MST-7

Red Mill Road North to Red Mill Road South

From the map you can see that instead of an out-and-back, I did a loop, returning by the shorter, but less interesting route right up Red Mill Road.

I began at the boring parking lot where I didn’t want to pause for a drink and snack on the last hike.

I crossed Red Mill Road and entered the woods.

And this time, I am wearing a reflective vest! Because it’s hunting season…

And also my warmest sweater, because it’s really cold!

I always appreciate boardwalks in the boggy areas.

Although the windstorm was several days ago, there’s still a lot of debris along the trail. This section of MST is seldom traveled, I think.

I startled a Double-crested Cormorant off the pond. I haven’t been courageous enough to pack my big camera and telephoto lens, because of the weight of carrying it for so many miles (7+ miles today).

The MST is very well signed. I just finished reading “Wild” about a journey on the Pacific Crest Trail, where apparently all sorts of hikers get off-route since markers can be miles apart (and the trail can be covered with snow).

My first looks at Falls Lake!

My hiking notes assured me that this was an abandoned spur line.

This is the first bridge with metal railings that I’ve seen.

While power lines aren’t very beautiful, the open fields do provide a change from hiking in the woods, and the towers also provide a definitive landmark for the trail directions. “Mile 22.6 — Cross under a large power line”

Another metal-railing bridge, so I guess that was the favored design for this section of the trail.

And there we are, back on Red Mill Road. From here, one option was to back-track the 4.7 miles on the MST, but I chose to hike two miles straight north on the road. The shoulders were wide and traffic wasn’t too busy.

And then I came across this distressing sight.

Why is there a dead hawk on the side of the road?

• Person in car eats an apple and thinks, “The core is biodegradable, so I’ll just throw it out the window”
• Mice are attracted to the sweet apple core and come out of the woods to nibble on it
• Owls and hawks see the mice and swoop down to grab them
• Car hits bird

Please don’t throw anything out the car window—not even “harmless” apple cores!!!!