Audubon Mountain

Today we had 15 hikers.  It was a near perfect day for hiking.  The temperature was warm and the sun was shining brightly.  After this hike, I have only found three ticks and one tiny seed tick that was probably left over from the Tick Fest at Pot Point.  This hike is two miles downhill and then two miles back up.  Audubon really needs to maintain this trail better.  With all the leaf litter, it was very difficult to follow the trail and even though we had hiked this trail in the past we got off trail several times on the way down. Even with all the leaves and steepness nobody fell on the way down.  There were numerous trees down and we either had to hike around them or saw our way through.  Along the way were many beautiful flowers.  Once we got down to the bottom at the cabin it all went wrong.  Some of the group immediately started back, some went on to a gate about 1.5 miles further and some delayed their return.  This meant that multiple groups were trying to find their way back up a poorly marked trail.  Turns were missed and some of the group ending up hiking seven or more miles!  Some members had chosen to not bring water.  This was a big mistake.  The poor hike leader must have hiked 10 miles up and down the trail trying to find everybody.  Luckily I had recorded the track on my GPS and the two people with me made the return trip fairly easily, only getting off trail a couple of times.  This four mile trail is moderate in difficulty.  If you would like to see some pictures click on the Audubon Mountain tab above.