Sugarland Mtn, Rough Creek, Little River, & Huskey Gap

Only 1.8 miles of this hike out of 15.9 were a repeat for me(Sugarland Mtn—7.2, Rough Creek—2.8, Little River—1.8, Huskey Gap—4.1)

All of our Wed. hikers started at Fighting Creek Gap; most did a 9-10 mi. loop that returned to the starting point via an old road. Eight of us (Bob B., Judy, Diane, Janetta, Amy, Nancy O., Scott—a friend of Bob’s, and I) did a 15.9 mi. hike; although we considered doing a key swap with 4 in each group, the consensus was that we all stay together so we moved two cars to the terminus of Huskey Gap and a third car took us back to our Fighting Creek start.

Some of us did not get started until ~9:30; Sugarland Mtn provided a steady climb. First pic is Scott & Judy at trail head for Rough Creek. After a short distance on Rough Creek we had a nice spot for lunch and a photo op (Bob, Amy, Nancy, Scott, Diane, Janetta, & me). The section of Little River Trail was the only repeat for me. The first 2.1 mi. of Huskey Gap was up and tiring; although the climb was only ~500 ft., it was hot and as I learned the next day, the ozone level was high. The last 2 mi. of Huskey Gap were essentially downhill and I sort of sped to see if I could get to my car before Bob B’s time prediction; I only beat it by 5-6 min. and had expected to beat it by 10-15.