We were enshrouded with fog this morning when I got up. And it was very humid. The humidity stuck around all day, and the fog eventually cleared but it was cloudy most of the day with the threat of rain always there.
First hike of the day was to Indian Point. The trailhead was just a short walk from the campground. A loop trail of just under two miles, it seemed to be a good trail to start the day.
The viewpoint at the end offered commanding views of the fog over the surrounding area. I’m sure it would be beautiful without the fog.
One unexpected treat we found on the trail: as it was still early in the morning and the fog and dew put a layer of moisture on everything, there were many spider webs hanging about with the dew clinging to them, something normally almost invisible made visible by the water clinging to it. I took several pictures as it was quite striking.
The path to the viewpoint is mostly on top of the rock formations. The path back, if you take the loop counterclockwise, winds along the bottom of the rocky cliffs. Lots of interesting rock formations, fissures, caves, and the like, which made for a great hike, despite the fog.
Several miles east of Garden of the Gods is High Knob, a rocky high point that used to have a fire tower. The tower is no longer there; the only evidence being the concrete footings on the top of the hill. This place is rather remote, it’s a few miles of dirt road, the last being a half mile of one-lane which climbs steeply to the top. So we were the only ones there when we arrived.
This place has a loop trail a lot like the last trail. The first half is on top of the cliffs, the second half returns along the bottom. If you like rock scrambling, this is the place for you, especially the second half. The last little bit of the trail goes through a crevice between two rock formations, with steps made of rocks wedged into the formations. Rather hard to follow sometimes, because of all the oak leaves on the trail but it was a fun trail.
We had lunch here in the picnic area with a view of the surrounding area. I launched the drone to get some additional footage. The clear area in the foreground is where the fire tower used to be.
Another couple miles further east is Rimrock National Recreation Trail. We stopped at the trailhead and took a 1-mile easy loop trail. Another walk in the woods, this time on a paved trail, and it put us over 14,000 steps for the day.
Another two miles east is Pounds Hollow, a popular swimming hole an recreation area. The beach here on Pounds Hollow lake appears to be set up for large crowds of people, with a large parking lot, picnic areas, and shelters. Other than one other car, we were the only ones there. If this would have been a few days ago, when it was so hot, we probably would have jumped in the water, but we were content to explore the area.
We decided to stay here in this campground. It’s getting later in the day and we are all hiked out. One nice benefit: several sites have electric hookups. Which allow for another benefit on this warm and very humid day--air conditioning. And at five bucks for a Golden Age pass holder, this campsite is a real bargain.
We ate dinner with the rain drumming on the roof. It’s supposed to rain all night and possibly all day tomorrow.
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