Hiked by: Tim and Valerie on May 25, 2007 - via Dicey's Mill Trail and the East Loop
Conditions: Conditions were warm. It was 75 degrees when we left the trailhead at 7:45am. Hazy, hot and humid! Our first hike like this since last July. We hiked with a quick pace for us to the 2-mile mark, then we started to slow down a bit. We stopped to have a snack, strip off a layer of clothes and reapply bug spray, then set off again. After the intersection, we ran into some snow and ice. Very hard-packed and slippery wet. Makes us laugh, considering that it's almost 85 degrees at this point.
We went up the East Loop, which was completely clear of snow/ice, and came down the Dicey's Mill Trail. The summit was a non-event, but the viewpoints below the summer were nice, if hazy. It seems like someone cut down a lot of trees to create the view. I don't know if that was done purposefully by the trail maintainers or if it was a renegade with a saw.
The trip down was exciting due to the slippery ice again, but we made good time and were back at the car by 2:15PM.