by Evan Townsend, TBX Expedition Leader
After pouring sweat into the trail for two weeks, the TBXers were rewarded with a week of fun adventures. On Sunday we packed up our base camp at the Prayer Rock Shelter, crammed ourselves into a large van, and drove on down to the Nantahala National Forest where we set up camp in Missy and Sandy’s fishing house. Their house was conveniently located near lots of fantastic hiking, and overlooked a beautiful meadow filled with wildflowers and surrounded by misty blue mountains. Everyone enjoyed the pretty sunsets and the abundance of fishing décor in the house, and cooking meals for the group there was a pleasure.
From the house, we would go on day hikes on the Appalachian Trail or to waterfalls where we would relax on the rocks beneath the spraying water. One day we even hiked 17 and a half miles to the top of Wayah Bald, and then outran a thunderstorm the whole way down. What a day!
Following our time at Missy and Sandy’s house, we journeyed down to the Georgia-South Carolina border where we went white-water rafting on the scenic Chatooga river. We did sections 3 and 4 of the river, which feature class IV and above rapids. It was a memorable trip to say the least!
The bears are out there, but they don’t want to be seen much to the chagrin of the staff and campers at GRP. Earlier GRP Mentor, Pawel, and some campers had set up a trailcam with some tomatoes and apples nearby just to see if they could catch a glimpse. One did show up, but about 7 minutes after they had left. (The trailcam records the time and date of each photo.)
