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| By:
Andy
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Saturday, May 29, 2010 |
A very nice quiet hike through the woods. This hike was made beautiful by the many wildflowers including the blooming mountain laurel.
The trails are all well marked and clear of large debris but they could use a few more pairs of boots going over them.
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| By:
thomhouse
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Date of Hike: Saturday, October 24, 2009 |
| Did this for a second time after the rain let up. Great view of the foliage. 2009 not a great year for leaf licking, but this is spot is as good as it gets for a view of what nature has to offer. Good workout. Trail is very well marked. Pretty much on your own with the exception of a few other hikers at the beginning and very end. Took 4.25 hrs, including a 20 minute rest and view at the peak.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Sunday, October 18, 2009 |
8 hikers tackled Halfmoon Mountain in 4 hours today including a short break @ the Halfmoon Lookout Spur Trail. We got the best of 2 worlds. On the lower part, the leaves were turning colors and dropping leaves. Once we got on German Wilson Trail, it was a winter wonderland and quite spectacular.
It was not our most difficult hike but we all agreed that it was a good workout and we enjoyed the trail. Having the difficult climb 1/2 way thru the hike was challenging. All the rocks, many wet, covered by leaves added a new dimension.
We had the entire hike to ourselves which was an added plus. http://hiking.meetup.com/162/calendar/11542185/
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| By:
BryceHiker
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Rating:  |
Date of Hike: Saturday, February 09, 2008 |
| Hiked on an upper 30 degree day. The trek up the German Wilson trail was a major workout; mentally and physically. Nice views at the top. Some interesting rock outcroppings along the creek. Much of the trail is very rocky, made much worse by the layer of leaves on top of them.
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| By:
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Date of Hike: Sunday, October 28, 2007 |
| I hiked this trail in August, using the directions on HikingUpward.com. This weekend, I hiked to Halfmoon lookout again, but from the other side of the mountain, using the trailhead on Waites Run road. From this direction, you follow Waites Run trail (west of Waites Run road) for 2.5 miles, crossing Waites Run several times before climbing to the ridge and connecting to the yellow blazed Halfmoon trail. Turn right and follow the Halfmoon trail for 0.7 miles, then straight onto the Halfmoon spur trail for about 1 mile, passing the pink blazed Bucktail connector trail along the way. Return using the same route. Either trail is a nice day hike, and a great view of Trout Run Valley, without all the company you'll have on Big Schloss or Tibbet Knob.
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| By:
aHiker
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Date of Hike: Saturday, August 05, 2006 |
| A nice quiet hike. It’s easy to miss the yellow blaze off Trout Run Road. You'll know you've gone too far when you reach the Animal Zoo. The Wilson Trail appears not to be well-traveled. I agree with the write-up that this is probably the most energetic part. Once on the ridge, you finally get to see some scenery. The view at the top is decent and sort of panoramic but probably better enjoyed in the morning than in the afternoon. The final stretch, over the Buckhead Connector Trail, is an up and down affair that seems to go on forever. I noticed a lot of road clearing along the way, an unwelcome sign of civilization. Overall, this hike affords an OK workout, but it’s not anywhere near the caliber of an Old Rag or White Oak Canyon hike. It’s needs something besides the view at the top, a waterfall perhaps.
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| By:
Susan
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Date of Hike: Sunday, September 04, 2005 |
| I read the reviews on this site and decided to try this hike with my husband and dog to help us prepare for a longer backpacking trip. We did it as an overnight trip and hiked in to the trail from the adjacent Pond Run Trail. We started at the overlook and camped on the pink trail at the stream which was more like a trickle but had enough water to filter to drink. We hiked the trail around the orange section and then climbed the German Wilson section back to the overlook.
We liked it, but it left us all with really sore feel and pretty tired at the end of the day. There were hoof prints on the German Wilson section and I can't believe a full size horse could make it up there. Maybe a mule?
The views at the top were great and I loved the alpine flora on the ridges. This was a pretty challenging day hike, but the views are good and worth it. We did have a bit of difficulty when finding the Wilson Trail because there was a fork in the road that wasn't mentioned on the directions as we were looking for another fork in the road. The tree blocking the way should have alerted us, but we searched for a trail before giving up and backtracking. Follow the orange blazes. We just didn't go far enough.
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| By:
Kyle Wright
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Date of Hike: Saturday, July 02, 2005 |
| This is a good hike with several sections that will elevate your heart rate a bit. It starts off rather quietly as you meander down a service road. The grass is starting to get knee to waist high in many areas on the road so be sure to do a tick check periodically. I had a few but they were still moving north when I found them. The creeks were low but still wet. The German Wilson Trail sign has sustained some damage and is not of much use as there are no arrows on it anymore. Watch closely for the markings. The trail itself will make you rethink your physical condition for sure. It is like walking stairs that are a mile long. There are several areas where the ferns have grown over the trail and rocks making it hard to see where and what you might be steping on. Watch your step. The view on the top is wonderful and the trail after the summit is nice and uneventful. It is also downhill...... There is wildlife as I saw a number deer and several turkey. I would do this hike again. The only thing it is missing is a swimming hole.
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| By:
M.R.Hyker
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Date of Hike: Wednesday, April 06, 2005 |
| A good friend, Don Holland, kept telling me about this hike he had done with others a couple of years ago but I never got around to doing it until last year. It wasn't on the 95 edition of the PATC F map. It was on the 2001 edition but I bought that in ... 2003. Sorry, I'm a procrastinator. Now I'm REALLY sorry I didn't do it sooner. I classify this one as moderate but it's upper end moderate. Don't try this one if your not in shape. If you THINK you're in shape, Mr. Wilson's Trail may prove otherwise. If you accomplish that one small one mile segment you'll be in for one of the top views in the Lee Ranger District. As stated here the stream walk is also quite nice but it tends to wither away in the summer months so it is best to appreciate it in the spring or just after all of the snow is gone. With the sudden spike in temperature yesterday I took a vacation day and joined the man form Hikingupward.com to enjoy it one more time. Good decision!
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