Hattaway Mountain Trail
Loop
2.0 miles
Moderate/Strenuous
Campground/Swimming Pool Trail
One way
0.8 miles
Easy
On a pleasantly cool Saturday morning, BC and I set out for Morrow Mountain State Park to continue our quest to hike all the foot trails there by the end of 2011. Our goal was to hike the Hattaway Mountain Trail with a bonus hike of the Campground to Swimming Pool trail.
We arrived at the park shortly after 8:00 and were on the trail around 8:35. The hike on the Campground/Swimming Pool trail was short and relatively flat. There was nothing extraordinary about the trail other than passing the Amphitheater. It looks like it hasn't been used in quite a while...
We took a break at a bench near the swimming pool before starting up the Hattaway Mountain Trail. This two mile loop goes almost halfway around Hattaway Mountain and then climbs almost straight up the mountain. It comes down the other side of the mountain using a series of switchbacks. This trail is far more strenuous then the Fall Mountain Trail and would be a real sweat inducer during warmer weather.
When we arrived at the split, we decided to go counter-clockwise. As it turns out, this was a good idea. I had read that one direction was really steep going up and that is what we were hoping for. The first 3/4 mile of the trail was a series of gullies that the trail traverses. This created a roller coaster type trail. Up and down, up and down. It made for an interesting hike and really wasn't that bad.
There is a series of water meter/connection boxes in the trail and like others, I wonder what they are for. About halfway around the mountain, the trail turned sharply left and headed straight up the side of the mountain.
While it wasn't brutally steep, we still felt the burn in our legs. It wasn't a long climb either. I mean, the mountain is only a bit over 800' high at the peak. One site lists the total climb at just over 435' in under a half mile. Still, we were glad to make it to the top and sit on a log for a longish break.
Another quarter mile brought us to the summit and we took BC's picture.
The hike down was interesting with the fresh leaves on the ground. There were places that I was glad for trees to grab hold of. BC fell a couple times, but thankfully, didn't get hurt.
We got back to the swimming pool in about 90 minutes. That's not bad for an old man and a little guy considering the constant up and down of the trail. We rested for a few minutes and walked back down the road to the car. Total: About four miles in under three hours.
It doesn't look like we will finish our quest before the end of the year, but I think the rest of the trails at Morrow Mountain will make for good winter hiking. Mostly short and close to home.
The rest of the pictures are below this without comment. Enjoy!
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