This approximately 7 mile “lollipop loop” hike took place on Friday, March 8, 2024. It was sponsored by
and was co-led by Sally Mulhern and Michelle House.
This was the first time that I had done a long hike in about a month. And I would feel it afterwards. I met Charlie Johnson at the Park & Ride in Linden, VA at around 8:30 AM on Friday, March 8, 2024. We drove my vehicle to a Dunkin in Front Royal, VA, got a few doughnuts, then headed to Raymond R. (Andy) Guest/Shenandoah River State Park near Bentonville, VA around 9:30 AM.
We parked near the Bluebell Trailhead. Co-hike leader Sally M was there to greet us. This lady is 83 years old and hikes like she is in her 20’s! We kabitzed with various hikers as they arrived, took the group picture and started the hike a bit after 10:00 AM. The weather was overcast with occasional sun. Temps were in the high 50’s, low 60’s. A great day for a hike.
Tall Campers: stay warm in AMPEX oversized 20°F down mummy sleeping bag.
There were 19 people on this hike, the majority being Senior Citizens. We started on the Bluebell Trail for about 2 miles. We only saw a few early blooming Bluebells. We then picked up the River Trail. It was all flat and easy for the next mile or so. We then switched to the Cullers Trail for about a half mile, then started a 400 foot up on the Shale Barrens Trail. We were now ridging on the Red Tail Ridge Trail. The views were fantastic! We took a lot if images. This portion of trail was well designed and a pleasure to hike. It would swing north to south and south to north to south while we navigated around the mountain.
At around the 4 mile mark we got on the Tulip Poplar Trail. More ridging here. The trail would swing north and then dump us back on the Cullers Trail. We would take the Cullers Trail east for about a half mile and cut over to the River Trail around mile 5. We were now backtracking on trail that we had already hiked. This was the “stick” of the lollipop. At mile 6 we again got on the Bluebell Trail and got back to our vehicles a bit after 2:00 PM and after doing a bit over 7 miles.
This was a challenging but nice hike. The hike leaders did a great job. I felt good at the end of the hike but got very sore as the day progressed. However, I did lose two pounds after doing this hike. I’m going to have to get out there more often now that it is getting warmer.
Mike C
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