RWR Day 19 – Descent to Asheville

Posted by ray on June 4, 2016June 4, 2016

Day 19 began at Milepost 360 on the side of Mount Mitchell and ended at the Haw Creek Valley Overlook at Milepost 380. We had lots runners along with terrific long range views.

Day 19 Run

I must keep this blog abbreviated. Today was a very long day--up at 5:15 AM, pack and leave Big Lynn Lodge, drive 45 minutes to the starting point, coordinate with all the runners, (Oh yeah!) run 20 miles, and then get to our new home for a couple days. And tomorrow has a very early start; we must be at the starting point at 6:45 AM for a start on live TV (WLOS Asheville).

After a rolling two miles at the start, 90% of the day was downhill, descending from Mt. Mitchell into the French Broad Valley at Asheville.

Today's runners with two visitors who joined in the photo.

We had lots of "Relayers" today. Michael Molling began the day with us and ran to Craggy Gardens. Michael is Chief of Maintenance for the Blue Ridge Parkway and has been invaluable to us in helping us to this point. Many thanks to Mickael! Katherine and Brian Cornell brought their four boys (Michael 12, James 10, Paul 10, David 8) and tag-teamed the day with us. Jinnie and Stan Austin from Matthews, NC, returned (with their precious little boy Noah). Stan ran last Saturday with me in Alleghany County. Today, Jinnie ran the first 12 miles; Stan ran the last 8.

I have learned the "rhythm of the Parkway" and today was no different. Before, 9 AM we encounter more turkeys than people. People start to arrive around 9 AM. Traffic increases steadily between 10 AM and noon. Traffic was non-stop today after 11 AM with Parkway visitors driving up to Craggy Gardens and Mt Mitchell from the Asheville area.

Today, being down hill, went much more quickly than the last several days. Heat was an important factor by the time we were finished. Here are details of the run... https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1198195716.

Photos and Video

The App Ortho Photo of the Day

Panoramic View with Biker taking a break.

We placed today's photos on http://www.BRPWeather.com/. From BRPWeather.Com, zoom the Google Map into the area from Asheville to Mt Mitchell to see all the photos.. By the way, you can upload your photos to BRPWeather.com also; just click on the Photo link and follow the process--it's quick and easy!

Here are the starting and ending videos from the day's work.

Location Information

We are spending the next two days at the fabulous Inn on Biltmore Estate. Yes, this place is as amazing as advertised. Here's the photo of the room. We had a wonderful lunch on the Veranda as a thunderstorm was brewing over the mountains.

Parkway Attractions

We passed Craggy Gardens at Milepost 364.5. Craggy Gardens is a popular spot for hiking, panoramic views, and picnics. A Visitors Center with a beautiful view located right on the Parkway.

Next...

Day 20 will be complicated but exciting. We start live on TV (WLOS Asheville) at 7:05 AM at the Haw Creek Valley Overlook (Milepost 380). We'll run to near the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitors Center at Milepost 384 and then take a long break. We had already planned a short reception at the Visitors Center at 9:30 AM and did not want to change those plans. We'll be at the Visitors Center for a while then resume the run around 10 AM. The next 16 miles takes us across the south side of Asheville and over the French Broad River. Beginning at mile 13 into the run, it's back to climbing on the way to Mt. Pisgah. Here are details on the route... http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/1099657732.

2 Comments on “RWR Day 19 – Descent to Asheville”

Carl and Carol Russell says:

June 4, 2016 at 10:05 pm

Sounds like another great day and some great people to share it with you.

Neal Stubblefield says:

June 4, 2016 at 10:14 pm

You and Rhonda enjoy the Inn on Biltmore…very nice digs to recover from a couple of “long days at the office”. We’ll be tuned in bright and early to WLOS tomorrow morning.