3-14-06
Start: Rock Hollow Rd (BT)
Destination: Tom Jenkins Dam (BT)
Miles: 18.5
Weather: cold and windy
We made it through the thunderstorms last night safe and sound. And we got such a great start this morning. First of all, it wasn't raining, so even though things were a bit damp, at least we were able to pack up without getting soaked again. Second, I had that "Benny ‘n the Jets" song stuck in my head, so the minute my eyes opened, I was singing it. That's the only part I know, though. I think mom thought I was nuts.
We were shooting for a 26-mile day today. But it turned out that the trails would be in charge.
We first found out that Ringgold has no services - just houses. We walked probably 1-1/2 miles before we figured it out, but a very nice lady gave us a ride back up to where we turned off.
Then we got into Burr Oak State Park. We were excited to get on some real, through-the-woods hiking trails. Some of our first views were of high, muddy water a little west of us. With all the rain, there was flooding, and this is where the trails kind of decided our pace for the day. It is fun to problem-solve on the trail - it's a part of this that makes it such a great adventure.
We had a lot of overflowed creek crossings, but they weren't too bad. Then we came down to a swampy area, and there was a little walkway bridge that went through the middle. There were a couple of spots where the water was over the bridge, but nothing deeper than our ankles. When we got to the end, which was around a curve, all that was there was water - in every direction - and a little bridge we had to get to. So we carefully walked through the water, which came half-way up to our knees. There were a couple times we headed off-trail for a short while to find drier or safer crossings. This all took up time, but was exciting.
We got to the marina, followed the blue blazes, and stopped when we saw where it was headed - right into the lake. It appeared to us that the trail normally follows the shore line, but today was under more than a foot of water. We were trying to decide whether we should take the road, which would've been extra miles, or tromp through the woods with a compass toward the dam. But then there where two very nice locals walking their dog who confirmed that it probably was our trail under-water, and quickly guided us to an alternate route through the woods on an old 4-wheeler trail. It seems like we paralleled our original path, just higher on the ridge. Yeah for locals! And VERY nice ones at that!
Once they let us on our way, we walked down a power line, then headed into the woods. We came to a huge hill going down to a river. And it was too deep, too fast and too wide to cross. I remember that guy saying something about going the wrong way and running into the river... Go figure. Good thing is, I found exactly where we are on our map, so all we have to do tomorrow is follow the creek maybe 500 feet to the RR tracks - that'll get us back to the road, and the intersection of our trail. So we didn't really get lost today, just detoured a few times. :)
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