- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 633
Headed to the Black Hills, 29 TrailBlazers on a rainy Saturday checked out the Corn Palace in Mitchell, the Badlands complete with juvenile and female Bighorn sheep as well as prairie dogs, and hokey Wall Drug, all en route to our great digs in Lead. Trip trivia: great weather and food, miles and miles of open skies and emerald hills, fluffy white clouds, a medical emergency that ended well, first light shining in the windows by 4:30 am – groan!, springtime with lilacs galore, and many wine-tasting and photo ops.
- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 619
Two score plus 3, give or take, TrailBlazers and at least 3 canines headed up to Devil’s Den on a hot, steamy afternoon for our end of season hike and picnic. If truth be told, and Yours Truly always tells the truth more or less, a fair number of our members took a vicarious hike by sitting around chatting in the shade! They will not be “outed” here since text length limitations on the home page preclude listing the names of so many slackers!
- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 677
Eighteen TrailBlazers and one canine managed to get to Lake Alma even though the road-powers-to-be decided to block off the westbound Highway 64 exit on northbound 540; many of us use this to exit to our meeting place! Getting creative, we found our way to the rendezvous and reached the trailhead in no time where a treat was in store for us.
- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 710
A (relatively) short drive on a sunny day. Got to TrailBlaze from the end of the campground to the trail. Low water meant the cypress knees were out of the water. Fun for all!
- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 3180
Twenty-three TrailBlazers, under the command of Danny and his able assistant Becky, headed for the Pelsor area on a very brisk morning, but nowhere near as cold as at least three hikes that Yours Truly can dredge up from the deepest recesses of her brain! It was a beautiful drive with blue skies and sunshine and touches of fall color here and there. Wild Bill, a glutton for punishment, chose to ride his motorcycle but he was appropriately decked out for the weather! We were once again pleased to welcome some newcomers and tried not to scare them off on their first visit!
- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 94
Two score and more TrailBlazers hot footed it up Devil’s Den to start our new season. In addition to the rank and file, we were happy to see old friends we haven’t seen in a while as well as newcomers. The weather was beautiful and everybody is ready to hit the trails again.
Some of us did the traditional Devil’s Den trail lead by Captain Linda, others went with Becky up to Yellow Rock, and the rest moseyed along the creek near the pavilion. Y’all will be sorry to hear that the park is suffering from major dehydration and needs a giant IV feeding. The lake above the dam is a dried up mud hole, no water was cascading over the dam, and the spillway below it was muddy orange. Alas, there was no water in the falls on the trail – all this in marked contrast to the lovely water show at our end of season picnic in May. Nevertheless, there are always lots of other things to see along the trails.
Of course, the highlight is always the picnic with our traditional hot dogs augmented by all kinds of salads, munchies, side dishes, and desserts courtesy of our members. Of course, we all did justice to the food, so we will need to work it off next Saturday at Lincoln Lake. Come and join us.
- Category: Hike Reports
- Hits: 311
Twenty TrailBlazers, including 4 newcomers, made the scenic drive to Mt. Magazine on a beautiful, warm, sunny day to trek 7 ½ miles on several trails. With Becky in the lead we left the Visitors Center and headed down Will Apple’s Road, making the short detour to see the remains of an old swimming pool that is now just a dirt hole in the ground. Little wildflowers were spouting everywhere. Along the way we saw serviceberry trees, flowering plum, and quince bushes.
We crossed the horse camp to pick up the Bear Hollow Trail and continued up and down on it while enjoying the bird’s foot violets, fire pinks, pussytoes, and many other wildflowers, as well as some beautiful overlooks. Alas, Becky’s irises were not yet in bloom. After eating lunch at a picnic area complete with the civilized amenities of tables and a not-so-civilized stinky toilet, we continued on the East Loop of the Benefield Trail with lots of panoramic views. Crossing the road we were treate
d to some beautiful vistas at an overlook where we made the most of a great photo op. Next we switched to the Mossback Ridge Trail and continued trekking until we picked up the Greenfield Trail back to the Visitors Center. Bob and Ruth Ann put jewels in their crowns by providing Sherpa service for a couple of weary hikers. By using several intersecting trails we managed to do a complete loop without having to shuttle cars – way to go! It was another neat day; it’s about time the weather started cooperating with us.