Healthy Living with Kimberlee: Roanoke 7 Summits Challenge

I've recently signed up to join a "7 peaks in 7 weeks" hiking challenge with a couple of my friends; so for fun I'm going to highlight each one in my blog. I noticed a banner for the Roanoke 7 Summits while jogging on the Roanoke River Greenway with my friend Sallie Beth, so after checking out the website I decided to get out of my comfort zone & take on a new challenge. I love being outdoors more than anything; and have to admit I've been slacking off pretty hard in this area recently. Sometimes we (by we I mean "I") get so caught up in the rush of day-to-day life that we forget about the little things. In this case, I have forgotten about how great it feels to breathe the fresh air of the mountains and discover the simple joys right in my backyard. With this said, my new goal is to get outside more often & explore the endless outdoor opportunities that Southwest VA has to offer. With my new goal in mind, I just can't resist taking on the 7 summits! I recruited two of my new friends from Virginia Tech, SB & Samantha, to join me. The fact that it took practically zero convincing on my end, let me know we were going to have a great time together.

the 3 girls on Day 1

Our shoes :)

Week 1 - Mill Mountain Star Trail

It's hard to say what the best part of our first trip was -- the hike, or the amazing discovery that followed. If you're not familiar with the Roanoke area, this trail may be one of the closest hikes from downtown (~5 minutes). If you love running uphill, you can even throw on a pair of running shoes & march your feet halfway up the mountain to catch the hiking trail that'll take you up the rest of the way. This was a perfect trail to kick off the challenge; relatively easy terrain and short in distance (~2.4 miles for the proposed loop). In our case we took a few alternate paths which made our hike closer to 4 mi.

After trekking down and back up the mountain, we made it to Roanoke's highest point - the summit of Mill Mountain & the Roanoke Star. The famous Star (picture below) overlooks the city of Roanoke and it's surrounding areas. The steel star which sits at the top of this mountain was built in 1949; and at 88 feet tall it's the world's largest man-made star. The star is lit up every night & (according to the internet) it's visible from 60 miles away! Pretty impressive, eh? There's over 500 acres of parkland on top of Mill Mountain, including picnic areas, two amazing overlooks (one being the star), a Discovery Center, and a Zoo! Basically enough to keep you busy for a while.

After our hike we decided to check out the Roanoke City Market in downtown which came to be the "amazing discovery" I mentioned earlier. This farmer's market is filled (42+ booths) with fresh local produce, meats, flowers, delicious baked goods, hand made soap, arts/crafts, etc, etc, etc.... We were like kids in a candy store in awe over the endless beautiful fresh produce! The best part - the produce was significantly cheaper than my local grocery store and (sorry to say this) my local farmer's market. Thanks to this discovery, SB and I will now be taking the trolly from work to the market on the days we travel to our Roanoke office.

Before heading back to Blacksburg we ate at one of my favorite restaurants, Fork in the Alley, a tucked away brick oven pub with an awesome outdoor patio, good beer selection, and delicious food. The only downside to this place is figuring out what to eat off the menu...everything is great! At least you won't have trouble deciding on what dessert to have (in moderation of course), there's only one choice: the Brick Oven S'more. This to-die-for treat is toasted to perfection, with a milk chocolate bar half melted over 2 marshmallows and peanut butter, then sandwiched between graham crackers. Let me remind you as my blog title says "healthy living" I don't recommend partaking in this type of treat everyday. Sweet treats should be just that - treats; and enjoyed in moderation. Otherwise it wouldn't be a treat, right?

After our market-lunch extravaganza we went back home with our bellies full and legs tired. Next week we'll be heading over to Poor Mountain Natural Area Preserve; our second summit! I hope you enjoy these next few posts and if you're feeling adventurous go exploring in your own backyard, breathe some fresh air, & see all that nature has to offer you!
Happy Hiking~