Savage Gulf 10 mile loop

Savage Day Loop
North Rim Trail
Mountain Oak Trail
Big Tree Loop
North Plateau Trail
Savage Day Loop
Total Loop: 10 Miles

Lora and I got to do a little hiking. We were going to do an overnighter at Hobb's Cabin, but the weathermen talked us out of it saying that it was going to rain all day Thursday. Once again they were wrong.

It was a snow hike and we were not alone as there were many backpackers out that were coming back from Hobb's and going to Hobb's Cabin. It's great to see people enjoying the outdoors and using the TN State Parks.

Pictures:

White Christmas 2010

We had a wonderful family gathering this year. My Brother, sisters, and their families gathered at Mom and Dads for Christmas. Grandma was already there and Aunt Linda, Rick and Austin joined in for the celebration.

The stocking were hung on the banister with care, in the hopes that Saint Nicholas would soon be there. There might have been a spotting of the scrooge, but the love of the family gathered together proved stronger.

There was lots of snow in the Tennessee mountains meaning sledding, snowmen, snow angels, and snowballs. There were snow hikes, eating, singing, dancing, and card playing. There might have been some eating done as there were pounds and pounds of food everywhere.

Lora and I were blessed with a few extra family gatherings as her Dad's family had one and then we got to celebrate Christmas with her family at her Mom's and Dads with her sister and nephew.

The time flew by fast and soon everyone was to depart, but the memories will stay true forever in our hearts.

Pictures:

After Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving we headed over to my folks place. They took us to Dollywood where we spent the day taking in some wonderful shows. This is a Christmas must for anyone that can make it there during the season.

The next day we got up, ate breakfast, rearranged the furniture, and went hiking. Lora, who is always making sure I look good, forgot our hiking shoes so we hiked in our Sunday best. She had takin them to the truck, laid them down on a bail of straw and put everything else in the truck.

We hiked from Abrams creek campground up Cooper road and back. After successfully crossing the many water crossings on the way up the trail, Dad showed us how to cross them the manly way on the way back. Yea, it was wet, but he crossed it. Not to be outshown by my Dad, I got both feet wet on the last crossing.

It's always a great time with my parents.

Pictures:

Fiery Gizzard Trail

Day One:
Fiery Gizzard Trail 8.1
Day Two:
Fiery Gizzard Trail 4.4
Grundy Forest Day Loop 1.3
Grundy Lakes State Park 1.3

Lora and I decided to do an overnight hike at the South Cumberland Recreation Area. I had not hiked the Fiery Gizzard trail from Foster Falls to Raven Point. I did not think that I had been to Foster Falls until I saw it. I had done some repelling here about ten years ago with the volunteers.

I wanted to impress Lora right off. We made it about ten steps going down to the bottom of the falls, when I twisted my ankle and went to my knees. That hurt! I picked up what was left of my pride and we continued on.

At the bottom of the falls we took the Climbers Loop along the bluff wall. This is a mile long wall that is well known across the states as a place for wall climbers. They were hanging everywhere and the wall was covered in chalk where they had climbed before. It is amazing where these guys go, even upside down.

We climbed back to the top and enjoyed a couple of different overlooks as we continued our hike. This is a pretty easy section of hike other than the drop into Laurel Gorge and back out.

We stopped at the Anderson Falls which is an 80 foot drop water fall with a set of wood steps to the bottom. Right at two hundred of those steps our muscles counted on the way back up. This is the last water before Raven Point campground where we stayed the night.

Raven point campground has six sites and is located on private property which we found out means you cannot have a campfire here. It worked out as the weather was beautiful and we even left the rain fly off the tent so we could enjoy the stars and full moon.

All the sites except two were taken up by the Boy Scouts. We did hike out to see the sunset from Raven Point and get our hearts racing everytime a Boy Scout went out by the edge of the drop off.

The next morning we hiked the hard part of the trail from Raven point to the Grundy Forest Picnic Shelter. While going down into the Gulf, Lora decided to show me an Outcast short cut. As we were trying to get back up to the trail, she did a little dance with a twist on the side of the drop off, where I grabbed her by the pack before she did the final dismount. She was quite impressive to watch, but I didn't want to see the end.

We decided to include the day loop at the end of the trail since neither of us had hiked it before. There are a couple of more water falls on this section of the trail.

On our drive back through Tracy City we had to stop by the Dutch Made Bakery for a celebration. Well, they just happen to be serving a lunch buffet at the time and well you know.....

After waddling out of the Dutch Made Bakery, we decided that we should walk off a little of that food. We drove to Grundy Lakes State Park and hiked around the lakes. We were impressed by all the Coke Ovens there and there is a lot of history. Once again to impress Lora, I hung a toe on a tree stump and pretty much just fell on her. Luckily she held me up so I didn't hit the ground.

Pictures:

TTA Hike

The TTA Annual Meeting was held at Pickwick Landing State Park and was hosted by the Memphis and Jackson chapters. I had never hiked in this area of Tennessee so I decided to check it out. Craig and I drove to Eagleville on Friday where Marco treated us to a nice evening with a fire and cough medicine.

I got up REALLY early to start the drive to Pickwick. Got to Pickwick around 6:30 and registered. Found lots of hiking friends to say Hi to then found the breakfast line with all the hikers fueling up for their hikes.

My hike for the day was at Cane Creek Nature Preserve. 31 of us loaded into cars and had a caravan heading to Tuscumbia, Alabama. This property is privately owned by a lovely couple, the Lacefields, who welcome hikers, free of charge, to come see the beauty of the area. There are overlooks, waterfalls, rock walls, so much to see and enjoy. 413 acres and about 11 miles of trails with camping areas. They will provide a map that you’ll need to return to them when you come off the trails. Thanks to our hike leader Sara Hakim for a great hike.

The rain started after we got back to the Inn at Pickwick .After a good meal, we headed into the TTA Conference room for a final look at the silent auction items to see if we had been outbid. Then came the awards ceremony, and chapter reports, and the big auction. Some very cool items were up for bid; I scored with a big box full of nuts and dried fruit and chocolate covered stuff, good for lots of hikes!

Sunday morning dawned clear and pretty. Great day for a hike at Big Hill Pond. Eleven of us loaded up and headed west behind hike leader Wayne Simpson. Big Hill Pond is a really pretty park. Starting at the boat ramp we hiked the trail following the lake, Board Walk Trail and the trail to the Tower. There was a good view from the tower, worth the climb. We ate lunch there and then followed the Tuscumbia Trail to the junction leading back to the lake. Got into some areas that could have used a few logs or maybe another boardwalk. It was a great day and a great hike.

