Spring Break - Rock Dam Hike

Wednesday after breakfast, Sonia & I headed for Rock Dam Trail, the parks longest trail at 6.75 mi. To get to Rock Dam Trail, it required taking Cliatt Creek Loop, a 3.75 mi trail. The trail descended gradually, winding alongside dried creek beds, until we reached Cliatt Creek.

Sonia & I learned a few things about hiking over Spring Break. I mentioned in an earlier post about "blaze", the markings to help keep you on the trail. We also learned what the phrase "stream crossings" meant. The Rock Dam trail map listed that the trail had 4 stream crossings. I mistakenly assume this was just a rustic way of saying there were four bridges. It means what it says. If there had been a bridge at each of these "crossings", they would not have been mentioned at all. They were literally stream crossings! Fortunately, we were able to either find a log or some strategically placed rocks to make the crossings dry.

Rock Dam Trail had a variety of trail conditions, rocks, (relatively) deep gorges, open areas, plenty of trees. One section in particular was lined with tall, young pines. The bed of the trail was so thick with pine needles, it felt like we were walking on carpet.




We finally reached Rock Dam and took a break, soaking in the scenery. The water levels in that region were very low. I can only imagine what this would look like with normal water flow. But, then we'd have probably gotten our feet wet at the "stream crossings" for sure!

After a short snack, we made the return trip. We crossed Cliatt Creek again and picked up the return loop of that trail. The entire hike, which was our longest so far this year, took about 3 hrs.

More pictures are available here!