MST-54, segment 16

Stella to Peletier, eastbound

December 16, 2024. It’s been an entire month since my last MST hike!

Sunday afternoon I drove south to Carteret County, to stay at the “Luxury RV,” a sweet little airbnb property at the mid-point of a two-day hike (14 and 18 miles).

My home for two nights was clean and comfortable. Highly recommended!

Monday morning I left my car at “The Sanctuary of Newport” and got a shuttle to Stella from Jimmy, a fellow MST segment-hiker.

It took about an hour to find my hiking and birding rhythm. I worried I might have forgotten to bring something really important, but it turned out the only thing I forgot was to put my post-hike sandals in the car.

This is a low-tech, but clever tool for harvesting pecans from off the ground.

After leaving the pavement, most of the day’s walking was in the Croatan National Forest, which was simply beautiful.

Jimmy was also going to be hiking through this segment, so I left him a note.

So much beauty and peace! A wonderful place and plenty of time for morning devotions. I don’t use airpods while hiking, because I am listening for birds. In the longer stretches of road I do a lot of thinking, meditating, and praying.

This is perfect habitat for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, but I didn’t find one today. I did hear or see:

Red-bellied Woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker

There are eight species of woodpeckers in North Carolina, so that’s five down, and three to go!

Trains: zero

Trucks: three

Wish I had worn SHORTS!

I took my sit-down, shoes-off break at ten miles. I try to plan for this stop at about 3/4 through a hike. It’s both a physical rest and a mental pick-me-up when I start back out with rested tootsies and dry socks.

I SEWED the rose on to my pack, so it wouldn’t get lost again.

After the serenity of the Croatan Forest, there was a jarringly noisy half-mile along busy NC 58.

Right around the corner from my airbnb, I stopped in the tiny store to find something for dinner–because I totally scorched my frozen pizza the night before. The microwavable cheeseburger ended up being surprisingly tasty!

My “Luxury RV” is only steps off the MST route, here on Bucks Corner Road.

First hike is complete! Nothing else to do but to take a hot shower, zap the cheeseburger, and settle in for a few hours of Pride and Prejudice.