Lookout Mtn. Craven's House Loop 7.2.19

Today's hike was a bit of a sticky wicket.  By this I mean it was hot.  Luckily our dauntless hike leader planned the worst part of the hike for the beginning.  I would rate the short 2.3 mile hike as easy/moderate.  At the beginning we hike steadily uphill to the Bluff Trail.  Once there, on a few more "ups" were in our path and then the trail lead steadily but gradually downhill.  There were 15 hikers that showed up today despite the heat.  At a split in the trail several hikers elected to go up to park visitor center which was a completed after a whole bunch of stairs.  At one point on the trail some trees had fallen and we had to do some crawling and climbing to stay on the trail.  Following the hike everyone had a very nice lunch at Mojo Burrito.  If you would like to see some pictures, altitude graph and map, taken along the way on this 2.5 hour hike, click here.  If you are trying to view the photos using the TTA website and having problems, please go directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.  Google Chrome is the preferred browser.
This weeks joke...  The Colorado State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife is advising hikers, hunters, fishermen and golfers to take extra precautions and be on the alert for bears while in the State.  They advise people to wear noise-producing devices such as little bells on their clothing to alert but not startle the bears unexpectedly.  They also advise you to carry pepper spray in case of an encounter with a bear.  It is also a good idea to watch for signs of bear activity.  People should be able to recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear droppings.  Black bear droppings are smaller and contain berries and possibly squirrel fur.  Grizzly bear droppings have bells in them and smell like pepper spray.

Buggy Top Cave 6.29.19

 Saturday's hike to Buggytop Cave was a quite enjoyable hike despite the relatively warm temps and high humidity.  Five of our group met at the Soddy Daisy parking lot and proceeded to the Buggytop trail head.  The trailhead off of Hwy 56 isn't well marked, but we eventually found it.  We met up with another hiker from the local area and embarked on our trek.  The first half mile of the hike was an approximately 250 foot climb on a fairly steep, muddy, and rocky trail.  The remainder of the hike to Buggytop Cave was a 921 foot descent over a muddy and rocky trail.  The last 100 yard descent to the cave was the most treacherous.  The trail at that point could use a hand cable to assist the descent.  The cave was worth the effort it took to get there.  There were several local hikers already getting ready to enter the cave.  They said it was quite a distance to get through the cave.  Several hikers we met later said it was a short distance.  After we had our snacks and despite the differences of opinion on the distance, we decided to go back to where the trail splits and go to Peter Cave via the top trail.  Three of us proceeded to Peter Cave and three waited at the trail split.  Again we got mixed information from local hikers we met on the trail.  Some said it was about a mile to cave and some said it was a short distance.  It turned out to be about a 12 minute hike to Peter Cave.   We passed an additional cave and nice overlook enroute to Peter Cave.  Had we hiked through Buggytop Cave, we would have come out at Peter Cave - maybe next time.  We returned to the split and we all began the ascent out.  The hike out was a lot more arduous due to the temperature and humidity rise.  We exited the trail around 2 pm.  I would rate this hike strenuous and maybe better hiked during cooler weather (prior to the Nov 1 closing). 
If you would like to see some nice pictures of this hike including a trail map, click here.  If you are trying to view the pictures through the TTA website and having trouble, please go directly to the website at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.