Caledonia State Park Hike #9

March 31st brought a gorgeous day for hiking.  It was great to be able to get outside in some decent weather.  Because it was so nice, I decided to take Lucy along to see how she would do on a longer trail.  Plus, she has a new training halter that's supposed to help with pulling.
Because we needed to stop at the Michaux State Forest Office, we headed out that way for a hike.  Our scout troop has a backpacking hike planned for the fall, and we need to get some permits and special permissions out of the way.  Unfortunately, the office was closed so we'll need to head back there again.
Since we were right there at Caledonia, we stopped in at their office and picked up a trail map.  We opted to hike along the Ramble Trail which was listed as a 2.2 mile more difficult hike.  It travels along a small section of the Appalachian Trail near the end.
The Park was full of people because it was the first day of trout season, so there were tons of anglers along Conococheague Creek.  We only passed a few people along the trail along with some dogs.  Lucy did really well on the hike.
She tackled her first stream crossing, though she wasn't too thrilled about it.  She really wanted to stay on dry land, but she did go across though somewhat reluctantly.  She wasn't pulling as much as she typically does, but I can't say for certain if that was the new harness or that fact that she was racing around the yard earlier in the day and was already tired. Either way, it made for a nice hike.  She keeps me moving forward and gives me something to focus on other than my aches and pains.  I had her clipped to my belt with a carbiner to allow me to be hands free.  That seemed to work really well except for the couple of times she heard or smelled something in the laurel shrubs and popped open the buttons on my pants.  Needless to say, we still have some work to do.  She needs to not get so excited about seeing people, other dogs or invisible creatures in the underbrush.
The hike overall was a pretty easy one.  We're thinking the "more difficult" designation was because of the length.  There was only one small hill, and it could barely be called a hill.  Despite not being very challenging, it was a very pretty hike on a very well maintained trail.  Total mileage was about 2.7 miles which included a short amount on the AT plus the walk back to the car.  I would definitely do this trail again despite (or because) it wasn't too hard.  There are a few other trails in Caledonia that are listed as most difficult and we're planning on going to check those out in the future.

And one of the best things about this hike was the stop at the Appalachian Brewing company on the way home.  We each got a beer and shared some spinach and artichoke dip.  

We voted to hike more in areas that let us stop off and grab a beer.