Hiking Raven Rocks

This weekend was a special weekend because one of my best friends, Annie, who has been living seaside all summer finally came home for a weekend to visit. We decided to hike a local trail called Raven Rocks. It's a 5.5 mile out and back hike on the Appalachian Trail. The hike is super rocky and difficult because instead of one gradual incline, it ascends and descends about 4-5 times before you arrive at the outlook. We got lucky and found a spot in the main parking area even though it's super small; we arrived around 1:30...

The outlook was pretty. I know that's a pretty basic description but the reason I say "pretty" is because the view isn't very extensive but what you can see is, well, pretty. Also, the weirdest thing about the outlook is that it's covered in stink bugs. Like, hundreds of them... they were flying all around us, crashing into us, landing on us, harassing us. They're horrible little creatures and unfortunately, they definitely made our experience a lot less enjoyable.

As you can see, we had quite the photo shoot (absolutely necessary after being apart for three months) and Annie brought along her cool polaroid camera. It takes the cutest little pictures and she snapped a few when we were at the outlook. 

The hike was a great workout. We would go uphill, get our heart rates up, then get a section of flat/downhill before heading back up yet another incline. Even though the view wasn't a solid 5/5, the leaves were beginning to change colors which was so pretty. Early fall is such a beautiful time to hike. For more info on Raven Rocks go here. 

Hope everyone had a greeeeattttttt weekend!

p.s. sorry for using the word "pretty" like 8 times. I'm simply too lazy to think up any better adjectives right now...