Starting with 804 miles, 93,550 ft. ascent

Loftins Crossroads to Cox Industries City City Wood Preserving

16 miles, 50 ft. ascent

Shift change.

After five days on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, Lenny has to head home.

I'm walking with John and Terry, both board members of Friends of the MST. After a cold wet spell, today promises to be a cold but sunny day. At 7 A.M., when we leave the motel, we need to scrape the ice off our windshield

 Only a few days ago, I was complaining about the sun.

Lenny and I meet John and Terry in Cove City, at the Cox Industries Wood Preserving plant on Old-70. Lenny shuttles us all to Loftins Crossroads at Welles Country Store. See the three of us at the top.

We're still in cotton and corn field country. In short order, we see a hawk and a redheaded woodpecker, the latter not very common in the mountains.

Later a great blue heron takes off from one of the many ponds on the route.

John and Terry are both involved in so many activities, beyond Friends of the MST. Terry is a docent at the local museum. John volunteers for the Knights of Columbus, repairing electronics equipment before it's sold for charity. They banter about trail construction and trail politics.

I learn that the new route through New Bern that I complained about a few days back was designed and recommended by the city itself. So it doesn't really matter where it goes; the city has a right to decide how to best show off itself.

New Bern's most famous resident right now may be the writer, Nicholas Sparks. He's best known for The Notebook and Nights in Rodanthe. Both books were made into movies. Sparks did not grow up in New Bern. I assume that with his means, he could live anywhere. So it speaks well of the area.

These guys walk fast. "It's your hike," Terry says.

So I call for a break every couple of hours. Otherwise I have a feeling that they would do the whole 16 miles without any stops.

Terry points out Carolina jessamine, a vine with yellow flower natives. The plant looks invasive but it's not. It's native to Southeast and easily confused with Cat’s Claw Vine which is an invasive.

We reach the end point at about two o'clock, the fastest I've ever done 16 miles. I clocked the altitude gain at 50 feet. I'm going to keep measuring it, even as I get closer to the beach. Every foot I climb adds to the total.

Cumulative after 65 days, 820 miles, 93,600 ft. ascent
Cox Industries Cove City - City Wood Preserving to Clarks United Methodist Church
11 miles, zero altitude gain

Today is wet and cold. But John is waiting for me at Clarks United Methodist Church. We shuttle up to Cox Industry and proceed to walk on Old-US 70.

There's no need to use my altimeter this time. It's dead flat on the road. We're bundled up and don't see much, as we talk about our various hiking experiences.

But when we pass Whaley's Food Center in Cove City, a guy opens the door and yells out "Are you walking the MST?"

"Yes," I give him the thumbs up. The only two people who have asked me about the MST have been around New Bern.

The New Bern group of Friends of the MST must be doing something right.
Cumulative after 66 days, 831 miles, 93,600 ft. ascent

After leaving John, I drive back to Asheville in the rain. I'm now home dealing with a pile of laundry, my blisters and a skin rash that just won't quit. After slathering varous over the counter creams, I've given up and I'm going to see a dermatologist.

But I got to get myself together; I'm leading a hike in the Smokies for Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Saturday.

Starting with 790.5 miles, 93,550 ft. ascent

12 miles to the Minnesott ferry
1.5 extra from the blueberry farm to Handy Mart

Today's goal on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is clear; walking to the Minnesott Ferry which goes across the Neuse River.

It’s 12 miles from where we left off yesterday. It’s cold and wet. The rain was supposed to hold off until the afternoon but it starts raining almost as soon as we leave the church parking lot.

If you missed the sign on the photo yesterday, the New Bethlehem Original Freewill Baptist Church had a sign on its marquee:
Honk if you love Jesus
Text while driving if you want to meet him

The area is poor, rural and isolated. A hawk is perched in the trees and a bald eagle flies overhead. I can’t believe it; a bald eagle in eastern North Carolina.

Most of the fields we pass were planted in cotton and now only the stumps are left.

It turns out that the U.S. is the third largest grower of cotton after China and India. Most of the southern states grow cotton and we export almost half of the cotton we grow. These fields look small, barely worth bothering with. But they do.

The trail takes us through the town of Arapahoe, population 434; the name sounds Maori to me but Lenny says it’s really an Indian name. 

Arapahoe was founded a few years after New Bern by settlers leaving the New Bern colony.

This area was settled on the old Indian trail from the big bend in the river heading west to Core Point. The community was called “Bethany Crossroads”. That Indian trail is still in use today in the form of NC 306.

