September 17, Little Devil's Stairs

There once was a hike leader named Val

When she left PATC we cried “Foul!”

But rescue squading took her time,

And volunteering certainly is no crime,

Yet ’twas so nice to hike again with our pal.

How delightful it was to arrive at the high school parking lot and see former hiker/hike leader Valerie Lopez geared up to join us! We haven’t hiked with Val for 5 years, and her presence was today’s special treat.

John Shannon and Iva Gillet served as hike leaders, and in addition to Val, they were joined by Andy Willgruber, Dan Funkhauser, and yours truly (Marian Styles). Having two hike leaders would have allowed for two hikes—and today’s locale offered 6-, 8-, and 10.5-mile options—but because all six of us wanted to hike at least 8 miles, we hiked as one group.

Little Devils Stairs

climbing Little Devils Stairs

Maybe forecast rain had kept some people away, and we did hike through a light rain for the first half-hour. After that, though, we peeled off rain coats and enjoyed mostly overcast skies yet pleasant temperatures.

The Little Devil’s Stairs part of the hike combined beautiful natural features with an uphill workout. In fact, as Dan pointed out, this hike proved a good combination of ascents (about 2,500 feet throughout the day), descents, and level ground.

We were enjoying the hike so much that when the decision point came for 8 or 10 miles, we chose the 10+-mile version: all the better to fully enjoy the area’s spectacular geology and peaceful forest. Plus, agreeing to the distance gave Andy (and others) an excuse to blame Iva should the length prove a bit much.

interesting tree on Piney Branch Trail

Dwyer cemetery on Piney Ridge Trail

We saw few other people during our route. One place that did have people was the Range View cabin, where we were hoping to have a dry place to sit for lunch. Since the cabin was occupied, we walked a bit further and pulled out ponchos and plastic bags to sit on during lunch. Having to sit on the ground was mitigated by the yummy pumpkin bread that John passed around.

Reinvigorated, we hit the trail. The route had been decorated by an abundance of colorful mushrooms, including a bouquet of amazing yellow-orange mushrooms growing up in a tree beside the Bolen Cemetery.

Speaking of cemeteries, this hike featured two. Several of the dates on grave markers in the Bolen cemetery showed that the influenza pandemic of 1918-19 had probably cut short the lives of some who lived here before the park was created.

tall trees on Form Mountain Trail

Bolen cemetery, Hull School Trail

Back at the cars, Iva didn’t get any guff for having lobbied for the full distance. In fact, we all agreed that it had been a fabulous hike, and we decided to extend the fun by stopping for dinner on the way home. We ended up at Pig and Steak in Madison, where in addition to B-B-Q, sweet potato fries, hush puppies, and fried mushrooms, we also pigged out on fried broccoli that Val had ordered in honor of the absent Leon Gorman.

Meanwhile at Dunlodge, Don Davis, Thomas and Mary Jorgensen rebuilt some steps to the cabin, while Tom Johnson repaired some trail on the property.