Victory Update

I realized as I looked back over recent posts that I had not taken you on the marvelous hike UP the Hebron Rock Colony!  It was quite an experience...

 It's not someplace you would "just happen upon".
We followed directions from friends who had recently been there...
(Well, we didn't follow directions because I was in the backseat & had the directions that I had written down in my personal shorthand that no one else could quite read but those driving & in the front seat were "in charge" of getting us there, so when I suggested we turn right we turned left & when I suggested we turn left we turned right...so we went farther than we needed to... but if we had followed the original directions we would have missed some unbelievable views from the high road).

Then we stopped in a small parking lot of a church where it looked like what they had described and...*ASKED someone (there was a stream & they were getting ready to picnic.. I think.)  They seemed rather vague, but gave some instructions.. so we went on & eventually pulled into another parking lot where there were some fishermen.  They gave very specific directions & seemed familiar with the area.  We continued upward, driving around many turns, seeing some breathtaking views, & finally arrived at the trailhead.
(*I want you to realize how important this was: we had  MAN with us & HE asked about the directions...)

We hiked way back to where the trail started.

It started near a stream & was fairly flat.

Then it began to slope & became rather steep...

So we skidded, tumbled, grabbed tree roots, held onto tree branches, & whatever else it took to maneuver the trail (it was marked with a red dot on trees as we went along, so we knew we were on the trail... otherwise we sure wouldn't have guessed it!)

              It's not a place to go to alone....!

Then we began the hike UP the ROCKS!  It was an incredible sight.

This gave new meaning to the phrase, "rough & tumble"...

And the farther up we went, the more beautiful the scenery looking back down from whence we came!

It was a hard climb, but SO worth it!

There was some decision making to do to figure out which way to go...

A few places that were a tight squeeze (yes, we came right through here & this is looking back down)...

But our fearless leader took us upward & onward!

We not only saw the fall colors, but also some interesting sights...

Yes, this was growing right up through the rocks!  There were also flowers seemingly growing right out of the rocks in places.

We finally neared the top (where we saw people coming in from a much easier trail...)

where the sound of rushing water...

greeted us in our VICTORY!

And when we got back (via a much easier trail), we went directly to a BBQ place where we all felt...

just like this!  famished, tired & thrilled that we had "conquered" the Rock Colony!

Tomorrow I'll share one more piece of this adventure...