Date: 2018-04-14
From: Tent Site - Vicinity Hardcore Cascades

To: Dennis Cove Road - Black Bear Resort
Miles today: 8.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Unlike Thursday night, when I stayed in a temperature controlled private room with a king bed, I slept like a rock last night. I reckon I¢ve just become accustomed to cold nights in my well-ventilated Big Agnus Copper Spur-2 tent, Neo Therm air mattress, 19oz EE Revelation Quilt, and Ghost Whisperer Down Pillow (it¢s really a jacket). Even though the sun was up before I crawled out of the tent, our house and belongings were packed up and we were hiking by 8:15. It was only an eight mile hike to Dennis Cove Road (and access to a Cabin) and we enjoyed easy terrain and only moderate elevation changes. Although I still felt a little sluggish out of the gate, everything seemed to be back in good hiking order after our morning stretch. Which Way was also having problems finding her stride. That is, until she started to smell the barn. In this case the barn was ¢The Black Bear Resort¢, located just .4 miles east on Dennis Cove Rd. There were a couple of rock outcroppings and a few other good views along the path. The trail weaved in and out of Rhododendron groves and crossed several streams along the way. It also passed through a couple of open fields, providing some diversity to the hike. One such field close to Dennis Cove Road played host to an old run down barn.The parking area at Dennis Cove Rd. was full of cars. Apparently this is a popular destination for day hikers. Once we hit the road and realized that no one was going to offer us a lift, we started our .4 mile walk to the Black Bear Resort. It was an easy walk along the swift moving Laurel Fork. There were several nice houses and vacation cabins along the way. The Black Bear Resort soon came into view. It was a little bit past noon when we crossed the bridge onto the property. The first building we came to was a bunkhouse on one end and camp store on the other end. The Black Bear Resort is family owned and operated. Mary Lee and her daughter Stephanie were sitting on the front porch of the camp store when we walked up. Mary Lee greeted us and took us inside the store to register us for a cabin and give us an orientation of the area (bathhouse, laundry, etc.). We signed up for a shuttle to town at 5PM and followed a bridge path to our little cabin¢the Mountain Mama (perfect for WW). After we downed a microwaveable Philly Cheesesteak sandwich we cleaned up and did our laundry. With a little downtime, WW decided to lay down for a quick nap, while I slipped down to a quiet spot just below our cabin. About 30 minutes later I heard a thud coming from the direction of our cabin. The thud was followed by a cry, ¢Darrell!¢ I raced back up the cabin where I found WW laying on the ground just below the patio stairs. She was coming to join me and tripped over our shoes which were drying out on the steps. She landed on her backside and her momentum carried over until her face made contact with the ground, bloodying her upper and lower lips. I helped her up and took her back into the cabin where we cleaned up her scrapes. Mountain Mama hiked for 400 miles over some rough terrain with barely a fall, but the steps were evidently too tough to negotiate without her hiking poles. I am happy to report that, other than her scarped up lips, sore backside, and a bruised ego, she is doing fine now. The cute little cabin had two double beds with a twin bunk above each. I thought I understood Mary Lee to say there was one double and two twin beds when I made the reservation, so I told Heartburn he could have one of the twins and was welcome to invite another hiker to take the other twin bed. He and Mel arrived around 4:30. When I showed them the accommodations, Mel suggested that we let Finn and Happy Feet have the other double bed. They did not arrive until after the shuttle had departed for town, so we asked Stephanie to show them to the cabin. After returning from a quick Dollar General Store, McDonalds, and Subway run, we found Finn and Happy Feet already situated in the cabin. Unfortunately, Happy Feet was not feeling well. She was dehydrated and experiencing pain from a previous neck injury. Hopefully she will be doing better in the morning. WW and I sat on the porch telling hiker stories until well after dark.Peace and Blessings - Next StepElevation Data:                  Weather:Ascent ~ 4,530                    Day ¢ 77 degrees / SunnyDescent ~ 3,950                  Night ¢ 53 degrees / ClearGrade ~ 9.2Over the Horizon: Damascus, VA