Some days you just have to cut your losses and call it a day. Feeling adventurous I headed back to Pisgah after seeing that the trails were open to snowmobiles and some had been groomed, with the intent of doing an 8.5 mile loop. I parked in the Rt 119 lot and headed up to Reservoir Road. All started out great, the trail was soft in some spots, but mostly packed. Some Friends of Pisgah volunteers passed me on a snowmobile doing trail recon for debris, then 2 snowmobilers passed by. Those were the only folks I saw until the end of my day. I actually enjoyed Reservoir Road in these conditions, it felt more like a trail than an actual road. I arrived at Dogwood Swamp Trail to find a Closed sign. I wasn't sure if it was just for snowmobiles, there was no indication, and it looked pretty official. Also the trail had not been touched, so the thought of breaking trail for over 3 miles was less than enticing. I considered my options and decided to head up Reservoir Trail (having done it over the Summer, I knew it was a decent little climb) to Hinsdale Trail. Knowing this was also a snowmobile trail, and having heard it's less than ideal in non-Winter conditions, I figured why not. Once up the hill, I arrived at the intersection of Reservoir Trail and Hinsdale Trail and started down Hinsdale Trail, only to encounter another Closed sign. Again, with no indication of whether it was only snowmobiles, I took a look down the trail and could see lots of mud/standing water so I cut my losses and headed back down to the car. On my way in, I had passed 2 ends of a blue blazed trail. Not marked on the map, I hadn't followed it, but on the Reservoir Road end, there was a sign saying "Foot/Ski Trail to Rt 119" so I decided to take that as an alternate back. This trail wasn't broken out either, which was fine, except a few hundred yards in, I lost the blue blazes. I followed a few trees with blue flagging tape, but it was tough going in the unbroken snow and lots of trees down.. not long after I lost that as well. Thankfully I wasn't far from the road, so I cut back over and just took the road back. I wonder if it's easier to follow in Summer! I did pick up 1.5 new miles on Reservoir Road, but I'll have to redo it when I come back and complete the trails that were closed. Oh well, no complaints about a lovely walk in the woods.
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