The first prominent feature along Turkey Run's trail 3 is the famous Wedge Rock, a large chunk of rock that fell away from the canyon wall long ago. This rock is much larger than it looks, allowing hikers to walk beneath, and until recently, they were "able" to climb up to the top to take in the view of the entire canyon. On this visit to the park, we noticed a few new fences keeping people away from the back of Wedge Rock.
In summer, this trail is lush with ferns, moss, and the trees above, and it stays well below the outside temperature, making the hike through this area very comfortable, and almost otherworldly. On this day in December, the temperatures were above normal, so it was difficult to determine if the opposite happens, if the temperature is warmer than the rest of the park.
From this angle, Wedge Rock appears so small in contrast to the canyon walls, and the towering tulip poplar trees on top of the canyon. Usually there are plenty of visitors on this trail, helping to give the formations scale, but on this day, we encountered only three other people on our three hour hike. This is another great benefit of visiting this park in winter, it's not crowded, and the snow and ice bring a whole new look to the landscape.
When visiting in winter - even if the snow melts, wear ice cleats. The sun doesn't make it down to the canyon floor, so the packed snow and ice remain in place for quite a while, and some areas of the icy trail could lead to dangerous falls.
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