On a previous trip camping at the Walls of Jericho, a very bold raccoon kept me up several hours trying to get food out of my bicycle panniers and scratching on my tent. As a result, the last couple of times I have camped there, I have hung my food from a tree, and I did the same last night.
Right after I got into my tent and started finishing my blog, I heard a loud thump. It sounded like what I would think a bag containing 3 sandwiches, some raisins and some trail mix would sound like if it fell from a tree limb. My first thought was the raccoon returned and outsmarted me and knocked my food down. I threw on some clothes, which takes a while in the dark, and crawled out of my tent with my light thinking I would find my bag on the ground with my food scattered everywhere. To my surprise, my food was still in the tree, but was swaying a little. My hope is that the thump I heard was the raccoon falling out of the tree while trying to get my food. No other distractions last night.
Slept well. During my first bathroom break, I noticed the sky was clear, and there was very little light pollution to drown out the stars. I had to stick my head and arm back inside the tent to grab my glasses so I could better enjoy the stars. They were amazing.
My first 13 miles were on top of Crow Mountain with a quick 3-mile descent to follow. Below is a pic of Skyline Road on top of the mountain, which is one of the smoothest roads I have ever ridden on.
At the foot of the mountain there was cotton on one side and soybeans on the other backdropped by mountains (pics below).
For first breakfast on the mountain, I ate a peanut butter and honey sandwich that was made on pumpkin bread. It was rather delicious. It powered me for about 35 miles to my 2nd breakfast in Stevenson (pic below).
A couple of scenery pics Below on my way to Stevenson.
I have taken the route I have ridden the last couple of days numerous times going from my former home in Chattanooga to Huntsville, AL. As a result, there was no need for cue sheets to help me stay on course. From Flintstone forward, most of the route will be uncharted ground to me. So it will be time to pull out my cue sheets to aid me in staying on course. Of course the most important rule will be if in doubt, just follow the duck (pic below).
Pic of the Tennessee River from the Shelby A. Reinholt Memorial Bridge in South Pittsburg, TN.
Some pics around Nickajack Lake.
Made it to Chattanooga and got to have supper with Hannah and Cody, my daughter and son-in-law (pic below).
Total miles today: 84.3
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