York River State Park Hike 2/5/13

A light rain greeted 26 Tuesday Groupers upon arrival at York River State Park this morning. Temperatures were moderate so we opened our umbrellas and prepared to begin our hike. Trying to stay dry this day: Bruce, Margaret J, Dottie, Mark C, Ron, Sue, John G, Marky, Bill L, Ellis, Marti, Judy W, Frank, Christine, Bill B, Diane, Brian, Bob A, Sandy C, Angie, Stephanie, Steve, Juliet, Barry, Judy and Phyllis. By the time we began our hike on the Taskinas Creek Trail, the rain had mostly stopped and we happily trooped along! The Taskinas Creek Trail suffered a lot of damage after Hurricane Isabel and was closed for many years. It has recently been reopened after some major trail reconstruction. What was once a fairly flat path is now a hilly one but still with many lovely views of the creek and marsh. We covered the nearly 3 mile loop trail before noon with several stops to admire views, tell jokes and watch Bill take pictures. Arriving back at the parking lot, we bid farewell to some that had to head home. After a quick potty break, the rest of us continued our walk by heading down the Backbone Trail. The day was warming and the sun had come out! We watched a opossum bolt across an open field! Bob A. and Margaret tried to go visit but he was in a hurry and couldn’t be bothered. We continued east on the Backbone Trail for a mile or so and then turned north onto the Majestic Oak Trail. This trail indeed is named after a beautiful old oak tree! We trooped along finally arriving at a scenic point overlooking the York River. We stopped here to eat our lunches. After lunch, we picked up the Powhatan Forks Trail heading back to the Backbone and eventually our vehicles near the Visitor Center. We figured we’d walked about 10 miles so most opted for a stop afterwards at Garrett’s Grocery for ice cream! Another great day for the Tuesday Group!Phyllis

Check out Bill Billing's awesome photos: https://picasaweb.google.com/b.billings/TuesYorkRiverSPFeb52013?authkey=Gv1sRgCOKT8rnkmevsywE&feat=email