Start point: Pickle Branch ShelterEnd point: Catawba, VA (Catawba Valley General Store)
miles hiked: 12.6
Dragon's Tooth was supposed to be the highlight today, a cool rocky outcropping, but I didn't even hike the .1mile out to it after climbing from the shelter (1,845 elev) up to it (3,020). Ugh. It was rain and fog so I knew what the view would look like. The driving force today was The Homeplace Restaurant, a southern style all you can eat that people have been talking about for days in anticipation. Nearly ran out of food so took a .4mile walk to the Catawba Grocery where we had lunch (a quart of chocolate milk, chips, 2 eggrolls and a pint of ice cream), before walking 6 more miles to the all you can eat for dinner. I know competitive eaters stretch their stomachs before a match, I was going for that tactic. We got set up at the Catawba General Store (another store that allows tenting out back), then Ziggy, Dragonbreath and I went to eat. Greatness! Fried Chicken, ham, and roast beef were the meats, then green beans, pinto beans, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, buscuits, cole slaw, apple butter and sweet relish. They refilled whatever you emptied, and we left hurting. Seriously hurting. Oh yea, apple pie and ice cream for dessert. Top left is a picture of Ziggy taking a picture of the Homeplace
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This is Ziggy, me and Dragonbreath with full bellies
a far cry from french reds and triple-cream brie -- I can't see how in the world you hike with all that sloshing around, though.
ReplyDeleteOh I guess I didn't finish; we just had to hike 100 yards from the restaurant back to the store where our tents were set up, so it wasn't sloshing around too long.
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