MST Rolling View to Falls Lake Park by Kenny & Kristen

Today we tackled a continuation of the MST from Rolling View to Falls Lake Park. This continues from our hike earlier in the week and puts us at about 54 miles locally so far!  ___ |Trail Stats | (According to my watch) | |---|:---:| | Mileage | 11.6 | |Time | 4 hours ~50 minutes | | Start Parking | Yes | | Finish Parking | Yes | | Elevation Gain | ~2651 | | Elevation Loss| ~2733 | ___ This section of the trail was the most silk web covered section of the trail we had hiked so far! The trails were nice and smooth walking, but we were unable to avoid the onslaught of silk webs from this trail. Luckily we did get a good trail stick to help - which it did, but not 100%. This section has some sections that get close to the lake, but the majority goes through more wooded areas farther off the shore as you traverse the perimeter of the lake.  The wildlife was also out on this trail - frogs and turtles were our main companions along with a few squirrels and lizards that liked to really ruffle the leaves.  There are also some great views of the open fields/ meadows which give the whole hike a really tranquil vibe.  Also, dont forget to sign the log book! THis helps the trail angels(maintainers) keep track of who has been on the trail and how long (also safety!)!  Overall this was a great hike and you finish at a state recreation area. Its probably worth bringing some clothes you can get wet because from our experience we wanted to go for a swim to cool off. This trail stays in the trees a lot so the breeze from the water doesn't seem to get to you as much as the earlier sections of the trail and on a normal North Carolina Summer humid day - you can feel the heat! ### Highlights! There were a couple highlights on this trail: - There are several great views of the lake, but the little point off Boyce Mill rd. is a great view of the lake and a nice place to relax.  - There is an old barn around the 8 mile mark that looks pretty cool and also seemed to have a fair amount of wildlife around it. ##### Did you get lost?  There were a few spots where we did get mixed up though: - Hwy 98 (**~3.25 mi**) - the trail leads you out along highway 98. There is one post that points towards a drainage section which is the correct way, but that section is not a path. It confused us a bit as there were no markings on the road and you need to walk along the road for about .4 miles and the trail picks back up on the left. - Boyce Mill Rd. (**~5 mi**) - the trail gets to a dirt road that goes left or right. The MST trail sign has been picked up and moved out of the way but also in a way that looks as it if it supposed to be there. If you follow it to the left, it rakes you to a really pretty point out on the lake where folks have seemed to fish and also follow some other trails that stay closer to the shore. We ended up going this way and relaxing for a bit near the water for a pretty view, but the correct direction is to take a right instead. This leads you up to a parking area where you can continue on the trail.

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