We reached the trail head. But before
stopping to air down and disconnect, we crossed a stream that forced us
to hug one side of the bend so we didn't disappear out of sight into the
deep pool in the middle! Everyone stopped while people aired down and
got set to hit the trail. After some chit-chat and stuff, we hit the
trail.
At one point we worked out way past a
tight spot in the trail. Nice to be back in the woods and having stakes
a little higher than getting bullied down the road by a trailer-truck
getting up steam for the next hill on Rt 79...
A small log attracted Carl's attention
so he led everyone behind him over it.
Then we came to an interesting
crossing. It had several different ways for people to get across, and
several routes were employed. I just drove straight across. A couple
people worked their way across over the rocks.
We came to a narrow section that took
some finesse to get past. More creative ways to approach the challenge
surfaced.
Another crossing and Tim's brother took
a rocky route and got hung up. While he worked on getting out, I drove
a little further along following Jason and get across the stream. I
stopped and took pictures of everyone as they came through.
At the next crossing, a few people took
a different route and we all collected up back on the trail. During all
this, Tim took a fall on the rocks but looked like he came out of it
without getting hurt!
Not far down the road, Tim's brother
got stuck a second time and Tim fished him out.
Past the hunter cabin, the trail got
very narrow. Jason held back the Mountain Laurel to let us get by but I
ended up with some deep gouges in my passenger-side door. They're not
going to buff out!
A rock next to the trail attracted some
attention.
Then we came to an area with several
side-trails that honeycombed the hillside. I picked a route that worked
for me and went up a hill. Carl came behind me. We got the idea to put
a camera in the middle of the trail and film one of us coming up the
hill. Great idea.
I suggested Carl use his camera and
Jeep for the experiment. So sense both of us damaging something! Carl
made his second run up the hill and nearly ran over the camera when he
stopped right over it.
Movie
All this time one of the people who
came along had been driving more like we were on a mud-bogging outing.
The guy kept doing stuff that's inconsistent with the slow crawl that I
am used to doing. Pretty soon just about everybody on the trail had
asked for it to stop.
Tim's brother took another opportunity
to test the capabilities of his Jeep and got stuck in another spot. His
friend got decorated with mud for her loyalty!
A way down the trail we came to a large
boulder that tested one of the Rubicons. The boulder lost.
After a very short break, we turned
off the main trail and crawled over a clump of rocks on the way to a
large clearing on the river. One by one, everybody made it past. A
couple people headed for pavement.
One of the guys came back for help
because he got stuck too close to a wasp nest. I think he took a couple
stings for his trouble. I knew I should have brought that can of bug
killer with me!
Tim's brother found another mud hole to
get stuck in. Tim fished him out again.
Then we drove out onto the clearing
next to the stream. There were several interesting flowers and
butterflies so I took pictures while some of the group drove across the
stream to the island.
After watching the first one go, and
estimating the deepest part of the crossing to be about 22 inches I
decided not to go.
Teddy was very upset by my decision and
cried for the next ten minutes while Carl, Tim, Tim's brother, and one
other went over to other island. I was past losing my patience with Ted
by the time they all came back. In desperation, I asked Carl if he
would take Teddy across and gratefully, he agreed. Ted shut his pie
hole and got onto Carl's Jeep and they went across to the island. Phew!
I took some more flower pictures and
parked my Jeep in the line-up for the group shot. Pretty soon Carl and
Ted came back and not long after, the group started moving down the
trail. Not far behind me Charlie got sucked into a slick spot and got
the strap from Carl.
A few more bypasses around fallen trees
and wash-outs and we were back to pavement.
We drove back to the highway and
stopped at Dairy Creme Corner for refreshment. I discovered that there
is a place besides DQ for ice cream!
