Jacksonville Woodlands

We had to scrap our original plan to do a circuit of Jacksonville through the woodlands above town. With several cars from a group of 11 hikers and trucks blocking some of the parking because of a new house being built across from historic Beekman House, we had to change our plans and our TH. Thanks to Jerry’s calm quick thinking we managed to herd everyone over to the parking lot above the Britt Gardens stage.

So now we were starting where we had planned on ending the hike.
Our hiker’s luck also managed to hold as the mixed rain and snow never materialized.

There are many trail choices in the woodlands for all lengths of hikes. We took the Rich Gulch trail to begin with. This took us through the heart of rich gold deposits from past centuries. Then it was on to Petard Trail and finally on and up Liz’s Trail and Loop. Since it was mostly cloudy with some gusty winds we decided not to take any of the side trails up to the Panorama Point. After summiting both Petard and Liz we circled back.

Six of us enjoyed lunch at La Fiesta restaurant below the Britt.

Our shortened hike was 4.5 miles with 800′ of gain.

Thanks to our returning hikers for joining us,
Rich

Hike Leader: Rich Stickle

Photos By: Jerry, Randy