March 12
End: Simms Mountain ATV Trail
Miles: 20.7
Total: 1653.0
I woke up in Rolater Park as cars drove past. Apparently there are buildings people work at in the park. I quickly got my stuff together and left. I walked into Creekside Restaurant and had an omelet while listening to the local chatter.
From the restaurant I went around town and discovered that most stores were closed on Monday, which I found odd. I picked up some food and water at the Dollar General, and then got some mail from the post office. My pack was now feeling heavy.
I started the long road walk out of Cave Spring, and tried to eat some food to lighten my load. I had to carry a lot of water, which was the main weight issue. I got out of town and took a quick break, then moved on. The road walk was awful, and later on in the afternoon there was a slight rain.
I trudged on, and then got to state road 20, which goes to Rome. Unfortunately the trail goes in the opposite direction. I soon sat down at a plant nursery to take a break and put my rain gear on. While there I talked to the owner, who was interested in my journey.
Walking the highway was terrible because of all the spray kicked up by traffic. There was nowhere good to walk, and I took a fair amount of water to the face before arriving at my turning point, where I took another break.
Heading towards the mountains, I felt tired and sat down to rest yet again. When I finally reached the Simms ATV Trail I felt exhausted, which was uncharacteristic of me. I finally found a decent spot to set up my tarp just off of the trail, and rested for the night. I didn’t cover as much ground as I had hoped for, but I was too tired to continue.
