We went up to Jonathan Dickinson State Park and hiked the East Loop. It's a 9.8 mile loop that passes by the Scrub Jay campsite at mile 5.5. We stopped for lunch there because there is a well with water (must be treated), benches to sit on and a composting toilet.
The trail is mostly flat and in the open. There are a few spots where there is some shade, but the park is mainly sand, scrub and dead trees. The first 2.3 miles of the East Loop out towards Scrub Jay has a bit of up and down over some sand dunes.
All the rain last weekend filled up the little dips in the trail and we had more of a swamp slog than we anticipated. The girls learned the value of proper hiking shoes and why we wear long socks. (ie: dry feet and fire-ant/cactus/thorn encounters).
We encountered wildlife:
And found a little bit of shade, but not much:
