Nicholson Hollow – Hannah Run – Catlett Mt – Hazel Mt – Hot/Short Mt – Nicholson Hollow (10.5 miles)
I met Mike at 0800 at the boundary trailhead parking lot for Old Rag. This was my first visit to the area since the PATC was able to transfer the property they purchased from the Kestenbaum family (that included an old cabin, the new Old Rag access trail, and the land that’s now that now the new parking lot). All three looked great. It was a chilly, cloudy Thursday, so we had the lot and the trails to ourselves.
Hiking in on the Nicholson Hollow Trail, we noticed that Mel Ellis had built a new house a little uphill from his old cabin. The Hughes River was running high from recent snow and rain, so Patrick’s beautifully constructed crossing stones were very welcome.
The hike was lovely and uneventful. As we ascended on the Hannah Run Trail, the trail became snowy (lots of animal tracks). We had a brief lunch at the intersection of the Hazel Mt Trail and the Hot-Short Mountain Trail, then descended back to the parking lot.
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