ter crossing, a looooong 3.5 mile climb, and a total of 9 miles. By 8am we were ready to go and we all hiked the 1.3 miles of Hazel Creek Trail down to the water crossing together. The water crossing was an adventure all in itself. I was the first to wade over the river so I could get some good photos and video of the rest of the girls. It took about 1/2 hour to get everyone over safely and I later found out that Pyro was deathly afraid of water crossings! She braved it and made it look easy. Well, we were now officially on the Cold Spring Gap Trail and this trail was all up hill for the next 3.5 miles. Since I had m
y boots back on, I went ahead and started the climb first. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I didn't stop at all until about an hour later. I got to the really super rocky section. I mean it was so rocky that it felt like I was walking up a dried up creek bed instead of a trail. The trail continued like this for the next 20 minutes and it really slowed me down. Hemlock had caught up to me on this section and we hiked on together. She was like a child in a candy store with all the flowers she found. She spotted some really cool orchards hiding in a little cove off the trail that I would of never seen if she hadn't been there. By this point, my legs were getting a bit fatigued from the constant climbing and I asked if we could take a quick break. So right on the trail, we dropped our packs and had a snack and a quick rest. My legs starting feeling like jello, so I knew I needed to get to the top and stop for a real l
unch break soon. I hoped this never ending mountain would come to an end quick! We kept an eye out for a piped spring, because that was the last place to get water and it meant that we were only .33 miles away from the top. Well, we didn't see a piped spring. We just kept climbing and climbing, steeper and steeper. I thought it would never end when all of the sudden Hemlock goes, "we made it." I look past her and see the trail intersection sign! We did it! We climbed 3.5 miles straight up! We high fived and plunked down our packs. It was around 
11:45am, but I was hungry as hell. We decided to have lunch and take a long break and wait for everyone. An hour later, after lunch, Hemlock and I realized that we needed to back track down to the water source to fill up because there was no water til camp and we were still a good 5 miles away, AND we had little to no water on us. She must of seen the desperation on my face b/c she offered to back track while I watched the packs. I swear I thought angel wings sprouted out from her back. I didn't think I could make it back up if I went down that mountain again and the last time I saw water had to of been at least a 1/2 down! Hemlock was really worried about leaving me here with all the food, cause she feared a bear would come and fight me for my noodle packets. hahaha! Aww... so sweet of her. But I told her not to worry 
about me, I can hold my own. So she unloaded her pack and took all of our water bottles and off she went. I put on my rain jacket cause it was getting cold and I was soaking wet from sweating up that climb. The next thing I remember, I was awoken by her cheery voice. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep! I think I pushed myself really hard on that uphill that I tired myself out. Hemlock said that she saw the rest of the group at the water source. YAY!! We were both worried cause that climb was a true beast!
y boots back on, I went ahead and started the climb first. I was actually pretty proud of myself. I didn't stop at all until about an hour later. I got to the really super rocky section. I mean it was so rocky that it felt like I was walking up a dried up creek bed instead of a trail. The trail continued like this for the next 20 minutes and it really slowed me down. Hemlock had caught up to me on this section and we hiked on together. She was like a child in a candy store with all the flowers she found. She spotted some really cool orchards hiding in a little cove off the trail that I would of never seen if she hadn't been there. By this point, my legs were getting a bit fatigued from the constant climbing and I asked if we could take a quick break. So right on the trail, we dropped our packs and had a snack and a quick rest. My legs starting feeling like jello, so I knew I needed to get to the top and stop for a real l
unch break soon. I hoped this never ending mountain would come to an end quick! We kept an eye out for a piped spring, because that was the last place to get water and it meant that we were only .33 miles away from the top. Well, we didn't see a piped spring. We just kept climbing and climbing, steeper and steeper. I thought it would never end when all of the sudden Hemlock goes, "we made it." I look past her and see the trail intersection sign! We did it! We climbed 3.5 miles straight up! We high fived and plunked down our packs. It was around 
