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.
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.
I stumbled on your blog when I googled Hope Furnace trails to hike. Pretty cool!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much. I have a backlog of posts that I hope to get to soon.
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