves, and though we had planned to build a fire, the relative warmth (for a cloudy day in the mid-30s) and the snowy firepit made us decide to forego.

January 27. Appalachian Trail from Va. 614 at Jennings Creek south to Cove Mountain Shelter and back. 6.4 miles. An easy, pleasant winter hike to the firepit at Cove Mountain Shelter, where, with the sun coming out as we arrived and the warmth of the fire, The Day Hiker and I agreed we could have lingered for much of the afternoon, especially given the short distance back to Jennings Creek. On that way back, watching Gail catch her foot a few times on rocks under leaves, it occurred to me that, geez, she sure was stumbling a bunch for such an easy stretch of trail. But before the words could come out of my mouth – in some sort of cosmic justice – I was flat on the ground after a slip out of nowhere.

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