Off the trail, got a text from Craig from 2 hours ago saying the Outcasts had arrived and were starting out on the trail. Yep, there’s Marco’s truck with the Outcasts sticker on it.
Time for the drive home. Pretty drive back to Pikeville; got to see all the farmland I had missed in the dark Saturday morning. It was dark by the time I hit the ‘Boro, then 2 more hours driving. It was a great weekend and well worth the drive to West Tennessee to get to see everybody and make new friends. Thanks to Memphis and Jackson chapters for a well planned Annual Meeting. It was a lot of fun.

Cumberland Trail-Grassy Cove Segment

Day One:6.5
Brady Mountain 6.5 miles
Day Two: 8.45
Brady Mountain 1.25
Road Hike 0.7
Black Mountain 3.8
Black Mountain Loop 1.7
Outcast Shortcut 1
Total:14.95

Lora and I headed out to hike the Grassy Cove Segment of the Cumberland trail. This section includes Brady Mountain and Black Mountain.

Once again with the Cumberland trail area, you need to visit the website and print off the map and trail description. They assume you know the roads in this area or they are for local people only. They don't put street signs up.

After a little confusion we made it to the top of Black Mountain to leave a car. After that we drove to the Jewett Road trailhead to begin our hike. By the way, Jewett road is gravel back hill driving.

The trail is pretty well marked and clear. It has some good climbs that build character. The first overlook you come to is the Donnelly overlook. It's a smaller rock overlook that you can see Bear Den Mountain from. Lost overlook is more impressive and you can see Grassy Cove down below. None of the overlooks are marked and you really have to be looking for them.

Next, when the four wheeler trail heads off to your left and the trail goes straight, follow the four wheeler trail and look off the side of the mountain and you will see the plane wreckage. It's a very steep climb down the side if you want to take pictures.

Brady Mountain arch is a small arch on top of a bolder. We were not impressed, but the rocks around them are interesting to look at. The Brady Bluff Overlook is on another unmarked trail and this is a great overlook. You can see the Smoky Mountains, the Nuclear plant on the Tennessee River to the south and the twin stacks to the north. We ate our lunch and spent some quality time here.

From Brady Bluff Overlook we started hiking down the mountain. We had four big gobblers walk in front of us strutting their stuff. We found us a place to spend the night and then watched the sun set over the Cumberland Mountains.

The next morning we hiked the other mile and a quarter down to the road and then hiked the .7 miles from one trailhead to the other. We stopped at a house and knocked on the door to see if we could borrow some water from the tap. With no answer we started filling our water bladders. Of course then someone comes to the door wanting to know what we are doing. They didn't mind, so we finished and headed down the road.

From the road to Windless Cave is pretty clear hiking along an old road bed. The only thing that throws you off is the Cumberland trail signs. They point in the wrong direction on two different intersections.

We entered Windless Cave and explored back about thirty yards. After that we started the steep climb up Black Mountain. We saw our first hikers when we got to the designated campsite. When we got to the rock bluff we saw some people repelling and then when we climbed the stairs we started to see lots of people on the loop trail.

We hiked to the Southern Overlook and had lunch. From there we hiked to the Spring House and Remnants of old homes for some pictures. We hiked to the car, dropped our packs, and then hiked what we thought was the loop. When we came back to the stairs we realised that we ended up in the wrong spot. We climbed the stairs and took the northern loop. The Northern overlook is not as impressive as there are a lot of trees in the view. Then we hiked back to the Remnants of the old homes and found why we missed the trailhead. It's not marked and it's overgrown.

We did have beautiful weather and enjoyed the hike.

Pictures:

Father Son Hike 2010

Day One: 7.7
Deep Creek Trail to campsite 56 7.7miles
Day Two: 7.7
Deep Creek 0.5miles
Martins Gap 1.5
Sunkota Ridge 4.9
Thomas Divide 0.375
Newton Bald 0.5
Day Three: 12.75
Newton Bald 0.25
Mingus Creek 2.8
Deeplow Gap 6.1
Indian Creek 2.9
Deep Creek 0.7
Total: 28.15

This year we followed tradition with the hike planning. Plan A was cancelled due to bear activity, Plan B was cancelled the day before the trip due to bear activity, and Plan C was planned????? well made up right before the hike.

After the traditional pre hike breakfast, we headed to NC to the none bear closed side of the park. We hiked Deep Creek in to campsite 56. We got our group picture at the trailhead. After I turned the camera on and off a couple of times, I got our picture taken with the correct button.

We started right off with our deer sighting as we cleared the trailhead. Deep Creek was a series of ups and downs, which the river did not take, showing us the aerial view every so often. The colors were wonderful as was the temperature. We saw many other hikers out varying from overnighters to day hikers. We stopped for lunch and watched the mice play in the leaves.

When we got to camp there was a tent already set up. Shortly there after, a man came into camp with a fly rod and welcomed us to camp. Bill was a State Farm rep from Florida. He had stayed out the night before and was leaving in the morning. We enjoyed his company by the fire that night as the full moon put on it's presentation. No flashlights were needed tonight. No, there were no fish eaten either.

It is great to wake up to the sound of breaking branches. Bill had gotten up and started the fire. We liked this man. We had an enjoyable breakfast and then Dad put on his entertainment for us.

Dad went over to his hammock where he put on a special one legged dance that we had not seen before. Of course he followed up with a backflop and roll into the woods. Always wanting to learn from the master, we asked about his performance. He had stepped back and the tarp string went between his crock and foot and held on until the stake finally let loose. Luckily, no ones eye got put out as the tarp stake flew through the air and landed over by the trail. It took some time to find this allusive little stake.

After Dad regained his composer, he worked out all the muscles that were involved and then we walked down to the new bridge that the park service had put across Deep Creek. We are still wondering how they got this massive log into place. It was every foot of four foot in radius and at least seventy feet long. We didn't even find the stump where they had cut it down. Life's little mystery's.

From camp we decided to hike eight miles uphill and call it a day. We hiked to Newton's bauld where we found more interesting people to visit with at campsite 52. One man that had a campsite to himself, was the same man we saw passing our last camp. We remembered him from the twenty years in the woods by himself look and the matching shovel handles that used for walking sticks. The other campsite had numerous young men and a lady. So we made our little campsite on the other side of the bear bag hanger.

