MST: Falls Lake
This weekend was going to be a little shorter but I still hoped to cover a pretty good chunk of land. My ultimate goal was to make it to Falls Dam where I would start the next time on my bike. That didn't happen. Although spring brings warming temperatures it also brings severe weather. Both days were forecasted to bring strong storms with Sunday expected to be the worst of the two. Being in such an urban area I was able to monitor this on my phone which has its pros and cons.
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| Blue Jay Point County Park |
Day 30 March 27
Miles: 19.7
Weather: Highs in the upper 70's - low 80's Lows in the 50's, Fog, sun and then storms.
Camping: Shinleaf Recreation Area
I spent last night in Raleigh with my Aunt as I arrived just before dark. It really helps to have so much family near the trail as it moves across the state. In the morning after a stop for a Bojangles biscuit I got dropped off back at the Jimmy Rogers trailhead. It was extremely foggy out and the day started with walking across a narrow and very slick boardwalk over a small arm of the lake. This board walk leads to an even more precarious bridge that allows small fishing boats to travel under. You certainly need to hold the railing if its very wet as you head up the ramps. The rest of the day I spent hiking over gently rolling terrain. The mud was no where near as bad as last weekend in part due to a dry week. As I made my way into camp I could hear rumbles of thunder in the distance. Checking out the weather map revealed lots of colors and warnings. I settled under the tarp and ended up taking a little nap during the heaviest of rain. Before the nap there were lots of planes flying over on approach to RDU. This stopped for a while as the storms moved through. I could tell the worst was over when the plans started to fly over again.
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| Crossing near Jimmy Rogers Rd. |
My plan tomorrow is 23 miles to Falls Dam. I know there is a strong cold front moving this way with a stronger line of storms expected tomorrow afternoon. My thought is I'll get up really early, like 4 am, I can start walking and then possibly be off trail before things even start.
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| Pouring rain out there |
Day 31 March 28
Miles: 8.9
Weather: Highs in the upper 70's.
Camping: Back home ended along Six Forks Rd.
I slept pretty well last night until about 2:30 am. Some rain had set in and I was awake so I decided to check the radar out. The pending cold front was sitting overtop of TN and looking really bad. Tons of lighting and severe storms along the entire frontal boundary. Unfortunately there was also a small but strong line of storms moving into my area as well. If not for this line of storms I probably would have started walking around 3:30. I managed to get a little more sleep until about 4:30 when a loud crack of thunder woke me up. I caught the weak edge of this system but it was enough to delay my start. I started out just after 7 am and at that point I already knew I was going to call it an early day. The trail was wet and slick in spots due to the heavy rains but pretty easy going. There were lots of May flowers starting to pop up and I even saw a bloodroot which I don't think I've ever seen in these parts. Pollen had collected in the coves of the lake that the trail walks around making the water look oh so inviting. Around 9 am I started to have some foot pain and stopped to rest and take some medicine but nothing really helped. The rest of the morning was slow but I didn't have far to go so I just kept moving. My Aunt picked me up along Six Forks Rd just prior to lunch. I stuck around town to go and visit with some friends and also allow the storms some time to pass. We ended up with just a small light rain which would have made me really mad that I decided to stop early if it wasn't for the foot pain. I have a break before the next time out so hopefully that allows the foot enough time to recover from whatever problem I'm experiencing.
I'll have 14 miles of backpacking before picking up the bike for a good long stretch next time. Will be interesting to see how far I can go in a day via bike.
Thanks for visiting friends!!!!
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