Power Traipsing!
Well, it’s Employees’ Appreciation Week at work. We celebrate this with hikes, golf, walks and feasts. One of these was yesterday’s annual hike up to the Coopers Rock Overlook from Mont Chateau/Cheat Lake. A couple of folks drive up to the top with a van for those who wish to ride back and not hike. I decided and wanted to walk the return trip. The whole trip is estimated to be about 6 or 7 miles.
Here’s a photo of me with most of the hardy return-trip gang. The next photo is of “Haystack Rock” which some of our geologists term a “LFR”—which is a very technical classification that means “Large Frickin’ Rock” or something similar to that. Haystack Rock is actually moving and park officials don’t want anyone climbing on the thing or going around the backside of it. One can still get to it like we did by going on a little trail off to the side of the Overlook.
From there we went to “Rock City” to Rattlesnake Trail (we didn’t see any rattlesnakes but they are there) and eventually to Mont Chateau Trail.
It is a bloody shame that I live so close to this wonderful place and I only go to it probably once a year. I may try to go back in the near future and actually do some camping before it gets too cold.
Links:
Coopers Rock State Forest
Coopers Rock Foundation
Today we had our 5K walk/race during lunch. Just like my previous (July) 5K, I was pathetic. If I were a member of some herd animal group, I would be the weak one that lingered in the back and would eventually get attacked and eaten by a lion, a cheetah or a large carnivorous turtle. Again, for me, the blues song says it best, “I’m built for comfort, not for speed”. Nevertheless, it was good to get out and do these things. Some here are trying to talk me into an official 5K at Cheat Lake for this weekend. They say it will be a “morale builder”. Yeah, right.
