Mountains. Nearly Done.

We are soooo close to being done with the mountains portion of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Wish us luck as we head into Linville Gorge for the next couple days! The far side of this photo is Table Rock, our destination.

Segment 3. Done.

Today we officially finished Segment 3 of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail after summiting Mount Mitchell. It was a rare clear day on top but still quite chilly. 

Highs and lows (literally)

If all goes well, we have 4 days of hiking left in the mountains before heading to the coast. In those 4 remaining days we will climb to the top of Mount Mitchell and the bottom of Linville Gorge, the highest peak and deepest river gorge east of the Mississippi respectively (we think - feel free to look it up).

Just a happy coincidence of how this has all played out.

Buck Creek Gap

Little did we know when I took this photo today that our 13-mile hike would take us over all these ridges and down into the valley beyond. 

Another Hurricane

Not sure what’s worse about hiking immediately after a hurricane, the raging water crossings or the howling wind? But it’s all worth it when you get an occasional view like this. 

Unplanned Zero

Due to flooding in the Linville Gorge area where we are scheduled to be for the next few days, we are safely off the Mountains-to-Sea Trail for now. Hoping to return to a better location and conditions tomorrow.

Segment 5. Done.

With a final push of 15 miles through wind and rain, we completed the longest foot section for us on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail today. Segment 5 was 91 amazing miles along the Blue Ridge Parkway over 8 days with great weather until the last day. 

Throughout this journey, we’ve experienced numerous bouts of “trail magic.” And this segment happened to be full of it – from a random delivery of special salve for pain by Nancy in a pickup truck to befriending Tony, the manager of Park Vista Inn who treated us to breakfast while shuttling to a trailhead. 

We also had great campsites at Miller’s Campground and the Haislip’s property. And Theresa Haislip offered delicious homemade rolls. We are also grateful for the newly established backcountry sites since campsites are few and far between here. 

And through the morning mist and rain, we were delighted to find biscuits and coffee at the Trading Post, which made the final day much more tolerable.