Weather — and life — have a way of altering plans. So instead of the three-day backpack trip to Grandfather Mountain that we envisioned earlier last week, then the two-night trip to Raven Rock State Park that we scaled back to when it became apparent that snow, ice and wind forecast for a mountain already known for its intense weather might make Grandfather ornery, then the overnighter we further dialed back to when the sog factor increased, Alan and I would up instead doing a long afternoon hike along the Eno.
One of the Eno River's ephemeral waterfalls.
It was our second slog on a drenched Sunday in three weeks and for me, a considerably drier one, thanks to two key equipment upgrades. After our Umstead hike, I conceded that my trusty 14-year-old Asolos, the model name long forgotten, needed replacing — at least for wet weather adventures. Their replacement, the Asolo Power Matic 250 NBK V backpackers, were great. Not a bit of water got in, despite several stretches on the Cox Mountain Trail where it was hard to distinguish trail from river (and stretches on the Buckquarter Creek Trail where the trail simply disappeared into the Eno). Less impressive were my new REI Minimalist Gloves. Employing REI's answer to Gore-Tex (it's Elements weather proofing technology), the gloves are intended to repel water, yet within a half hour of hiking my right index finger was wet.
Two other items of note from Sunday's hike. Did you know the Eno has waterfalls, lot of them? Along Holden Mill Trail in particular we passed several two-foot-wide waterfalls that spilled down 30 to 40 feet of vertical rock. Yet another good reason to hike in a drenching rain.
Item 2: There's a major trail renovation program underway on an 1,100-foot stretch of the river-fronting portion of the Buckquarter Creek Trail. For years, this stretch of trail has battled rock outcrops butting up to the river for supremacy. It's been a losing battle. Now, the trail is getting a little help.
I'll report back later with specifics.
I opted not to put my boots through the ultimate test, this crossing of a mini-Eno that developed at the end of the Holden Mill Trail.
