Back.. With a new camera

For my birthday my wonderful husband surprised me with a camera.  We have kept up with our hiking, but now I have better pictures to share!

Today we explored Charlestown State Park - trail 5.  Trail 5 is listed as 1.2 mile moderate hike.  I am not going to give a duration today, because we spent a TON of time stopped while I played with my camera.  :)   It was a chilly 45 degrees though!

Moderate was a little misleading.  There is one decent climb, and some limestone sticking up - but over all it did not seem too challenging.  It starts by the campground, and stays in the woods the entire time.

Some creative soul carved a bench out of a fallen tree.  If you are worried about making it the mile... you have a place to rest! 

Around halfway the trail looks out over 14 mile creek. You can view the creek from the over look. 

And then back into the woods!

 Good spot by Kyle.  He actually looked this up when we got home and there is all sort of info about it.

 After our hike we decided to go down by the boat ramp to scout out the Ohio River.

Kyle spotted a Heron

Look closely and you can see the Lewis and Clark Bridge

Charlestown Trail 1

Beginning of Trail 1 in Charlestown State Park

This morning we decided to take on Trail 1 at Charlestown State Park. It was rated a rugged 2.4 mile trail.  However, it gets an 'Ashley Rating' of 'mostly-moderate-with-rugged-sections'. The entire hike took us around an hour and fifteen minutes.  We could easily have finished it more quickly, but the trail offers amazing rock formations.  We had repeated stops just to take in the amazing surroundings.  Charlestown trails are great because each one has it's own feel.  The beginning of trail one had a 'meadow' feel to it.  It was wide enough that Kyle and I could walk side by side.

As we walked, we started noticing these odd concrete pieces on both sides of the trail.  We are not sure what they are for, but we saw them throughout the hike.

The trail began downhill, and there were stunning rock formations both in the path and along both sides.  Here are some of the best pictures we got along the way.

 

 

Some of the coolest formations were where the water had cut grooves into the rocks.  See the natural bridge and the area around it for yourself.

 

The path has many different types of terrain.  It is mostly packed dirt with rocks throughout, but we had grass, creek bed type rocks, and even walked over a mini water fall.  The trail has both natural and man-made bridges.  A bit over halfway we saw the remains of an ancient concrete bridge.

Trail one is definitely a hike I would recommend, and would love to do again.  I love the variety of trails at Charlestown, and will definitely be checking out the rest of them.  If you are looking for a great place to hike, head to Charlestown. 

Back to Charlestown

Charlestown State Park has quickly become my favorite place to hike.  The trails not only offer spectacular views, but are also well marked and maintained.  We were still a bit tired and sore from the grueling hike yesterday at Deam Lake, so we were looking for a somewhat easy hike today.  We ended up on Trail 6 a rugged 2.3 miles.  It was another great trail that started with a rocky incline.

At the top of the hill, the trail levels off and we walked close to a mile on the top of the bluff.  We could spot the Ohio River in places, as well as some birds. 

However, near the halfway point, where we begin descending the hill the terrain became the most interesting.  There were water falls, bridges, amazing rock formations, and the remains of buildings from the past.

The trail was rated 'rugged' but I was not really understanding why until the decent.  It seemed we were walking in a creek bed.  It was very unstable with both loose and solid rocks along the way. It did not feel nearly as treacherous as a lot of the Deam Lake trail, but it was by far the toughest part today.

There are several more trails at Charlestown we want to knock out.  So far we love trails 3, 6, and 7.  I think we will be trying Trail 1 next.  Before we go, here are some 'bloopers' from today.

I have added pictures of Kyle and his Binoculars - its only fair I include my fanny pack!

Spiderweb.  'Nuff said?