Road Trips and Hike Reports

Boone trail, Colson trail and Pinnacle Overlook trails Posted by Chris 2/22/18 Basics: Length - 5.6 miles Elevation gain - Estimated total of 800 Nearest city - Middlesboro, KY Difficulty - The Boone and Colson trails were pretty easy other than being muddy.  The trail from the Pinnacle overlook towards Fort McCook was all downhill one way and all uphill on the other. The Day: We weren't sure what we would do today but I was hopeful to make it back to Cumberland Gap which is an interesting area I had driven through when I lived in TN but not since.  So we had a McBreakfast and headed off down US-58 towards the gap.  The first place we stopped was a visitor center off 58 that seemed Daniel Boone focused.  At that point we were really just looking for more information but the weather was amazing, warm and breezy with a nice gentle feeling and there was a trail access there so we decided to dive right in just in case rain or thunder (both possibilities) came. 

South Mountains State Park - North Carolina Headquarters trail, Upper Falls trail and others Posted by Chris 2/21/18 Basics: Length - 5 miles Elevation gain - Minimal Nearest city - Morganton, NC Difficulty - Challenging with about 1000 feet of elevation gain.  The Headquarters trail went up non stop the entire 1.9 miles we were on it.  The last trail which led down from the top of the falls was mostly stairs and boulders. The Day: As has happened several times on this trip we had at least a backup plan in the form of an Alltrails map saved for Table Rock.  On the way to the coordinates for that hike we traversed many lovely miles on NC-16 which ran NW out of Charlotte and then when we were on I-40 (only for 25 miles) there were multiple billboards for a visitors center at the exit we were going to be taking anyway (Exit 107) at Morganton and we stopped in to get some more ideas.  The person at the Morganton visitors center had a few suggestions and we

Reedy Creek Park - Mecklenburg County Park (Charlotte NC) Various trails Posted by Chris 2/20/18 Basics: Length - We came expecting to follow a guide from alltrails.com but some of the trails used are closed for rehabilitation so our hike ended up being a big grab bag of trail segments totaling 4 miles. Elevation gain - Minimal Nearest city - Charlotte, NC Difficulty - Easy.  These were mostly flat or slightly rambling trails. The Day: We're in Charlotte to visit family so getting a 'qualifying' hike at all is a coup.  We started our day at a really funky bagel shop called Owens Bagels which was great.  The park is probably less than 10 miles from downtown but its a good sized plot of protected land and once we got away from the leaf blower near the entrance it felt convincingly rural.  There are many trails throughout the park and various facilities including a Nature Center, several ponds and Frisbee golf courses.  The stands of trees around th

Natural Bridge State Park - VA Cedar Creek Trail and Monacan Trails Posted by Chris 2/20/18 Basics: Length - Cedar Creek Trail was 2 miles in total (trail guide from state doesn't count from the visitors center to the bottom of the stairs) and the Monacan Trail was 3.3 miles Elevation gain - Not stated, maybe 500 feet in total Nearest city - Natural Bridge (Rockbridge County) Difficulty - Moderate.  The Cedar creek trail (which goes under Natural Bridge) is very wide and easy and other than 130 stairs, has few obstacles or challenges.  The Monacan trail had rolling hills and lots of variation in gooting ranging from gravel to muddy. The Day: As you can probably guess from our location in Virginia, we are on a road trip!  This week plus long trip is centered on a Charlotte NC visit of Brian's family but we actually are spending most of our time in Virginia.  Both Brian and I have been to Virginia a few times but I know for me it was either that corner

Monmouth Battlefield State Par k NJ Red trail and Red Dashed Trail (Southern half of park) Posted by Chris 2/10/18 Basics: Length - About 4 miles Elevation gain - Not much Nearest city - Freehold (Monmouth county) Difficulty - low.  In terms of effort of exercise or navigation this was an easy walk.  There were muddy spots at the start of the hike and a few 50 foot ambling climbs up little mounds but this was a very mild hike. The Day: The weather forecast was more or less the same anywhere within driving distance... Dry and relatively warm in the morning then increasing chances and amounts of rain in the afternoon.  So I figured, lets get as far south as we can easily because it will have been warmer there.  This worked out.  There were only a few remnants of barely frozen over puddles at this state park and no snow was left at all in comparison to the soggy snowy landscape of home. The visitors center for this state park was rebuilt about 5

Locust Lake State Park PA Oak Loop trail Posted by Chris 2/3/18 Basics: Length - About 5 miles Elevation gain - Not stated in guide but we're guessing nearly 1000 feet Nearest city -Mahanoy city (Schuylkill county) Difficulty - State park rated 'Most Difficult'.  This was a challenging hike but mostly because every inch of the trail was covered in snow and much of the non trail parts (paved) were covered in ice.  Definitely one of the most wintery hikes we've ever done.  There were also a few good climbs and descents but in better weather they wouldn't have been as challenging. The Day: After making some unusually tasty waffles  we headed out around 9 am.  The drive (car nav routed) took us out over the free bridge here in Belvidere and we didn't use any Interstate or tollway the entire way which is unusual for a trip of almost 80 miles from home.  The last 10 or 15 miles to the park were over really snowy and icy roads.  It didn&