TheBanyanTree: Christmas Eve hiking

[Sachet]

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=807241135478350732/l=72609930/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

I decided that the best Christmas Eve gift I could have would be to go 
hiking at Pilot Mountain State Park. To the native Saura Indians, the 
earliest known inhabitants of the region, Pilot Mountain was known as 
Jomeokee, the "Great Guide" or "Pilot." It guided both Native Americans 
and early European hunters along a north-south path through the area. 
It's part of the Sauratown Mountains, which also includes Hanging Rock 
State Park to the east.

We packed some snacks and drinks and got there a little before 3pm with 
the temps at home in the high 40's. Which is why we were surprised to 
run into patches of ice on the road up the mountain, since it's only 10 
minutes away. Fortunately, we had dressed in layers upon layers and were 
ready for cooler temps. We wanted to hike around the big pinnacle just 
because it's so beautiful, but the *Jomeokee Trail* is not a very 
strenuous trail, so after traversing it we decided to take a harder 
trail that led down below the cliffs and climb up when we were ready to 
hike along the ridge. It feels good to know the trails and cliffs well 
enough to not have to stick to the trail until it loops around or joins 
another trail. We've discovered a few access points that don't need 
ropes and allow us to climb over boulders and up the cliffs to the top. 
That proved to be a good decision because the path to the pinnacle is on 
the east side of the mountain and it was covered with ice for several 
feet. It was slick enough coming down, we sure didn't want to try it 
going up.

The sky was a gorgeous deep blue above the big pinnacle which highlights 
the beauty of the quartzite cliffs and we saw several of the protected 
raptors gliding on thermals. When I saw contrails I thought of Bobby and 
snapped a few shots for him. :-)  For some reason ladybugs are always at 
the big pinnacle and it was interesting to capture a picture of deep 
green moss, sparkling ice and a red ladybug.

We hiked a while longer below the cliffs, but the sun was beginning to 
set and I wanted to be sure to be up top to catch it. Plus, a strong 
wind had blown in and it was getting considerably colder on the west 
side of the mountain.

It's interesting to see the differences between seasons from the 
perspective of being on Pilot Mountain. As we approached all we could 
see were the deciduous trees and their brown branches. Once we got to 
the top on the west side there were plenty of pine trees with their 
ever-present green needles.

Once we reached the top we hiked along the cliffs for a bit, waiting for 
the sun to set, which was even more beautiful than I had anticipated and 
stayed until it dropped from the sky and my memory card was full. <g> I 
never tire of taking pictures there as the seasons change.


....Sachet