Saturday's hike to
Bear Church Rock started on a cloudy morning, with light rain and hike leader Lindsay Brown wondered if anyone would show up. Well, the question was quickly answered when 13 other hikers arrived at the parking lot.
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| Lunch in a cloud, just below Bear Church Rock. |
We were happy to have 3 first timers with our group, Karen and Ian Cooper and Martin Henderson...hopefully we will see them again on future hikes. The small parking lot at the end of Route 662 had quite a few vehicles, many were fly fishermen trying their luck, but with a little maneuvering, we were able to get all the cars safely parked.
The initial climb was steady and the rain held off as we ascended to the junction of the Stanton River Trail and the Jones Mountain Trail. The hike leader, along with Martin Henderson and Eric Christenson, took the gradual incline to the McDaniel Hollow Trail junction while the others all headed up the steep incline of the Jones Mountain Trail. We all connected at the rock outcropping for lunch and a nice view of the clouds we had been hiking in all morning. Visibility was about 60 feet.
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| Turn around! The "view" is the other dirsection! |
John Shannon lead a small expedition up to the actual "Rock" which included the Coopers, Sue Tansey, Liz Lyons, Eileen Seaman and Brad Young. John Brandt took his own private trip to the Rock before descending with the others. Not expecting an improved view from the summit and having previously "been there, done that," Dave Borszich, Marian Styles and Ken Moss started back down the mountain ahead of the main group. No wildlife today with the exception of a few dogs on leashes and two horses being ridden at the parking lot, just a good hike with a great group.
Lindsay Brown
The weather was actually fairly mild at the lower elevations and the rain held off for the day, other than a few sprinkles. We came into the clouds within a few hundred feet of the summit, where it was damp and chilly with a slight breeze.
ReplyDeleteThough there was no view on top, we did see a very impressive beaver dam on the Staunton River (which is a beautiful stream)...no doubt where the phrase "busy beaver" comes from after seeing that!