Mica Ledges Trail

"Yea though I walk through the valley of death . . . " Okay, I'm exaggerating. While it wasn't actually a valley of death, we did have our concerns. Because I'm new to hiking, I'm constantly learning, and today I learned that wet leaves and steep descents make things a bit dicey!

We went west on the blue trail to make our way to Pyamid Rock, a large boulder that was displaced from the ridge by glaciers. It's hard to imagine anything could move a rock that size. The process is interesting, and is described at the end of this post.

After passing the rock the trail splits, with the blue Mattabesett trail continuing on and the orange trail turning to the left behind Pyramid Rock. We chose the orange trail, which gave us a nice climb. So far, so good. Then we came to a steep descent, which was a bit treacherous for us. I imagine the trail is easier when it isn't covered with leaves, but it is rather steep. We made our way down slipping and sliding.

While our total climb was not that steep, there were steep places along the way.

When we were one mile in, we came to a spot where we couldn't see a blaze, and we couldn't see the leaf-covered trail.

We wandered around in this area, unable to find a blaze.

Finally, one of our eagle-eyed women spied a far-off blaze. We were back on the trail! We continued on, making our way to the southern end, and stopped here to have our devotions. When I read the scripture, we all chuckled.  

Psalm 23:3-4 “He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” 

For ages, writers have documented moments of peace in nature, but few have followed the path of serenity into dark valleys like David did. Why did he trace the path of righteousness into the valley of death? The psalmist knew that even when we walk closely with God, sometimes the trails of this life lead into places filled with despair. But even in those situations David responded with a declaration of confident peace; “I will fear no evil.” 

Sometimes following the path of righteousness leads us to where we don’t want to go. Our ultimate goal is not to find the path of least resistance, but to follow the path of God. Good times and hard times on the hiking trail go hand in hand. And in the same way, both the bitter and sweet times in life are on the same path. Thankfully, we know where this trail ends: “And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6). (Adapted from "With God on the Hiking Trail by Nathan Chapman.)

We had just been through a valley. It most definitely was not a "valley of death" and we weren't even close to a state of despair, but it wasn't a piece of cake :)

We could have finished the loop at this point, but we decided to continue on to the next trail. We followed the orange blazes and came to an outcrop where the orange trail meets the blue Mattabesett. I went ahead and checked the trail to the left. There was no way I was going to do this trail, as there was a drop off. Then I went to the right. Same thing. Even on a clear dry path, this trail was not for me! So we turned around and made our way back. The orange trail took us by Whitney Pond, where we admired the tranquility.

After this the trail became easy. It was nice and flat and we were glad. Although the hike was only 2.5 miles, due to the precariousness, it felt longer. It was a gray, cloudy day, so the great views that were promised weren't visible. Perhaps this is a trail that's better suited to a clear, sunny, dry day. But, all in all, everyone had a good time. It's always good to walk in the woods and be surrounded by nature!

Directions: Cream Pot Road in Durham. Drive to the dead end. Keep going when it becomes one lane, parking is on the left.

Trail Map: http://www.madisonlandtrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Mica-Ledges.pdf

Length: 2.5 mile

Duration: 2 hours, 20 minutes

Calories burned: 582

Difficulty Level: Difficult

A glacier moves rocks by "plucking." As a glacier moves over the landscape, water melts below the glacier and seeps into cracks within the underlying bedrock. This water freezes and melts, weakening the bonds holding pieces of bedrock in place. These pieces of rock can now be picked up or plucked from their rocky base and carried along with the moving glacier. If you ever put an ice cube on your finger and felt the skin on your finger stick to the ice cube, then you have a fairly good idea of how plucking works. 

http://study.com/academy/lesson/glacial-erosion-definition-processes-features.html