Schumacher Trail and Our Big Year

1.2 miles today
19.87 miles completed total

Today we hiked the Schumaker Trail.  The temperature was a little warmer today so it was a little muddy.  I'm still having problems with my camera.  I guess I'm not real sure how to use it but the pictures seem to come out real dark.  There wasn't a lot to see anyway.  Maybe it was the season or just me today or the trail but I didn't see much to show you.  We did see a couple of neat things so here they are.

This is believe is a deer rub where deer rub their antlers to get the velvet off.

These were sassafrass trees that were all curly reaching for the sky.

And these were the beech trees with the sun shining through on the trail while we rested on a bench after the strenuous climb up the steep hill. 

Annie and I were told by a new friend, Jen on our birding expedition how this is kind of like our "Big Year" hiking.  I didn't know what she meant.  She explained that in birding "The Big Year" is when birders compete to see who can see the most species in 365 days.  She then told me about her friend who competed for this and that a book and movie had been written about him. We chatted about this for some time and felt sorry as she recounted how the poor man is probably still paying off the debt from his once in a life-time year. She was right.  This sounded so like what I was doing but not on as grand of scale.  I checked the book out of the library today and so far I like it very much.  I can really relate to these guys.  Maybe not as obsessive but I do see what they were doing from the bigger picture.  I see what I'm doing from the bigger picture too.  It's not just hiking or exercising; or walking every trail or checking boxes on a list; it's bigger than that to me.  It's making memories. It's something bigger than all of us.  It's a relationship with my daughter; it's time; it's school; it's nature.  It's showing her God's creation.  It's that last little window before she grows up.  It's OUR Big Year!