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Eleven TrailBlazers and one canine took the scenic drive to Mt. Magazine on a cool and overcast day to hike the Bear Hollow Trail.  What a difference six days make!  Last week it was very hot and sunny making for a tiring hike.

 

Fortunately Becky woke up at 3:30 am with a great brain flash; she thought maybe we should skip the Will’s Apple Road section and start farther down.  Great idea!  It was really cold and windy at the Visitors Center, so starting from there to that road would be cold and not terribly scenic.  Becky figured out a new game plan for the shuttle, so we parked some of the cars down at the horse camp that is very close to the Bear Hollow trailhead.  After the shuttle drivers moved some cars to the destination, we were ready to take off on the Bear Hollow Trail.

 At first it was foggy and cloudy so we couldn’t see much scenery, but we did see flowering trees along the way and several patches of violets.  As we trekked along, eventually the fog lifted somewhat so we were treated to some scenic views.  We saw little falls in Big Shoal Creek and then rock hopped across it. We took another photo op at scenic Inspiration Point, taking care not to get blown away!

 As we continued, we saw several more photos ops.  The skies cleared considerably and we had a few glimpses of the sun. Finally we arrived at Sunrise Rock, our feeding time at the zoo, where we sat on rocks and enjoyed a magnificent view as we ate.  Then we got back on the trail and huffed and puffed our way up to the Benefield Picnic Area.  Guess what?  They have replaced the old restrooms with a brand new structure!  OK, so it doesn’t have running water, but it still is a big improvement thanks to our well spent tax dollars.  It doesn’t take much to please some folks, especially women when it comes to facilities!

 From this parking lot we did the short Benefield Trail Loop that featured gorgeous scenery, with lots of photo ops, as we walked along the narrow ledge of high cliffs overlooking a beautiful valley.  We had a great day to hike and no rain!

 If you plan to hike Shores Lake with us next Saturday, please sign up on this web site.

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