Parsons Mountain

A beautiful day today for a hike. We wanted to be outside even though we are still not 100% over the virus but we felt like fresh air and getting away from the house would be good for us.

Parsons Mountain is an hour and a half from home. We wanted to go somewhere new to us and also hoped that it would be so off the main hiking area that there would be hardly any people. We got that right... we saw one other person in his truck leaving the area the whole day. We were able to let the dog off leash so she had a good long walk also.

We could not get into the main parking area as it was not open but we looked at the map to find another way in. Worked out better for us this way. We walked uphill to the fire tower first.. over a half mile straight up. Maybe not the best way to start out but going down was great. We found three fenced in areas where there were large holes or caves. The signs said these were abandoned gold mines. We did not know gold was found in this area!

We drove down another short road to park for a walk to the Parson Mountain Lake. It was a good walk around the shore of the lake. The campground and picnic area showed signs of neglect but it is possible the US Forest Services shuts this area down for winter months.

We both..and the dog.. we’re glad we did this hike which ended up being about 3 miles. Lots of hills so our lungs got a good workout in fresh air.

I know we will sleep well tonight!