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| Hiking | 5.00 Miles |
550 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.00 Miles | 1 Hour 45 Mns | | 2.86 mph |
| 550 ft AEG | | | | |
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| no partners | | I was back in Fayetteville, adjacent to Ft. Bragg, for the the first itime in many years, to attend a reunion of my old active duty platoon, TACCP ("tack-c-p"), Alpha Company, 50th Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade. About a decade ago, I had breakfast in Charlotte with my old platoon sergeant, and around the same time exchange emails with my old roommate, but their was the first time I had seen the guys (and one gal) in 33 years. A lot of beer was consumed, and stories told. 
Sunday, after everyone else had called end-ex, I went for a hike. (Unlike the old days, sans 75 lb. ruck.)
Upon arriving at the Raven Rock State Park visitor center, I turned on my crappy Garmin 62S GPS. While waiting an eternity for it to locate satellites, I realized it was down to two bars of power. (The scale seems to be logarithmic, so two is only a tiny fraction of the full four.) Worse, I had forgotten my little pocket accessory bag I take on hikes, and which contains two spare AA batteries. No way I was going to be able to do both the Campbell Creek Loop and the Raven Rock Loop. Further, even with two bars, I would very likely run out hiking just one of the trails.
I chose the Campbell Creek Loop. I hiked counterclockwise.
No need to use any of the rest benches: The hike is short and, in any case, I was trying to beat my dying batteries.
There’s lots & lots of green on this hike: Leaves, trees, vines, ferns. All kinds of green plants. But almost no flowers. I only recall seeing one small set of yellow blooms, and forgot to photograph them as I was distracted by a mold. There’s quite a few molds & mushrooms, but still not as many as you would expect given how moist the ground was. (Or the air, for that matter: The humidity was extremely high.) Some of the molds were truly spectacular. 
While taking photos at Lanier Falls, my water bottle slipped out of my pocket, fell in the river, and was quickly swept away. It was the only water bottle I had. Considering the humidity, two would have been more appropriate. Instead, I was rationing, and lost half of my water. I had to finish the hike dry. I was pretty thirsty by the end.
North Carolina has ticks, lots of ticks. (I won't tell you where I got my first one.) I was very careful to avoid brushing against greenery, but still had my wife inspect me afterwards. I guess the Off! helped.
My GPS batteries died near the pit toilet, so my distance is a guesstimate based on the route.
Campbell Creek Loop is a popular trail. I saw two trail runners, nine hikers, and a platoon of Boy Scouts returning from a camp out.
By the time I was finished, my clothes were soaked through with sweat.
After refreshing at the visitor center, we headed back to Fayetteville, stopping along the way in the far outskirts of Spring Lake. Being that it was Fathers Day, seeing the duplex where I became a father, for the first time in 34 years, was pretty cool. 
Hike Video: [ youtube video ] |
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Wildflowers Observation None
One yellow flower. Just one. I was quite surprised. Lots of amazing molds & mushrooms though! |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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