December Hike of the Month - Ledge Springs Trail, Pilot Mountain, NC
The final hike of the year!
December threw us for some loops and the weather has been rainy and unpredictable. Nevertheless, we managed to sneak in our final hike on December 29 - just in the nick of time!
We stayed pretty close to home, traveling to the nearby Pilot Mountain state park. We have done a shorter trail there before and have always talked about trying the longer trail. The longer trail is Ledge Springs trail which begins below the summit picnic area or off of the shorter trail - the Jomeokee trail.
We picked it up from the Jomeokee trail and it starts with a very brief uphill and then a lot of downhill down rock steps. There are cliffs, ledges and views. The trail is rated strenuous. We passed several groups of rock climbers which was really neat to watch!
Eventually, the uphill began. Up, up, up. There are a few nice overlooks and then we ended up near the picnic area which makes the trail almost a loop. One sign stated the trail was 2.2 miles but I’m not really certain. Also, note that the trail is wet! It’s not called Ledge Springs trail for nothing! There were several trickles and a few slippery spots.
It was not my favorite trail but I’m glad we finally tried it. Hiking a new trail each month has allowed us to challenge ourselves, explore new places and learn about our surroundings! It’s been quite the year! We are still trying to decide what hiking goal to set for the upcoming year, mileage, States, so many possibilities!
December threw us for some loops and the weather has been rainy and unpredictable. Nevertheless, we managed to sneak in our final hike on December 29 - just in the nick of time!
We stayed pretty close to home, traveling to the nearby Pilot Mountain state park. We have done a shorter trail there before and have always talked about trying the longer trail. The longer trail is Ledge Springs trail which begins below the summit picnic area or off of the shorter trail - the Jomeokee trail.
We picked it up from the Jomeokee trail and it starts with a very brief uphill and then a lot of downhill down rock steps. There are cliffs, ledges and views. The trail is rated strenuous. We passed several groups of rock climbers which was really neat to watch!
Eventually, the uphill began. Up, up, up. There are a few nice overlooks and then we ended up near the picnic area which makes the trail almost a loop. One sign stated the trail was 2.2 miles but I’m not really certain. Also, note that the trail is wet! It’s not called Ledge Springs trail for nothing! There were several trickles and a few slippery spots.
It was not my favorite trail but I’m glad we finally tried it. Hiking a new trail each month has allowed us to challenge ourselves, explore new places and learn about our surroundings! It’s been quite the year! We are still trying to decide what hiking goal to set for the upcoming year, mileage, States, so many possibilities!
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