Saturday, 5 hikers traversed the first part of the Fiery Gizzard trail to Raven’s Point. We started at Grundy Forest Day Loop, a cool morning walk alongside the Little Fiery Gizzard creek. At 0.25 miles, a hiker tripped over a boulder and fell. A few bruises and scrapes but nothing serious and it was the only accident of the day. Passing by Blue Hole falls, we came to the confluence of the Little and Big Fiery Gizzard creeks, crashing and roaring together down Black Canyon, to eventually form Sycamore falls. The trail flattened along the bottom of the gorge as fields of white trillium bloomed. The trout lilies bowed their yellow heads and purple phacelium crowded between the boulders. We had arrived at the endless boulder fields, one after another. We then ascended, huffing and puffing up the side of the bluff to the rim. The hardest part of the hike was accomplished! Lunch at Raven’s Point overlook was our reward.
Rested & refueled, we returned by way of the Dog Hole trail, largely boulder-free and gentle ups and downs. We passed the coal mining opening which was “so small only a dog could crawl into it,” and descended once more into the gorge to exit by way of the Day loop. A good but exhausting hike at 9.9 miles and an elevation gain of 1188 feet.
If you would like to see some really nice pictures of this hike, click here
Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist. While ya'll were arguing about the glass of water, I drank it. Sincerely, the opportunist.
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