Mt. Major 5/4/08

Mt. Major
By Pokey and Twinkle Toes

Top Dog

In spite of the group hike being canceled, Pepper (the dog) and I decided to go up anyway. I live nearby, so when the rain slowed to a gentle drizzle I took the chance to stretch my legs and try out some new gear. I went up the orange-blazed trail, which begins with a steep climb up some rocks and then alternates between steep and not-so-steep. There are some really interesting huge boulders, and I was able to see some of the burned-out area from the brush fire. It smelled kind of gross--charred and blackened. It took almost an hour to get to the top.

Pepper pausing on her way up the rocky orange trail. You can see the scorched area up ahead of her through the fog.

It was cool and foggy at the top, so I only stayed long enough to drink some water and put on my new, 6.5 oz. Columbia "Titanium"/Omnitech rain jacket. I'm very pleased with the jacket. It was well worth the money and is almost half a pound lighter than one I had been using.

Foggy at the Top

We took the blue-blazed trail back down to the parking lot. The top half of this trail is more in the open and much of the footing is on ledges which, thankfully, were not too slippery. It took about 45 minutes to get down; Pepper stopped to make friends with an enormous German Shepard. The hike up was a good workout for the lungs, and the hike down was a good workout for the thighs; it gets tiring holding yourself back and trying not to go keister-over-teakettle by slipping on wet leaves or tripping over a loose rock.

We met a few more people heading up, since the weather was "clearing up" a little (i.e., the clouds were brightening). Overall a good hike in spite of the lack of views. We got home in time to watch the Sox beat up on Tampa Bay again.


Happy trails,
Diana