Headed up into the Helderbergs this afternoon to do a little exploring in the eastern section of the Partridge Run WMA before a major winter storm moves in tonight. I parked in a small, informal parking area on the shoulder of Ravine Road(Elevation 1545 feet) less than 2/10 of a mile north of Kingfisher Road. Once I got all geared up I headed out under mostly clear skies and temps in the mid 20's.
I first headed over to the area known as "The Gulf", an enormous, deep ravine, and followed its western rim via a rough herd path.
The slopes above The Gulf are extremely steep and quite impressive, but ice and snow kept me far back from the edge.
Followed the herd path south along the rim until the terrain eased up and allowed me to drop down to the frozen stream that flows through The Gulf.
A fairly easy rock hop(ice hop) got me across the creek and then onto Kingfisher Road, which I immediately left to follow a blue blazed trail. This trail was quite icy as it drops down towards the east side of the Gulf. Just prior to the views out across the Gulf, however, I found this picturesque wetland just off trail.
The main event of this hike is the walk along the eastern edge of The Gulf, where a great view opens up across the deep ravine and to the north.
After enjoying both sides of The Gulf, I continued hiking the blue trail, which heads east then south, almost paralleling Kingfisher Road.
After re-emerging on Kingfisher Road, I followed it south for a short distance to the Long Path, which also doubles as the Wood Duck Path, heading west. This trail, by no small coincidence, leads to beautiful Wood Duck Pond, which was 99% iced over today.
From Wood Duck Pond, I decided to venture off trail and into the woods, wandering past old stone walls and gorgeous forests.
I briefly followed a pretty little creek that drains the higher slopes above. These sheltered parts of the woods were noticeably colder and had much more snowpack than the more open areas I had passed through earlier.
Passing by more old stone walls deep in the woods off trail.
Continuing NW, I soon emerged out of the woods and back onto Ravine Road, where I walked the rest of the distance back to the car. Didn't see another person the whole day as I hiked about 3 miles total on what turned out to be a pretty nice, although cold, afternoon. With nearly 100% sunshine, it's hard to imagine we will be getting close to a foot of snow starting tonight!
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