Pontatoc Ridge and Then Some

Meant to hike just the Pontatoc Ridge trail today, a quite short hike with some challenging elevation gain. But the 4.1 mile hike turned into a 5.3 miler after we (I) stupidly missed the well-signed trail. About 0.7 miles in the trail options are Pontatoc Ridge to the right, which we wanted, and Pontatoc Canyon straight away, which we didn't'. Turns out the folks we met, who chatted us up for 15 minutes, were taking a break right where our trail breaks south and on up to the ridge. In fairness to me, they were obscuring our trail sign. Suffice to say, I slapped my forehead a little over a half mile later, just before the Pontatoc Canyon Trail crossed the ravine and started its climb up the other side. So no biggie, bonus really, turning a really short hike into a fairly short hike, and also adding a couple hundred feet of elevation gain, just in case the old ticker was goldbricking.

Joining me today was my friend Jack from Michigan, who joined me for a few hikes last season, including the somewhat challenging Blackett's Ridge hike, all sporting his patented Levis and Vans look. Jack is a very strong hiker—maybe being 15 years junior doesn't hurt—and he is rightly considering tackling longer hikes, of which he is fully capable. I'm thinking the David Yetman Trail would be just in his wheelhouse, Vans and all.

Jack.