Post-900 Hike #157: Little River & Huskey Gap (in/out)

This was Gracia Slater's last hike for membership in The 900 Miler Association; it was the 2.1 mi. section of Huskey Gap that was needed. Since this hike had to be rescheduled once already because of rain, logistics dictated that it be done rain or shine. Unfortunately rain was what it was.

I arrived at Food Lion at 0750; soon Jim Stanley and Tom Hickey arrived; then Theresa Yu and David Smith arrived; the latter two rode with me in part because Jim Stanley was carrying several things for a post-hike celebration. We arrived at the Little River trail head ~0850; Gracia was already there along with her daughter Shannon and her son Dixon. Dixon flew in from Northern California--believe that was a surprise to Gracia; also a surprise to Gracia was that he was using crutches. Three others from NC also came to hike with Gracia on her last hike; for a truly cold and rainy day, this really shows a strong respect and friendship.

The first picture is of Shannon, Dixon, and Gracia as they were about to embark on the aforementioned 2.1 mi. section of Huskey Gap Trail that Gracia needed.



The second picture is of Dixon coming down Huskey Gap. Even though the trails hiked today were not that difficult, because of the incessant rain there were a few stream crossings that were somewhat imposing. I doubt that very few could complete this hike on crutches as Dixen did.



Towards the end of the hike Gracia's husband John (who recently had back surgery) hiked in to meet her; from left to right in the picture are Shannon, Dixon, Gracia, and John.


A celebration of Gracia's achievement was held on the porch the restored Elkmont club house (forget the exact title of the building, it was closed for the winter months). Despite the weather, this was one neat day, one neat hike, and one neat celebration for one neat lady.

Hike Data
Pedometer:
9.61 mi., 21,005 steps, 18,228 of which were aerobic, 757 kcal burned.

GPS:
11.0 mi. hiked (cannot explain apparent error), 3.2 mph av., 1,356' total ascent