Somehow almost a year has passed since Frankie and I last visited Great Bear. Last time we'd planned to go, Erin discovered there was a mountain biking event, so we elected to go elsewhere instead to avoid the crowds and speedy bikes. I was honestly a bit surprised to find it had really been so long, as it feels like a frequent destination. Nevertheless, Frankie and I were both excited to go there, and excited to see Erin and Alden for the first time since before our trip. We set off along our normal route: Great Bear Road > Alec's Trail > the River Landing, and then had the obligatory long play session by the river. When the madness became too much, we decided to start hiking back.
Erin and Alden hike here more frequently, and Erin has found an alternate route back that works for Alden, following the Spring Hollow Trail. This is a comparable distance to what had been our previous default route back along Great Bear Road, but it is ever so much more pleasant! Beautiful trail through the forest with gentle grades instead of that steep hill on the road in the sun. It's no comparison and I was beyond thrilled to finally be branching out a little. I think we could pretty easily extend the hike slightly further in the future by using the Root Hill Trail or even just the Mixed Pines Trail, but only if everything lines up perfectly. Today we were in a big patch of sillies at that junction, and the boys were being completely insane, disregarding warnings about poison ivy and various other hazards. It just wasn't worth battling any more than necessary, especially not when I was so happy to enjoy the Spring Hollow Trail.
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| purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) |
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| these two were so happy to see each other! |
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| MapMyRide tracked the hike at 1.88 miles |
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