Yesterday, Brandi and I went into the woods in hopes of completing another 10 miles of the Appalachian trail. It was kind of a misty, dreary day, so we had the whole woods all to ourselves.

_{The leaves are starting to turn.}

We saw a sign for a blue-blazed bypass trail called “Sunset rocks.” It sounded pleasant enough, like maybe it was a retirement home for mountain climbers or something. It was only 2.5 miles long, and the map showed a scenic overlook on it, so we figured that would make a nice place to have lunch.

The trail wandered through the woods, and then shot straight up an evil climb. This is to be expected on the way to a scenic vista.

The view was somewhat less spectacular than I was hoping, obscured by trees, but pretty nonetheless.

_{The view from the overlook}

The trail kept climing, so, hoping for better views, we pressed on. Things rapidly went to shit from here. We quickly found ourselves on a craggy boulder outcropping. The blazes were painted directly on the boulders. We successfully navigated maybe 2 or three of these things before I fell. Maybe 8 feet, but it easily could have been 20 or more. I got scraped up, and I hurt my shoulder pretty bad.

Now, we were in a world of shit. I had only limited use of my right arm. I didn’t think I would be able to go back the way I came, but the way forward was equally bad. The rocks were wet and covered in lichen.

_{My battle scars}

We made a guess that after a half mile of these boulders, we should almost be done with them, so we pressed on slowly. After a few more (less dramatic) falls, we made it back to the AT.
We did manage to get our 10 miles in.

Today, I can’t even lift my arm far enough to put on deodorant. If it’s no better in a day or two, I guess I’ll have to seek out medical attention.

Anyhow, for the benefit of google (and everyone, I guess), and since there are no signs warning people about this:

The Sunset Rocks trail in the Michaux State Forest is a fairly technical bouldering trail. Do not attempt unless you are experienced, insane, and have a good life insurance policy. At least if it’s been raining out.

If you like pictures, there are more pictures of this trip in my gallery.