As has been a bit of a spring tradition, we decided to mark May by planning a Union Springs Night Run! This is always a fun run, and for those of us with busy schedules, it’s a nice way to get in some unique wheeling without eating up an entire day!
We met at Ottobine Elementary School, which is just a couple of minutes from the Union Uphill start.
Attendees:
- Jendra – Jeep JKU
- Jeff & Emily – Land Rover Defender
- Brian – Jeep JKU
Because of how close it is, we decided to air down at the school. With that sorted, and after a quick drivers meeting, we headed towards the trail!
With our timing, starting at around 8pm in May, we start the trail in twilight, covering the first few gentle miles with good visibility. But, right as we get to the first obstacle, a series of big mud/water puddles, that’s when it starts getting dark. Interestingly, after a pretty big rainstorm the day before, the puddles were pretty dry! Although as of the time of posting this report, in late May, there have been some big and long heavy rain events, and we’ve seen online that the water levels have risen quite a bit!
After a few more lovely miles in the dark, we made our way to Meadow Knob. It was just us up there, and amazingly, right as we got to the top, the sky cleared up and we got an incredible view of the stars! We hung out there for a bit, marveling at the view, and chatting about future opportunities for Milky Way viewing on offroad trips!
With that wrapped, we hopped back in the vehicles for the drive up to Flagpole Knob. The section between Meadow Knob and Flagpole is a fun jaunt, with some rocky flexy bits, and some fun rutted out climbs.
Once we got to the top, Brian, Jeff, and Emily headed out through Briery Branch to get a hotel in town for the night. I stayed up at the top, set up my tent, and slept the night in absolute peace and tranquility. I had the entire peak to myself, only seeing one other set of campers at one of the larger sites between Dunkle Hollow and the Flagpole Loop.
After waking up and and packing up my gear, I headed out via Briery Branch and made my way home.
Thanks everyone for coming out! We had folks who had some last minute conflicts and couldn’t come out, so we’ll be getting another one of these on the books soon!
Trail Report written by Jendra Rambharos. Pictures contributed by Jendra Rambharos,