We picked up the Robert Munford Trail and followed gravel roads for the opening mile until a right turn aimed us at the old Munford Cemetery tucked in the pines.
Past here, the path shrank to singletrack - faint, rooty, and half-swallowed by leaves. It spat us out beside a weathered cabin, then hugged the lakeshore, trading forest shade for sudden flashes of water.
We ducked under powerlines a few times before the trail spilled onto Eagle Point, seven honest miles behind us.
Rather than retrace every step, we cut back on the cemetery loop, boots lighter with the lake still glittering in our eyes.
At the trailhead I jogged down to the water’s edge for a couple last shots.
From here, we rolled into Clarksville. Lunch was burgers and cold pints on the dog-friendly patio at Buggs Island Brewing - lake breeze, bridge views, tail wags all around. By early afternoon we reached Occoneechee State Park and claimed a campsite under the oaks. With daylight to burn, we parked at the Beaver Pond Trail and set off.
A hundred yards in, a clearing full of turkey vultures stared down like silent gargoyles.
The path looped another mile through hardwoods, breaking open twice for postcard views of the lake shimmering below.
Back at camp we stacked firewood, struck a match, and let the flames push the chill away as the sun slipped behind the trees and the stars took over the sky.