In 1886 Bob Hardison and his friend Bob Bowden decided to apply to the U.S. Postal Department for a Post office to be located at “Bethany Crossroads” in Pamlico County. They filled out an application and both signed it.

When it was returned to them it was addressed to “Bob’s Town”, since there was already a “Bethany Crossroads” near Fayetteville. Neither of the Bobs liked “Bob’s Town” so they came up with a different name - Arapahoe, named after one of the Bob's horse.

Arapahoe in Pamlico County has a supermarket, a new Charter school and, of course, several churches.

It looks like they closed their conventional school and replaced it with a charter school. The picture is of their closed school building.

NC 306, the main road, is one lane today because the community's water pipes are being upgraded. These utility guys look bored so I can’t resist telling them about the MST.

Arapahoe flows right into Minnesott Beach, the last town before the ferry. 

Minnesott Beach is located at the site of an old Indian settlement which was thought to be one of the largest Indian trading centers in the South Atlantic states.

The city fathers recognize that their time is past. Here's what they say on their website:

Back in the 1930s through 1950s, in our heyday, we were a thriving vacation destination.  Today we have settled into a quiet golfing, sailing, and retirement community which offers an 18-hole golf course, marina, and world class boys' camp.

We  pass the entrance to the subdivision. It looks quite upmarket. I wonder what kind of people it attracts. It is so far from any services or entertainment.

We reach the ferry landing and have our picnic lunch there. There are a few picnic tables under cover, which is good since it is cold and wet. Several cars are waiting in line. A ferry comes in and quickly goes back out. Right now the ferry is free, though it is supposed to start charging next month.

We go in the ferry building and talk to the guy in the office. He hasn’t heard of the MST and I give him a Friends of the MTS pamphlet.

We now need to go back toward the US 17 bridge so I can walk the extra 1.5 miles east of the bridge that we checked out yesterday.

The route essentially takes us from US 17, which takes traffic off the bridge to NC 55. It doesn’t take us long to walk the back roads. We pass a blueberry farm, very dormant now.

This is Lenny’s last MST hiking day. Time for a shift change tomorrow.
Cumulative after 64 days, 804 miles, 93,550 ft. ascent

Starting with 780.5 miles, 93,550 ft. ascent

Through Reelsboro - 10.7 miles

Into New Bern - 4.1 miles

This is my ninth straight day on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. It's become so flat that I'm no longer setting my altimeter.

So far, my feet have held up well because I’m putting band-aids and moleskin on every day. My poison ivy is under control as I slather on lotions and potions on my skin.

This is the day I’m scheduled to walk on the bridge over the Neuse River. The road, US 17, is a limited access highway.

The instructions are to walk on the take-off ramp going against traffic and walk on the bridge in the space between the white line and the side of the bridge. There’s no pedestrian walkway.

Lenny and I drive separately over the bridge to place one car at the end of our section. As I go on the bridge, I keep looking at the other side. There are three lanes in each direction, with traffic going way over the 55 MPH limit.

Walking the bridge is risk taking behavior I do not need. I know that at least 20 people have done it because that’s the current number of MST completers but I’m not going to do it.

I was never one to do something because “everyone else is doing it” though on the MST “everyone else" is a small number. Though it is not technically illegal, drivers are not expecting pedestrians – it is unsafe and it has nothing to do with hiking.

This reminds me of the river crossing on the Kennebec River in Maine on the Appalachian Trail. This was a very challenging crossing that was legend. Years ago, a hiker drowned crossing the river. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy hired a boatman to ferry hikers across the river. When we crossed it in 1996, I remember it as costing five dollars. It's now free. I do not expect Friends of the MST to provide a ferry or a shuttle across the bridge. Maybe they can say that driving over the bridge or taking a taxi is OK.

When we get to our end point, at Scotts Town Rd., I tell Lenny that “I’m not doing it. If I don’t get my MST certificate because I didn't walk over the bridge, so be it, but this is crazy.”

“Are you sure? It’s Sunday morning and the quietest time.”

“I know. Let’s start at the Handy Mart on NC 55.” And we do. NC 55 is a busy four-lane road but the grassy sides are wide.

We turn on Neuse Rd., passing large tree farms owned by Weyerhauser and crossing swampy areas. An occasional car passes us.

We get to our destination - New Bethlehem Original Free Will Baptist Church -quite early so we move on to a section MST west of New Bern that I was going to do later.

Four miles on Old 70 which we do very quickly.

We can’t figure out how we would have crossed the bridge and it bothers Lenny. He wants to explore the various exits. It’s obvious how we would have gotten on the bridge but how to get off?

