Well, another unseasonably cold day -- it was overcast, dreary day, with temps around 39 when I hiked this section. It is January 12, 2010, and this has been the 12th day in a row with unseasonably cold temperatures. Not that I'm complaining -- the brisk weather is a nice change of pace. Just dress in layers (and make sure the first layer isn't cotton, which tends to trap sweat close to your body, which makes you cold).
Section 3 is known as Neuse Bend Point. It starts at the end of Possum Track Road and ends at the Possum Track causeway over Cedar Creek. Instead of heading northeast as Section 2 did, Section 3 meanders mostly westerly, which is a good thing since this is the westbound MST after all! According to the sign on the trail, this section is 2.9 miles long.
There is no official parking area at the start of this section, but there's room for a car or two to park at the very end of Possum Track Road. The trail enters a pine forest on the north side of Possum Track Road.
For an interesting short side trip, after just a minute's hike on the MST, take the first cleared trail to the right (it is very broad, almost looks like a jeep trail) that leads down the lake. I was amazed that you get a very clear view of the back of the Falls Lake Dam. It seems very close! It's hard to believe after two day-hikes away from the dam, you are still this close to it! Well, that's because Section 1 of the trail goes down one side of a finger of the lake, and Section 2 goes back up the other side of that finger.
Just one more word about this section -- it's like getting two hikes in one. The first half and second half of this hike are very different. The first is relatively flat, with few rocks or roots to trip you up. It also has no lake views. The second half is quite hilly, with trickier footing, but has awesome lake views. Best lake views, of course, would be in winter, with no leaves to block your view.
Getting back on the MST, and heading west, you start going through a pine forest, with a nice flat trail covered by soft pine needles. It's the flattest section of the MST so far. So, it's surprising you cross two footbridges here, over mostly dry waterways. Just after the second footbridge, at 0.3 miles, you cross a paved access road which leads down to a processing plant opposite the main Raleigh Water intake structure in the lake. I'm not sure that is of any interest, or even accessible to the public, so I kept walking.
Just past this paved road crossing, there's a white sign saying you're entering wildlife game lands, where hunting is allowed in season, except on Sunday. So, plan on wearing something brightly colored. Until this point, you were on a trail section marked with red "wildlife" signs, meaning bow & arrow hunting only.
At 0.6 miles, you cross some former logging roads (dirt), and soon head into a cleared-out section of forest consisting mostly of pine, which lasts another 0.6 miles. There's a third footbridge at 0.8 miles. At 1.2 miles you cross the fourth footbridge and leave the cleared area. You catch your first glimpse of the lake, but soon leave it again. This is where the path starts getting more hilly and full of tree roots.
At 1.4 miles, there's another footbridge. You start to get some really nice views of the lake on the right, and some houses on the left. At 1.8 miles, cross another bridge. At 2.3 miles, another one. After each bridge, you gain some nice altitude, and have better lake views.
At 2.5 miles, you cross another bridge (your 7th bridge!), and a large embankment for Possum Track Road looms above your head on the left side. Resist the urge to scramble up the slope to the road here, and instead continue on the MST to the right for another half a mile until you reach a concrete drainage culvert. Walk up the culvert to the left to end the trail at Possum Creek Road.
The trail takes a right onto Possum Creek Road and follows it for 0.2 miles, crossing the picturesque Cedar Creek (which is much wider than Honeycutt Creek was at the end of Section 1) until it enters the woods again.
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