You Are Here: Finishing Elwell and Hanging Rocks

It was a simply gorgeous day today. I headed back over to the Cardigan area with the intent of finishing everything on the Mowglis Trail side of the mountain. I headed back in to the intersection of Mowglis Trail and New Colony Road. Some sections were a little rougher than I remembered, but we made it with no issue. This week I headed into the woods on Mowglis Trail. Here the trail immediately climbs a little and at roughly a quarter mile intersects with the end of Elwell Trail, which spans roughly 10 miles over to Wellington State Park. I needed the last 0.7 miles or so from this point to the intersection with Back 80 Trail coming up from the Cardigan AMC Lodge. It had rained overnight, so the trail was damp but the sun was shining. I headed down Elwell Trail which was level for a short distance then started a rather steep, but short descent to the Back 80 intersection. The biggest concern was the trail was very leafy, which hid wet rocks and roots. Once, I reached my turnaround point, I retraced my steps back up the now steep ascent. Just near the Mowglis Trail intersection, I saw a herd path heading over to what looked like a clearing so I headed in to see what the views were like. Spectacular views across to Firescrew and the surrounding area. Fall colors were popping. Back to Elwell Trail and I turned left on Mowglis Trail, heading for Firescrew. The first mile is really quite easy with gentle grades and only mild ascents. The trail is really beautiful. And on my way up, I saw no one. Just under half a mile from the intersection with Elwell Trail is a newly marked spur to the Hanging Rocks viewpoint. This viewpoint has existed previously, but not officially marked. I had read there was a new extension of this spur that takes you down and under Hanging Rocks, but I saw no indication of where that might be and since it's not described in the 5th edition of the AMC South Guide that I am working on, I considered it done to reach the viewpoint (as described in the book). Once the 6th edition is published, I can go back and find that new piece. The view was back across to where I had just been on Elwell Trail. More gorgeous colors. I continued on to Firescrew. Initially my plan had been to go up and over Firescrew and find the Grotto Cave spur, however I started much later than I had hoped, and had been taking my time on the climbs. The last quarter mile or so up to the Firescrew summit is quite steep. I was too tired and it was getting too late in the day to continue, so I'll come back and get that another time. Here is where I started to see more people, but thankfully Firescrew is much more quiet than Cardigan so it wasn't an overwhelming crowd. I enjoyed the 360 degree views for a little while before retracing my steps back down Mowglis Trail to the car.

Strava Activity