We drive back on the bridge and start exploring. Every time we think we have a way to get off, we end up getting back on the bridge. Back and forth, back and forth until finally Lenny sees the way. “It’s a good thing it wasn’t a toll bridge,” Lenny says.

“You can do another 1.5 miles,” he says. “I got to keep you honest.”  That’s what we’re going to add to tomorrow’s agenda. We go to the  Cow Cafe for a snack.

Cumulative after 63 days, 790.5 miles, 93,550 ft. ascent

Starting with 765.2 miles, 93,400 ft. ascent

1. Norwood to Elijah Loftin Crossing

2. Into New Bern

15.3 miles, 150 ft. ascent

Today we broke up the day in two on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

It’s cold - colder than it’s been so far. I’m wearing long pants, a thermal top and a rain jacket. But the dogwood is in bloom and it’s definitely spring. The trail takes us south of Kinston. The farms seem smaller and less prosperous.

One field still has stalks of cotton which has not been plowed under.

We pass a couple of home based businesses like firearm service but there are no gas stations or shops. We arrive at our first destination before lunch time.

In New Bern
I am eager to get to New Bern.

We drive to New Bern on Old 70 and set up cars so we’ll walk much of NC 55 in New Bern and end up at the take off point for the US 17 bridge over the Neuse River.

I’ve been looking forward to New Bern for a long time. It is the largest city that the MST goes through.

New Bern was founded in 1710 and they just celebrated their 300 anniversary. The city was settled by Baron Christopher de Graffenried from Bern, Switzerland. Bern, in German, means bear. Painted bear sculptures stand all over the city.

The big attraction in New Bern is Tryon Palace. See the picture above.

The palace was the residence of the Royal Governor William Tryon. It was the capitol of the Colony of North Carolina. After the Revolutionary War, the Palace became the first capitol of the state of North Carolina.

The MST comes into New Bern via NC 55, a four-lane commercial road with fast food restaurants, a laundromat, auto repair shops and the Craven County medical complex.

We walk on the wide grassy sides and it’s not dangerous at all. Once we get into the downtown proper, the sidewalk starts. We’re in a poor, African-American neighborhood with run-down housing.

Soon we’re in the historic area with mega churches, lovely homes and a few bed and breakfasts. The MST itself doesn’t go past Tryon Palace but we turn right to see it and get our picture taken in front of the gate.

I understand that several FMST members from New Bern have proposed a new route through the city, one that would take you off NC 55. They’re concerned that the current route is too busy.

I disagree; I think that walkers should see more of the city than just lovely homes and the Palace. The current route is busy but not dangerous.

We wander around the tourist area with our packs on. The riverfront is well-done. There are several streets of restaurants, galleries and gift shops. We go into a store called The four C’s.

The woman behind the counter asks “Are you walking the MST?” Wow! That’s the first time anyone has asked me that. Then I notice that she’s carrying a pile of Scot’s MST trail guides, so she knows the trail.

There’s a Pepsi Cola store. Pepsi, first known as Brad's Drink, was created in 1898 at Bradham's Pharmacy at Middle and Pollock Streets, the tourist streets we're been exploring.

Tomorrow is the big day when we cross the Neuse River on a huge and busy bridge. 

Cumulative after 62 days, 780.5 miles, 93,550 ft. ascent

Starting with 749.1 miles, 93,150 ft.

Through LaGrange

16.1 miles, 250 ft.

We always start our mornings with a bang. Today we did more than three miles the first hour. But as we take breaks, our average number of miles per hour decreases over the day. Even so, with a lot of breaks, we end up walking over 2.5 miles an hour. It’s going to be a shock to get back into the mountains.

We spend most of today’s walk going through LaGrange, population 2,844.

We walk the full length of the main street.

Most of the street consists of small houses with large porches, circa 1900. Most are well-maintained. We keep looking for a coffee shop without any luck.

Several old men are sitting in front of an electrical supply store.

If there was a coffee shop, they’d be sitting in the coffee shop, like the Chatterbox Cafe in A Prairie Home Companion.

I ask one fellow “Is there a place in town to get a cup of coffee?” He points to the Hess station, which also doubles as a Dunkin Donut shop. The coffee is pretty good and we sit on a stoop on the side of the gas station.

After we walk over US 70, we turn on Jenny Lind Rd., named after a 19th Century Swedish opera singer. But it might have been named after a local resident. Even with all the looking and discussing that we do, there’s so much that I don’t know about the area. Some I can look up but for much I need to talk to people. Very few people are outside.

