Hanging Rock Trails - February 4, 2012

Various Trails
Approximately 10 miles
Moderate to Strenuous
Loop hike

Hanging Rock State Park

In anticipation of a backpacking trip on the AT in April, BC and I headed to Hanging Rock for a ten mile warm up/evaluation hike.  I wanted to see how well BC would handle the longer mileage (his previous long was 5 miles), and also see how he would handle the steady up and down that is characteristic of the AT.  For those with short attention spans, he did great.  He lead the hike for a good portion of the way and on the long hard uphill to Moore's Knob, he about killed the rest of us.

BC at the Visitor's Center

For those with longer attention spans, here's the rest of the story!

Our loop started at the Visitor Center parking lot on the Hanging Rock Trail (1.3 miles out, 0.8 miles back).  We picked up the Wolf Rock Trail (1.4 miles) to the Cook's Wall Trail out to House Rock (1 mile), then took the Magnolia Springs Trail (0.4 miles) to the Moore's Wall Loop Trail (4.3 miles).  We closed the loop with a one mile walk down the park road from the campground to the visitor center.  Give or take a tenth, it's a ten mile loop.

Hanging Rock as seen from the trail

We were joined on this hike by TJ and Dallas.  TJ is a senior in high school and looking forward to joining the Marines later this year.  He was looking forward to the work out in preparation for his Paris Island vacation in September.  Dallas is one of TJ's friends.  Matt Farthing and his son MJ were planning to come with us but were hampered by GPS malfunction.  To be fair, it's unclear if the malfunction was due to satellite error or user error.  SixPanel and his girl were also planning to go, but something about "High of 50, 80% chance of heavy rain, High winds" wasn't appealing.

We arrived just before the gate was opened at 8:00.  We waited till 8:15 for Matt and MJ, then left a note with our route and started without them.  We hoped they would catch up with us on the trail since part of the route was backtracking on the Hanging Rock Trail, but we never did see them.  We found out later that they had indeed come late, and hiked a couple hours, but never found us.  It's too bad really.  The more the merrier is definitely true in the case of hiking.

Hanging Rock Trail

Hanging Rock Trail

The trail from the visitor's center to the bottom of the Hanging Rock knob is smooth and well maintained.  That is not to say that it is easy.  It is very steep in places and is almost constantly going either up or down.  The final 100 yards is up a wide stair which leads to the base of Hanging Rock.

The long flight of stairs on Hanging Rock Trail.

Actually taken on the way down, but it's the same stairs either way (DUH!)

The stairs to the base of the mountain

After taking some pictures and resting a bit, we made our way to the top of Hanging Rock.

BC with Hanging Rock over his head

TJ with Hanging Rock above him

BC just getting warmed up

TJ and Dallas with Hanging Rock overhead

The trail there is not as smooth as the first portion of the trail, but it is beautiful.  The almost constant stairs are made from the rocks and blends well into the area.  There were lots of walls in the area.  It's too bad Hanging Rock is closed to climbing.  Guess they probably got tired of the constant "Come quick.  There's someone hanging off the side of the cliff" phone calls.

Cool cliff face at the base of the mountain

On top of a rock below the summit of Hanging Rock

Typical easy part of the trail

At this point, we had not been rained on, but we knew it was coming.  We passed a hiker who was coming down from the summit who warned us of 30-40 mph winds.  I don't think he exaggerated.  It was very windy at the top.

TJ and Dallas on top of Hanging Rock

"Yes, we made it"

On top of Hanging Rock

The top of Hanging Rock is a scrambling playground.  We could have spent a lot more time there if we didn't have such a long hike planned.  As it was, TJ and Dallas climbed around to the various points and we took pictures.  This is as close as I would let BC get to the edge.  He's only about 3 feet from a 100' drop, but I figured that large boulder would keep him from falling.  He didn't seem very nervous at all for being up there.  Truth be told, I'm sure I was more nervous about him being there than he was.  He was very accommodating of my "Hold my hand" demands when near edges like this... of which there were many!

A little nervous on the edge, but otherwise...

he was all smiles today

TJ on Hanging Rock

BC on the Hanging Rock high point (2579')

Wolf Rock Trail

We made our way back down the Hanging Rock Trail to the Wolf Rock Trail which heads off to the left (coming down) about a half mile from the parking area.  In contrast to the well maintained Hanging Rock Trail, the Wolf Rock Trail is more like what I expect when hiking... single file path winding through the woods.

