McDonough Wildlife Refuge: Zigzag Trail

On May 5, Cool Guy, Scamp and I took advantage of a beautiful day to do a short hike at McDonough.  I'm so glad we did.

Zigzag Trail is probably about 2 miles round trip.  There is a small bit of incline, but it's basically level.  We hadn't been to McDonough since winter, and it was interesting to see how different it looks with spring in full force.  There were plenty of wildflowers on the edges of the path.

It had been fairly dry, so the path was not as muddy as it usually is.  For such a beautiful day, it was strange that we were the only ones on the path.

I think what made the biggest impression on me for this hike is how silent we were and how peaceful it all was.  I never regret hiking.

North Bend SP: Overhanging Rock

On April 14, Burt, Cool Guy, and I did the 1/2 mile Overhanging Rock Trail at North Bend SP.  We just needed 1/10 of a mile to get Cool Guy up to the 25 miles required to earn his walking stick from WV State Parks, so I wanted it to be as painless and easy as possible.

Now, Overhanging Rock is not an easy hike, but it is short, and there is a lot of bang for the buck.  We scrambled uphill and over and around some rocks until it leveled off.  Then down some very unstable stairs, the actual ones that Burt fell down last summer, and then we got to walk along the overhanging rock and the stream at the bottom.

Differences between this time and last summer are that this time, there were some lovely wildflowers blooming, and there were a lot of trees down and a lot of obstruction in the pathways.  I was told by North Bend rangers that they clear out the paths twice a year, so I guess they haven't yet addressed it yet for the summer.

Another really COOL thing was that Burt found a critter skull in the pathway.  It has huge fang teeth, but it is a small, oblong skull.  Of course, we brought it home, stuck it in a bucket of bleach and are hoping to identify it soon.

The weather was fantastic.  Not too hot, not too cold.