The highlight is crossing the Neuse River – finally – and passing by a large swamp, complete with bald cypress. Now I really feel like I'm in the coastal plains. One of the trees on the boundary has a very small sign saying
Conservation easement boundary. North Carolina Coastal Land Trust 

Now why did the sign have to be so small? I would have shouted it from the treetops.

Cumulative after 61 days, 765.2 miles, 93,400 ft. ascent

Starting with 716.9 miles, 92,400 ft. ascent


To Eureka

16.1 miles, 350 ft. ascent

After our lobby day, I was eager to get back on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. This was Kate’s last day on the trail with me.

We debriefed about Land for Tomorrow lobby day. Kate knows about every North Carolina legislator – their district, where they stand on various conservation issues, their pet projects and the conservation projects that have been funded in their district.

I know that it’s what she does but it’s still impressive. She filled me in on how the NC state legislature works. We never seem to run out of things to talk about. I’m going to miss her.

Today takes us from just off Lamm Road outside of Wilson to Eureka in Wake County. We pass large farms, some in winter crop, others freshly plowed. On this trip so far, the dogs seem to be under control. Some are chained or fenced but others just know to stop at their property lines. They’ve been well trained.

One quirk of this area are the polka dot mailboxes. You really have to be house proud to live in a rural area like this. Residents must spend a lot of time on their house and gardens.

We walk through Black Creek, established 1779, population 714. Unfortunately, the railroad came through the middle of town, bisecting the main street. There’s a small grocery store, a beauty shop with a very lonely owner sitting outside with her dog. The police station is also on the main street. And of course, a huge cemetery.

We stop in their town park to eat a snack. Kate says “I bet you they got a grant from one of the trust funds.”

And that’s true. Their website says “We have received 2 park grants to make the improvements to our town park.  We are very proud of our park and would like to thank the PARTF (Parks and Recreation Trust Fund) committee for their support.”

Once out of Black Creek, we have lunch on the steps of a church, watching the mating rituals of two killdeer. On the gravel, in front of us, the male is tweeting and strutting. The female comes out from behind a tree. But a pickup truck roars by and the male flies up. He seems to have disappeared. But in a few minutes, he comes back and the courting continues. We leave them alone and walk on.

Kate seems preoccupied by all the Bradford pear trees that we’re passing. Bradford pear trees grow quickly and have a ball shape. They’re popular but have lots of problems….

We get to our end point, Eureka in Wake County, population 244, close to Goldsboro. Most of the businesses are closed. There’s a coffee shop that seems to thrive at breakfast time. The mini-mart has closed its gas stations.

Kate voted today as the prettiest section. So what did Kate think of the road walking? “I’ve enjoyed it. North Carolina is so beautiful.”

Kate Dixon, Executive Director of Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, planned to hike with me for five days.

But in the middle of our plans, Land for Tomorrow scheduled a Lobbying Day. What could I do but go back to Raleigh with Kate? I was eager to see how this is done.

Land for Tomorrow is a coalition of environmental and conservation groups in North Carolina that lobby for fully funding all the conservation trust funds. These include the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund and the Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust. The people who showed up were experienced lobbyists from The Nature Conservancy, Sierra Club, various conservation groups from all over the state like Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy.  

We got briefed by Debbie Crane, who works for The Nature Conservancy. The whole purpose of the day was to meet with various legislators besides our own. We were supposed to explain why conservation funding was important and helped the economy. For example,

Every dollar spent on conservation returns four dollars in the economy. Pretty good investment.

The "ask" was $50 million dollars for Clean Water and $2 million for Farmland Preservation. Two millions? That's nothing.

Still when we went to the legislators on our list, most of them moaned and groaned about the economy. "We're trying to balance the budget". But the whole conservation budget is 0.25 % of the economy. I think I have the decimal point in the right place. So they should not balance the budget by cutting out conservation funding.

Kate did most of the talking. She introduced me as a "hiker", who was hiking the trail. But most legislators were not available, even some with appointments with us. So we wrote hand-written notes saying we had stopped by. We also did a lot of waiting and talking to their assistants. We even had to wait for their assistants.

One exception was Susan Fisher, my state representative. She knew she had an appointment with us; she was on time, cheerful and very knowledgeable. She seemed interested in my MST hike. I was impressed.

A fun diversion from a busy day was an ice cream social. They had invited Maple View Farm to serve ice cream at lunch time. 

Even though my feet got a rest, it was an exhausting day. We drove back to Wilson, eager for another day on the MST.

