Hiking Fail
Jun. 3rd, 2009 03:58 amSince I overslept yesterday and couldn't go hiking then, I decided to do it today. I chose a pretty difficult trail in a place I've never been to, a 10-mile circuit, and while I didn't expect to be able to do the whole thing, I figured it'd be a fun challenge to work up to. Unfortunately, mom pitched a fit when I mentioned that I might not be home in time for her "home-cooked dinner" (beef stew in a crock-pot with no real prep work or cooking involved), and I didn't have any real reason not to keep the peace, so I figured I'd aim to be home by 6pm.
I found my destination with minimal trouble, but finding the trailhead was another story. This trail was in one of the wildest and least maintained areas of the forest (which is a very good thing for me), and the trail blazes were just barely visible. The trailhead was unmarked, just two blazes on trees on either side of it, and I actually walked past it twice before finding it. Again, a good thing, I love a challenge.
The trail itself seemed to be flooded, as if it were a creek bed. Given the unmaintained nature of it, I guessed that it was acting as secondary drainage for the creek that ran parallel to it. Lovely. So, after crossing the creek, I basically rock-hopped the whole length of the trail.
After about a mile of that, and realizing this would be a pretty short hike given my timeframe and pace, I came to another crossing of the same creek, with what looked like a nice, dry trail on the other side. Awesome, that's much better. Problem, though, the "creek" was practically a full-blown river for no apparent reason, over 30 feet across. I've crossed worse, but I rely on stepping stones to do so, and there were practically none around, since the creek was apparently unusually high. I spent about 20 minutes trying to find a way to cross, and actually made it over a quarter of the way at one point, but my routes kept dead-ending. Lame.
I made it back to the car, then decided to explore the area a bit to see if I could find another way onto the trail. I didn't have a map of the area handy, since it was just off the edge of my usual topo maps, but I knew my original route (the full 10-mile circuit) crossed the road at least once, so I drove up the road looking for it. After almost 10 miles of driving, and no sign of another trailhead anywhere, I gave up. And, with my abbreviated timeframe for this trip, I didn't have time to go anywhere else, so I had to give up and just go home.
I did hike two miles of difficult terrain today, but I wanted to do a lot more. Overall, kind of a disappointing day, but on the plus side, I found a great place for solitude that's closer than any of my other usual spots.
I found my destination with minimal trouble, but finding the trailhead was another story. This trail was in one of the wildest and least maintained areas of the forest (which is a very good thing for me), and the trail blazes were just barely visible. The trailhead was unmarked, just two blazes on trees on either side of it, and I actually walked past it twice before finding it. Again, a good thing, I love a challenge.
The trail itself seemed to be flooded, as if it were a creek bed. Given the unmaintained nature of it, I guessed that it was acting as secondary drainage for the creek that ran parallel to it. Lovely. So, after crossing the creek, I basically rock-hopped the whole length of the trail.
After about a mile of that, and realizing this would be a pretty short hike given my timeframe and pace, I came to another crossing of the same creek, with what looked like a nice, dry trail on the other side. Awesome, that's much better. Problem, though, the "creek" was practically a full-blown river for no apparent reason, over 30 feet across. I've crossed worse, but I rely on stepping stones to do so, and there were practically none around, since the creek was apparently unusually high. I spent about 20 minutes trying to find a way to cross, and actually made it over a quarter of the way at one point, but my routes kept dead-ending. Lame.
I made it back to the car, then decided to explore the area a bit to see if I could find another way onto the trail. I didn't have a map of the area handy, since it was just off the edge of my usual topo maps, but I knew my original route (the full 10-mile circuit) crossed the road at least once, so I drove up the road looking for it. After almost 10 miles of driving, and no sign of another trailhead anywhere, I gave up. And, with my abbreviated timeframe for this trip, I didn't have time to go anywhere else, so I had to give up and just go home.
I did hike two miles of difficult terrain today, but I wanted to do a lot more. Overall, kind of a disappointing day, but on the plus side, I found a great place for solitude that's closer than any of my other usual spots.