After dinner and a wonderful sunset, we joined the younger campers at their campfire. Most of them were from NC, and one couple was from MN. We had a nice visit as they finished their dinners and brought out the cough medicine. When one asked about a sample bottle another reached into his pocket where several sampler bottles fell out. He picked one up and handed it to his friend. Lightweight I recon.

After a restful night, we headed out to finish our hike. Mostly down hill, we made some good time. We lost alot of time on the uphill as we concord the Deeplow Gap trail. By the time we got to Indian Creek trail, we had finished nine of the proposed ten and a half miles. The only down fall was the sign reading three and half miles to go. Interesting math isn't it?

Well we hiked Indian Creek to the Loop Trail. After a break we started the uphill climb up the Loop Trail. After a few minutes, Dad stops and we saw a light come on. We shouldn't be hiking up hill, he says. But, we always hike uphill. NO...wrong way. Back to Indian Creek and hike through to Deep Creek. Another traditional extra.

After a two hour trip home we did the traditional pizza and beer with the comparison of our hiking trip and the ladies shopping trip.

Pictures:

Wedding Hike

Lora and I decided to get married. As usual you pick out the date and then work like hell to get everything else to fall into place. The easy thing was to get rings. Ya right. We knew what we wanted, but finding them was another ordeal. After a lot of internet searching and some internet searching, I finally found a place to do what we wanted…..but not on our schedule. With a little finagling we got them to do a rush order.

So I called the ranger station at Big South Fork. I need to know how close I could get the official to the Angel Falls Overlook by car. He told me that you could get within 500 feet of the overlook down a road. He said that it gets a little rough towards the end. Cool, we could work with that. Now what else is there??????? Oh ya, the official.

Well how hard is it to find someone that would hike to the top of a mountain to marry a wonderful couple? We called, we searched, and we went off recommendations. We had people that knew people of friends of people who referred us to people. Still no luck. Finally, Lora got a connection and I called the Scott County Trustee, Jimmy Byrd, and he said yes. I said ya right. We still had a week to spare.

All is going well. Jimmy agreed to meet us at the Brandy Creek Campground at 11:00 and he would drive us up to the overlook. He would leave us there and we would hike back the next day.

Saturday, I got off work and headed to Crossville where I was going to meet Lora. I called Jimmy and he said that he would be leaving in a few minutes to meet us. That seemed kinda early and a little light went on. “Are you on Eastern time?” Why ya. OK, I can still pull this off. I picked up a little speed and we made it there about fifteen minutes after 11:00. On the way into the park, I also remembered that we needed a backcountry permit. So a little bit later, we finally started down the road.

Running off that fine memory of mine, I promptly had him turn on the wrong road and drive it to the end. After pulling the map out of my pack, we regrouped and headed down the right road. I did that just to build up Jimmy’s confidence as I led him off into nowhere USA.

Right as we hit the end of the gravel road there was a trailhead kiosk. That’s it. It’s got to be where we hike in from. I looked at the trail signs and yep this is where we belong. We grab our packs and Jimmy and his wife found a pen to sign all the official paperwork. Off we go.

Boy oh boy this is a long 500 feet. After seeing the doubt in everyone’s face, I hiked ahead to see how much further we had to go. After another 500 feet I decided to check out the flat area next to the trail. It was the road bed. A two rut road. So we left the ladies standing on the road and we went back for the truck. When we got to the truck we noticed the two rut road was going the wrong direction. So we decided to go back, get the ladies and hike a little further.

Jimmy locked the doors on his truck this time and off we went. After hiking about halfway back to the ladies, I noticed a red vehicle parked up next to the trail. I pointed it out to Jimmy and he said “Yes, that’s my truck.” The trail had made a large loop and crossed right next to where the truck was parked. After a little laughter, we went to the truck. I promptly reached through the open windows and unlocked the doors. With some more laughter we headed down the two rut road. We no sooner cleared the first hill, when we came up to the ladies standing there. More laughter.

After we loaded up the ladies we got down the road until we came to a major mud hole. Jimmy made the call that that was as far as we were going. We unloaded and started our second hike to the overlook. After another 500 feet, I hiked ahead and saw we had a ways to go. I came back and said that Jimmy could marry us right here in the woods. No, Jimmy had his hiking legs on now and he said that it couldn’t be much further and let’s get hiking. To the overlook we went. We actually got married on the Fall Branch Gorge Overlook which we came to first.

We preformed the ceremony as Jimmy’s wife took pictures. Afterwards we hiked back to the truck and backed down the road until we found a place to turn around. We grabbed our packs and said our goodbyes. The Byrds’ headed home with a new wedding story to tell and Lora and sat down and ate lunch. Jimmy and his wife were wonderful people and we really enjoyed our time with them. We are very grateful that they put up with us and performed our marriage.

After lunch we hiked back to the overlook and then continued on the Grand Loop Trail. As dinner time came on we found an old road bed to set up camp on. Lora, with her on time thinking, reminded me that we have to cut a cake. Since we didn’t have one, we took pictures as we cut our candy bar. We had a wonderful evening talking about our exciting day next to the campfire looking at the wonderful stars overhead.

The next day we hiked to the Fall Branch trail and took the John Litton Farm Loop trail back to Bandy Creek campground. We drove from there down to Leatherwood Ford and had a picnic lunch on the Ford Bridge.

While we ate, we had a couple of lightweight backpackers go by. They were heading to the Angel Falls Overlook for the night. When they walked by we looked at their backpacks. On the back of the guys pack, he had a case of Gatorade attached and a full size Colman lantern. The lady had a bundle of stuff hanging off her pack, but you could see both ends of the full bag of Kingsford charcoal. WOW…. They have a lot to learn.

Pictures:

Meigs Creek Trail

Meigs Creek Trail....3.5 Miles
Meigs Mountain Trail...1.9 Miles
Curry Mountain Trail.3.3 Miles
Little River Road....2.0 Miles
Total................10.7 Miles

Lora and I headed to East Tennessee. Mom and Dad were working at the Townsend Fall Festival. We met up with them and Granny, Linda, and Rick at the Festival.

The next morning Lora and I headed out to hike Meigs Creek. It was a beautiful day for hiking as we enjoyed the creek and water falls. We stopped at a beautiful cascade to take some pictures. As we climbed down to the bottom, I pointed up to a wild turkey that was flying over the falls. I turned around to see Lora's expression and as usual she was looking down in the water for crawl fish. Oh well.

