Monday, August 10, 2009

Deer Run Trail

Deer Run Trail - O'Neil Woods - Summit County Metro Parks



The MetroParks site gives this one a difficulty rating of 3. I say the difficulty ratings are highly flawed, as this trail is way more difficult than some of the other 3s.If we go to a 1 - 5 rating, I'd give this a 5. Toughest Metro parks Trail I've been on yet. If you're up for a good workout and a good challenge, this is the trail for you.



When you enter the trail, you will instantly go into a dream-like state, making things like this little bridge extremely blurry. Either that, or there was some steam on my lens.

The trail has some smooth and steady areas, a very steep drop down and a very steep incline up. A large portion of the first half of the trail is several sets of stairs going down.






If the difficulty of this trail gets to be a bit too much for you, it has plenty of benches to rest on-more than i've seen on any other trail.



The bottom of the trail (around the half way point) follows a nice little stream, which provides plenty of nice, peaceful scenery.





I have no idea what this is used for, but at one point the trail connects with this interesting looking old white barn.



I'm not sure this picture really conveys the intensity, but trust me, going back up at the end of the trail is a killer. ouch.


A close examination of your surroundings can reveal really interesting little things, like this unusual fungus I found.



Overall, a great trail. I really thoroughly enjoyed myself here, although once I got home from this hike, I was pretty well done for the day. Quite a workout. If you think you can hack it, I definitely recommend spending an hour or two here.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Schumacher Trail (Cascade Valley Park North)

Schumacher Trail - Cascade Valley Park North - Summit County MetroParks



The Metroparks Site rates this trail as a 2 for difficulty. I'd say its more like a 2.5 though. It starts out with a fairly long and level path including a couple of nice bridges.



Then you come to a long circle that takes you downhill pretty slow and steady, then brings you back up a pretty steep incline. The small bench at the top of the hill was a welcome relief after that climb!



Overall, I'd have to call this one of my favorite trails. Beautiful scenery, far from the roads, and just the right difficulty. At only 1.2 miles I think I could have gone a bit longer, but this trail provides a nice little hike.

We brought along some friends and a dog this time, which added some extra fun for us, and the dog seemed to have quite a good time too.