12.5 miles of hiking • 3000' elevation gain •
Just an excellent little dog walk in our favorite nearby state park.
These trails are normally quite secluded, but on a Monday even more so! We saw three people on the way up, five or seven on top, and three coming back down. Wow!
Made it to the top in what I believe is a personal best time of 1:15. Wasn't hurrying, but it just worked out that way. Five or six guys, all staring at their cellphones, there. So we quickly moved on to my favorite sitting spot - the saddle. Spent maybe an hour there, enjoying lunch and just taking in the scenery.
Leaving the saddle, we took the long route following an old jeep trail nearly to the far north end of the park. Pooch wanted to do the side-trip up to the high point along the way, so who was I to argue? Coming back down towards the creek, we opted to extend just a bit more by crossing the equestrian bridge and wandering a bit on the west side of Hardy Creek.
On return to Hardy Falls, we found the sun streaming into the Pool of the Winds, which was just delightful. A bit farther along, the dog again chose a longer route past Little Beacon Rock to finish up on. Another excellent choice! He's a fun guy to walk with.
