Bill Moore Lake
We started the day on Red Elephant Hill and the weather was nice but chilly (in August!). By the time we got to the intersection with Bill Moore Lake it was getting really cold and starting to rain. It rained almost all of the rest of the day, leaving most of us unprepared.
We took the hard lines all the way up to the Mud Pit. There we found the XJ group we were supposed to meet at the Lake. We left over an hour before they did. It was a big group of Cherokees and from the looks of their vehicles we missed a lot of muddy action. We saw a couple Cherokees try the Mud Pit and one had to get winched out. It was raining and everything was covered in mud.
Bob was the only one of us to try the Pit, the rest of us went around. When he was coming out the other side he spun mud in big sprays all over the place -- especially on the inside of his Jeep. One of the XJ folks winched him out and when he got out he was covered in mud (as was Jenn, his passenger for the ride up). What a mess!
We got up to the Lake with the intention of having a BBQ with the XJ group but it was really pouring at that point. You could even see your breath! We hung out for a minute or two, getting soaked, then decided to head back down to get out of the rain.
We didn't have to go far, and we stopped for lunch at 2PM at the intersection of Red Elephant Hill and Bill Moore Lake. Ladd brought the grill and picnic table and we had hamburgers, hot dogs and all the usual summer picnic fixings. We got very lucky and the sun was out the entire time. We handed out the extra food to the XJ people as they came by.
We decided to go check out the Lake after lunch so we went back up. The sun was shining for most of the time, with only a few sprinkles. Then we came down the trail to find a huge truck had slid off the trail. We waited until the truck was back on the trail and then headed down ourselves.
It was wet and cold but the BBQ was great. This was a great trail, as always!
Reports from Other Days: 8
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