What happens when you go out and buy new rain gear to wear and new rain covers for the backpack along with a new tarp to test? Murphy's laws kick in of course! The weather was to be unseasonably warm but with rain all weekend so we (Rebecca and I) figured it was a good time to try a local trip to a new spot. Strangely enough it's misting when we get to the trailhead so we toss on the rain pants and make sure the jackets and covers are easily accessible.
First stop was at the power plant on the NC/TN border since I had never been to it before.
Note the water level coming through there...
I parked at the trailhead below the bridge just off of I-40 and was a bit leary about leaving the car there. Then again, it's a Mini Cooper so people probably took pity on me and left it alone. lol
From there we started our hike up the mountain..and by up I mean up... as in we climbed virtually the entire way to the shelter. Some sections were a little steeper than others but nothing too bad with plenty of switchbacks, especially in the beginning. Also from the start of the trailhead until at least the first half of the climb you followed along the streams and creeks with a few crossings so you had plenty of nice stuff to watch.
Along the way you find some odd assortments of things including the fabulous fungus
My personal favorite was an old hollowed log that fell across some rocks and became a nicely polished flume.
Naturally with all the high winds and recent storms there were a few downed trees. This was certainly the worst of them with about 4 trees down (3 low the last limbo height)
While she was trying to navigate them she failed to pay attention to her surroundings... which meant I simply walked around them and took pictures of her as she climbed over. Yes, she growled.
We took a break when we reached Hwy 32 at the NC/TN state line. Having been here before on the dualsports I was aware of this little gem, a piece of rock with the state line info carved on it that sits just above the rest spot.
The view from the rock
And back on the trail after a brief break...and still climbing.
"Why do you always pick the trails that just go up?"
The little forest cover was good and the weather was warming with the odd hints of mist but never so much as a rain drop. (remember, we were here to test out all the new rain gear!)
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