Bald Ridge - June 4, 2011

A crowded parking lot at Albemarle High made parking interesting and cut hike leader John Shannon's briefing short--so we actually started hiking instead of talking about it. We haven’t hiked Bald Ridge for several years, but notes and memories from past trips and a surprisingly easy transfer of data from one GPS to another helped keep us on the right path.

We started hiking near Braley Pond. After leaving an old road, we started on a trail towards Bald Ridge, which was surrounded by a spectacular display of mountain laurel in bloom. Wildflowers included a few ladies’ slippers that were mostly past their prime. Wildlife sightings included a black snake spotted by Andy Willgruber.

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We enjoyed pleasant temperatures early on, followed by the forecasted warm temperature, which was somewhat mitigated by our elevation. We regrouped at the junction with Bridge Hollow trail, whereupon four hikers set off to choose a lunch spot. The other five got hungry before catching up, so two picnics commenced about 200 yards apart. The people eating with John got to have lemon raspberry cake, which helped alleviate one hiker’s pain from climbing.

After lunch, we found that one section of trail on the side of a hill was easier to follow than before. Another section was indistinguishable, causing us to briefly lose the trail.

The rather long, hot hike resulted in increased water consumption today, and Eric Christenson reached into his sports drink reservoir to supply someone who was running short.

From the pond that marks the beginning of a rather steep descent, most people zoomed downhill, while Eric and John followed more slowly with Lara Fine. At one point, Eric and John stopped to cut a tree that had fallen across the trail. Another stunning display of mountain laurel lined the downhill section of trail. The dazzling flowers helped take our minds off the annoying insects buzzing around our heads. Neil McKinney had the right idea: he came equipped with netting that kept the bugs at bay.

Two-thirds of the hikers detoured at Tastee-Freez on the way home, and no one got back to Charlottesville before 7 p.m. Also on the hike were Marian Styles, Dan Funkhouser, Rita Keiffer, and Wanda Hamlin.

Submitted by John Shannon