February 27, 2016 Saturday--- Hiked the Boulder Field Trial in Hickory Run State Park today. The trail is listed as 3.5 out and the same back for a total of 7 miles. Doesn't seem like much but it will be the longest hike we have done so far. The trail description in their brochure lists the tail as more difficult blazed with yellow trail markers. The trail is very rocky and large portions of the trail this time of year is under water causing us to have to walk along side of the trail. The were actual two small stream crossing. The trail runs through sections of hemlock, spruce, beech trees and large rhododendron bushes. The rocky nature of the trail makes the 3.5 miles seem longer in distance. Being novice hikers the hike took us about 5 hours and 20 minutes total out and back.
These day hikes that my wife and I are doing are essentially training for a backpacking trip that I will take when I retire in a few months. The idea is to gradually increase the length of the hike also gradually increasing the weight I carry. This hike being 7 difficult miles is the farther that we've gone. I felt okay after the hike but later that night I got pretty severe cramps in both legs in my ham string muscles. Looking back on the day I didn't drink enough water, heck I didn't take enough water with me. Next hike I'm taking two water bottles.
Also I don't remember if I mentioned this in a earl;y post. I do go to the gym 4-5 day a week and walk on a treadmill and do some weight training.
Feel free to comment with suggestions.
Boulder Field Hickory Run St. Park
Start of Boulder Field Trail.
Very wet rail in spots.
That's the trail
One of the largest hemlocks we seen along the trail
Boulder Field, Hickory Run St. Park
Roots, ice and a leaf makes for nice art.
No comments:
Post a Comment