Douthat State Park and George Washington National Forest, VA

One thing mom wanted to do woz get up at the crack of dawn and get on the hiking trail wot woz almost rite outside our cabin door. Just think, we did not has to drive to hiking, it woz rite there! So at 6 am, we woz on the trail starting our 13 mile hike! We catched a glimpse of Douthat Lake afore the sunbeams gotted there.


Then at the furst overlook the sun woz rising over Beards Mountain wot woz ahind us and starting to lite up Middle Mountain strate ahead where we woz the day afore. You can see the sunbeams it not at the lake yet.


Then we trekked on out to George Washington National Forest coz we woz rite there and wanted to go there too. But it woz not all that grate. We thought the trail would go along the ridge of Beards Mountain since that is wot it looked like on topo maps but it did not. It woz lower which meaned you could not see the views, just trees or the side of the mountain. We camed to one overlook where we got views to the east and west but that woz about it.



And the trail woz very overgrown. It did not look like many peeples hiked there. So we only wented into George Washington National Forest about 2 miles and turned around and headed back to Douthat State Park wot woz much nicer. At least we can say we has been there and donned that.

Once back at Douthat State Park we continued on the Mountain Top Trail where there woz better views and much nicer trails. See...



Then the Mountain Top trail started going down the mountain.


And we gotted on to the Buck Hollow trail. A lot of the trails in this park is on ledges like this where it goes rilly steep down one side and rilly steep up the udder side.



We gotted to anudder seenik overlook where we could see boats on Douthat Lake in the beeootiful wevvers we woz hasing.


Here is the boats biggified so you can see them better:


When mom woz done taking pikshurs she turned around to find this:


I woz out like a lite! So we stayed there and rested a bit. Then we headed on back to our home-away-from-home:


This is the trails wot we hiked:


I napped on the rug in front of the fireplace.


Then mom and I sat on the porch wot bugs can't come to. Mom red hers book and I watched all the dogs from the udder cabins going on their walkies.


The udder doggies woz all so happy walking by wif smiles on their faces and tails wagging. Later I metted Belle, a pointer from next door and we ranned around and played. Belle woz my BFF at the park. Her dad told my mom they had adopshunned Belle 1 month ago. They woz going to make her ded at the shelter but a rescue group gotted her and then these peeples adopshunned her. They woz Belle's third home but they love her lots and they sayed it will be Belle's last home. Belle now gets to go to Douthat State Park all the times. Lucky dog, she is!

OK, one more hike to go...

Douthat State Park, VA (Blue Suck Falls/Tuscarora Overlook/Stony Run)

So on our very furst day at Douthat State Park, we did a wonnerful hike wot woz 10.5 miles long. We started out on the Blue Suck Falls Trail. It is called that coz there is springs wot has sulfur water wot is called "suck licks." This entices animals to come sip the waters and inhale fumes thusly:


We had to climb up, up, up higher and higher...



Here is a waterfall where I went in waters wot woz deeper than wot I thought.


Then we finally started seeing some mountains through the trees...



We wented up some more...


And suddenly in the unnerbrush next to the trail, we heard this rilly lowd purring/chortling sound like it woz a rilly big kitteh in the bushes. It followed us. Mom sayed rilly lowd "SHAWNEE! COME!" even tho I woz rite next to her. I thought she losted her mind until she eggsplained that is so the wildlifes know a hooman is there and they should go on they merry way. The sound finally stopped and we commed to this overlook where there woz a bench for our break.


And this is wot the view looked like from the break bench:


Those is the mountains to the east. We be climbing the first one on anudder one of our hikes. Then we heared a crazzee lowd BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ and turned to see this big bug land on mom's backpack!


Mom shoo'd he away but he did not want to bees evikshunned so mom had to push him out wif hers map. He finally left.

So next on to Lookout Rock.


Mom had to climb half way up the rawk to get a pikshur and I tried to follow but it woz too high for me.


Mom got up there and snapped a pikshur of the mountains to the west ahind Lookout Rock.


Next up woz Tuscarora Overlook at the very top of the mountain. Here I is heading to the overlook.


There is a log cabin there. Mom opened the door to peek inside but it woz dark and skeery so she closed the door and we did not go in. Mom is a big chickun.


And now for the gorgeous views of the mountains to the east. And that water in the middle would be Douthat Lake where we started the hike.


So then we comed down off the mountain on the Stony Run Trail.


My paws woz getting hawt but I woz able to kewl them off is some refreshing waters.


Then I founded my furst and only litters. Can you believe it? We hiked over 30 miles in 3 days and this is the only litter we found.


So after the hike mom wented to the park office and used it towards a pin for my backpack. (I don't has euff room on my backpack for more patches.)


So while mom woz in the park office she asked Mr. Park Ranger about that purring noise wot we heared. He tolded mom it woz prolly a bobcat. Well he was rite, it turns out, but that is not all it woz. Mom googled bobcat sounds and founded the exact sound on the innerwebs:


OK, now rilly. It woz a bobcat but she woz looking for a boyfurrend? I IS A GURL! OK, now that we has that strate...

So this is the map of wot we hiked in hawt pink:


Stay tooned, more to come!

Road Trip! Douthat State Park, Virginia

My regularly featured weekend hike woz not regularly featured coz, well, I woz not here! I woz in Furginia on a hiking trip with my mom. So we has lots of catching up to do coz we did lots of hiking. My friend Yoda (@Yoda_the_Dog), hims mom werks for Virginia State Parks (@VAStateParks), and one day she sayed to my mom, "Why don't you come hiking in a Virginia State Park?" Well, mom had never thoughted to do that coz around here in Pencilvania and Noo York, doggies is not allowed to stay in cabins in state parks and if'n I cannot go, mom cannot go. So mom looked into it and shore enuff, dogs is allowed in the cabins at Furginia State Parks! So on Friday, April 30 off we wented. Here I is supervising mom's driving on the trip.

I knows, I look like I is going along under duress but that is not the case at all. Watching mom drive is very hard werks. And boring. But somedog has to do it.

It takes about 7 hours to get there from our howse in Noo Joisey. We had to stop at a rest area and in Furginia and they even has speshul rest areas for dogs!


Then we gotted a preview of the mountains. WOWSER!


And finally our exit:


Now, let me gib you a tour of our loverly cabin wot we stayed in. I get weirded out and act kind of nervous and not myself in strange places but I rilly liked this cabin and woz very comfy there. I called it my "home-away-from-home."

We woz in Cabin 28. Pritty kewl looking cabin in the woods!


Furst you walk into this nifty screened porch wot keeps the bugs out that I has to put the bitey on. There is rawking chairs for mom to sit in.


When you walk in the front door, strate ahead is the nomming room:

I woz wonnering why I smelled bacon when I walked in then I seened the fireplace where peeples has been burning woods. I could has sworned I smelled bacon.

Then when you turn around, you see the living room:


Then back the udder way past the nomming room you comes into the kitchun, a most impawtant room for preparashun of the noms:


Out the door ahind me is a picnic/bbq patio:


And the yard:


Then back inside on the udder side of the cabin, we has the room wif a bed where mom sleeps:


And anudder bedroom wot we woz not needing eggcept for mom used the outlet in there to blow dry hers hairs:


Then we has the bafroom:


Mom unloaded the car and maded me a very kewl hidey spot in the same place I has my hidey spot in my real home. So this be my home-away-from-home hidey spot!


So stay tooned. We has lots of pics to sort thru so I can show you all of the hikings I did in the beeootiful mountains in Furginia!