Jill and Esmel met me at Wintergreen Resort after we realized that the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed due to high winds from two days before. Apparently all of the wind made for a lot of downed trees on the road. Luckily this made for more to the story of their adventure session because being in contact, with patches of phone service and routing out a Plan B was an adventure in itself. I loved how easy going they were and they were truly up for anything! At an overlook at Wintergreen we found a hiking trail for Devil’s Knob so we took it!
We followed the yellow paint marks on the trees and rocks and hiked through the mountain for about four miles together. It was a lot of fun reconnecting with Jill and seeing her and Esmel together. I loved experiencing the hike with them, participating in an activity that they love to do together, while photographing them. We stopped for a few portraits but I strived to photograph them during the process as well.
We got back to the summit at Wintergreen Resort in time to see the last bit of sunlight. Sunsets that paint across the cool crisp blue of the mountains is something that will always stop me in my tracks. I am glad that it stopped Jill and Esmel too because it solidified what a great way to start embarking on photographing these Adventure Sessions.