We stopped for a food break when we got up to Lumber Ridge Trail. As we ate we looked at the map and decided to extend our hike a little. We hiked up Meigs Mountain Trail past campsite 19 and on to Curry Mountain Trail. This whole area is a beautiful place to hike. We got a lot of wild flowers, color changes, grape vines, and mountain views. We even got to skate on acorns as this year there is an amazing amount of them on the trail.

If you ever hike down the side of the Little River Road, just be very careful as there is a lot more traffic than there is shoulder.

Pictures:

New River Segment- Cumberland Trail

Day One....Cove Lake to Montgomery Fork campsite 6.6 Miles
Day Two....Montgomery Fork to Norma Road 10.6 Miles
Total Miles...17.2

Lora and I hiked the New River segment of the Cumberland trail this weekend. After I got off shift I met Lora and we headed to Cove Lake state park. The trail sign still reads Smokey Mountain segment, but they have officially changed it to New River segment.

You definitely want to go to the Cumberland trail website and print off the trail description and maps for this hike.

After you hike under I-75 and cross over Cove Creek and the railroad, you will climb 1900 feet in the next 4 miles. You might stop a time or two to catch your breath. This is also the highest point on the Cumberland trail when you cross the 3,000 foot elevation mark. At the power lines the trail is grown over and continues to be as you hike around the crest of the ridge. At the top is supposed to be a wonderful overlook which is obviously not marked or on the trail as we never did see it.

From the top you follow a old grown over jeep trail down the other side and when you get to the Mine #10 road you find a warning sign for blasting in the area. Kinda makes you wonder. The trail on the other side of the road is grown over so it is hard to see. You hike down, sometimes steeply as Lora slid into a fall on the way, to the Montgomery Creek campsite. This campsite is located off the trail, but is on the creek and has a good water source.

With the heat, it felt good to get wet in the creek. We ate dinner, got a fire going, and enjoyed the evening.

The next morning we hiked on. The Montgomery Fork and Spring Branch bridges do not exist anymore. The pylons are still there, with nothing on them. After crossing Greens Branch bridge you start another climb up McCory ridge and Anderson Mountain that will build character. Here, Lora showed me again how you can fall if not careful as the path was removed by a root ball of a fallen tree.

When you get to the Lower Field East Perimeter life gets rough. The field is overgrown about chest high and you have to bushwhack your way through with no signs of a trail to follow. After that you will cross a gravel road, which you really need to follow until you get to the gate as the trail continues through overgrown fields. When you get to the gate you bushwhack your way to the woods and it is a battle all the way to the top of Anderson Mountain. Not much sign of a trail all the way to the top. Just look for blazes when you can find them. When you get to the top you will be wondering through grass fields around knee high with the Cumberland trail signs on eight foot high posts. There is still some pretty views of the Cumberland mountains from the top.

On the way down you will follow a grown over road and cut off into the woods. From there you go down to a gravel road which you follow until the crossroad with a sign and with an arrow. The trail is overgrown at this point and you will not see the blazes from the road. Just bushwhack as they are there. Follow the arrow. This will take you to the unkept section of the trail. Yes, more character as you try to find your way from blaze to blaze for the next two miles.

Over all the trail that is in bad condition is a little over 4 miles from the first field to the decent of Anderson mountain at the gravel ATV road. After you get by the large boulder in the middle of the trail go left and there is a little evidence of a trail into the woods. From there you can hike down to Norma road where you want to get ahold of Miss Linda Ward as she will give you a ride back to the park. She is a very nice lady that runs a hunting camp from her house.

Pictures:

Lora's John Muir Trip

Lora recently took a 14 day 156 mile hike on the John Muir trail.

My great adventure on the JMT

August 24th

Got off work, picked up my gear from home, said bye to the dogs and off to Nashville for the EARLY morning flight. California here we come! Thank you Diane and Zvi for sharing your lovely home for our sleepover. We had breakfast at the Dallas/Ft.Worth airport then flew into Fresno, got picked up, quick stop at REI for fuel and then the drive to Yosemite National Park. Beautiful scenery driving to Yosemite Valley; we drove thru a tunnel and then WOW look at those peaks! What a preview of what we would be going up. At the campground we met Zvi and got some supper at the store. Rode a shuttle to the camping area and found our campsite for the night.



Day 1

Went to bed early, woke up way too early, still on Tennessee time.

A trip to the bathhouse to charge my phone and call Craig. Came out and Hey there’s a bear! It was taking an early morning stroll around the campground going in the direction I needed to go. He minded his business and I stayed out of his way.

Everybody up, pack up, here we go! 12 miles to our campsite at Clouds Rest. Wonder why they named it that? Uphill all day. Amazing views of the backside of Half Dome and Nevada Falls. Stopped for lunch at Nevada Falls where Zvi had a swim. Up Up Up. Wow I’m out of breath and light headed. Why can’t I catch my breath? What happened to all of the oxygen? Is California short on oxygen? Might need some shipped in from TN. Spotted some baby grouse with mama watching close by. Saw stellar jays, chipmunks and lots of squirrels, and a deer. Pretty wildflowers, Indian Paintbrush. Pretty campsite next to a creek. Beautiful sunset.

7 miles



Day 2

No problem sleeping last night. Early start this morning. Left camp to go to Half Dome. Thought I would feel stronger after exercising my lungs so much yesterday. Oops, still huffing and puffing up the trail. Hope there’s more oxygen at the top.

I would like to applaude whoever cut out all those steps climbing up the subdome. Impressive work. Pyramid experience? When we finally made it to the bottom of the cables, I looked up at where we would climb to and said “We’ve got to be crazy! It’s straight UP! Where’s the steps? Footholds?” Picked out a mismatched pair of gloves and followed Tony up the Dome with Diane and Ann right behind me. Good upper body workout hanging on for dear life as you pull yourself up. Tony disappeared and I thought he was at the top. Nope just over a rise. Keep climbing girl. All the time going up I was wondering how in the world would I get down. At the top you yell WOO HOO!!! 360 degree views on top. What a view. And Windy! Diane and I decided to decend backward going down the cables. You can feel your feet sliding on that big ol rock. We had to let people climbing up pass us. A group of about 10 coming up made me want to get out of their way. I sat down on a small crevice outside the cables and held on as they passed. The last one stopped to chat. Nice to meet you Andrew. He said they hiked up from Yosemite Valley that morning to come climb Half Dome. I was impressed and so glad I’d hiked that part yesterday.

