This weekend we had to look for a camping spot and places to do some rides that had phone service.
We left Atlanta at 9 pm on Friday (October 14, 2017) and we got to Haywood-Jackson Overlook on Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina at 1 pm of Saturday. I (Nan) was on-call this weekend. So phone service was the must. At this overlook with my Verizon phone, I had 2 bars of phone signal. So we’re good to go here!
Discover a new Spring on Saturday
As usual, sunrise on the next day was beautiful. We had our coffee and breakfast at the overlook. While Trent was driving and trying to find a camping spot for us on Friday night, he found a spring just right by the road (35.588076, -82.306730). So before heading out for mountain bike ride, we stopped by there to get water.
We headed to Food Matters Market in Brevard, NC to get breakfast and fruit/vegetable juices, then headed to The Hub to get me a new helmet. After that it was time for some mountain biking.
We parked our car at Sheep Mountain Trail in Dupont State Forest and started to ride at noon. We did Dupont Slick Rock Side (Pine Tree Trail, Longside Trail, Nooks Trail, Cascade Trail, Burnt Mountain, and Twixt Trail). We had to come back to our car earlier than we planned to because of some issue at home. Anyway, the weather was kind of too hot for Tsali (our dog), and I was already so hungry.
Dupont Slick Rock Side
Distance 9.8 mi, Elevation 1,110 ft, Moving Time: 1:45:01, Calories: 432, Elapsed Time: 2:26:16
More information of this ride is here. https://www.strava.com/activities/1230222564 And if you want, you can follow Trent’s Strava too!
We went to Fuji Yama in Brevard for lunch. It is not a typical hibachi restaurant. It feels more like a cafeteria restaurant. However, the food came out really quickly and they gave you a lot of food. I was so hungry… So it was good for me at that time.
Trent still wanted to do more riding. So we came back to Dupont. Tsali and I were just staying at our car this time and took a nap while Trent was riding. This time, Trent rode on Ridgeline trail from Highfalls parking.
DuPont Rideline From Highfalls Parking
Distance 10.6 mi, Elevation 1,201 ft, Moving Time: 1:15:44, Calories: 440, Elapsed Time: 1:27:53
More information of this ride is here. https://www.strava.com/activities/1230418979 And if you want, you can follow Trent’s Strava too!
By the time Trent’s done, it was time for us to take a shower. The weather was not too cold that day. So we both sweated a lot. We headed to Davidson River Campground in Brevard for a shower. It costs $5/person to have a shower there. It felt so great after the shower. Then we headed back to Blue Ridge Parkway to camp out at the same overlook (Haywood – Jackson Overlook) for a night.
Make Friends with White Squirrels on Sunday
The weather was not as good in the morning as the day before. It got really cloudy in the morning. Therefore, instead of having breakfast in the clouds, we decided to drive down to South Mills River Road to have breakfast and coffee. It was a pretty car ride. The trees were already changing colors…. It was such a view. After we’re done with our breakfast, it was time for today rides.
When we were driving, Trent spotted a white squirrel on the side of the road. He was excited and had to make a sudden stop to take a good look at it. And it was not just one but TWO! White squirrels are not anything easy to find. Lucky us! We got a video of them too. They both were so beautiful. If you’re interested, here is more information about them. It is fascinating! http://www.brevardnc.org/white-squirrels/
Since I was supposed to travel for a business trip on the next day, I decided to take it easy and not doing any ride on that day. We parked our car at the picnic area of Davidson River Campground so I could hang out and wait for Trent and Tsali there. Great phone service around the picnic area was a plus! Here is the ride information that Trent and Tsali did.
Clawhammer Upper/Middle/Lower Black (Bent Deraileur Cage on Upper Black)
Distance 14.5 mi, Elevation 2,615 ft, Moving Time: 2:48:14, Calories: 824, Elapsed Time: 3:27:54
More information of this ride is here. https://www.strava.com/activities/1232150959 And if you want, you can follow Trent’s Strava too!
By 3 pm., Trent’s done with his mountain biking. At 3.30 pm. we headed back to Atlanta and we got home at 8 pm. It was a weekend full of discoveries!
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