34page

Basecamp YOUR ABA FIELD SCOUT Trips: From the Field Brittney Hughes, 2B, has served as a Park Naturalist at DeSoto State Park for the past eight years. Hiking every trail a t DeSoto and Little River Canyon National Preserve wasn't enough: She's working o n knocking o f f e v e r y hiking p a t h in G r e a t S m o k y Mountains National Park. Our trail scouts' top local hikes THE HIKE DeSoto State Park Loop, DeSoto SP, A Brittney Hughes Fort Payne, AL Mt. Minsi via the AT, Delaware Wa­ t Gap N, PA Kathleen S a n d t B u s h k i l l , PA Awendaw Pas­ sage, Francis Maron NF, SC David Loveland Mt. Pleasant. SC : Violettes Lock, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal NHP, M Pat White Gaithersburg, MD M t . FrisseU, Mt. Washington SF, M A l C T K e i t h Riley Brookfield, CT T H E BETA � Glimpse waterfalls and early-blooming wildflow­ " ers on this 4.2-mile figure-eight in Alabama's Appalachian corner on the Red, Orange, and Blue Trails. At mile .7, reach 6-foot Laurel Falls beneath a hardwood canopy. Cross lichen-covered sandstone, where pale-pink elf orpine blooms in rock depressions, en route to 5-foot Lost Falls at mile 1.7. Nab 25-foot Indian Falls at the start of the second, 1.B-mile loop along West Fork Little River. Trp data bit. npCn·nol. "March i s the best t i m e to s e e the cascades; they're usually dry from J u n e through the f a l l , .. �Ascend a 1.463-foot promontory along the N e w " Jersey-Pennsylvania border on t h i s 4.2-mile out-and-back o n t h e AT. Pass L a k e Lenape a t mile .3, where bullfrogs croak a t dawn and dusk. C l i m b 1,000 feet through a budding mixed hardwood forest to summit M t . Minsi, where a lBO-degree v i e w extends across t h e snaking r i v e r to l,527-foot M t . Tammany (NJ). Retrace your steps, or return v i a t h e fire r o a d for a 5-mile loop. Tripdatabit.ly/0314MtMinsi ..-- "If you h i k e in the morning, you can catch the mist rising off the Delaware River." � Snag a rare, dry-land perspective of a salt marsh " on this 7-mile section o f the 425-mile Palmetto Trail. Hike 2 miles under pines to Awendaw Creek, a tidal expanse o f golden-hued spartina grass flanked by lOW-hanging oaks. Watch for egrets, herons, osprey, and-especially at l o w t i d e - f i d d l e r crabs a n d o y s ­ t e r c a t c h e r s . S e e t h e I n t r a c o a s t a l W a t e r w a y and t h e A t l a n t i c b e f o r e e n t e r i n g a longleaf p i n e f o r e s t f o r t h e f i n a l 2 miles. T r i p d a t a b i t . l y / 0 3 1 4 A w e n d a w " T h e b o t t o m l a n d s are best in March with the low sun a n g l e , cool weather, a n d cackling marsh hens." � Meander the rocky banks of the Potomac on " this 11.6-mile out-and-back. From sandstone Swains Lock, follow the flat towpath 3 miles upstream to Pennyfield Lock, where daffodils bloom in spring. Option: Overnight here at the rustic stone lockhouse ($lOO/night; canaltrust.org). Continue along the river, which widens to 1,500 feet, watching for great blue herons and bald eagles en route to the turnaround at Violettes Lock. Trip data bit.ly/0314SwainsLock "Hike in the late afternoon to watch the sun set over Virginia across the water." � Touch three states on this 4-mile out-and-back " to a 2.454-foot Taconic Range summit. Hike through h a r d w o o d s past t h e NY-CT-MA junction (mile 1.5) to the 2 , 3 B O - f o o t Connecticut h i g h point and gaze across rolling f o r e s t . Gain Frissell's v i e w l e s s summit 200 y a r d s n o r t h , or turn a r o u n d and hike 1 mile to t h e South Taconic Trail for a .4-mile spur up 2 , 3 1 1 - f o o t Brace Mountain for clear-day v i e w s to t h e C a t s k i l l s , 4 0 miles a w a y . Trip data bit.ly/0314Frissell "Hiking here is the best in Connectict; at times the Taconic Crest plateau can feel a little bit like Ireland." More Adirondacks F o r t h e fIst tune il 100 years, access 7,200 acres o f land along the Hudson and Cedar Rivers More info' dec ny gov 3 2 BACKPACKER 03.2014