Met the nice Ranger checking permits as we got to the bottom. Permits checked. Back to camp. In the campsite I thought I would make a quick trip to the woods. Started out the little path I had used the evening before and stopped real quick when I saw Mr. Black Bear sitting in my spot. I yelled BEAR and Tony and Zvi came running. Zvi took a picture and Mr. Bear took off. I really didn’t have to go anymore. He can have that spot.

Pack up and on up the trail we go 6 miles to Sunrise Creek to our camp.

11 miles



Day 3

Hot breakfast and UP we go! Sunrise Mountain has gorgeous views with lots to see and say Wow and OH my and that’s so pretty! We walked under Jeffrey Pines, Red Fir, White Pine, juniper and lodgepole pines. We kept spotting pretty red berries that I think were currants and wanted to eat some. Not knowing for sure what they were I didn’t eat them. Where’s Randy Hedgepath when you need him? Long Meadow was a welcome break from UP and DOWN. The High Sierra Camp was here and Tony went up to inquire about the weather. There was a cold wind blowing and the extra clothing came in handy. Weather report says winter storm possible next two days in high elevation (like our next camp). When we made it to the beautiful Cathederal Lake we met Ranger Becky and her horse Dusty. The Ranger comfirmed the weather report for lows of around 20 with snow showers. A quick vote added a few more mils to Tuolumne Meadows to get us lower than the snow. Pretty campground. Store with food. Charged my phone and called home. Hey everybody! Love you! Miss you! Still alive and well. Thanks Tony and Zvi for the warm fire. At dark there was a campfire ring with a Ranger giving a talk on black bears. Ranger Jack gave a fine talk about people being the most dangerous animal in the park. Very entertaining story and the guitar and singing were a plus. Good job. Stars were incredible.

14.8





Day 4

38 degrees. Cold start. Easy day hiking thru the meadows into Lyell Canyon. Pretty wildflowers everywhere. We spotted what looked like a prairie dog. Got to camp early enough to do some laundry and enjoy the sunshine by the creek, too cold for a swim here at the end of August. I’m sure it’s in the 90’s at home. We gathered firewood as we watched storm clouds move across the mountain peaks and settle there blowing cold winds across the camp. Thanks for the warm fire Firemaster. Cook fast need hot food. Storm clouds disappear and stars popped out.

7 miles



Day 5

Woke up at daylight to a frozen tent. Tony got our fire going so we could warm up to eat. Walked thru Lyell Canyon-absolutely beautiful. Started climbing from 9000 feet up to Lyell Forks at 9600 feet. On the way up we saw trail maintenance being done on the stone steps-nice work. We saw glaciers on some of the peaks. The water in the lakes being fed by the glaciers—no thank you to swimming here. Zvi doesn’t seem to mind the icy water. Then UP 4 miles to Donahue Pass at 11,060 feet—whew! What a climb. I thought my lungs had decided to go home to Tennessee to find oxygen. Fortunately the wind was blowing really hard to help me out with that. Saw my first marmots on the rocks going up the Pass. We set up camp by Rush Creek. Carried some water to the top of the rocks where the sun was still shining to take a quick bath. Thanks again guys for a warm fire. 3 guys came in and set up camp by us. Sky came over to warm up by the fire. A very nice young man; enjoyed hearing about his studies in India. Incredible star show tonight.

12 miles



Day 6

Tony restarted the fire and it felt good. Sky and his 2 friends Nick and Will gathered there too Nice to meet you guys; happy hiking. Hiked UP again to Island Pass. The rocks here looked a lot different, volcanic rock instead of granite. Lots of marshy tarns up here and pretty wildflowers. 10,205 feet. Now we’re on the other side of the crest where all the water runs into the San Joaquin River. Down we go to 1000 Island Lake. It’s really dry here, we’re walking in lots of gritty dirt. Remember Pigpen from the Charlie Brown cartoons? That’s how we look as we hike along the trail. Beautiful views of Ritter Range and Banner Peak. We ate a good lunch at Garnet Lake where Zvi took a dip. I soaked up some warm sunshine. Passed 3 more really pretty lakes. We camped at Trinity Lakes at 9045 feet. Got a cell signal and picked up txt messages, called Mom and Dad, Nick and Sissy and Craig. That was the highlight of my day. Thanks Zvi for the lovely music at supper. The star show was awesome.

12.7 miles



Day 7

Today is re-supply day. Got up at 5:30 for an early start to run down the mountainside to get to Red’s Meadow at 7700 feet.On the way we stopped at Devil’s Postpile National Monument. Cool rock formation. At Red’s Meadow Campground we made good use of the hot showers at the bathhouse. Heated spring water washed about 2 lbs of dirt off, clothes clean again. Opening the resupply boxes revealed I packed too much food. I donated to the Hiker Supply box inside the store. Charged my cell, called Craig to say I miss home, ate a great tomato/cheese sandwich with a root beer. Yummy. Oh my gosh my backpack is heavy! And guess what? We’re climbing UP out of Red’s Meadow. I need a nap! Got a blister on my heel. Dr. Ann (Patches) fixed me up. Lovely views of granite top peaks and Red Cones. Upper Crater Meadow had beautiful wildflowers. Up and over Mammoth Pass.

Set up camp at Deer Creek at 9100 feet. As we ate supper so did the mosquitoes.

12 miles



Day 8

Left camp at 8:30. Climbed 4 miles to Cascade Valley. More pretty flowers. Blister worse-tired feet. Saw lots of birds, chipmunks and squirrels. Lunch at Duck Creek then UP we go again, down to Virginia Lakes, where we decided to keep going to Tully Ho. Cool Bridge. Saw a giant cedar today. Great sandy campsite. No phone signal all day! Lost the zip off portion of my pants. Too far back to go look for. Stars were awesome.