11:45am, but I was hungry as hell. We decided to have lunch and take a long break and wait for everyone. An hour later, after lunch, Hemlock and I realized that we needed to back track down to the water source to fill up because there was no water til camp and we were still a good 5 miles away, AND we had little to no water on us. She must of seen the desperation on my face b/c she offered to back track while I watched the packs. I swear I thought angel wings sprouted out from her back. I didn't think I could make it back up if I went down that mountain again and the last time I saw water had to of been at least a 1/2 down! Hemlock was really worried about leaving me here with all the food, cause she feared a bear would come and fight me for my noodle packets. hahaha! Aww... so sweet of her. But I told her not to worry 
about me, I can hold my own. So she unloaded her pack and took all of our water bottles and off she went. I put on my rain jacket cause it was getting cold and I was soaking wet from sweating up that climb. The next thing I remember, I was awoken by her cheery voice. I was so exhausted that I fell asleep! I think I pushed myself really hard on that uphill that I tired myself out. Hemlock said that she saw the rest of the group at the water source. YAY!! We were both worried cause that climb was a true beast! Soon, everyone dribbled in and you could see the exhaust on their faces as they flung their packs off and plunked on the ground. We chit chatted a bit and they tell Hemlock and I about the huge rattle snake that scared them on the trail! So lucky I didn't see or hear it. Wow. We agreed to meet at the top of the spur trail for High Rocks. So while 
Turtle, SHOE, and Pyro had lunch and a well deserved break, Hemlock and I hopped onto Welch Ridge Trail and hiked on to High Rocks spur trail. And yes, the trail climbed up, a gradual up, but still up. We finally make it to the spur trail turn off and Hemlock says she's got to take a bathroom break. So I tell her I'm going to go ahead and start climbing the .33 miles up to the top of High Rocks, where an amazing view awaited us. Well, not more than 10 feet in on this trail and I had to stop. It was so overgrown with blackberry bushes that you couldn't see the trail. You literally had to bushwhack your way thru. It was disgusting! I had scratches and pulls all over my arms b/
c at one point, the bushes had overgrown taller than me! Thank goodness I wore pants today. As I make my way up, I hear Hemlock call my name and I turn around but can't see her through the jungle of weeds, thistles, and blackberry bushes. She finally pops into view and when she steps out of the bushes, I see that she is wearing her rain pants. Now, it has GOT to be at least 85 degrees out. The sun beaming down on us and there is no breeze blowing to cool us off. I feel so bad for her, it must be suffocatingly hot to wear rain pants right now, but I think I'd be wearing them too if I had shorts on during this bushwhack hike from hell. The bushes were just out of control! We make it to a small clearing where we see some stone stairs. We take goofy pictures on the stairs and climb up them. We climb a bit more and then we see the pylons where the fire tower used to be and as we walk towards them, the brush opens up and there is an AMAZING view. I grin from ear to ear and completely forget about my scrapes and scratches on my arms. We had haule
d up our packs all the way here and fling them off. We just stare in awe and silence at this view and I mention that we are so fortunate to be one of the lucky and few people that will ever be able to see this. After some photos, we decide to take off our shoes and sunbathe on the rock for a bit. It felt so good to have the sun warm up my back and let breeze swirl around my toes. I almost fall asleep again! I got a good picture of Hemlock in full on chilling mode. She was leaning on her pack, feet crossed, hands behind her head, and sipping on her bladder tube while she was enjoying the view. It was so peaceful and quiet. Just perfect. A few minutes later, I was half dozing off, when Hemlock goes, "Did you hear your name being called?" I didn't, but we both figured it was SHOE making her way up the trail. I yell for 
her and she follows my voice to our chilling spot. I can't believe she climbed up here in shorts! After her pictures of this amazing view, she too peels off her boots and socks and relaxes a bit. 15 minutes later we decide to explore a bit and look for the old cabin that is supposed to be up here. We find it and it is in some serious bad shape. We take quick photos of it and decided to head back down to meet up with Turtle and Pyro. So we bushwhack our way back down. Hemlock and I take ridiculous bushwhacking photos one another and laugh at the things we do in the name of fun. When we get back to the trail intersection, we meet up with Turtle and Pyro, who are completely happy to just be relaxing in the middle of the trail with phone service. Haha!
