Agile Trekker: Hard Times/Bent Creek Loop, Pisgah Ranger District

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
4/13/2022	4.9 miles	2 hours 43 minutes	473'	2.1 mph	242.5

Parking:

Hard Times parking lot

Maps:

Pisgah Map Co. Pisgah Ranger District (for navigation)
100 Favorite Trails of the Smokies and the Carolina Blue Ridge (for directions)

Directions:

See 100 Favorite Trails map

Carolina Mountain Club Challenges

100 Favorite Trails hike #74
Some of the Pisgah 400 Challenge....

I've been having some impingement in my shoulder lately - likely caused by adding weight to my GG Gorilla pack. I find that my GG Mariposa feels much more comfortable with added weight - and it's the pack I do use for backpacking. So, I probably should have been doing my training with the Mariposa, not the Gorilla. I saw my doctor, and after discussing what brand of pack I have, how much weight I put in it, part of his treatment plan was not only to use pain drugs, but also to go to REI for a pack fitting. I had to laugh.

So today I decided to do a short hike with a low weight pack. I chose a local hike on the 100 Favorite Trails list. This is an easy hike, and we went a relaxed pace. This park has a lot of trails, and this hike has a lot of trail intersections. I spent the time to memorize the route ahead of time, and I took out my map every single intersection to verify which direction we were going. One of the unnamed trails actually isn't on the map, though it does show up on the Gaia Gps app.

I recently downloaded the Seek app and spent some time identifying wildflowers. Seek identified Krummholz as a "Domesticated Dog". Seek could not identify Glen, lol.

The highlight of the hike was swimming. First in a stream, then at Lake Powhatan. Krummholz should win an award for most improved swimmer. As a puppy he would not step in streams. He hated the couple pool swimming classes I brought him too. Now he's obsessed with water and swims!