13 miles



Day 9

Started uphill today for something different Awesome views and more lakes today. Zvi takes another dip. Just can’t make myself go in that freezing cold water. We stopped for lunch at Silver Pass at 10,700 feet. Then down, down down, and yes my feet hurt! Crossed a cool bridge to campsite. Pretty creek to take a bath in. Sat down to start my Jetboil and discovered a yellow jacket nest by my feet. Think we’ll move over a ways. Went for a potty break and found a little spring bubbling up in the dirt. No it wasn’t black gold, Texas Tea. At the campfire we were waiting for the stars to pop out and saw a huge bright light in the sky. Ann’s binoculars didn’t help us figure out what it was but it was sitting on top of that big mountain. Another incredible star show thanks to a really dark sky. Feels like you can reach up and touch the Milky Way. Wish my true love was here with me. I miss home!

13 miles



Day 10

Slow start for me, taping up toes and heels. Feet sore. Good day for a pity party. Uphill the first 5 miles. On the way up Pee Wee from Portland, Oregon stopped me to say she got a cell signal on Bear Ridge and for me to try mine when I got there. That make climbing the mountain easier thinking I could call home at the top. No such luck-no service for Verizon customers. Pee Wee had AT&T. Glad you got to talk to your boyfriend, nice meeting you. Stopped for a potty break, told Ann to go on and I’d catch up. The rotting topless tree I picked to squat behind was evidently being used by something else as I started hearing scratching noises that got louder in just a few seconds. Get the heck out of here! Didn’t hand around to see what might climb out of that big stump. I’m sure it’s bigger than me. I stayed behind everybody all day, climbing up and down, up and down, up for the view, down for the lakes. Lunch by a beautiful creek. Made camp by beautiful Marie Lake. Wanted to swim but we couldn’t have a fire up here-over 10,000 feet. Not sure what you would burn up here. Maybe the sign post saying “No Fires over 10,000 feet.” Everyone ate supper in the cold wind and went to bed. I stayed up for the star show. Above tree line, wide open sky, just a hint of a moon, perfect for star gazing. Are you watching too Baby?

12.9 miles



Day 11

Only 1 mile uphill to start the day. Seldon Pass. Then down 5.9 miles, my knees are saying HOWDY. Brakes needed on my shoes. Saw lots of giant cedars and pines. Met some really nice ladies on the trail that were staying at Muir Ranch and enjoying day hikes. They were telling us about the wonderful food and the spa options available at the Ranch. I think I want to go with them. Oh well. Met Ranger Doug in McClure Crossed into Kings Canyon. Piute Pass Junction. Set up camp and jumped in the creek. Once you’re numb the water feels great. Washed all the trail dirt out of my hair and dried it in the warm sunshine. Everyone crashed after a good supper. I hung out by the fire and dried my socks for the next day (don’t know how they get so dirty?) and waited to the stars to pop out. Another beautiful starry sky.

10.4 miles



Day 12

Happy Holiday Labor Day

Bandage both heels and three toes. Here we go! A gentle assent to River Canyon. Beautiful day of hiking. Had lunch watching a waterfall spilling from the top of the canyon wall. Need another nap. Stopped to catch my breath (again) and met Steve from Oregon hiking the opposite way. We discussed the virtues of California vs. Tennessee. (Paradise vs. Garden of Eden) He lightened his pack by giving me a bar of organic dark chocolate. Yumm! You made my day so much better. Thank you!

As we hiked thru McClure Meadow we spotted the Ranger Station and looked in awe of the giant of a mountain called the Hermit on one side of the meadow and several mountain peaks of the Evolution Basin on the other side. Along the way we met Ranger Doug from McClure Meadow who shared the weather report and signed our trail pass. I asked about phone service and he kinda smiled and said not till Bishop Pass unless I had an URGENT message to get out. Just tell my MOM I’m still on the trail. Met a hiker named Kurt from Switzerland and talked about blueberries. Saw him further up the trail where he was studying his trail map and I asked if he could see Tennessee on it. NO? Shucks. We hiked into Evolution Valley and Tony and Zvi started the search for a camp spot and decided on a spot by one of the beautiful lakes. Cool winds blowing and sun not warm enough to convince me to jump in. Let’s just wade. Another starry night with a few shooting stars thru the night sky. Awesome.

13 miles



Day 13

Tape feet for the day ahead. It’s an uphill climb out of Evolution Valley to the stone shelter at Muir Pass. It was a cold climb and a tough one. I know at this point I was praying God get me off this pile of rocks! Another pity party for me, grumbling about tired feet, blisters, my shoes were griping about walking so far, my pack was griping about being carried so far, tired of rocks, tired of dirt, homesick, whine whine whine. Finally found enough oxygen to get up to the shelter and inside out of the wind at 11,980 feet. Dropped my pack and said hi to Kurt from yesterday who was having a snack inside the shelter. He generously offered us Swiss chocolate and YES I want some! We shared the bar and then he offered more and guess who of course said YES GIVE IT TO ME! So much for my pity party. Thanks Kurt! Now it’s downhill slip and slide on the rocky path 6.5 miles to LeConte Canyon where we found a pretty camp spot by the Ranger Station. The Rangers came over for a chat. We gathered water and cooked supper and enjoyed Zvi’s music (thank you Zvi for the country music). I sat by the last campfire of this trip and watched the stars pop pop pop. Last night under the starry sky of California.

12.5 miles



Day 14

Zvi set his alarm for 4:30 am. Packed up under the light of our headlamps and Tony restarted the fire to warm up our cold fingers. Quick breakfast—lets go home! We have to hike 6.5 miles straight up to get to Bishop Pass. On the way up we met Smudge who has been on PCT since April. You GO Girl!!!! We leap frogged thru the day. She passed me on the way up the pass. Our group was spread out over the side of the switchbacks as we watched big black and gray clouds gather in the sky that had been so blue every other day but one. The wind gusts were blowing me and my pack around till I thought it would blow me off the side of the mountain. Plant your feet on each step up thru the loose sandy gravels(?) what is this stuff? Finally made it to the pass to find Smudge at the top by the sign letting you know you survived to make it this far. Picture time! Get over the top and out of the wind! NOW we can go down 6 miles. Thought the down would be easier—wrong. That’s some trick footing on those switchbacks as it looks like it’s in the middle of an avalanche spot. How do those pack animals make it up this? Oh here’s a sign saying don’t go this way-slide area. Walk softly thru this section of boulders balancing on pebbles. Don’t sneeze! Wow! After 9 miles of hiking we finally made it down under the tree line and stopped for a quick lunch out of the wind. Just down the hill Diane found a spot with a cell signal and called our shuttle lady to make sure we had a ride to Bishop. Cell signal????? Call Craig! I’m coming home baby! Hiked past South Lake to the parking lot. It started spitting snow as we took off our packs and put on the goose down jacket, gloves and wow it’s cold. Ann and Tony caught a ride with Kurt and his friend to Bishop. Victoria got there a few minutes later and it felt so gooooooooood to get in her SUV with a heater and soft, luxurious seats and NOW I can take a nap.

