I need to figure out what to title these travel inputs
“Travel diaries day 20- 22” yeah that sounds good.
Chewable state park was a vibe
Waked in, no reservations. (It was a Thursday so pretty good odds)
Turned out to be a perfect spot, funny how that works? Things that aren’t planned and just gone with the flow end up working out.
Sometimes they don’t of course but this time, and alot of the times they do.
Great cover, secluded, dark
The showers were weird but if that’s the only thing? I’ll take it.
We stayed for just a night and kept it moving, it was nice to be out of the heat and not have to go to war against the bugs.
We pulled in around 4:30 pm and left around 11:30 am to head two hours north to oak mountain.
Stopping in Montgomery along the way for some cool civil rights history.
Speechless. Some of the events that happened during this time was horrific, thank you Rosa❤️
Oak mountain state park is huge, you practically need a car to get anywhere. Or a bike would work. It gets hot in the middle of the day, from 12-4 or so usually there is some really good shade from the trees overhead. Lots of trees overhead too.
The place was pretty packed when we rolled in, Friday night, but thinned out by Sunday.
The world doesn’t stop.
Our First night here we put down 7 hazy little things, and there was nothing little about them. We talked, laughed, cried, embraced…
Another great night.
For some reason I woke up at 4:30 am to hit the bathroom, something I never do – had an urge to shit. Maybe the chili we ate was unforgiving. I came out of the bathroom and saw this guy all geared out in running stuff: poles, Solomon vest, hoka shoes, black diamond headlamp
“Are you about to go for a run?”
“Yeah we’re going up to kings chair to catch the sun rise”
“Can I come”
“Sure but we’re gonna be moving slow, I’m 72 and it’s about a 6 mile trip should take us 2 hours or so.”
“Ahh maybe, if I don’t see you guys have fun”
And we went our separate ways.
When is this ever going to happen again? I have no clue. I ransacked the car to get my gear together and head out towards the north trail, .5 mile away from where we were staying.
To my amazement, there were hundreds of people there. This was a whole thing – a big organized hike – not just three strangers going to the top.
I came running down and the lead guide popped out, you look like you’re gonna be going fast. Stay with me and we’ll get to the top in time.
A few minutes later we were off and about 45 minutes later we made it to the top.
Breathtaking.
When the sun leaked over the mountains?
Chills. What an experience.
I split off the pack after that and ran a little faster, a little longer, and made it back to camp with a 7 mile round trip.
Mike 4 I couldn’t stop shitting on the side of the mountain. That chili really was unforgiving.
Spent the rest of the day catching up on things: work, laundry, naps, and ended with a bang.
12-4 is hot here. We got a jump on the day and left camp around 11:30 to explore.
Got 14 lbs of ice for the cooler , dropped trashed off, visited a raptor sanctuary l, where they rescue and rehab birds of the area. Champ loved this.
Then we took a drive to Peavine overlook for some panoramic views of the state. We had some lunch up there and caught up on some things, journal entries, savers routine, yoga, and got a gameplan for tomorrow.
There’s something about handwashing clothes, therapeutic.
My pants were damn filthy.
Joe DiAndrea 