After the open area, we had to cross a stile that was very much not dog friendly. But Amaroq is a great hiking dog and we made it. The trail headed through the woods and entered Bear Creek National Scenic Area, passing a campsite in just over a mile.
The trail headed up a ridge and there were nice views. The trees hadn't leafed out at this elevation yet, so we could still enjoy winter views.
The trail eventually descended via switchbacks to Reed Creek and intersected Crawfish Trail. We turned on the horse trail to make a loop.
The trail followed an old road for a while, eventually crossing Bear Creek.
After this, the trail got off the road and started heading up very steeply. At least it wasn't too hot, but it was a strenuous climb. At the top, the trail paralleled the AT closely for over half a mile.
We took a nice break back on Appalachian Trail and then started heading back.
Some nice wildflowers were blooming along the trail, a lot of fringed polygala.
Most of the hike back was downhill, which was nice after the steep climb on the horse trail. There were some cows grazing in the open area when we passed through, but Amaroq was pretty tired and not too interested.
From here, we headed into Wytheville and got lunch from 7 Dogs Brewing. Then we drove to Claytor Lake State Park and set up camp. It was still early so we went for a short hike from camp, first on Shady Ridge Trail.
Then we took Hidden Valley Trail along the north side of the park.
There was an overlook with a view of the lake but it was pretty overgrown.
We took Claytor Lake Trail back to camp.
Amaroq laid under the picnic table while I made a campfire. The campground host and another camper commented on what a good husky he was, but of course he was very tired from his long hikes. After sunset, we went to bed and Amaroq did very good his first night camping.
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