I'm sure we saw the Wolf Rock for which the trail is named, but honestly, we saw so many incredible rocks, I couldn't tell you which one it was.  Even in pictures I've seen of the rock, I didn't really see the wolf.  As it was, there were so many places to climb and scramble around on, we had to consciously focus on NOT stopping so much. 

TJ on top of the world... well, at least on top of this rock

BC under the sheltering slab

Cook's Wall Trail 

 Part of the plan was to hike up to House Rock on the Cook's Wall Trail.  We talked about skipping that little out and back section, but it seemed a waste to have to hike the whole trail again just to see what House Rock looked like.  It was tempting to regret the decision because it was all uphill, but once there, we could see Hanging Rock in the distance, giving us an idea of how far we had hiked.  It was worth the extra uphill.  Besides, we got a good steady downhill section on the way back down to the Magnolia Springs Trail.

BC and me on House Rock

On top of House Rock with Hanging Rock in the background.

Magnolia Springs Trail

The Magnolia Springs Trail has a very simple purpose... connect the Cook's Wall Trail with the Moore's Wall Trail.  There was nothing spectacular about it.  It wound it's way down one mountain then back up the next one.  We did stop to eat lunch on this trail, and we were on this trail when the persistent rain started falling.  We covered our packs, put on our hats, and kept going.

It's a bird, a plane... No, it's just BC in his rain gear.

Moore's Wall Loop Trail

The Moore's Wall Loop Trail is 4.3 miles of hard.  There wasn't an easy stretch anywhere on this trail.  It started by going up.  Then it kept going up.  Then, just as we thought we were at the top, it went up some more.  About that time, it leveled out for about 30 yards, then went up again.  Along about that time, it went up and then down repetitiously  for a mile or so.  Then it went down... and down... and down...  My poor knees were protesting with every step.

That's not to say it wasn't fun.  It was great.  Hanging Rock has some very interesting geology and we enjoyed every bit of it.  A hike should be hard.  You should be grateful when you reach the top.  And grateful again when you get to the bottom.  It should reward your effort with a sense of accomplishment or at least a great view.  This trail was all of that and more.  This is definitely on my list of favorites!

TJ and Dallas

It rained on and off throughout the day after lunch.  We hiked much of the Moore's Wall Loop in the clouds.  There weren't any great views, but we saw lots of cool things anyway.

Plodding along in the rain

Next to a cliff without a view

When we arrived at Moore's Knob, the trail seemed to split.  There were blazes on trees going on both sides of the mountain.  There was also an unmarked trail a few paces through the woods that seemed to go back the way we had come.  After consulting the map, we came to the conclusion that the trail doubled back here and went down the mountain.  So we followed the unmarked trail for about a quarter mile, but there were no blazes and it didn't seem to be going the right way.  So we went back to Moore's Knob and followed the blazed trail to the right since it looked to be easier.  I don't know what the story is with the blazes leading to the left, but the path to the right was the correct path to take.

It lead us to a fire tower.  We climbed to the top and experienced winds that must have been in the 50 - 60 mph range.  It was incredible... and cold.  We didn't stay up there long.  Since we were still in the clouds, there wasn't even a view to enjoy.  But hey, we can say we went to the top!  Check out this video...

On the way back to the trail, we passed Balanced Rock.  As you well know, you can't pass a rock that is precariously balanced on the rock underneath it without climbing on top to see if you can upset the delicate balance of nature.  So we did just that.  It wasn't all that hard, but it did require some team work to get on top of the rock.  Here's the pics...

BC trying to not capsize nature's balance.

TJ and Dallas on Balanced Rock

On top of Balanced Rock

After this came the knee killing descent.  I didn't count the stairs, but there must have been about a gazillion of them.  Okay, maybe not quite a gazillion, but if you round up, it can easily get there.  BC said his shoulders were hurting, so I carried his pack for about half a mile.  Once we got to the road, he willingly accepted it back.

BC at the Amphitheatre in the Campground

This was one of the nicest hikes I've done so far.  TJ and Dallas were great company.  BC loved having someone else to talk to (as you probably know, I'm not the greatest conversationalist).  They talked about video games mostly.  BC loves TJ anyway, so spending the day in the woods with him on this long hike was a great experience for BC. 

We finished the 10 mile hike in under six hours.  Not bad considering the up and down nature of the trail and the amount of scrambling/climbing we did along the way.  I am already planning another trip to hike this route in the other direction.  Hopefully on a nice sunny warm day...