The word “Almost” above is key; it was supposed to read “Past Half Way.”
Here’s a case where I bit off more than I could chew. Over the course of 
two days my goal had been to hike 23 miles and bicycle back the slightly longer 27 miles. A late start didn’t bode well for my trek nor did arriving back at my campsite after 11:00 PM. Thank goodness I had set-up camp early that day! By morning I was set on changing my plan. I meandered Skyline Drive from mile 52 to its northern entrance stopping at overlooks, visiting facilities, and taking short hikes to peaks.
What I learned was that I don’t want to tackle these longer bike-hikes over back-to-back days. This has to be fun and too much exertion robs me of the joy. When I’m exhausted, I don’t want to start a 14 mile bike ride where half is a struggle up hill! I’ve got better things to do!
So how will I do things differently going forward? Simple, I’ll be inserting a day-of-play in between my two hikes. I have six more lengths to achieve my goal and with my new strategy that’s three more outings over nine more days. My goal is to finish before the Fall so I better get crackin’ … no more lovely but distracting road trips till I nail this one down!
Besides, it’s an awfully beautiful place to go hiking as evidenced both at right and below …
by 
