Starting with 369.9 miles, 56,950 ft. ascent 

FR 464 to Beacon Heights Blue Ridge Parkway MP 305.2
10 miles, 3,000 ft. ascent

The second day of hiking on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail in Wilson Creek was varied. Waterfalls, road walk and a long pull on a forest trail. The trail on both days was well-maintained and well-blazed. Maintenance is important but even more important is good blazing, so hikers can follow the white circles with confidence.

The trail, from FR-464 climbs down to Hunt-Fish Falls. The MST sign says that it's maintained by Tim Johnson. I wonder if it's the same Tim Johnson who works for the North Carolina State Park System and is responsible for the MST.

One picture can't do justice to the various pools, cascades and waterfalls of this section. In the summer, Hunt-Fish Falls attracts people who go no further on the trail - they swim, wade and hang out.

After the falls and our first water crossing, my shoes are already wet and it's not even 9 A.M. Cardinal flowers (see the red flower below), turtle heads, and white wood asters grow around the creek. Again, no hemlock for a while. Maybe the land here was too rocky and steep.

The second and third fall and swimming hole are magical. We spend some quiet time watching the water fall.

After 3.8 miles, we reach a parking area in Roseborough and the end of the section of hike I had designed as Lost Cove Loop in my second hiking guide.

We turn right on a car bridge and onto FR 192. This forest road has seen much better days. It's wide and clear of vegetation but is so rocky and rough I couldn't see driving it. Maybe it's used by mountain bikers and ATV.

Everywhere acorns drop on our heads, like rain - it's fall after all. The road offers three miles of uphill walking but I enjoy it. We start at 2,000 feet and know we have a long climb up to Beacon Heights on the Parkway, which is at 4,200 feet.

The road climbs gently for 1,000 feet. We can walk two abreast and talk. Purple asters grow in clumps at the higher elevation and we even see a small twin waterfall that we name SharonDanny falls - see the picture at the beginning of this entry. Why not? I bet it doesn't have a name.

At Old House Gap, the MST gets off the road and back into the woods. Then the climb gets serious - over 1,200 feet in three miles. Each time the trail goes down, we know we'll have to climb back up some more to compensate. Some of the trail feels new, other sections old and maybe affected by a hurricane.

Rhododendrons are bent over all in one direction like they've been flattened by high winds. About a half-mile from the end, a fantastic view unfolds. We can see the characteristic layers upon layers of mountains and Grandmother Mountain to our right - let's hear it for grandmothers.

As we come down, we pass the side trail to Beacon Heights. Though it's less than a mile round-trip, we give it a miss. We've both been there and we're ready to see the car.

We also see where our next section east is - the Tanawha Trail. But if you've been following us, you know that we haven't done Linville Gorge - that's our next goal.

Cumulative after Day 32, 379.9 miles, 59,950 ft. ascent