Another One Bites the Dust!

The hike on Sunday, February 26, at Mt. Airy Forest (West Fork Road, Diehl Ridge and Elm Ravine) proved to be the muddiest hike yet! It was a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 48 degrees. We hiked 2.27 miles in about one hour and 15 minutes. It was so muddy...how muddy was it? It was so muddy that we had to stop three times to get the caked mud off of our boots, we used a stick at one point to keep us from sliding down the hills, and Lorrie became a club member of the Fall on Your Butt Club (F.Y.B.C.)

Finding the trail head was a little bit tricky, but we are getting better at using the map to help us out. The book stated that this was a moderate hike, but Lorrie and I agreed that due to the mud situation and the poorly marked trails we felt it was more on the difficult side. We both used trees, branches, and sprouting brush to hold onto at one time or another to keep us standing up. To give a visual for how difficult it was to walk: if we stood still at all you could see our bodies slowly sliding one way or another as if we were on an escalator. The first half of the trail was the most difficult and you can tell by the pictures that this wasn't the best trail to hike in the winter. The trail followed the road most of the way and you could hear traffic throughout the hike.

The second half of the hike was on a ridge and this helped us catch our breaths from the uphill hiking during the first part of the trail. Lorrie and I stopped and did a serious cleaning of our boots because we couldn't get any traction.  The tread of our boots was filled with mud and leaves were stuck to the mud. As we descended the ridge to head back toward the car, the trail got very hilly again. The trail was so steep at one point that Lorrie piked up a big stick and used it to help herself down, then she handed it to me and I followed. I don't know how we both stayed on our feet.  I guess it was that "walking stick".  Slowly the trail leveled out again but there were still some very muddy spots.  When we could see the trail end up ahead, I heard what sounded like a scream mixed with a loud laugh come from behind me.  I turned around and Lorrie was flat on her butt in the middle of a HUGE puddle! She was such a good sport - laughing and sitting in the wet mud while I took her picture - a true Kodak moment!  Needless to say, Lorrie had to sit on a towel on the ride home.

This being the end of month 2, I will close with some learnings from the month:

• Hiking is not a fashion show (as evidenced by our stylish ponchos!)
• Don't judge your outings based on the weather forecast - they were off the mark 3 out of 4 of our hikes this month.
• Never underestimate the value of a good walking stick!
• Falling down is just part of hiking and adds to the whole experience.
• A towel in your car can certainly come in handy after a muddy hike.

11 hikes down and 49 to go!!!! Next weekend's a busy one for me. Taking a short hike, close to home at Chilo Lock 34 Park and Crooked Run Nature Preserve.