I got up a little after 6am to get ready and drive up to to Lancaster County to hike the Conestoga Trail. I started at Pinnacle Overlook and headed north from there.
A lot of the trail was deep in the woods and some of the trails had changed so I had to follow different colored markers than the normal orange. It was easy to get off track and I did that several times.
Towards the beginning of the hike I encountered this amazing area though. It was beautiful there, with rapids and a lot of rocks that I had to climb through on the trail.
I love that this just looks like it funnels to an abyss. I followed the trail near the stream for a while and ended up having to backtrack and search for a while to find the trail I was supposed to be on.
Once I was headed in the right direction and after a few hours of hiking, I stopped for lunch at an overlook.
Lunch was okay but the overlook was great. I sat up there and read for a while before I got back on the trail. I made some more wrong turns and got way off the orange trail again. I thought about turning back before I got to my destination but I decided to go on.
About half an hour after I almost gave up I ended up at the Wind Cave, where I was trying to get all day. I was down to my last bottle of water though, so that was going to be fun.
The inside of the cave was so cold, it felt great. I went in about thirty feet or so with my little flashlight but I didn't feel like ducking under and walking around since I had to get back. I was already exhausted but I began my hike back up and down the hills. I took extra care to follow the orange trail this time. I was rationing what little water I had left during the long walk back. The last hike up to the Pinnacle Overlook where I began was the hardest part of the day. It was extremely steep and I was worn out.
It started to rain just as I was getting close to the end, but not hard enough to get me wet. It felt so good to get a drink from the water fountain and then get in my car. I wanted a strenuous hike and I got one. It was by far the most grueling hike I've done.. and mostly because I got so lost! I decided that I want to do one of these a week for the rest of the summer though. Maybe not one that's so tough but I want to do a hike. The rest of the night I just relaxed and went to bed kinda early. It was hard at times, but looking back it was a lot of fun.
I got up a little after 6am to get ready and drive up to to Lancaster County to hike the Conestoga Trail. I started at Pinnacle Overlook and headed north from there.
A lot of the trail was deep in the woods and some of the trails had changed so I had to follow different colored markers than the normal orange. It was easy to get off track and I did that several times.
Towards the beginning of the hike I encountered this amazing area though. It was beautiful there, with rapids and a lot of rocks that I had to climb through on the trail.
I love that this just looks like it funnels to an abyss. I followed the trail near the stream for a while and ended up having to backtrack and search for a while to find the trail I was supposed to be on.
Once I was headed in the right direction and after a few hours of hiking, I stopped for lunch at an overlook.
Lunch was okay but the overlook was great. I sat up there and read for a while before I got back on the trail. I made some more wrong turns and got way off the orange trail again. I thought about turning back before I got to my destination but I decided to go on.
About half an hour after I almost gave up I ended up at the Wind Cave, where I was trying to get all day. I was down to my last bottle of water though, so that was going to be fun.
The inside of the cave was so cold, it felt great. I went in about thirty feet or so with my little flashlight but I didn't feel like ducking under and walking around since I had to get back. I was already exhausted but I began my hike back up and down the hills. I took extra care to follow the orange trail this time. I was rationing what little water I had left during the long walk back. The last hike up to the Pinnacle Overlook where I began was the hardest part of the day. It was extremely steep and I was worn out.
It started to rain just as I was getting close to the end, but not hard enough to get me wet. It felt so good to get a drink from the water fountain and then get in my car. I wanted a strenuous hike and I got one. It was by far the most grueling hike I've done.. and mostly because I got so lost! I decided that I want to do one of these a week for the rest of the summer though. Maybe not one that's so tough but I want to do a hike. The rest of the night I just relaxed and went to bed kinda early. It was hard at times, but looking back it was a lot of fun.
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