12.6 miles



Bishop has a wonderful bakery where I had to go preview our breakfast for the next morning. Samples! Ate a nice dinner at Whiskey Joe’s to celebrate our 156 mile (?) journey on the JMT. Public transportation back to Reno the next day. Shopping at REI, Sierra Trading Post, and Patagonia. Then a night in Reno at the Atlantis with a huge buffet supper. Up the next morning at 5 to catch our flight back to Nashville and Zvi’s flight to the Mexican Riviera. Thanks to Garnett for our ride back to Diane and Zvi’s. Thank you Diane for all your planning and organizing this trip of a lifetime. You’re awesome! Diane, Zvi, Tony and Ann you’re great to backpack with. Thanks for inviting me to go with you. I had a wonderful time.



This Tennessee mountain girl is glad to be back home!

Pictures:

Michigan 2010

We had some new faces up at the cabin this year. I brought my twin brother Marco and my girlfriend Lora. Melanie brought her boyfriend Jagon. A good time was had by all.

We loaded up Marco's pop up trailer and headed North. We had a good trip. We stopped by Uncle Greg's for firewood and got to the cabin around seven. So we started out the visit with a bonfire and some cough medicine.

The next day we started on Granny's to do list. The usual cabin and yard clean up. That pays for our rent. Then out came the canoes and swimsuits. Life is good.

Jagon showed off his cooking the first night smoking chicken and Marco followed up the next night with a good old southern style meal. With the sliders, homemade soup, goulash, and fish fry, we didn't go without food.

We did the traditional river canoe trip which of course always provides it own entertainment. There was also some hiking, card playing, corn hole, and fishing done. We celebrated Betty's 80th birthday and managed to keep her from dancing on the table.

Another great vacation.

Pictures:

South Rim Trail

Lora and I headed out to the Savage Gulf to do a little hiking. We planned to do the Day Loop trail and swim at the Savage Falls since it was only going to get to 100 degrees today. After we got on the trail we started talking about the only trails that Lora hadn't hiked yet, so with a quick change of plans we hiked the South Rim trail to the Stage Coach campground and then back to the falls for a swim. So instead of a six mile hike we did a 12.2 mile hike.

Just another day of hiking.....life is good!

Pictures:

Girls

Lora and I had the girls visit this weekend. We had a great time with them and they got to enjoy the pool and playing on the mountain.

Pictures:

Bandy Creek Camping

Lora and I met my Mom and Dad at Big South Fork and camped at the Bandy Creek campground. Breadon went with us. We enjoyed the pool both days and we got in a hike along the BSF Cumberland River on the John Muir trail. Breadon has moved up to a five mile hike.

I have also attached some pictures of Breadon fishing at home.

Pictures:

Graduation 2010

Mom, Dad, and I went out to Oregon for my two daughters graduation from College. We had a wonderful trip. I'm proud of both of them. We also got some time in to visit with some more family and time to spoil my grandchildren.

Pictures:

Breadon's Hike

Lora and I took Breadon to the Smokies to see the synchronous fireflies at Elkmont. We took Breadon swimming at the "Y" in Townsend and then met Mom and Dad for dinner. Then we drove to the Sugarlands Visitor center where you catch the bus to Elkmont.

This is something that you just have to see to appreciate. There are millions of fireflies that all light up at the same time and all go out at the same time. They don't do the usual one flash, they all flash around ten times really fast and then go out. It is a wild light show. Sometimes they do waves, sometimes one side will do the opposite of the other side, and sometimes they all do it at the same time. Really Cool. We went back to the Ponderosa for the night.

The next morning after church we went out and hiked to Lookrock tower on the Foothills Parkway. Then we went to Tremont and hiked to the Spruce Flat falls where Breadon got to swim again. He was tickled at being in a water fall. My little grandson got in three miles of hiking and was a happy boy.

Pictures:

Walls Of Jericho

Day One….3.4 Miles to camp
Day Two….0.5 Mile to Walls
3 Miles to Alabama trailhead
1.5 Miles to TN Horse trail
0.5 Miles to Hiking trail
3.6 Miles on Mill Creek Loop
.25 Miles to Blow Hole
0.5 Miles to Parking lot
Total Miles…13.25

Lora and I headed to Bear Hollow Mountain WMA after church on Sunday. We stopped for lunch in Sewanee and got on the trail shortly there after. We hiked from the Tennessee trailhead down to what we thought was the Primitive campsite in Alabama.

A quick note to anyone hiking in this area; the map on the computer, the map at the TN trailhead, and the map at the Alabama trailhead are all different. None of them show all the trails.

Lora was excited about the hike. I picked up on this as soon as she jumped because a part of someone’s sunglasses was lying in the middle of the trail. It would have been a small snake. Anyway, right off the get go you hike to an overlook. From there we took the main trail to the campsite. It is all down hill on the way there. It is 2.4 miles to the state line and another mile to the campsite. You drop 818 feet just to the state line.

When we got to the bottom and crossed Mill Creek on the bridge, we came to the horse trail. You cannot ride horses to the Walls of Jericho, so they have a hitching post for the horses there. Well there are also fire rings here in a mowed part of the field. So we figured “campground” and set up camp. Our timing was good as the rain came in as soon as the tent was up, so we climbed in the tent.

After the rain cleared we went for a swim in the creek. Ya, it was COLD! After we thawed out, we went back to camp and cooked dinner. We watched the sun go down and then got to watch the firefly’s do their thing.

In the middle of the night it was bathroom time. I got up as well as Lora and hiked to the woods. As I was standing there, I could see something glowing on the ground between me and the tent. I shined the light on it to see what it was and I couldn’t see it. I figured that I must have dropped something. So I walked over to look at it. It was a glowing grub!!!!!! Now that’s cool! I called Lora over to check it out.

The next morning we got up and made breakfast. Then we hiked toward the Walls. The first thing we came across was the campground, woops. There of course was a sign in the middle of it stating “Campground” incase you couldn’t figure it out on your own. There was also a sign pointing to the South Rim trail. This trail was on neither of the maps we discovered so far. (On the Alabama trailhead map it shows this trail to be .5 miles that over looks the walls) There is no sign showing what way to the Walls. The trail is actually behind the grave yard that is next to the camp. After finding the trail we headed to the walls.

