Monday 4-6-26 Chubb Hollow, Lookout, CCC Loop & Camping

 

Current River at Big Spring

We had a gorgeous day with sunshine. We woke up with a temperature of 38 degrees and the high was 74 degrees.

I crawled out of bed at 7:00 and had Rhodes cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we got ready for a hike. We went outside to start the motorcycle but it wouldn't start. Larry wasn't surprised because everytime it's cold outside he has trouble getting the motorcycle to start. So we went back inside the Minnie and waited until it got warmer.

About an hour and a half Larry went back outside and it started right up. We rode to the CCC buildings and cabins parking lot. It was a cold ride but it was only 2.5 miles. Once the motorcycle was parked we got ready for the hike. There were two different ways to start the hike, which were either at the CCC Dining Lodge or the cabin areas. We decided to do the cabins because it's looked the steepest. We started the hike at 10:00 and finished at 12:30, it was 4.3 miles. We climbed 564' in elevation. The first .25 mile was the steepest for 300' in elevation. When we got there I took off my jacket. The rest of the elevation was very nice you didn't know you were still climbing up. When we got to the top of the mountain it started to level off. The trail took us through the forest, which was beautiful. We hiked through a lot of leaves. The trail wasn't marked very well but you could tell where the trail was. We were about 2 miles into the hike when the trail Yd off. There was a nice bench there so we sat on the bench to rest. We did rest a few other times but we either found a fallen tree to sit on or stood to catch our breathes. After resting we went to the left and continued on the hike. There were a couple more hills to hike up be they weren't as steep or long. Larry had downloaded the trail map so we followed that trail. There was one point it ventured off the trail down a road. So we decided to do the same. We were glad we did we saw the Lookout Tower, it was once used to watch for forest fires. Now it's fenced off and has a sign that said use only for fires. The staircase is still there. The tower is well hidden in the trees, you can't see it until your right on top of it. We weren't too far when Larry pointed out there was a turtle on the trail. It looked like the one we saw yesterday. The trail took us over the creek via a small wooden bridge. We ended up at Chubb Hollow Campground and a CCC Shelter, where we sat and rested. After our rest we had to back track through the campground because the section of the trail at the shelter was washed away. We got back on the trail. We hiked along the Current River for about .25 mile to the CCC Dining Lodge. This section of the trail was very narrow and rocky but the views of the river were beautiful. There were very nice rock hangover and a bench in Memory of Harry B. Hawes.After the bench the trail took us to the dock area and the CCC Dining Lodge. We rested on the steps for a little bit before walking to the bike, which was just in the parking lot. We had a super hike.

Harry B. Hawes (November 15, 1869 - July 31, 1947) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a Democrat member of the U.S. House of Representative and Senate. He was known for the Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act and earlier helped get the Republic of Hawaii as part of the U.S. territory. 

One of the CCC cabins for rent

Trail on top of the mountain

Resting at the Y on a stone bench

Lookout Tower

Turtle on the trail

CCC Shelter at Chubb Campground

Harry B. Hawes' bench

By the time we got back to the Minnie it 12:45. We rested for a little bit and then had a ham sandwich and chips for lunch. 

Larry spent the rest of the afternoon reading a book he started yesterday and finished it. I went up above the cab and took an hour nap. 

Taking a nap

I played my Daily Challenges of Solitaire and Mahjong. The event was Event: Easy Street of 30 games. It took me 59 minutes and 45 seconds, which put me in 16th place in my group. I played Angry Birds Friends and Angry Birds 2.

After doing all my games I continued reading Northern Borders.

After dinner I walked around the tent loops three times for a total of 3 miles. Then Larry and I walked over to the showers (about quarter of a mile one way) to take a shower. The showers were great and free. By the end of the day I had done 21,500 steps.