Woodlawn Access to uncrossable river, eastbound and back
May 19, 2026. Another out-and-back, because I didn’t have a shuttle driver. This is currently an optional portion of trail, because it leads to the “uncrossable” river, where the pedestrian bridge was destroyed by Hurricane Helene. 3.7 miles each way, for a total of 7.4.
I checked out of my sweet little Airbnb cabin in Nebo, after making a hearty hiker breakfast.
Woodlawn Access Parking Area on Green Mountain Road, right off of US-221.
And the first challenge of the day was scampering across US-221!
I startled a guy who had pulled his monster truck off the highway here to, ahem, commune with nature. He had his back turned to me and thought I was a bear… Sorry, dude, just a hiker coming past.
The route alternated between lovely trail and seldom-traveled forest roads.
(And yes, I saw that I had dropped my Chapstick and I picked it up.)
It was a moderate climb to the highpoint in this meadow. From here it was downhill to the North Fork of the Catawba River.
Warbler-song serenaded me throughout the hike! Ovenbirds, Black-throated Green, Pine, Prairie, Northern Parula, Black-and-White, Swainson’s, Hooded, Yellow-throated.
So sad.
I took a sit-down break at the river where the bridge used to be. The river is slow-moving here, but quite deep, making it impossible to wade. Any MST-hikers up for swimming across?
Not me.
I missed this turn off the road on the way back, but not by far, fortunately.
Since it was an out-and-back hike, I had stashed a couple of water bottles along the way. I used my pole to retrieve them, because if you stick your hand down into the leaves, you just might find that a snake has taken up residence while you’ve been hiking.
Ask me how I know!!!!!
What a pretty day for hiking! The route was almost entirely under tree cover, and I finished by 11am, so the unseasonable heat was not an issue.
This plant reminded me of western alpine Bear Grass, but it’s called Turkey Beard. Turns out they are in the same genus, however—thus, the resemblance. I’ve lived most of my life now on the east coast, but I will always miss my Washington mountains.
And one final scramble to get back across US-221.
164.4 miles to go!
My.Bird.Walks. 