I know, the temperature is 97 degrees and the humidity is 400% giving you a heat index of 1,500 degrees, let’s go hiking!!
Yesterday, eight brave scouts, Will S., Charlie, Felix, Ian, Manuel, Mario, Brandon and Jordon were accompanied by Shelly, Anne B, Steve B, Mike F and moi on a little 10 mile jaunt in the hills.
A request had been put in for views. Now with views comes elevation. And with elevation comes pain.
We met up at the usual spot and headed out 66 to 81 then meandered our way around in the hills until we found the trail head. We started the hike at 9:30 and it was already warm!
The first 250 feet were great, lots of mountain laurel and a really pretty view across the valley. The next ¾ mile was not so great. An 800 foot elevation drop! Straight down. And you know what goes down must go … UP.
We spent the next 2 and a bit miles going up 1,000 feet in elevation. The remoteness of the woods made it a lovely spot, but the heat/humidity combo made this a real struggle for the big guys. We took a break and I can tell you our clothes were soaked. Turning right we had about a mile to go until the rock scramble to the top.
Because both Salt boys were lifeguarding at 4 p.m. we turned round before the final scramble and the “views” and headed back down the trail to the car. The rest of the crew continued and got the reward of some beautiful vistas. All made it back to the cars, albeit a tad exhausted.
I certainly learned a lot about how far I can push myself and I think the guys on this hike did as well. Really useful stuff because I doubt any of them will ever do a hike that hard again in conditions that brutal.
Photos coming soon.
Thanks (I think) to Anne and Steve B for organizing, next up Dolly Sods and the 20 miler. We’re ready!