Starting with 684.9 miles, 91,700 ft. ascent

Jim Ray’s Crossroads R&R food mart to Pit Stop general store in Mt. Pleasant

16.2 miles, 400 ft. ascent

It's an unusually cool Sunday, around 41 deg., as we start out for our day on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail.That's good since I'm still nursing my sunburn and blister.

The route takes us close to Zebulon, the big town here - 4,600 people - but heads down southeast toward Wilson.

First thing in the morning, we see a kingfisher, and later a great blue heron. We're starting to see swamps, now known as wetlands as we walk through Franklin and then Nash Counties. Large empty fields are about to be planted.

It's flat. Though my altimeter registers about 300 to 400 feet of ascent a day,it could just be the uplifts on the roads.

The roads are quiet because people haven't started their drive to church. A state trooper stops us and asks us about our walking.

“I saw you walking yesterday,” he says. We explain about the MST and Kate pulls out a Friends of the MST pamphlet.

“Oh yes,” he says “I saw it on PBS. But what do you do about dogs?” he asks. Very perceptive of him. It could be that only a state trooper would understand that the most dangerous aspect to what we're doing are dogs.'

"Well, I hope it's not against the law." I show him my pepper spray. He's a runner and uses it too.

This may be the only situation when I was happy to see an officer. I think they ought to know about the trail.

Churches abound here, of course. But so do small family cemeteries.

On the left is a gravestone from the Civil War, part of a small cemetery next to the road.

We pass Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church and can hear the minister shouting his sermon. He must be pounding on the pulpit.

As we get closer to our destination, "no Slaughterhouse" signs pop up in people's yards. What is that about?

I try to ask the staff at the convenience store but they can't articulate the problem well. So here's a summary from the web, put out by the ABC-TV affiliate in Wilson.

It's a fight that has some folks fuming, one that pits a city against a county. It's all about a chicken processing plant that could be built in Nash County.

A sign with the words "No Slaughterhouse" with a circle and a slash through it sat outside the Nash county Commissioners meeting. Residents at the meeting hope it sends a clear message.

The city of Wilson is pledging $1 million dollars to oppose the chicken processing plant. A spokesman for the city says they worry what it will do to the area's watershed. They asked the Nash County Commissioners to take more time to study the project, but the Wilson spokesman says they were told no.

Carolinas Gateway Partnership Chairman Frank Harrison said officials have gone out of their way to do their due diligence on Sanderson Farms and the plants they operate, visiting sites and talking with public officials.

“With the high unemployment in our area, the community has an obligation to work to create fair-paying jobs with health insurance,” Harrison said.

Starting with 668.9 miles, 91,350 ft. ascent
Holden Rd. to R&R Food Mart

15.9 miles, 350 ft. ascent

I spent the night in Raleigh with Kate Dixon, Executive Director of the Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. She's going to walk on the trail with me for several days. We drive back to where I stopped yesterday outside of Wake Forest and start walking on Holden Rd.

Soon we enter the community of Youngsville (population 650). The MST takes us on the main street, past stores and restaurants. We stop in  the coffee shop at about 10 A.M. We're looking for coffee and a goodie while everyone else is having a full breakfast. The coffee turns out to be so-so and the goodies are not that interesting.

We walk out of town into rural Franklin. It's a beautiful, warm Saturday, getting warmer by the minute. Serious cyclists are out in a large group, riding bike route #2, generally the same route that we're walking.

Farms, modern development and some abandoned buildings, including an old gas pump. It's advertising 30 cent/a gallon gasoline, leaded of course.

We pass Hill Ridge Farm, a recreational farm - now that's a new term for me. They offer hayrides, train rides, playlands for children. Even though they were not going to open until next month, the place seemed like a lot of fun. It would be a good place to have a birthday party or spend an afternoon with children. 

The sun is getting stronger but I don't notice that my arms and legs are getting sunburned. It's their first exposure this year to so much sun. We're walking in full sun. On the road, there's no shade.

In the middle of the afternoon, we get to our end point at a gas station. After picking up the car at our starting point, we drive to tomorrow's end point at another gas station. Out of courtesy, we ask if we can leave a car here overnight.

"I wouldn't do it," the woman behind the counter said. "Car windows have been smashed in." I don't want to ask her how long ago that was. Sometimes, one incident in a safe neighborhood stands out in a person's mind more than habitual crime. So we reluctantly decide to set up both cars tomorrow. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the area.

We drive to our motel. I realize that I have a blister on my heel. It is much too early on the trip to have a blister. I pierce the blister, pad it well and hope not to feel it too badly tomorrow.

Cumulative after Day 57, 684.9 miles, 91,700 ft. ascent