The water was flowing strongly in Cache Creek. Water was flowing over the top of the Lost Lake Dam. It was quite beautiful but also scary. On the return trip, two children had just crossed it with the water flowing so hard I find it miraculous that they were able to cross it safely.
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First time to hike up all the way on Elk Mountain. Adam led and took us up the hard way. He told us it would be hard. We took the trail down. I thought it was a great hike.
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Such a fun hike from Lost Lake to the east to Panther creek then back. We then hiked along West Cache Creek to the dam and back to our vehicles. 🚗
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I really loved the hike. The only reason I rated it 3 starts was because we came across a bull cow that charged us. I want to make sure others know this bull might be claiming this as his area. We got a little more than half way coming down off of all the rocks and on to a flat ground section with grass land and he was hiding in the trees, charging after we all got down off the rocks and were about to walk past him.
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We hiked out past Crab Eyes to go up and around to the backside of Mt. Mitchell. There are some really nice fields at the top with lots of burnt trees.
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Definitely a hike I would do again… So many ways you can move around and pick different lines to get to the tops of each area…Fun Fun Fun!!!
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Climbing up to Apple and Pear from the A&P canyon near Secret Agent Dome was absolutely incredible!
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The area is beautiful! Went hiking around the area and it was great! the trails are a bit hard to find at times and they can be a bit steep on the way up but overall great time! I did go when there was a lot of fog but still got a good view!
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Phil and Sylvia hiking through the bottom land along the river. There are only animal trails here and a lot of Greenbrier. A good thing to bring if you’re going to hike this trail is a pair of handheld pruning shears to cut away some of the Greenbrier. Otherwise it’s incredibly beautiful down this river there are a few deep holes alongSide the cliffs that are amazing.
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Half of the trail was very easy. The other half is moderate. It required just a bit of bush whacking and rock hopping
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This was an awesome short little hike that I did with my wife and son (4). We walked over the dam that was really cool for my son and then proceeded up to little baldy. Depending on the day, it can be extremely windy up at the peak. There are some spots going up that can be difficult but alternate paths that are much easier. Overall, a very good hike just very short.
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Today was our Second Annual Half Marathon!!! Adam said if we completed this half marathon thru the Refuge on such a blustery, cold, windy day, we would be bragging like Texans....and it was SO! We had only ONE cancellation ... I had expected more, but these Happy Hikers are amazing & SO tough! Our total hikers were 24 plus Eddie who was such a blessing & help to us ... driving the food/water truck & transporting people when needed. Of the 24 hikers, 21 did the whole 13.1 miles. We had 6 guys & 18 gals. We started gathering at EEC about 8am when the winds were whipping at 25- 30 mph, with wind chill at about 28 degrees or so, but that did not deter us. We took a group pic (fully clothed...there was no way we were stripping down to just our "Green Shirts." ) Thank you Sharon for taking some group pics at beginning & end & a few more . From EEC, we hiked Leg 1 which was about 2.5 miles to our first break at Osage Lake. We gathered around the "Food Truck," where we had SO many choices of cookies, muffins, fruit, trail mix....& so much more. After getting our fill, we continued on Leg 2 which, in my estimation, was the toughest....lots of elevation changes, plus being out in the open with no tree protection, etc...but we did it b/c we are TOUGH & WE DO NOT WHINE!!!. The next food stop was Burford Lake; then on to Lost Lake via a nice steep hill & a nice rock formation we call "Shrunken Head" (or DogFace). I was so impressed with our pace as we reached Lost Lake at 11:40am , an hour earlier than I had estimated! Yay for you guys! At this point, sandwiches were furnished by 4 of our ladies & we had fruit, boiled eggs & ...yes....all the other snacky foods. Robert had even brought a large thermos of hot coffee which the hikers were anxious to consume. Around 12 we ended lunch & started our hike on the Kite trail getting us to a port-a-potty & Boulder Cabin around 1pm where we took some group pics. We were headed NE now...into the brutal N wind, but we were sheltered so much of the time with the forests, that we were never cold. We had our last food/snack stop at Osage Lake & then headed on out on the last leg (Leg 7). Back at EEC about 3;45pm, we took an extra lap of the paved trail to come up with exactly 13.1 miles according to Carol's technology...(which we thoroughly trust :) ). We headed for the Quanah Parker pier & took a pic & then another pic (stripped down to our green shirts) near the small museum. It was a wonderful day & I think all of us enjoyed the outing, the other hikers, the food & even the cool weather. Some were already talking about our next Half Marathon. Our hikers today were: 6 Guys: Danny Talley, Robert Lorah, Adam Deatherage, Chris Dunham, Jason Matthews, Willie Threet. 18 Gals: Peggy Avants, Cheryl Ator, Sharon Freeman, Carol Gardner, Pam Hurst, Kim Gregory, Kimberly McDevitt, Bonnie, McMahon, Brenda Mohler, Kristi Nesom, Patty Patterson, Debbie Small, Kelly Sullins, Janice Talbert, Stephanie Threet, Lynda Trapp, Peggy Wood, Teddy Worthington. Once again, thanks to Eddie Worthington for all his wonderful & patient help!!
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