Bamboo Road near Boone to Tomkins Knob parking area, eastbound
Monday, November 24. After church on Sunday, we drove and spent the night in Boone. My goal was a 13.7-mile hike, starting from where I had left off on Bamboo Road in June.
I can wholeheartedly recommend “Taqueria El Paso” for very fresh and delicious Mexican food.
We were at the trailhead right at dawn. It was a frosty start–32 degrees–but there was no wind, so it felt cozier.
The husband-shuttle went off to find birds at Trout Lake–including Red Crossbills!
Meanwhile, I dove into the rhododendrons.
There were many interactions with the Blue Ridge Parkway. Sometimes the route simply crossed over, but often I walked along it, for up to a mile.
Unfortunately, in this area near Boone, traffic was quite heavy. It’s been a while since I’ve walked a grassy shoulder! I forgot how quickly your boots can get wet from the early morning dew/frost.
I was happy whenever I got back into the woods, even with these dangerous creek crossings. [Just kidding…this was the most water I saw all day.]
The variety of terrain was quite delightful–roads, grassy fields, and trail, with hardwoods and pines and rhodies.
A lot of work has been done by trail volunteers to re-open Segment 5 following Hurricane Helene (Sept. 2024).
I guess there’s been a lot of confused hikers at this spot!
The Osbourne Mountain Overlook was closed to traffic, but I could easily walk on in and take advantage of some construction materials for a place to sit and rest a bit. It was a shoes-off, dry-socks-on break, which made my final five miles much more comfortable.
This was my favorite part of the hike–a one-mile hillside traverse with a view straight down to the parkway and out across the valley to US-421.
I’ll adapt a quote by Eric Liddell, a Christian missionary and Olympics-gold medalist in the 400 meter run:
God made me sturdy. And when I hike, I feel His pleasure!
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Never far from the Blue Ridge Parkway!
It was a strenuous two miles climbing up, up, up from US-421 to Elk Mountain Overlook. I’m glad there were no other hikers around, because I actually give myself verbal pep-talks during these hard stretches.
And there’s Loren at the Tomkins Knob parking area, helpfully pointing out the car, where there are refreshing drinks and snacks for the drive home.
I have only 20 miles left to complete segment 5, but for now we have holidays to celebrate and a new grandbaby to welcome.
Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas!
My.Bird.Walks. 