Saturday Abe, his Uncle, and I got together to go for a hike at Raven Run, a local nature sanctuary with over 10 miles of trails. We ended up walking 6.5 miles this time around, however the change in elevation was much greater with this walk.
Some parts of the trail were quite wet and muddy and our boots certainly got broken in...and covered in mud.
We hiked along a stream for most of our walk.
There were also a lot of wildflowers in bloom. Kentucky is quite lovely right now!
The main destination on this hike was an overlook that looked over the Kentucky River.
Later that night, a few of my friends threw Abe and I a going away party. They made sangria and this awesome cake! It was a lot of fun to see everyone all together before we left. I hope in the next 19 days I'll be able to see most of them again!
I'll miss these ladies SO much while I'm away.
We are getting so close to leaving so I've been compiling a final list of items to buy. This is the current list, plus maybe a new sleeping bag. I currently have one that I borrowed from my dad, however its larger than I'd like it to be.
I've put my mom in charge of finding me a Kentucky rock to carry. I'll need it when we get to La Cruz de Ferro (a giant pile of rocks under an iron cross). The tradition surrounding this pile of rocks is that pilgrims throw a stone onto the pile, that is brought from their place of origin, with his or her back to the cross to symbolize their journey. I'll carry my stone 550 km and then leave it behind on the pile with thousands of others. Pilgrims carry these stones along with their weaknesses, insecurities, losses, and fears. The stone becomes a physical representation of all of these emotions, and by leaving it behind at La Cruz de Ferro, we not only shed the rock but also the feelings that the rock symbolizes.
This coming weekend we plan on going back to Raven Run and getting another practice hike in!
19 DAYS!
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