Turk Mountain/Morman River - November 22, 2014

We had a great turnout for a hike with 2 options.  Barbara Martin and Dan Ralston led a 10 mile Turk Mountain/Morman River circuit hike and Bill Holman led a shorter hike.  Both hikes started at Jarman Gap in Shenandoah National Park.  We were blessed with a nearly perfect day--dazzling blue skies, a bit of nip in the air that became warmer as the day progressed.  There were eleven in our group, a combination of old timers:  Barbara, Dan, Leon Gorman, Kelly O'Rourke, Jeanne Densmore, Dave Burszich and Michael Seth, two newcomers, Mike Neillo, who drove to meet us all the way from Reston, Linda Scandore, who hikes with the Senior Hikers frequently and has completed 1000 miles of Camino de Santiago in Spain and Ned May, who has joined the group once before.  We headed north on the A T and then took a spur trail to the glorious viewpoint on Turk Mountain, where we had lunch.  Luckily there was very little wind on the rocks, making for a pleasant break.  Barbara took her responsibility as hike leader seriously and brought out home-made peanut butter, chocolate chip cookies, which were devoured quickly.  We returned to the AT on the spur trail and headed north again, crossing Skyline Drive for the second time, which Barbara kept referring to as the Blue Ridge Parkway, confusing everyone.  At this point we headed down, down, down on the Turk Branch Trail with several pretty stream crossings, until we intersected with Morman River Fire Road.  Then it was a steady 2 mile uphill climb back to the parking lot.  The last half of the hike was on a nice wide trail leaving plenty of opportunity for conversation and future hike planning.