"It's Basically Flat at the Top!": Bearfort Ridge

Looking back on old hikes: Bearfort Ridge. 4.4 miles, 850 feet elevation gain.

Jon and I had been to Bearfort about 8 years ago, but a different section and that had been 8 or so miles. Going with Liam, we decided to do a shorter hike and start from a different place. We parked at a parking lot across from Greenwood Lake, hit the port-a-potty (heaven is a clean port-a-potty when you really have to go! Don't judge until you've been there!), and searched for the trailhead. We saw a blaze, but it wasn't the right one. We puzzled over this until we saw two young guys setting off and we asked that where the Ernest Walker trail started. "Right here," one of the guys said. "We're going on it." So we followed them, but quickly fell behind. Oh, to have that kind of energy again! On the way up, we stopped to stretch. Leg cramps are the worst!

Since we hadn't done this hike before, we asked a man on the way up what it was like. He said to ask the woman in the sunglasses at the back of his group's line and so we did. She gave us some vague details which I really didn't comprehend in terms of terrain. We soon saw a man and a woman coming down the mountain and I asked them.

"What's the terrain like?" I asked.

"Where are you going up there?" he asked in return.

"Well, we thought we'd take the yellow when we hit it and go up to the Surprise Lake and then back again. That way it's only 2.2 miles and with the little guy, it might be hard doing the ridges at the top. I read that there is a lot of hands and knees climbing up there." I said.

"Oh, not, not at all!" he said. "It's basically flat the top! It's much easier up there than it is right here. I'd do the whole thing. Why not? It's flat up there."

"Oh, it is?" I asked, with renewed energy. "Oh, well, then we'll do the whole thing. Thank you!"

We continued huffing and puffing up the mountain until we got to the cairn where the blue meets the yellow. A man coming down seemed confused and we shared our map with him and he seemed grateful. We saw a few boys with heavy backpacks on and I secretly thanked my lucky stars that I wasn't wearing a heavy pack on a mountain like this. But somehow I will if I fulfill my dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail! Someday! We'll work up to that.

Soon we continued on our way up the yellow, taking the left side of the loop up to a steep ridge that I honestly felt a little nervous climbing. Liam did fine though! We got to the top and were met with a breathtaking view of Greenwood Lake which seemed incredibly expansive. We decided to sit down for a little while. There were quite a few people up there; it amazes me how many people are on Bearfort Ridge considering the terrain. We were rarely alone on the first half of the hike. Moreso on the second half.

And speaking of the terrain, up popped a family of five - a mom, dad, grandpa, and two young kids. I hadn't seen a child as young as Liam up there, but what really struck me was the mother's attire. She was wearing a short dress and flat dress shoes! I couldn't imagine climbing the mountain without sneakers or boots - I hadn't seen anyone with anything less than running shoes. She seemed quite proud of herself climbing up the steep mountain in her inappropriate attire and it soon became obvious to me that the whole family (with the exception of grandpa who they left behind to fend for himself) was the definition of smug. Once we decided to keep going, I remarked to Jon that it looked like a drop-off, but soon realized looks were deceptive and it wasn't.

"It isn't a drop-off," the boy sneered with some major attitude.

"I can see that," I said through gritted teeth.

We continued on our way. We finished that ridge and walked through a wooded area before coming to Surprise Lake. Surprise Lake is a lake carved out by glaciers and is as beautiful as Terrace Pond, another nearby glacial lake. There were a few people there and we found a secluded spot to find a rock upon which to discard our shoes and look for a place to dip our feet in. But there wasn't a place. Liam loves to dip his feet in at every body of water we come across, as a sort of reward for hiking, but here it was all craggy rocks and they were too high up to reach the water. We looked at the lake for a few minutes then went on.

Soon we found ourselves walking through a rhododendron forest, a beautiful tunnel surrounded by their wobbly branches. Liam picked a flower for me (which I promptly lost accidentally, I'm ashamed to say). But it was a glorious point of the hike, ducking through a romantic tunnel completely arranged by nature.

Then the ridge climbing and descending began, necessitating the use of hands and knees. We carefully picked our way down some rocks shaped like giant gravestones and used our hands to lower ourselves down. We came across a swampy area with very few rocks to traverse the wet spots. Jon ended up carrying Liam across. The way the light hit them as they crossed and the surrounding greenery was picturesque to say the least.

After that, I lost track of how many times we hoisted ourselves up and over the jagged rocks and ridges. Dozens, I'd wager.

"Oh, this is flat?" I grumbled. "The guy said it was flat up here. I think he was putting us on." But we had hiked over halfway and if we turned back, it would be harder going. We had to continue on, no matter what the terrain threw at us.

We stopped at another view, mostly covered by trees, but it was a lovely shaded spot for a quick stop. The pine trees growing between the cracks in the rocks were proof that life grows even in the toughest terrain. I put my head on Jon's chest as we stared at the sky. Liam found a ladybug that he named "Glowen" and in my photo, Glowen looks mighty surprised! We saw that time was marching on and we continued on our way.

We passed West Pond. We were high above it, so it made for a nice view.

After that, I'm afraid to say, the ups and downs all became a blur. We were aggravated, tired as anything, and our muscles felt weak and sore and the hike wasn't even over! I admit that I began to see the hike as a workout and not a refreshing jaunt in the woods. I felt pressured by the time and I felt dizzy from the exertion. Liam soldiered on and he didn't ask for a ride on Jon's shoulders - not even once! He had mild to moderate ataxia throughout some of it, but he pressed on and did an amazing job. Much better than we did! And with much less whining too.

As we were finally walking ALONG the ridge and not OVER ridges, we met up a college-age couple. We fell into conversation.

"Sorry I'm a mess. I'm sweating my butt off!" I apologized.

"Oh, no, look at HIM!" She laughed. He looked embarrassed, but took it in stride.

She told us that this was one of their first hikes in a very long hike. I was impressed that they chose Bearfort as an introductory hike because it is certainly not an easy one! They warned us that we were coming up to a difficult ridge climb and we thanked them.

Soon after, I heard what sounded like a distant roar. My heart raced, worrying that a bear had gotten a hold of them. Jon didn't hear it at all. I prayed that they were okay; I didn't even know what trail they were going off on. They had parked at a different parking lot. For days after, I checked the news, but no bear attacks, thankfully.

We started over the ridge and it was difficult, but Liam traversed it almost all by himself. Look at him go!

After a bit more walking along the ridge (and me losing the end of my hiking pole in-between rocks), we started to descend the mountain. My knee began to hurt pretty badly and I put a knee brace on it. It didn't help too much and I just bore the pain. I knew I'd get down eventually, so I dealt with it. If Liam can deal with his medical issues, I can too! Eventually we got down to the bottom, back to the parking lot, and back into our car before sunset!

And that was Bearfort! "Flat at the top" my behind! That's all I can say!