Tuesday 3-31-26 Roaring River Hiking, Camping & Having Fun

 

Camping at Roaring River State Park

We had a beautiful day. The morning temperature was 66 degrees and the high was 81 degrees.

I woke up at 7:15 am and got dressed. Then I made mini waffles for breakfast. Afterwards we went on a 4.25 mile hike/walk for 2.5 hours. We started our hike from the campground on Pibern Trail, which is 1.5 mile trail. It was a challenging trail with a lot of rocks. The trail took us up a steep mountain side for about .25 mile. Once we were on top the trail flattened out. We hiked along the rim of the mountain, which overlooked a creek. The creek flows by the campground when it has water. Today it didn't have any. As we hiked we saw rock formations, caves created by water and a lot of trees. Then we climbed down the mountainside to where the creek bed was. The trail goes through the creek to get to the campground. It was easy to cross the creek because it didn't have any water. We walked the creek bed until we got to the campground. The trail was rocky and at places there were loose rocks and steep terrain. It was a beautiful hike along the rim of the mountain and creek. 

Rocky Mountainside on Pibern Trail

Caves made by water

Once in the campground we sat down on a bench and rested. Then we continued our hike/walk. We walked through the campground to the highway, that goes to the day area. Instead of going to the fishing area we walked the highway to the picnic area. We had to walked over the river using the bridge, which we shared with traffic. The picnic area was beautiful. It had a few picnic tables, areas where you can fish and release, a playground, a group shelter (built by the CCC), a water fountain (originally built by the CCC) and a gorgeous statue of a CCC worker. The playground was very cute, it had a giant fish and by his mouth there was a jeep (park ranger). 

Playground at picnic area

Group shelter 

CCC worker statue

After taking pictures we walked back to the fishing area, hatchery (built by the CCC) and hiking trails. There were more people fishing today then yesterday. We walked around the fishing area and the hatchery. It was nice to see families fishing together. One group I thought was grandparents and grandchildren (teen age boy and girl). We hiked a short trail called Deer Leap, which is .2 miles. It's pretty challenging because you have to climb rock stairs, it was built by the CCC. Then you hiked on a boardwalk with stairs and overview of the hatchery and the history of the hatchery. Before doing this trail we walked to where the river begins. It begins as and underground spring, it produces an average of 20.4 million gallons of water per day. The water feeds into the hatchery. The water at the beginning is an aqua color and at the hatchery the water is more of a green. The trail takes you by the lodge and cabins. It was a nice walk around.

Learning building where the eggs are located

Where the river begins

Trout at the beginning of the river

CCC steps we climbed

The boardwalk we walked

Hatchery from Deer Leap trail

We rested on a bench for a little while before continuing our hike back to the Minnie. By the time we got back to the Minnie we had hiked/walk for 4.25 miles and 2.5 hours.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing under the air conditioner. Larry read and I played games.

I played the Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: World Tour Mini of 10 games. It took me  39 minutes and 48 seconds, which put me in 15th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2. 

After lunch we went over and took a shower. When we finished I did a couple of loads of clothes. They have a laundry with three washers (one's out of order) and four dryers (one's out of order). The showers weren't that clean but it was ok to use. The laundry was old but it had tables to fold your clothes. People didn't clean a dryer out after doing their dog bedding so there was fur in it. It did need a little cleaning but there weren't dryer sheets or trash laying around. The washers and dryers worked great. It cost $1.25 per load of clothes to wash and $1.50 per load of clothes to dry. 

Doing laundry

After doing laundry I swept out the Minnie. We have been on the road for almost 2 week and this was the first time I had swept. 

For dinner I barbecued a seasoned chicken breast, which we shared. We had chips to go with the chicken. After dinner I walked around the campground one lap, which was for 30 minutes and 1.5 miles. While walking I met the camp host. He is very nice and friendly. 

By the end of the day I had done 17,000 steps.