Agile Trekker: NC 128 to Commissary/MST Trail Intersection, Mountains to Sea Trail, Segment 3, miles 60.3 to 63.8

Saturday, August 10, 2024

NC 128 to Commissary/MST Trail Intersection, Mountains to Sea Trail, Segment 3, miles 60.3 to 63.8

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
8/10/2024	7 miles	3 hours 43 minutes	324'	2.0 mph	526.2 miles

Parking:

NC 128

Map:

Gai Gps app
FarOut app

Directions:

From 2nd pull off on NC 128, walk down a steep wash to get to the trail. Turn right on the MST. Hike to the first parking area. Turn around and continue on the MST past the 2nd parking area and continue on to the Commissary Trail intersection. Turn around and hike back to the 2nd parking area. This is similar to hike #665 in the CMC database, but we went a little further.

Being a nice Saturday, the first pull off for the MST on NC 128 was full, but luckily there was another one just down the road. There is a steep rocky herd path to get to the trail from the second pull off. Yikes. It was the hardest part of the hike. But it's only a few feet. The beginning of the hike was rocky. I was disappointed right away, as the section across the street was also very rocky, and aggravated tendinitis in my foot when we hiked it. Luckily, today's hike wasn't all rocky. The trail was unbelievably flat. It felt like railroad grade. Some parts were much less rocky and were pleasant to walk on. An easy hike. We had several small stream crossings, which made Krumm very happy. Near the intersection of the MST and the Commissary Trail, there are tons of blueberry and blackberry bushes, so we stopped to snack. On the way back, we stopped at a small waterfall and let Krumm wade while we ate lunch. We crossed paths with a few groups of hikers as well as a few trail runners. Lots of wildflowers and mushrooms in this section. We removed one tree (by hand), and lots of branches off the trail.