Turtle, SHOE, and Pyro had lunch and a well deserved break, Hemlock and I hopped onto Welch Ridge Trail and hiked on to High Rocks spur trail. And yes, the trail climbed up, a gradual up, but still up. We finally make it to the spur trail turn off and Hemlock says she's got to take a bathroom break. So I tell her I'm going to go ahead and start climbing the .33 miles up to the top of High Rocks, where an amazing view awaited us. Well, not more than 10 feet in on this trail and I had to stop. It was so overgrown with blackberry bushes that you couldn't see the trail. You literally had to bushwhack your way thru. It was disgusting! I had scratches and pulls all over my arms b/
c at one point, the bushes had overgrown taller than me! Thank goodness I wore pants today. As I make my way up, I hear Hemlock call my name and I turn around but can't see her through the jungle of weeds, thistles, and blackberry bushes. She finally pops into view and when she steps out of the bushes, I see that she is wearing her rain pants. Now, it has GOT to be at least 85 degrees out. The sun beaming down on us and there is no breeze blowing to cool us off. I feel so bad for her, it must be suffocatingly hot to wear rain pants right now, but I think I'd be wearing them too if I had shorts on during this bushwhack hike from hell. The bushes were just out of control! We make it to a small clearing where we see some stone stairs. We take goofy pictures on the stairs and climb up them. We climb a bit more and then we see the pylons where the fire tower used to be and as we walk towards them, the brush opens up and there is an AMAZING view. I grin from ear to ear and completely forget about my scrapes and scratches on my arms. We had haule
d up our packs all the way here and fling them off. We just stare in awe and silence at this view and I mention that we are so fortunate to be one of the lucky and few people that will ever be able to see this. After some photos, we decide to take off our shoes and sunbathe on the rock for a bit. It felt so good to have the sun warm up my back and let breeze swirl around my toes. I almost fall asleep again! I got a good picture of Hemlock in full on chilling mode. She was leaning on her pack, feet crossed, hands behind her head, and sipping on her bladder tube while she was enjoying the view. It was so peaceful and quiet. Just perfect. A few minutes later, I was half dozing off, when Hemlock goes, "Did you hear your name being called?" I didn't, but we both figured it was SHOE making her way up the trail. I yell for 
her and she follows my voice to our chilling spot. I can't believe she climbed up here in shorts! After her pictures of this amazing view, she too peels off her boots and socks and relaxes a bit. 15 minutes later we decide to explore a bit and look for the old cabin that is supposed to be up here. We find it and it is in some serious bad shape. We take quick photos of it and decided to head back down to meet up with Turtle and Pyro. So we bushwhack our way back down. Hemlock and I take ridiculous bushwhacking photos one another and laugh at the things we do in the name of fun. When we get back to the trail intersection, we meet up with Turtle and Pyro, who are completely happy to just be relaxing in the middle of the trail with phone service. Haha! We all start out together and finish up our section of the Welch Ridge Trail (which we have to
do some bushwhacking thru), then turn down the Bear Creek trail towards campsite #75 which is about 3 miles away. It's a long, slippery, muddy way down to the campsite and because I tend to hike faster on the downhill, I take off. As I'm hiking along, I see some strange tracks that look vaguely like bobcat tracks. I think I scare myself silly cause I start to slow down and then actually stop and sit on a stump, waiting for someone to walk up before I get eaten by a bobcat. Hemlock and Pyro roll up and we hike on together for a bit before Pyro decides to take a quick break. The rest of the way down, Hemlock and I hike together til we get to camp. This campsite, #75, is great! It has an awesome creek running thru it, lots of space for everyone to find a spot, logs set up around the fire ring for us to sit around, logs already cut for the fire, and two perfect trees for me to hang from. I set up camp and relax while we wait for everyone to file in. That night we had a great fire thanks to Pyro. We also got to catch a glimpse of a cute little family of wild boar. It was a mama and papa boar who we
re all black, and two little piglets that were both light brown. As soon as they heard us, they scooted over the ridge. I was closest to the ridge that night, so I hoped they wouldn't comeback for me later. haha! That night, Pyro gave me some of her dehydrated black bean and ground beef burrito. It was really good and made me really want to get a dehydrator. Hemlock had also been dehydrating all her food and it looked so good and healthy for you. I think I'm going to be getting a dehydrator soon and testing out some recipes. I'm getting tired of my noodle side packets. Turtle also shared a swiss roll dessert with everyone, which hit the spot after dinner that night. After filtering water and bear bagging our food, we all retired early after a long day. Today was a good day. A challenging day with the water crossing, tough climb, and crazy bushwhacking, but it was a good day to be outside. I, once again, slinked off into my hammock to play some trivial pursuit and drift off into lala-land. Til next time... GET OUTDOORS!!!
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