After Magalloway and the falls, we went back to camp to change. Right Turn stayed, while Aimless, Rainbow, and I went off to attempt Table Rock.

There are two trails up to Table Rock. One is on the Terrifying 25 list. One is not. We opted for the not. The one that is on the list is the “Table Rock Climbing Trail” and it gains almost 600 feet in 0.2 miles. That is steep. And clearly requires climbing, given the name of the trail. Hard pass. Of course, I always thought it was on the Terrifying 25 list because of the last 25 feet. You’ll see why in a bit.

So first, luckily we were using GPS to find the trailhead because it is NOT marked. Like at all.

Obligatory starting selfie.

While not as steep as the climbing trail, it was still pretty steep, especially given this was our second hike of the day and it was hot and humid out. It was around 80 degrees and ridiculously humid. This trail gains 700 feet in 0.7 miles. Again, pretty darn steep.

A few mushrooms and this cool exposed tree root system along the way.

This is not me (obviously), nor my video. It should start at 1:37, but if not, feel free to skip ahead.

I’ve been working on my fear of heights and had great success with the tapping technique. But my friends, the tapping technique was NO MATCH for this ledge. I sat down before even attempting it. Took off my pack. Had a snack and some water, and generally tried to compose myself. I got to where the person is sitting in this video and basically had a breakdown. I sat there and cried a bit. Another hiker came up the trail (via the climbing trail) and walked right out to the end. Rainbow made it the farthest of us three. I did eventually try to crawl out a bit further, but then freaked out about having to come back.

The first photo is the only one I took up there. After that my phone and everything else was put away. Then you can see my progress (or lack thereof), as well as the other hiker just happily sitting at the end taking photos.

I was both disappointed and proud of myself. I sort of had high hopes/delusion that my tapping would help and I could go all the way to the tip. I also had the hope/delusion that someday I would finish the Terrifying 25 list (I’ve only done electives at this point). I think that list firmly remains “trails to avoid” for me.

The way back down was fairly uneventful.

Finish selfie. All smiles (I was over the trauma at that point).

We headed back to the campground and took advantage of the campground showers. The four of us headed into town for dinner at the Black Bear Tavern.

Then back to the campground for a fire and early bed.

The next day Rainbow and Right Turn drove to where they could see Table Rock and snapped a pic.

• Distance: 1.6 miles
• Elevation gain: 700 feet
• Total time: 1 hour 40 minutes
• Moving time: 1 hour 7 minutes
• Crying time: not recorded