Spring Break!

I began to write about this trip about a month ago, but school and work and trying to maintain my sanity got in the way of finishing it up.  So, finally, here is what happened over Spring Break:

Spring Break came at just the right time.  I was burning out, but had just enough mental energy left to crank out a 5 page paper on our 7 hour drive up to Pennsylvania on a Sunday afternoon.  Not my ideal way to pass the time on a long drive, but it was due by midnight.  We arrived at my aunt and uncle's house around 11:30pm - so my paper was turned in on time! - and I was so excited to go to bed without setting an alarm.  Welcome, Spring Break!

my moving office... 5 page paper in under 5 hours.  done.

Pt. I: The North (around Philadelphia)

On Monday, my cousin Clay made me breakfast before Jeff and I got back in the car to drive to my old hometown in NJ to have lunch with my grandparents.  Grandma made us some delicious roast pork and candied yams!  After lunch, Grandma and I whipped up my special pistachio cake.

There is nothing quite like warm pistachio cake and a good cup of Earl Grey tea.  Now, if there's one thing I will always associate with my grandma, it would be the perfect cup of Earl Grey tea.  I mean, it is always perfect.  I don't know how she does it.

Anyways, we had a wonderful afternoon with my grandparents, and then booked it back across the river to avoid rush hour traffic.  My cousin Abby (who got married 3 weeks before I did) joined us for dinner that night, which was so much fun! We got ice cream, and watched Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (it was my first time seeing it), and then went to bed.  Tuesday was our lazy day - we hung out in our pjs all day, playing Monopoly and Risk, made tomato soup and grilled cheese for lunch, and then made a ridiculous amount of chocolate chip cookies.  They didn't last long.

Wednesday was our last day up North, so we drove across the river to NJ to spend a little more time with my grandparents.  On our way back, we stopped in downtown Philly so that Jeff could have his first real Philly cheesesteak.  Of course, I got mine with cheese whiz - Jeff got his with provolone, but I think he preferred the cheese whiz - and it was a little taste of heaven.  I love cheesesteaks.

FINALLY.  a proper cheesesteak. 

Jeff chowing down on his first Philly cheesesteak

That afternoon, we went to see the queen of chocolate chip cookies - my cousin Ruth.  Ruth and her husband and kids live on this great, big piece of land in the middle of suburbia, except it's more like a farm than a subdivision.  They have chickens, too - we got to go into the coop and see the chickens and collect some fresh eggs.  The eggs were naturally colorful, which was really cool!  After a short visit, we headed back to my aunt's house for dinner.  Then we had to get all of our camping stuff sorted and packed, because we were about to head down to Kentucky for several days of hiking and back-country camping.

yes, those are the actual colors of the eggs.  I like the blue one :)

Pt. II: The Wilderness (well, sort of...)

This happened.

Since we had to be at the visitors center before it closed at 4:30, we had to make sure we left with plenty time to spare, just in case something happened.  So we got up at 2:15am.  I'm crying a little inside just writing about it.  We drove through heavy snow, sleet, fog, got slammed with a $27 toll (Pennsylvania = Jeff's new least favorite state to drive in), and eventually rolled into the Visitor's Center at Mammoth Cave in the early afternoon.  We chose a backcountry campsite, then headed over the ferry (a little 3-car ferry across the Green River) to park near the old church.

We then faced a 3 mile hike to our campsite.  Not so bad, right?  Wrong.  We were exhausted before we even started due to the lack of sleep and roughly 12 hours in a car.  Furthermore, we took a wrong turn and added an extra hour to our hike in.  It was getting dark and threatening to rain by the time we finally got there.  But when we did - we realized how cool of a campsite it was.  There were large rock bluffs, the overhangs high enough off the ground to provide ample protection for our tent, gear, and fire.  There were two small waterfalls, so plenty of fresh, running water nearby.  And it was off the main trail, in a little valley, away from popular foot traffic.  Perfect for a quiet, peaceful campsite.

we pitched out tent under the rocky bluffs - taking advantage of the natural rain protection!

The first night though, was miserable.  I could not get warm, even in a 30 degree bag, insulated pad, and two thick layers of clothing.  Turns out that even though it was only predicted to get down to 39 degrees, it was actually got down to 23.  That did not make for a happy camper.  Then, we hiked the 3 miles back to the car the next morning so we could go on some cave tours, but discovered once we reached the car that we had left the car keys at the campsite.  And we had run out of water.  We came across another hiker who kindly treated some nearby water for us, and then headed back down to the campsite.  It was a lovely day - so we cooked some hot dogs over the fire, hung out in the hammock, took quick showers under the waterfall - although let me be clear, that was the COLDEST shower I have ever taken, and I turned a lovely bluish color rather quickly even though I didn't get all the way under - and then grabbed our (empty) packs and headed 3 miles back to the parking lot.  Our friends Zach (hiking buddy we met in Jordan!) and Christine were driving in, and we were meeting them later that evening.  9:45 rolls around, we meet up with them, go back across the ferry, distributed up some of their stuff, and we were off by 10pm.  Ten minutes into our hour and a half hike, the rain starts.  The majority of that hike it rained.  Needless to say, an hour and a half hike in the pitch black when it's cold and raining the whole time is my new low.  But we arrived without injury.  Luckily Jeff had thought to tuck the firewood underneath the bluffs so it wouldn't get wet, so getting the fire started once we made it to the campsite was pretty simple.

That actual temp lo on the left... yeah, that made my night miserable.

getting our water from the clear, cool streams! 

The next day was a fun one - we warmed coffee cake over the fire for breakfast, then hiked back up to the parking lot so we could go on some cave tours.  We did two different tours, about 2 miles each. The caves were so cool!  They were dark, but dry, and a slightly chilly 54 degrees.  We learned about the mining history, the legend about how they were discovered, and there are only 7 miles of publicly accessible caves (out of almost 400 miles of cave they've discovered so far).  It was too dark to take decent pictures, but I would definitely recommend checking out the caves if you get the chance.  We hope to go back sometime and do some of the other tours.  After the second tour, we were all pretty tired, and not looking forward to another 3 mile hike to camp.  But this time, it was light outside and there was no rain, so it wasn't too bad.  We ate a lot of food for dinner - the 10 or so miles of hiking that day certainly worked up an appetite!

descending into the caves

this sign made me laugh.  but it's no joke - my hips were touching both sides of the walls, and I'm a bean pole.

cooking up some lunch in the parking lot

some of the "frozen falls" in the caves

We had an early start for our last day at the Bluffs.  We had to break down camp and pack up all of our stuff.  We had pancakes for breakfast, with some delicious maple syrup, tapped from Christine's parents' maple trees in Wisconsin.  Fantastic stuff!  After we ate, we said goodbye to Zach and Christine and headed back up the trail.  I was so excited to reach the parking lot after that final 3 mile hike.  Once we got there, Jeff and I changed into some cleaner clothes, loaded up the car, and set off for an 11 hour drive home.  Well, to my parents' house really, we decided it was necessary to sit in the hot tub and recover from roughly 30 miles of hiking, most of which was done while carrying heavy packs.

Overall, it was a really fun trip for us!  We got all sorts of weather, got to hang out with awesome family, had really good food, and got to spend some time in the great outdoors.  We drove 1970 miles, so when you through in all the hiking, it was a 2000 mile trip!