full moon fever

Wednesday I drove all the way out to Fawn Lake for the WNDC. We got a late start so there wasn't all that much time to ride and Jonathon wasn't there so of course the ride fell apart from the start. But there were a few new faces which added to the fun. At the end I was leading up Laurel Ridge and took a right onto Cart. I was hoping the new guys would follow me but I guess they were too smart for that. Almost time for lights!



Yesterday I had some time to kill and was looking to get away so I loaded up the dog and our packs and we headed for the Fish Hatchery for a quick little over nighter. We headed up Cat Gap trail bound for the top of Cedar Rock and right away it started storming. I donned my rain gear but Duma was having none of it. I tried to coax him up the trail but he wasn't going to be fooled. He would take a few steps but with each thunder clap he would stop and look for cover. Eventually he refused to move at all so I sat down next to him on the side of the trail and told him we would just wait it out.



The poor guy really doesn't like storms and this was a big one. At home he would have hid himself under a table but on the side of the trail there wasn't any chance of relief. I did the best I could for him and found yet another use for a 780 map.



We sat it out for a half hour and once the storm passed worked our way on up to the Art Loeb. At Sandy Gap we took a right onto the trail to the top of Cedar Rock Mtn. We camped at the very top and spent a nice night watching the sun set on one side of Pisgah and the moon rise over the other.



We had our breakfast on the North face and once again marveled at the beauty of Pisgah as the sun rose behind us.





This guy was sitting right at Sandy Gap when we got back down to the Art Loeb. Both Duma and myself came close to stepping on him. The sun was still rising so he had to be cold.



From there it was on around the South side of Cedar Rock on the Art Loeb and on down Butter and back to the truck.