Sunday, April 29, 2012

Boone Fork Trail

One of the awesome things about living in Boone is the number of trails there are to hike.  No matter how long you have been here, you can ask a friend what their favorite trail is and you will learn of a new trail.

Now that the weather is warmer, we decided to take off on a one that we have not been on lately.  The Boone Fork Trail is a 4.9 mile loop that is listed as "strenuous" because of the constant changes in elevation, steep cliffs, crossing creeks and a ladder.  The kids were excited.  The last time we did this trail, I hike the whole thing with Patrick in a back back and Ann was 4.5.

So we set off after we finish Sunday School at church.  It was about 11:30 when we reached the trail head.  The kids were excited and we had a back back full of water this time.

The first mile or so is fairly flat and easy.  Then it starts to get harder.  Soon we were climbing over trees to stay on the trail.





But the views were awesome at the top of the trail.


And the kids found cool places to hide and take a rest from hiking.

 At about the half way point, the trail follows a pretty sizable river.  The kids enjoyed being able to climb down to the river and stick there toes into it.  If you notice the waterfall, we did not want them playing in the river.

 All too soon, we were finished and on out way to the car, starving and ready to look for some food.  Patrick gets to the end and could not believe that he had finished.  And in record time, 4 hours and 45 minutes.  I know a mile an hour may seem slow, but with a trail this strenuous, that is a good pace.  We came out unharmed except for some wet shoes when we crossed the creek a couple of times and stepped into it.
I was thinking about it and a hike that long is just like life itself.  You need to be prepared and make sure you take what you need.  At the point you are ready to turn around and give up, you find that you are closer to the end then the beginning.  The trail may seem lonely, but there are thousands of people who have done the same thing.  And finally, having a slow partner may not be a bad thing as it gives you time to slow down and enjoy what is around you.

Look for more blogs this summer as we explore more trails.  The kids are really excited to find new ones after today.

What is your favorite trail and where is it?

11 comments:

  1. You took some beautiful pictures! This has made me want to go for a walk on the trails in our park. Next time it's nice out I think that's what I'm going to do! Thanks for the inspiration! :)

    -Courtney P.
    www.optimisticmommy.com
    www.peaceloverecipes.com

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  2. Thanks for sharing this.. beautiful pictures.

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  3. What an incredible place. My little guy would spend hours climbing up those rocks! Nothing beats a hike with my kiddos. This weekend I took my son to a spot he has named "Lorax Forest" for a date. Chocolate donuts, bird watching and a reading of "the Giving Tree". I love bringing along a favorite book to read along the way. Great post!

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  4. What a wonderful time to spend it as a family when exploring nature. Awesome pictures, too :)

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  5. This is really inspiring--I need to find some hiking-type activities to do with my kids. They are only 4 and 2, so we may not do 4+ miles quite yet, but they could do something a bit shorter. Beautiful photos, too!

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    1. I love hiking with my kids at that age. We did about mile at that point. Have fun!

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  6. This nearly brought tears to my eyes!! I went to college in Boone & hiked that trail often. I LOVE IT THERE!!! Just stumbled upon your blog from VB and am so happy I did. Thanks for the great memories!

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  7. I loved hiking down in NC, that along with the great people were some of my favorite things about living in Boone :)
    I've never been on this trail and look forward to it next time I'm down for a visit! I can't believe it was warm enough for shorts and dipping your toes in the water there over the weekend! We were bundled up like it was winter here for the past week, but we're looking forward to exploring PA and what we can find to hike here :)
    A couple of my favorite trails to hike in the High Country were hiking up to Grandfather Mountain, the view from the cliffs up there is breath taking, there's also a trail from the parkway by the viaduck that I loved going up as well :) Then we hiked Linville Falls and that was beautiful and a hard hike with a 2 year old, but worth ever minute! I don't remember the trail names.

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    1. We have done a lot of those trails as well. You can never say that you're bored here! It was really warm this weekend!

      When you come back to Boone, the trailhead is at Price Park in the picnic area. There are signs for it.

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