Prep Entry #4

I spend much of yesterday north of Durham on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. It was invigorating. Close to fifty people were there to volunteer, of all ages. Including 2 of the successful 12 thru-hikers of the MST – Jeff and Bruce, both of who are also on the board for the MST. I talked to them about my questions, they gave me answers (and advice that I had not thought of - like bringing sunglasses for blowing sand on the coast?!). Everyone was really enthusiastic about my hike. It’s nice to have support. We also dug out about half-mile of the trail through the woods, twisting around Falls Lake (the water supply for Raleigh and the rest of Wake County). The lake is really low.

It was inspiring to see over 50 volunteers out there hacking away at the hillside to flatten a trail through the woods. These guys have a big vision for the trail: that it will eventually be more appalachiantrail-like, the half of it that is on roads moved to trails. It will be a long way to get there. Most of the land in eastern North Carolina, between Raleigh and New Bern, is privately-owned. It feels fantastic to be a part of something that people care about, like the MST. I don’t know what the volunteers were thinking, but no one told me that I was crazy for hiking in the winter, or out of my mind for being a lone female hiker. That’s a start.

I plan to bus east on Tuesday, as soon as my dog-pepper spray arrives in the mail. Otherwise, I am ready.