Fourteen St. Thomas' hikers, two dogs, and another St. Thomas' parishioner (let's call him a wine drinker) headed westward on Saturday, May 3rd for our venture to Massanutten Mountain and the Shenandoah Valley. It was a great day. A beautiful hike. Wonderful comradery. Everyone on our trip met a person they had not met before. For some, nearly everyone was a new person to meet!

We met early at the church, made introductions, photocopied some challenging driving directions, divvied up our hikers amongst our four drivers, and headed out. Hey, 2+ hours of some wide-ranging conversation, hearty laughs, and some very interesting stories were heard during those car rides! And we all managed to find our way to the trailhead parking lot despite some detours by some of the cars! We put on our hiking shoes, lathered on the sun block and bug spray, readied our back packs, distributed trail and topo maps, and set out up the Stephens trail towards Kennedy Peak. Yes, a trail a bit more challenging than ascending the Massanutten trail but one that I knew we all could accomplish and appreciate.

A day hike provides time to ponder thoughts, appreciate nature (with pink and yellow honeysuckle and white-blossomed serviceberry trees in bloom), exercise one's body, and share conversation (and, yes, share verse celebrating and contemplating the gift of nature at rest breaks along the way). During the beginning miles, we alternately ascended and slightly descended ("Going downhill again? When will we get to the top!?") until we reached Kennedy Peak and its observation tower. This tower not only provided a resting stop for lunch but also an unrivaled 360-degree view of the Massanutten and Shenandoah Mountains and the meandering Shenandoah River and Valley below. We all shared in each other's accomplishment in getting to the summit. Most of us a bit more out of breath than the few with fleet feet -- a wonderful group effort considering most of us do not have regular hiking experience.

We lingered over lunch, enjoyed the view, shared our lunch goodies and stories, had another hiker take our group photo ("St. Thomas? Is that Catholic? Oh, Episcopalian? Isn't that the schism church?"), and then psyched ourselves for the easier walk down the Massanutten trail. The descent took us along the scenic ridge of the mountain (views on both sides) before hitting the switchback descent to the trailhead at parking lot. And guess what? We had a welcoming party! A parishioner drove from DC to meet us there for the continuation of our adventure. At this point he was the only dry body to hug in our group of, now, fifteen. Poor guy. Hey, the dogs were less sweaty than we were!

Well, we congratulated each other for a hike well done. Many were psyched to put on a fresh tee-shirt, kick off the hot sweaty boots and put on comfy shoes. No costly injuries, except for one parishioner's broken porcelain cap showing off a chipped front tooth. Not from falling, but from biting into an apple at lunch! Later, many in the group told the individual that it made him even cuter. While his wife did not agree, he just batted his eyes and basked in the "aw shucks" moment.

At this point, most of us headed off to a local vineyard and learn a bit more about that Virginia wine! It was certainly a quirky little place with a bizarre, prickly sommelier, but, hey, it was a place to stop on our way to Woodstock for dinner and wait for the one car-load that was temporarily lost. Following our wine tasting and purchase of more than a few bottles of wine to take home, ten of us continued on to Woodstock's Springhouse Tavern and Restaurant. As a testament to our non-elitist roots, we were psyched to be able to have cold beer in iced mugs and red meat for dinner. It was a great, welcoming place with good food (and cheap pitchers) and just a great way to spend some additional time and conversation with good friends and friends-in-the making! At the end of our repast, we divvied up parishioners amongst drivers, said our good-byes, and departed with fun memories and stories of our day in the mountains. A day of witnessing and living our Christian hospitality.

Come join us next time!!