Date: 2004-04-30
From: US 321

To: Dennis Cove Road
Miles today: 8.9

Made it over to Kincora by 8am and by some small stroke of luck was able to grab a bunk. It was an overcast day and I had mixed feelings about our plan to do 9 miles of slackpacking. I ate breakfast with Luda and Van Gogh and then grabbed a much needed and way too brief nap. It had started raining outside. I was awoken at 10:30am to LudaChris shaking my on the leg and telling me it was time to go - the rain had stopped. I gave a small groan and then switched into "be a trooper" mode and put my boots and gaitors on. We were hiking the pond flats and Laurel Creek that day, which was supposed to be a really beautiful hike so I mustered up some enthusiasm and got moving.First we got a ride from Bob, the owner of Kincora, into town so I could pick up some sort of Nalgene substitute from the local grocery store. Then I watched Van Gogh hack for 20 minutes while waiting for everyone else to be finished at the store. I suck at hackeysack so all I do is sit there and make fun of Van Gogh instead. Makes me feel better about myself.We were dropped off at the trailhead by 11:45am and completed our hike by 3:30pm. It was a really beautiful hike and we stayed together and talked the entire time. Good scenery and good company. After going up and over the pond flats, we descended to Laurel Creek which was especially green and lush and beautiful. We crossed a few bridges and then paused for a few minutes so the boys could show me where they had done trail maintenance the previous day. They were securing part of the trail that runs next to the river by pouring concrete over parts of the banks. It turned out well and looked much more stable - good work. Then we hiked on about 15 more minutes before reaching spectacular Laurel Creek Falls. This was worth the few minutes we stopped to eat and stare. These falls were wide and tall - you could hear then 1/2 mile off and from 200 yards away I could feel it's mist on my skin. The sound was a soothing dull roar and we just sat for a bit in silence listening to the falls, even though it was threatening rain again. When I started to get chilly we pressed on, but as I ascended the stone stairway away from the falls, I kept glancing back for one last look.On the way back to the hostel we managed to find a small skinny-dipping hole Bob had told us about. In no time LudaChris had jumped into the river (fully clothed) despite the chilly air, spitting rain, and frigid water. Once a Marine, always nuts... I could only stand and watch for so long beofre I got cold and headed back to the hostel.To our good fortune, we happened to be staying at Kincora during the holiday of Beltane, the celtic New Year. Bob Peoples, being Scots-Irish, was planning a huge Beltane feast for all of us to celebrate: corned beef and cabbage, carrots, potatoes, green beans, cockaleeky soup, soda bread, beer bread, onion pie, apple cider, some version of bread pudding for dessert, and about 8 platters of everything listed above. Every single hiker was soon stuffed beyond capacity and there were left overs. It was delicious. We sat immobile in the living room and played Trivial Pursuit in an attempt to entertain ourselves without having to move. I lasted about 45 minutes but soon became overwhelmingly sleepy and dragged myself to my bunk where I read until about 9:30 and then fell asleep.