Our August pre-season warm up hike was lovely.
The temperature was warm enough to allow us all to generate a healthy glow but not too warm to cause discomfort.
After the park gates opened at 8 a.m. the small, but perfectly formed team headed up Sugarloaf Mountain to the East parking lot. Our route was to take us up and over the mountain, around the backside a little bit and back to the parking lot about 6.5 miles. Simple, right?
Well, despite the moderate length, this little hike definitely packed a punch or two. There were some very insistent ups and equally rude downs. On leaving the parking lot all smiles and giggles were more or less immediately wiped out by a vertical climb that made scaling the north face of the Eiger seem like a stroll to the corner shop to pick up a pint of milk and kitkat!
After much huffing and puffing we reached the top and got that all important payoff. A view west over the Dickerson power plant and into good old Northern Virginia. We wondered around the mountain on a mix of trails that either tested old ankles as we passed over rock fields or soothed them as we walked on beautifully maintained sandy paths that reminded us of fluffy kitchens.
During lunch (at the wrong spot!) someone bored the group with tales of quartzite and the Appalachian orogeny which I found fascinating! Once we found the White Rocks overlook we headed back to the parking lot and completed a very nice (but challenging) walk in the woods.
Next up, our first 10 miler of the season in September.
If you want to see the photos from the hike, click here.