South Mountains State Park: Another Loop Hike - 3/13/21 - 10.5 Miles
The Tahoe Rim Trail thru-hike is getting closer and I have new trail shoes to break in. I spent a lot of time in the week before today’s hike debating whether and where to go. Steady rain was forecast further west, more driving effort than I wanted to make anyway, and I just felt bored and limited. South Mountains State Park – been there, done that - is not a pretty park in wintertime, but it’s close to where I live, so let’s put on those Altra Timp 2’s and get going.
The Appalachian Trail has one trail blaze: a 2X6-inch white rectangle. Keep those in sight and you’re on the right track. Sometimes you’ll pass a blue blaze indicating a side trail to a water source or a viewpoint or a parking area. State parks, on the other hand, have webs of intersecting trails and it’s easy to get confused (speaking from experience here). Trails are often designated using combinations of colors and shapes. South Mountains SP does a pretty good job of signed intersections IF you are oriented to the trail map (available at the visitor center), but the trail blazes are key. The good news is that the map is in color with large print that even these old eyes can read.
My route today was a lollipop (a short trail, then a counterclockwise loop, then returning to the beginning on the short trail) using Hidden Cove Trail, Turkey Ridge Trail, Little River Trail, Raven Rock Trail, Saddleback Trail, a different part of Turkey Ridge Trail, then Hidden Cove Trail to return to the start.
Hidden Cove Trail begins at the first parking area on the left past the Visitor Center. It passes under the park road and climbs up for 1.5 miles to Turkey Ridge Trail, where I took a left turn.
Do you know which way to go?Most of the trail miles were on wide roadbeds especially suitable for horses and I saw more equestrians than hikers. I played leapfrog all day with one group of four. It was their first time out this year and they were taking it easy. (Does that mean they are letting me pass them?)
Taking a break at a picnic table, I watched a man teaching a young boy how to fish in the Jacob Fork River. The boy wore fishing gear, pants, boots, and a serious look of concentration as he listened to instructions and practiced casting.
Bridge over Jacob Fork - I'll be wading back across the river later on downstreamRaven Rock Trail was the steepest, hardest part of the day, and my calves felt the effort in my zero-drop shoes. I met a lot of horses as I was going up, including my “party of four” who were surprised to see me catch up to them.
Rock in the trail looks like an alligator’s back
My only long-distance view today
I turned left onto Saddleback Trail and enjoyed a wonderful 3.4-mile gentle descent through the pines, horses still behind and ahead of me. Overall, I saw a dozen hikers today and three times as many horses.
At the bottom of the descent, Saddleback Trail ends – on the other side of Jacob Fork River. A large backpacking group, 15 or more folks who looked like beginners, had just crossed. They were drying off and donning socks and shoes as their guide described the next part of their hike to a backcountry campsite. They looked pleased with themselves - as they should be – for conquering a water crossing! This is fun, right?
I crossed the park road again at a different point, following Turkey Ridge Trail from the opposite end, which took me back to Hidden Cove Trail to complete my loop. Just 1.5 miles retracing Hidden Cove Trail and I was back at my car.
Altra Timp 2’s are now old news and there is an Altra Timp 3. I wore one pair of socks for this hike, no toe sock liners, but in general I wear both. My feet felt great, plenty of room for toes to wiggle. I had to tighten the laces once or twice to find the optimum fit. My feet/toes didn’t hurt during or after the hike and, except for those calves, I experienced no soreness in my legs or hips during or after the hike. My old school leather boots were put out to pasture and I’ll likely never go back.
Listening to John Denver on the drive home, thinking about how my day had started in uncertainty and ended in satisfaction. The hike reminded me that any trail energizes me and I shouldn’t overthink it. Just get moving, pushing uphill and flowing downhill, and if you give yourself up to it, any trail will take you to that place. Trust the trail.
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