After lunch we felt better and headed off down the trail at a quicker pace. Soon came to the spur path for Shining Rock, a large exposed rock slab that stays wet, and can be seen from long distances. If sunlight hits it just right, it appears as a large mirror on the side of the mountain. After Shining Rock, the trail follows switchbacks and continues downward at a moderate rate. That storm I had expected did come in, but we were safely into the woods.

We naively wondered why all the hoopla about descending this trail. It seemed pretty decent. Then we came to a series of brook crossings and water falls and rock scrambles that have become tangled in my memory. I think I covered most of this section on the seat of my pants. I could see why the ecology expert said he fell every time he came this way. There were many spots where the drop was too far for me to step, and all I could do was sit, slide forward, and crab walk with hands and feet and butt, over the edge, easing myself down as best I could, til my feet finally touched rocks. Then I’d stand up, walk a bit further, and do the same thing all over again at the next drop-off.

There were a lot of people on the trail, both going up and coming down. We certainly weren’t the only ones who had chosen to go down Falling Waters. At one nasty little drop-off we came upon a waiting line to get down. Even the long legged guys were taking their time easing over that one. We were the last in line, and the other hikers were soon out of sight. I looked at the situation and didn’t like it, but there was no going back, so I was going down. I crab walked to the edge, and could see no choice but to start sliding over the edge as gently as I could and hope I landed well. I did, and Joe did, and we kept hiking. We had something over a mile to go to get to the car, and my feet were feeling like mincemeat.

At the car I took off my boots to put on dry socks. A look at my feet showed me why they hurt. The wet boots had softened the skin of my feet and I had rubbed the callouses off, exposing tender skin beneath. I retrieved a couple of sodas previously stowed away in the car, along with some cookies, and Joe started the engine. Shortly after we headed south on 93 the skies opened up. It was definitely good to be in the car, with nice dry feet.