NEW RIVER STATE PARK

It was 6am Saturday and on my way up I-77 to New River State Park for the weekend. I stopped off at a local gas station near Cherry Lane and received some "good morning" pleasantries by two separate individuals. I then proceeded to stop off in Sparta for some last minute groceries and received even more "good morning" pleasantries. Driving down US-221S, I received the back country one finger wave from nearly everyone I encountered on the road. Leaving Charlotte I was the recipient of the  middle finger for a minor traffic infraction. And that is the difference between the city life and the back country. New River State Park has a drive-in campground and a walk-in/canoe-in campground. The drive-in campground seems to cater more toward the RV style camping, not for me. Even after getting to the park early, I was pretty fortunate to get Campsite #30, the last available site in both campgrounds. New River State Park is very popular so make reservations before you go. The walk-in campsites are equipped with a fire ring, a picnic table, lantern hook, and a grassy area for the tents. New River State Park even supplies wheelbarrows to carry loads the 250 ft walk-in. The river was crystal clear and flowing quite well. Especially after a heavy rain Friday night. After wading in the cool mountain river, Bailey and I hit the trails. First, the River Run Trail (1.4 miles) runs parallel with the water for the first part then goes back into the forest and connects onto the Hickory Loop Trail (1 mile) back to the parking lot. Make sure you stop once in a while and look around otherwise you might miss some wildlife like a white tail deer watching you through the trees on a few yards away. The weather was sunny with no humidity and a cool breeze sweeping through the forest. Back at camp resting, my camp neighbors came up to greet Bailey and I. They were from Charlotte as well as the drive-in campground host who sold me my firewood. Now that I rested and filled up with lunch I tried my hand at some fly-fishing. Only fished for a couple hours due to all the waiting for canoes, kayaks, and tubes floating lazily down the river and the baptism happening in a promising fish hole. Surrounded by mountains the sun goes down fairly early so back to camp to start a crackling fire and light up the JetBoil for some tasty cheeseburgers. Kids running and playing tag up and down the walk. A large group of canoe-in campers arrived to their reserved campsite. One guy had a massive Great Dane that came in on a canoe. Dishes washed and everything put up so now it's time to kick back and relax before bed. Bailey's already in the tent asleep. It's time to join the mutt. Bacon and eggs consumed, showered and teeth brushed, now all packed up and ready to go to my next location.

WNC Park: 10                      Miles: 2.4                        Deer: 2