Crabtree Falls Hike…. Interrupted!

Joe spent Friday morning on the tractor clearing out our driveway
and the county snowplow got to our road by that afternoon.
So we're no longer homebound,
and I was easily able to get into the shop for work this morning.

There were strong blustery winds with blue skies today,
and although the snow is melting,
it's still a lovely sight.
I'm hoping to have time tomorrow for a walk in the woods

But I need to finally finish that hike description
that got interrupted
as you'll see in more ways than one!

The group was going along on the Crabtree Falls hike,

when we came to this icy section….

There were  enough patches of bare rock peeking through here and there 

and a flat spot for scooting along at the top, 

so it was crossable without being too dangerous.

I took the icy route, but a few of the group

opted for the mountain goat approach on the upper slope.

Dorothy went for a brief slide which caused a few stopped hearts, 

and John and Pat decided it was more than they wanted to chance and turned back.

We were rewarded with a few more amazing views

but as it turned out, 

John and Pat were the smart ones; 

we hadn't gone more than two tenths of a mile past the icy trail section when….

There was no getting around this patch.

Ice about 3" thick with a drop off on the left,

and  more ice and no way up and onto the uphill side.

28 people have died at Crabtree Falls; 

a college student last spring was the latest fatality.  

Most of them slip on the rocks 

trying to get closer to the water in the summer months.  

None of us old folks wanted to be 

the start of a new statistic: 

wintertime ice fatalities, 

so we turned around and headed back down the trail.

Even though I didn't get to the top of Crabtree Falls

(we did 2 miles out of 3.4), 

I did tick off something on my "first time" list…..

Eating at Gerties Country Store in Vesuvius on the way home!

And yes, there is a Gertie! 

Friendly service, hot coffee, BBQ and onion rings hit the spot!

That evening was the monthly gallery walk in town

and wine tasting at the wine shop.