Our Mountaineers group did a 9 mile roundtrip in/out on the Middle Fork Trail, crossing bridge and heading right on the Pratt Connector Trail to see the Big Tree.
It was a good day, despite the very wet, rainy spring day with multiple periods of rainfall, occasional sunbreaks. No wind, the temperatures stayed warm, which we were grateful with water eventually squishing in socks with every bootstep.
The elevation is gradual, nothing too strenuous. Lots of lushness, greenery, wildflowers, and some mushrooms on fallen trees. Lot of squishy mud sections with little streams to cross, or sections where it was just mud - I'll hear the splish-splosh-suck sound forever in my memories. One step forward, half step slide back. Sometimes two-three steps slide either direction.
We were primarily dealing with overgrown foliage across the trail. Bring a machete to whack /trail brush in/out through the overgrown foliage across the trail, starting from minimally 30 mins. prior to arriving to the campsite/former river fording section (we were moving about 2 mph). For a 5'2" person, foliage was at right height to require using hiking poles to brush through to clear the face, the right level for spiderwebs, and thoroughly wet raingear as the person in the front. Garden shears or clippers, your hands will cramp up quickly.
Once you move past the campground, the foliage across the trail becomes even more overgrown, thicker, and taller. Thankfully no stickerbushes to have to deal with, but it does obscure the view of the trail. Use poles to so that you can see the trail ahead of you; some trailspots have boulders/rocks to trip or slip, even more so in the mud and definitely wet.
Keep head up, or down in some instances, as some tree branches cross the trail, and potential to bump head or face. There were about 6-8 downed trees across the trail toward the Big Tree, all navigatable by a 5'2" person, without having to sit/scoot on trees. Older fallen ones have been chipped or cut to circumnavigate; others can be mostly stepped over with good flexibility/balance. There was one spot to keep heads up and down at the same time - navigating a tree branch/trunk at head height, and then just before/after, a boulder/rock on the trail/mud puddle - a double or triple threat. It was so wet and pouring, didn't pull out the cell phone to mark locations/take photos of the downed trees.
There were also a couple of small sections, where there was maybe ~4 foot rise/drop on the trail, where it was a little tricky to navigate through around, given the muddy trail or wet soil, on either side of the drop. We managed it with 3-point contact, using poles for braking or support, and carefully navigating around
It was a great hike, hikers were prepared for weather and conditions, honestly expecting worse, and still were in good if not tired and muddy spirits returning to the cars. The parking lot was primarily empty for a few hardy groups. We only saw two groups on the way out, and meeting 4-5 pairs of hikers/dogs going out while returning to trailhead.
Lastly, we found a gray/olive colored hat on the trail. Dropped it off at the trailhead, along with other found items. Photo attached below.
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