On Friday, the 23rd, Mike, Andrea, Mark, Laurie (and their dogs, Zig and Phil), Doug, Leslie, DeAnn, Sandy, Heather, Marilyn, and I hiked at Spur Cross. It was my intention to hike from west to east on the Limestone Trail; we did part of it, but I made a wrong turn which returned to the park early. Our total distance was still around 7.8 miles with roughly 1500 feet of total ascent. It had rained earlier in the day; the trails were wet and the clay sections, which we had underfoot for much of the hike, grabbed at our footwear making the hike more difficult than normal.
Heather, DeAnn, Sandy, Leslie, Andrea, Mike, Laurie, Mark, Doug, and Marilyn (with dogs Phil and Zig) on the Spur Cross Trail.
Though the day was overcast, it didn’t rain while we were hiking.
A view of the fortress pinnacle from the southern section of the Elephant Mountain Trail.
Another view from the Elephant Mountain Trail.
Still on the Elephant Mountain Trail: Nearing the saddle between the main part of Elephant Mountain and the fortress.
A view of the fortress from the Limestone Trail.
Marilyn, Mike, Laurie, Andrea, Heather, DeAnn, Leslie, Doug, Sandy, and Kevin on the Limestone Trail. (The top of Mark’s hat can be seen behind Doug; Heather and I took turns with the camera so that I’d be in the picture too.)
A view of Elephant Mountain and the fortress from the connector trail between the Limestone Trail and the east end of the Elephant Mountain Trail
Muddy footwear in the trunk of the car.
