This was some hike! It was overcast, but the temperature was OK. We had 13 willing hikers at the start (yes, we had 13 at the finish) of this 5.5 mile hike rated as moderate. I would have to say it was more than moderate for most of us. We started off the morning with a very embarrassing snafu. We had a new member, Scott, who drove all the way down from Shelbyville just to hike with us and we were very pleased to have him with us. As we got ready to leave the parking lot for the trail head Scott excused himself to use the nearby facilities. We decided who was to carpool with whom and departed in an orderly manner. After arriving at the trail head we realized that Scott was nowhere to be found. Panic set in. A new member and we lost him already. Great start to hiking with the Scenic City Hiking Club. We quickly got in touch with him and gave him directions to the trail head. We all sincerely apologized. We began the hike with a climb up the outer loop trail. This was quite tiring as it is a steady climb. Everyone made it Ok. Then we undertook a slow but steady climb to the destination of an overlook. This part of the hike was very interesting and contained many interesting features along the way. We enjoyed our snack at the overlook and then began our return. We should have returned the way we came, but instead took the lower loop back. Probably a mistake as this was a very rugged path that resulted in a couple of falls (no injuries) and a much longer return than anticipated. I can tell when people are in their serious mode as there is very little talking. Finally we reached the level part of the hike but at this point everyone was too exhausted to do much talking. This hike took 5hrs 39 minutes with a minimum elevation of 781 ft and a maximum of 1570 and a bunch of rubbery legs at the finish.
If you would like to see a bunch of photos, maps and altitude graph, click here.
I once shot a man with a paint gun just to watch him dye!