28 September 2013 Bradbury and Tryon Mountain

We wanted to visit Bradbury Mountain State Park since it was a park we had not visited. The warm fall day seemed to bring everyone for miles to the park. The trails to and from the overlook near the peak were fun and there was a long view from the peak, but the park never clicked for me. Besides lots of people on the trails who looked as if they rarely visited a park, a number of the caches were in areas better left without hides. There was one near a children's playground and one in close proximity to a pair of pit restrooms. State parks often have enough real estate that the less desirable areas can be left cacheless. We found a number of the caches here on a long loop trail along with orchids that had bloomed and a nice snake.

Our visit to nearby Tryon Mountain made the day. There were a number of good trails and lots of mice and quartz. I had a great time playing with the transparent sheets letting sunlight pass through. Ali also spotted a well hidden tree frog near one of the caches. We didn't stay to hunt the night cache, but had plenty of time to enjoy the trails here and a few caches.