Hardwick Gregg

The DMR is harder than it looks and it looks pretty hard. I felt like I had decent legs but my lower back did not like the long climbs and I had to stop several times to stretch until it felt better. The weather was nice but for the first 10 miles the road was very wet and I had to wade Rough Creek at about 4.5 miles. The sun was out but it looked like rain had just stopped minutes before I got there. I ordered a sack lunch at Mulberry Gap and had a nice break there. My only water stops were there and the RS at 64 miles. I saw lots of wild turkeys and wild hogs. I saw 2 groups on hogs on the road to Big Frog then a pretty large boar. They were all moving too fast to get photos but I did get photos of a couple of bear cubs that couldn't decide whether they should run away or climb a tree. I did not see mama bear who was probably watching from a distance. I had expected to finish by 7 pm but it was after 8 pm when I finally got back to the car and I almost ran out of daylight. Even though I was an hour slower than planned I will claim to be the first 70 year old to finish the DMR.