Mad Creek
We'd driven by the trailhead for Mad Creek so many times, but we never found the time to check it out. Usually, we'd come off of Bill Moore Lake with lots of vehicles filled with people wanting dinner. This time, we had a small group and it wasn't too late in the afternoon. So, we popped over to take a look.
It started out as a rocky climb, which was an awesome surprise. When we got to the major intersection, the main trail looked much easier than the spur so we took the spur first. The eroded trench filled with rocks was pretty fun, then we headed up the hill. That hill climb was also pretty fun.
The views from the hill were really nice. It was sprinkling off and on, and it decided to rain as we got to the hilltop. Then it never really stopped raining.
The top of the hill was a huge network of trails. We checked out the main ones, but we knew we wouldn't have time to check everything. It was a nice area, and there were lots of flat, smooth places for tents.
We went back to the main intersection to take the main trail, and that half was very easy. We stopped at a wide spot for a break, and the light from the fading sunshine was gorgeous. The trail was so smooth, wide, and well used that we thought it must go through to somewhere, but we knew from maps that it didn't. Still, we had a bit of hope that we'd end up popping out onto pavement somewhere.
It wasn't meant to be, though. We got to the end at the fence, and Mike and Matt checked out the campsite just off of that spot, which was also nice and in the trees.
We headed back, looking for other spurs but many were closed. It wasn't long before we were off the trail and in Empire where we parked next to Jenny's to air up before grabbing some pizza. Are they ever going to get air conditioning? It was hot, as always, but at least the weather was cool. It was a great day.
