Well, THAT was a fun challenge!
Members of the hiking group headed to the Oyster River Mountain Biking Trail system yesterday to get some exercise on a cool, sunny day. Wow - what an excursion. The outing started as per usual, with an ascent to the ridge trail located well above the river. At the far end, we descended, expecting to head over to the riverside for our lunch break. Oops - a usually dry dip in the roadway was now a raging torrent of water...it was a flood channel! Oh well - we found perches by the water and enjoyed our lunches. Since the lower-level trail leading back to our cars seemed usable, we started nonchalantly on our way. Puddles were easily negotiated to start with but after a time, we found ourselves bushwhacking to get around some of them. Eventually, bushwhacking wasn't enough, as the pooled waters and running streams were more extensive: we had the choice of either backtracking some distance or "biting the bullet" and wading through the pools. We opted for the latter and can now endorse the weatherproof nature of most of our hiking boots! Kudus to our group of hikers for their cheerfulness under stress and willingness to soldier onwards! Feeling good about the success of our adventure, we eventually reached the trailhead and adjourned to the Country Market for well-deserved hot drinks and a review of the outing.
Thank you, Bill B., for getting us back in one piece and for your PLOTAROUTE of our day's trail. Thanks go as well, to Bill J. for his LINK to an excellent photo overview of the hike and to Dawn for the photos below.
Members of the hiking group headed to the Oyster River Mountain Biking Trail system yesterday to get some exercise on a cool, sunny day. Wow - what an excursion. The outing started as per usual, with an ascent to the ridge trail located well above the river. At the far end, we descended, expecting to head over to the riverside for our lunch break. Oops - a usually dry dip in the roadway was now a raging torrent of water...it was a flood channel! Oh well - we found perches by the water and enjoyed our lunches. Since the lower-level trail leading back to our cars seemed usable, we started nonchalantly on our way. Puddles were easily negotiated to start with but after a time, we found ourselves bushwhacking to get around some of them. Eventually, bushwhacking wasn't enough, as the pooled waters and running streams were more extensive: we had the choice of either backtracking some distance or "biting the bullet" and wading through the pools. We opted for the latter and can now endorse the weatherproof nature of most of our hiking boots! Kudus to our group of hikers for their cheerfulness under stress and willingness to soldier onwards! Feeling good about the success of our adventure, we eventually reached the trailhead and adjourned to the Country Market for well-deserved hot drinks and a review of the outing.
Thank you, Bill B., for getting us back in one piece and for your PLOTAROUTE of our day's trail. Thanks go as well, to Bill J. for his LINK to an excellent photo overview of the hike and to Dawn for the photos below.