Note: Our route ended at the West Peak, the site of an old Air Force operations base; not the more-travelled East Peak where you find the museum and a the fire lookout tower.
Section 1, Cataract Trailhead to Laurel Dell Road via Cataract Trail: Perhaps the most scenic section of our hike. The trail follows a creek consisting of numerous waterfalls (https://goo.gl/maps/xvSVMCWVmnr), and is beneath the canopy of towering trees. Mostly uphill, steep at times. Some of the steeper sections have been improved with stairs. Despite lots of rain in the days leading up to our hike, the trail was not muddy; the trail appeared to be made from of a granular material that drains well. Lots of foot traffic on this section of the trail. There is a nice flat clearing with several picnic benches, and a restroom, at the junction of Laurel Dell Road and the Cataract Trail.
Section 2, Laurel Dell Road to Rock Spring Trailhead via Cataract Trail: A mix of woods and meadows (https://goo.gl/maps/xZUEXBdumNT2). The meadows were marshy, and at times large sections of the trail were covered by several (1-3) inches of water. Mostly flat. There is a restroom at the Rock Spring Trailhead. This section was less busy than the first, but still well travelled.
Section 3, Rock Spring Trailhead to Airforce Trwy via Benstein Trail + Mountain Top Trail: From the Rock Spring Trailhead, there is a number of different ways to get to the top. The route we chose was mostly wooded, and we came across several trees that had fallen on the trail, that were inconvenient to navigate around. These trails were very quiet, and we only passed 2 other people over the course of roughly an hour. Gradual uphill; nothing steep. As we got closer to the top, the flora changed from large tree canopy to low shrubs. At the end of the Mountain Top Trail, we arrived at the ruins of an old Air Force operation – nothing too unusual or disconcerting, just old building footprints, old signs, and vacant paved lots. Unfortunately, we didn't have much a view due to poor visibility (clouds). But I have seen photos of the view at this point, and it looks like it would be pretty epic on a clear day. On our way back down, we took the Arturo trail back to Laurel Dell Road. There were some really cool forests along that trail, where all of the trees were covered in moss (https://goo.gl/maps/xZUEXBdumNT2).
Responses
Nice route, @benzley624. I like the 360-spherical images. Did you use a special camera to capture them or the Streetview app?
One minor note… the link you gave for the second section is the same as the third. Can you leave the correct link in a comment? Thanks!