Memorial Day Fun Run

We had a lovely Memorial Day Fun Run. Everyone met @ Sundog's at 6 a.m. Said our good mornings, chatted a bit, packed up and we were off. Stopped here at the AT-S trail head for a group photo then dispersed. (lt-rt. Me, Jenny H., Cindy, Donna, Jenny N., Tammy, Rick, Ann and Kevin) Rick and Kevin lead the way then Jenny Nichols and I fell back a bit and chatted it up, we hadn't gotten to run together in ages so it was a treat to have her out and to catch up on life. We babbled away and before you knew it we made it to the Backbone Trl, where part of the group would turn off the AT and head towards the Iron Mtn. Trail for a 16-18 mile loop (we are still not sure of the distance of this loop) We stopped for a gel break and gave a hootie hoo then Rick, Kevin and I continued on the AT while Jenny went down the Backbone Trl to wait for the rest of the group.

Rick, Kevin and I solved most of the worlds problems while continuing on towards Cross Mtn. We hit 421 and stopped for another break and ran into a guy coming off the AT w/ a German Shepard. He asked "how far does this trail go?" we all looked at each other confused, how could he be on the Appalachian Trl and not know. Kevin politely informed him that from the direction he had come you can travel all the way to Georgia and then from the direction we came it goes all the way to Maine, over 2,178 miles he concluded. The guys seemed unimpressed and explained he was from around Raleigh and had just gotten in his truck and was driving w/ no particular destination in mind. Interesting!! We suggested if he was just looking for neat places to explore and obviously time and distance weren't factors, he should head up to Grayson Highlands to see the wild ponies, but we forewarned him of the "dangers" hehehe. Rick offered up a reward if he found the missing piece of his chin!

He got in his truck and headed off to places unknown and we continued on towards cross mtn another 6.5 miles away. Kevin had previous engagements and wouldn't be able to make the whole loop so when he hit his time limit he turned around and was to meet Ann back at the Backbone Rock parking area. We said our goodbyes w/ Kevin and I was feeling pretty good and picked up the pace a smidge. When we arrived at the open field @ cross mtn. Rick and I both stopped in a pile and w/ a huge sigh decided that might not have been the smartest thing we had done all day. We had covered a good 21 miles and still had another 21 ahead of us so we slowed and enjoyed the views across the field before stopping at the cross mtn parking area for lunch.

On our way to the parking area we met a nice fellow then passed a nice family out for a hike, OH WAIT! I know that nice family, luckily I had a few brain cells functioning and when I heard the name "Ruby" it clicked, it was Nikki, her husband, daughter and a set of grandparents out for a nice hike! I always love to see people out and especially people I know, so that was a nice treat.

Rick put out a cooler w/ water, pb&j's, chips, cookies, & banana. I was happy to have some real food and my hydration pack was nearly empty so we ate and refilled, about a 20 min. break all in all the headed up the road to catch the Iron Mtn. Trail. We mostly walked this since it was road and we were trying to digest and get our legs going again.

It was slow moving climbing up to the IMTR and we were feeling the previous miles and the humidity. There were several what felt like large climbs between getting on the IMTR @ cross mtn and hitting 421. We were both tired and had stopped once to look for Rick's salt pills which were nowhere to be found, I had some old ones that had mostly busted but they were better than nothing so he choked one down and ate a get w/ some caffeine for some extra energy.

When we hit 421 I nonchalantly made the suggestion we hitch a ride to damascus and cut the run short. I was feeling like we were both fading and still had a long way to go. Rick was determined we finish the entire loop, we had talked about it for a long time and there is no time like the present! so we pressed on. Shortly after we crossed 421 we heard some type of animal crying like it was in terrible pain and sounded like it was heading towards us. It never showed up, but that was the beginning of my paranoia, haha. Everything that moved made me jump, so it didn't help that there were birds nesting along the trail that wouldn't move until you were on top of them, at which time they puffed up and squawked acting as if they were going to flog you to death. At least 3 times I was "attacked" and startled to death so my nerves were on edge, haha. Not to mention you have to dodge a pile of bear scat with every 3rd foot strike!

This section of trail is not heavily traveled, so it's comes as no surprise it's a haven for bears. We passed a ton of hikers on the AT, but not a soul on the IMTR. So it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise that I ran right up on a momma and two cubs, but boy was I surprised!!! I did exactly what you shouldn't do, turned and ran towards Rick screaming BEARS!!!! the cubs scurried up the tree and momma stood guard at the base. We kept a distance and tried to get them to vacate the area since they were right on the trail, but no such luck. We decided to skirt around them, off the trail while making plenty of noise and keeping a good distance. I had the camera, but decided I might be pushing my luck trying to capture the moment so we moved on watching our backs for a while. All in all a good first bear experience :)

I won't go into the rest of the gory details, but unfortunately Rick was not feeling well and his stomach was not allowing him to take fluids or food so we ended up walking a good bit, but we finished the entire 42 mile loop!! We had a couple people worried we weren't coming back for a while, but we made it back right before Tammy was getting ready to send out the search party!