Backpacking

What better way to bond with your father than sharing a tent the size of a bathroom lavatory during a four-day back packing trip?

I figured a back country camping trip in Shenandoah National Park would be a good break from marathon training, while still providing plenty of exercise.

Since this was a guided trip through REI, my Dad and I joined four other people plus our guide, Chuck, and headed off into the wilderness.

Highlights of the trip included a steep climb up Neighbor Mountain on our last day, multiple bear sightings, and spotting two of the regions three venomous snakes, including a baby copper hear and this Water Maccosin lying in the middle of  Jeremy's Run Trail.

All  in all, we met some interesting people, and my Dad and I got to spend some great quality time together, in spite of some very close quarters inside our humid tent.

After spending three nights in the woods, I didn't feel ready to return to civilization, but the wife didn't seem receptive to setting up a tent in the front yard.

I plan on resuming marathon training as soon as my legs recover from the trip -- though for some reason my knee doesn't quite feel ready yet.