Relaxing at Zero

MST. Chapter 7. Segment 18 (Part 7)

This is my serialized story of hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail (MST), a 1,175-mile route that crosses the state of North Carolina. I’m hiking west from Jockey’s Ridge near Nags Head on the Outer Banks of the Atlantic Ocean to Kuwohi (formerly Clingmans Dome) near the Tennessee border in the Great Smoky Mountains. If you’d like to start at the beginning of my story, click here. 

See the Mountains-to-Sea map at the bottom for reference.

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Zero day. No miles to be walked today. I spend the morning, rather, enjoying the flowers and village shops of Ocracoke. Most memorable, the bookstore, Books to be Red, and its owner who is so vivacious and so cool with her many wrapped mystery books. She recommends for me “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Herald Fry” and even though I can’t buy it due to the weight of my backpack (having just given the book I was carrying to Karen to take home), I do look forward to “red”ing a fellow hiking story - along with the many books I photographed. It is easy to get lost in a store like this!

Second, in terms of memorable people, is the young wedding and surfing photographer (and his dad) we meet standing in a coffee line later that morning. The secret for getting married on the beach, he says, is for the bride to wear sneakers. Having walked on all sorts of beach conditions, I suggest, likewise for hikers.

That afternoon Helen and I go for a walk with our dog, Rosie, to Springer’s Point Preserve on the edge of town. Springer’s Point is where the pirate Blackbeard hung out before his untimely death at the hands of the Royal British Navy. We enjoy the calm waters of the Pamlico Sound and take many pictures with Rosie.

That evening, with spaghetti at home for dinner, I realize I thoroughly enjoyed the nice relaxing respite, a much needed day off from the hike. Regarding the Mountains to Sea Trail, I now have finished the 82 miles of section 18 and have walked it’s spectacular beaches. The break with my family (and best support group ever) is cause for celebration.

Soon enough, by 7:30 AM the next day, I am on the two-and-a-half hour ferry ride to the North Carolina mainland and as I take to the road, the trek to the Great Smokey Mountains continues. Of immediate concern is Section 17 consisting of 47 miles of almost entirely hard road surfaces. With what at times could be daunting traffic, it is a new challenge I must be physically ready to navigate in the days ahead.

Click here to read the next chapter.

Click here to read the previous chapter.

Map of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. This post focuses on Segment 18.