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Sunday, January 16, 2022

Dirt Beneath My Feet - Day 47

  Today was 99.9% off-road trail. It was SO lovely not to have every step hit every joint and every spot on my feet at the exact same place. The hills were wonderful. Topography rocks! Matt says we climbed a total of 1333 feet in elevation gain. Spread out over a whole day- not bad. East Fork State Park

Matt Patterson, the section supervisor for this part, hiked with us today. That was super, because he knew every twist of the trail, so we never made a wrong turn. Sure, we could have checked the app at the iffy corners, but Matt made it easy, and now he knows which ones aren't marked well enough. hikers

We were hiking along the shore of Harsha Lake a lot of the time. It wasn't a sunny day, but we didn't mind. The just-below-freezing temp kept the mud under control, and we were dressed for the weather. Harsha Lake

Very early in the day we visited this lovely little waterfall, decorated with ice. waterfall

Here's a throwback picture. This is friend Deb, who hiked this section with me about 15 years ago, in a different season, enjoying this nifty spot. waterfall

Biggest challenge of the day was four wide stream crossings. We got across every one with dry feet. (OK, I had damp toes on the last one, but nothing serious). The last one was the most difficult. Here's Denali at the first one, stream crossing

and me at the last one. (Matt has longer legs- I guess we weren't impressed that he made it across!) stream crossing

And here's an awesome find. In two places I found the winter leaves of Tipularia discolor, the Crane-Fly Orchid. I saw it in Alabama once (link below), and it's pretty rare. I have yet to see it in bloom. Crane-Fly Orchid leaves

We also saw a kinglet and an osprey.

Miles today: 13.5. Total miles so far: 672.8

Bonus Section: How Big are Yew?

We found this overgrown Yew in the woods. It had been planted long ago when this was private property, before the dam was built. It's huge! large yew

Denali found the ghost of one of the children born there. Yeah, it was a little creepy. doll head in woods

See Crane Fly Orchid in Alabama
See Harsha Dam

8 comments:

Beyond my garden said...

Beautiful waterfall.

Ellie said...

Love your posts. Thank you for sharing. I live in SE Michigan and you are tempting me to find some sections of the NCT to hike! You mention using an app. Can you share any info about the app? Thanks!

Ellie

Ann said...

Nice looking area. Good job on staying mostly dry crossing the streams.

TJV-Mich said...

I live on the west side of Michigan and in the area of the NCT. I would also like to hear about the app you are using to stay on the trail. I do love the post you been putting up. You are a good story teller.

Sharkbytes said...

Ellie- for the Buckeye Trail in Ohio, I am using FarOut with the Buckeye Trail files that you have to purchase. See buckeyetrail.org

TJV- For Michigan the Avenza App and NCT maps are free. I like them a lot.

Doug said...

Hey Ellie, most likely it's Avenza. App for smart phones. GPS works even in airplane mode. Maps download able from NCTA for lots of trail at no charge. Buckeye trail does charge for theirs.

The Oceanside Animals said...

Lulu: "Well that looks like a great and fun hike through the woods and AHHHHH WHAT IS THAT THING ON THE TREE IN THE LAST PICTURE LOOKING AT US?!?!? Run away! Run away!"

Unknown said...

Beautiful area - always such a treat when you've been pounding the pavement for too many miles. That face in the last photo is downright creepy! April