Table Rock Summit Hike - Sunday - July 29. 2012

Nancy and I set out early to hike to the Summit of Table Rock Mountain. According to the trail guides, the hike is rated strenuous and is somewhere between 7.5 and 8 miles round trip. We actually measured it closer to 9 miles with our GPS and pedometers;o)

The hike started at the nature center.

From the Nature Center,

 it was a gentle uphill walk,

past pretty little waterfalls

to the actual trailhead.

From this point on the trail really went up!!

No more gentle grade.

It was UP...,

UP...,

UP!!!

This trail requires you to pay attention. Not very easy to be looking around. If you’re not watching where you walk, you could easily twist an ankle and wind up on your butt!!

It was a steady climb UP to the Halfway Hut.

We took a little rest and Nancy went out on the rocks to take a photo of the pretty view. I decided I would wait to see the picture… not climbing out on any rocks for any view;o((

View from the Halfway Hut

After a little rest,

we continued along a ridge for about 1/2 mile.

Nice to have some flat ground to walk!!

 

But it wasn’t long before it really went UP!!

They did say this was a strenuous hike;o))

But now we were into some rock climbing ;o((

 

I did sneak a peak as we climbed across

this huge granite dome!!

 

One last set of rocks….

and we had reached the summit:o))

You might think I was hanging on for dear life, but actually I am hugging this tree for our favorite tree huggers, David and Sherry!!! Our change in altitude from where we started to here is about 2000 feet. (1964 to be exact)

Nice view from the Summit of Lake Oolenoy and
the Table Rock State Park Headquarters.

Standing at the summit, we are at the highest point on Table Rock Mountain, we are not at the ‘table’ yet. To get there, you have to  hike down the trail for another 1/2 mile.

We are almost there.

This is as close as

I will pull my boots up to the table;o))

Nancy put her boots ON the table!!

She’ll go anywhere just to get the picture!?!?

She got a great picture of

the view from the table.

If you were standing down by the reservoir,

looking up,

you could see us up here:o)))

Since I had found a nice spot, right next to a tree, we decided this would be a great time for lunch. We were watching hawks soaring just off the mountain, but they were in the distance. Then this fellow, stopped on the branch right above us.

Guess he was looking for some lunch also;o))

We spent about 45 minutes, eating lunch and soaking in the beauty out here. Then it was time to return. Since this is an out and back trail, our first thoughts were, “this will be a piece of cake, it’s all downhill!!” Yes Sherry, a trail does look VERY different on the way back!!!

DOWN...

DOWN...

DOWN!!!

 

If you want to see the rest of our hike down, your can stand on your head or flip your monitor and look at the pictures on the way up. Definitely as much of a challenge going down as it was coming up!!!



Being Flatlanders, this elevated hike was a real tester for us. Can’t imagine what it would be like in the REAL mountains out west!?!?! However, it was a fantastic way to spend a day. There is no doubt that tomorrow, we will be resting our weary bodies and then try another hike in a day or so!!

GREAT HIKE….GREAT DAY!!!