bombs away

This weekend started with grand plans. Yuri and I planned on joining the wnctrailrunner group for the Tanawana Trail half marathon which we were going to knock up to a cool twenty by going out and back to the top of Calloway Peak. Those grand plans were shattered when heavy rain entered the forecast and we very lamely bailed before we even made the drive up. The January thunderstorms passed by early afternoon and Duma and I headed out for a shot at redemption by going out and back to Turkey Pen Gap trail on Black. It was sunny and warm and the nice weather only left us feeling lamer than when we started.

So today we were right back out there with Yuri to get some good old adventuring in. Trains are last week and I  like to be hip to the trends so we headed out into Pisgah to find something else. We started late but made real good time up to the gap. I thought I knew exactly where we were going but after following no less than three wrong trails for three long ways we somehow ended up on top of Cold Mountain. The day was growing late and I still wasn't sure exactly what it was we were looking for or why, so at 5pm with just an hour of daylight left, we made a hasty retreat.

Art Loeb IV was unrelenting. It isn't bad or anything but it sure does not let up. Rocks and rocks and more rocks going downhill forever. When Camp Daniel Boone finally came into sight I made the mistake of checking my altimeter only to find we still had another six hundred feet to descend. I already knew that - my watch just confirmed the beautiful misery. We made it down in just under an hour with just minutes of daylight left. Yuri went to soak his feet in the river while I tried to decide if I should take my soaking wet socks and shoes off for the hour drive home. Then all we could talk about was food until we somehow found a Taco Bell out by the interstate where we attempted to purchase some sustenance. We would have been better off just fishing.