MST – Day 40 – 11/17/10 – Bamboo Gap to Jeffries Park – 12 miles
As my car climbed up Highway 321 toward Blowing Rock the world melted into white oblivion and I knew a change was coming. Sure enough, when I arrived at our meeting spot Danny and “B” Townes were waiting for me with Plan B.
Our three days of hiking on the MST
On the up side, we were hiking with “B” on a brand new trail section just dedicated in Oc
Rain and mud meant easily spotted fresh deer tracks on the trail. A couple of times it felt as though a deer was only moments ahead of us. “B” educated us on deer scrapes, where a male deer paws the ground, urinates and smells scent of females urinating. Hey, anything is exciting to distract from the relentless drip, drip, drip.
We kept it moving as the rain came down so I took very few photos (in fact, this post includes all of them). Our one stop for eating was brief. And let me tell you, bathroom breaks are quite a nuisance in the pouring rain. Overlooks that normally boast an awesome view were just blank nothings as we whizzed by.
One item of interest: At a road crossing we saw two fellows on recumbent bikes and they
Once you’re wet, you’re wet, and we were moving quickly, so we passed our bailout point and continued on to our end point at the entrance sign for Jeffries Park. We backtracked to collect cars, then “B” helped us set up the shuttle for the following day because he would not be hiking with us. As we drove along the Parkway, he pointed out the many places where the trail crosses. Otherwise, the Parkway was enveloped in fog and I could barely make out the mile marker posts.
The ultimate highlight of the day: “B”and his wife Martha were hosting us for two nights and we were treated to a lovely home-cooked meal and cozy beds. We draped our wet clothing on drying racks and slept well.
Read Danny's tale of the day here.
Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. ~Roger Miller