the LAST day of the last weekend

we drove away from the new river gorge a few hours later than we were expecting. we had called ahead to the Breaks Interstate Park to make sure that we could still land a campsite even after the office had closed. we had at least a three-hour drive ahead of us plus time to stop to eat. we finally turned off the main highway to head through Grundy and over to the Breaks. it was about 9:30, definitely dark. as we approached Grundy, the mountains narrowed and the mists rose. now, we were quite tired and a little loopy, but the drive through Grundy was surreal. i could tell this town was heavily influenced by the coal industry as we passed under many coal shoots crossing the road. it was so dark and misty that we could not see the mountains above us, but i wondered if they were still complete, or if large chunks had been cut out of them. as we continued the windy, ethereal drive, all of a sudden, a giant industrial tower with a wildly blazing fire emerged on the right. it looked like hell. i found out later it was a coke plant. we continued the drive through windy back roads, small enough to not require a yellow stripe down the center. we finally made it to the Breaks at about 10:30. and of course it was closer to 11 until we had finally chosen a campsite being as we are both type B. but our expertise arose as we set up the tent in record time with light from the car and one headlamp.
the next morning, we made breakfast, broke down and packed up, so that we could venture onto a hike. when i had been to the Breaks with my mom, i noticed that all the trails were one mile or less. that's boring. then i realized they were all connected and i found a loop that would take us down the canyon to the river and back up to check out all the overlooks. we went to the visitor's center just to make sure the trails connected and were open. "yes, they are but just be careful on the river trail...there is poison ivy." awesome. we remained optimistic as it was overcast and cool and the initial trail was relatively easy. we passed one overlook that i had been to with my mom and then headed down the Prospector's trail. we passed many impressive rock faces and Brittany had to wipe the drool from her mouth. we noticed that the trail was quite damp from a few days rain, but we kept on. when we hit the River trail, things got dicey. it was supér steep, and the path sat at an angle, so you felt like your outside foot could turn or slide down with every step. one wrong step would send you down a steep hill, probably not stopping until the river's edge. i took it really slow, but lost my footing every five steps. the other challenge of this hike was the spider webs. every few feet we could feel the thin and sticky strands hit us. i'd stop every so often trying to pull them off, not because i was worried about spiders, but because the sensation was like i was covered in the wispy hairs of a ghosts following me down the trail. at one point, Brittany walked right into a huge web with its spider in residence. i could hear the crackle as the sticky strands broke and stuck to her hair and face. i then saw the large brown spider quickly crawling up the remnants toward her face. i slapped it down to the ground and Brittany looked distressed, her blonde hair looking white and shiny on the ends. and then, the sun came out, and it got HOT. so we were dirty from the slick trail, covered in spider webs and now dripping in sweat on one of the most technical hikes of my life.
after over an hour, we finally saw a short path taking us to the river's edge. the narrow path opened up to flat rocks in the sun and a beautiful site of the river and canyon. it was the perfect spot to rest and eat lunch and do some swimming. unfortunately i had blanked on bringing our swim suits with us. i really wanted to get in and cool off. knowing that wet shorts for a couple hours would highly increase the risk for chub rub, i stripped down and hopped in. i knew from the amount of spider webs on the trail that we were the only ones around for a while and it was nice to cool off. i dared Brittany and she followed suit. well, sans suit. after our lunch and swim, it was time to continue. we hit an easier trail and then began the trail of death. it was straight up, no switch backs, and slippery. i did it as fast as i could, just wanting to get it over with. half way up, i had to stop, my heart was racing. we made it to the top to the overlook trail and were again dripping sweat. so glad to be at the top again, but missing the cool river below. we both agreed that it was one of the most challenging hikes we had ever done. if i were to do it again, i would definitely use trekking poles and maybe bring a swimsuit ;)