Alina gives the following report: The hiking group met at Turner Bend Store about 10 am. Then we drove via White Rock Rd. to the trailhead. The incline of this road had several sharp curves with large, unusual rock formations covered with white moss. At the beginning of the hike most of us were chilly, and skies remained overcast all day. The first part of the walk was a smooth climb, with mostly oak trees spread loosely . The highlight of the day was crossing Fane Creek. After this point several of us terminated the hike not attempting to ascend the mountain ahead.
The rest of the story from Linda: Hiking the path of the old steam engine tracks was very interesting terrain. We crossed several waterfall areas that would have been great Kodak moments if they had water. This first section of the woods was so clear of underbrush unlike parts of the second section that was filled with underbrush and briars. After six of the Trailblazers left us at Fane Creek it was a hard 1500 foot climb up to and across Whiting Mountain. The uphill seemed to go on and on like the energizer bunny, and some of us could have used new batteries. Nearing the end we went thru an area that had the biggest grape vines and lots and lots of them. As we went past the “Rock House” near the end of the trail no one was willing to make the incline up to visit. We tried our best to mimic the clown car at the rodeo and loaded up 14 Trailblazers and gear into Dewayne’s truck where he took us to Turner Bend to wait for the drivers to go back to the trailhead to get the rest of the vehicles. We closed down the store and it got dark out front.