Hike #3 - War Eagle Trail

Today we headed to War Eagle Trail at Withrow Springs State Park.  Even though it is January, long sleeve t-shirts cut it today.  The first impression is that this trail was hard to find for two reasons.  The first is that the trail head is before you actually pass the "Welcome to..." state park signs.  The second is that the parking area is on the opposite side of the road from the trail and there is no discernible path from the road.  Once we realized that the trail goes under the road, we were set.

This is a nice easy trail for the first mile and then very strenuous for the last quarter mile.  It is a spur trail, so you have to hike in and then hike back out the same path to the car.  It runs along the clear, blue War Eagle Creek.  Even though I say the first mile is easy, there are a few narrow spots including a bit with a guide wire to hold onto.  About half a mile in, there is a cave that can normally be explored, but is currently closed due to White Nose Syndrome.  The trail does have a small but steep switchback here to get past the cave.

At the end of the first mile is a wonderful spot in the creek that has some neat rapids and a big swimming hole.  There are some beautiful cliffs hanging over the water that I think would make a great cliff diving spot if it wasn't January.  I would want to swim out under them first to check it out.  However, we wisely decided that if we stopped here, we would never motivate the kids to do the tough last quarter mile.  This steep rocky trail has some great views which come with some cliffs that require you to keep an extra eye on kids.  We did stop at the waterhole for quite a while on the way back out.

Travel time from home: 35 minutes
Today's miles: 2.37 miles
Remaining miles: 88.93