The trail to the walls is very narrow and very slick after a rain. There is a rope to help you up and down on one hill. After you get to the end of the trail you cross the creek and go past a large pool with a waterfall. There is a small trail that leads you up on top of the falls where the walls are.

You can continue to climb further up two more levels to a large cave like opening that drops down and the creek runs through it. The creek runs underground around to the left and then comes out through the rocks like a large spring. There were pools all around that were full of tad poles and we found a large crawfish in one. There were lots of wild flowers all along the walls.

We hiked back to the campground where Lora showed me another snake dance as there was a copperhead in the middle of the trail. After her nerves calmed down, we ate a snack on the park bench at the campground.

After lunch we hiked the trail up to the Alabama trail head. For some reason it was all uphill. When we got to the trailhead, we stood under the kiosk looking at the maps while it rained. This is where we noticed all the differences in the maps. It stopped raining so we hiked to the campsite by the trailhead and ate lunch under a large tree while it rained again. When it was done raining we got up and hiked the horse trail to the TN Horse trail parking area.

The horse trail is an old roadbed and we came across a puddle that covered the entire road. Right in the middle was the top of a shell. We poked it with the hiking stick and verified that yes, it is a snapping turtle. He will be so embarrassed when he finds out that this is not a pond.

From the TN horse trail we hiked back to the hiking trail, headed back down to the bottom of the Mill Creek Loop trail. While we were hiking the horse trail, we came across a batch of wild raspberries that were ready for the picking. And picking we did. They were good. I heard an awful scream and away Lora went again. She had just about stood on a large rat snake in the berry patch. I had to hand her the rest of the berries as she would not come off the trail.

The Mill Creek Loop trail has a side trail that leads off to the “Blow Hole”. This is where the creek comes out of a cave and flows into Mill Creek. It is very beautiful to look at, but another muddy goat trail to get there.

From the Blow Hole, we hiked back up to the TN trailhead for the completion of another wonderful hike. Yes, Lora did jump again when we passed the parts of someone’s sunglasses on the trail again.

Pictures:

Chimney Top

Chimney Tops Trail…4 Miles
Road Prong Trail…4.8 Miles
Total Miles….8.8 Miles

Lora and I went over to the ponderosa for the night. We got up the next morning and headed out with Dad for a hike to the Chimney Tops.

The Chimney Tops trail is considered a strenuous trail due to the elevation change. You gain 1300 feet over two miles. At the top you do some rock climbing for a spectacular view. There is some competition as this is one of the most popular trails in the park. Get there early. There were five cars there when we started and a line of them when we got done.

We hiked up to the Chimney Tops, but did not climb the rocks all the way to the top because they were wet and slippery. From there we hiked back down to the Road Prong Trail and hiked it to the Appalachian Trail and Clingmans Dome Road.

The Road Prong Trail used to be an old toll road in the 1920’s. It runs from the Chimney Top Trail to Clingmans Dome Road, A gain of 1500 feet over 2.4 miles. There are a couple of areas that you can still see the road bed, but for the most part it is a single path trail along Road Prong. There are some areas that you actually hike in Road Prong so you would not want to hike this in high water.

We did see some bear sign; A fresh pile of scat that would make any bear proud and some trees and stumps tore up.

Both of these trails are beautiful hiking trails and full of wildflowers in the spring.

Pictures:

Mt. LeConte Hike

Day One:
Alum Cave….5 Miles
Rainbow Falls…..0.1
Day Two:
Boulevard…5.4
Myrtle Point…0.4
Jump Off…..1
AT……………7.7
Hughes Ridge….0.4
Day Three:
Hughes Ridge…..0.4
AT…………….9
Snake Den………0.7
Maddron Bald…1.5
Day Four:Maddron Bald…..4.5
Old Settlers…..9.2
Day Five:
Old Settlers….6.6
Total Miles..51.9

DAY ONE:
After getting off shift I headed home to pick up Lora. We headed to my folks house in Maryville and had a wonderful lunch at the ponderosa. After lunch we headed out to drop off our car at the Old Settlers trailhead in Greenbrier. After that we headed to the Newfound Gap Road to start our hike at the Alum Cave trailhead. We didn’t get on the trail until 4pm.

The Alum Cave trail is a beautiful trail with many wonderful sights, not to mention all the wild flowers this time of year. You hike along the Alum branch of the Little Pigeon River.

The first land formation that you come across is the Arch Rock which there are stairs going through. After that you get to inspiration point where there is a beautiful overlook of the mountains all around you. There was lots of Sand Myrtle growing in this area. As we were enjoying the view, Chong and his girlfriend came hiking up the trail. The guy looked like Chong of Cheech and Chong. He had the long hair and the white wide bandana thing going. They were wearing flip-flops carrying a bottle of water and their car keys. They hiked right behind us up to Alum Cave Bluffs where they dumped the water out and headed back down the trail. While we were standing at the bluffs a Falcon flew up to a nest over the bluffs.

After enjoying the view at the Bluffs we hiked on up to Mount LeConte lodge and on to the shelter where there were six others already gathered. It was 7:20pm so we claimed our bunks ,ate a snack, and headed to the Cliff tops to watch the sunset. There were a lot of people from the lodge there and more were gathering. After a while it got so noisy that we hiked back to another lookout to get some peace. The skies were overcast and the sunset into the clouds instead of over the mountains.

We hiked back to the shelter and started dinner. The others had already eaten and were settling into their bunks for the night. After dinner we were ready for bed. I woke up in the night for a bathroom break and the stars were shining so bright that I didn’t need a light. It looked like they were on the tree tops and you could see billions of them. It was so cool.

DAY TWO:
We got up the next morning and got everyone else in the shelter going. You can’t really sneak out of a shelter. We ate our breakfast and hiked to the lodge to fill up our water bladders. First thing in the morning everyone that stayed at the lodge was hiking to Myrtle Point to watch the sunrise.

We packed up and head out on the Boulevard Trail. We took the side trail to Myrtle Point because it was there. You get some wonderful views from the point. The Boulevard and AT are fun trails to hike in this area because you can look back and see where you have hiked. It’s like a large bowl that you hike around and has the most rugged sections in the Smokey Mountains. We stopped on the side of the trail for a snack on the ridge and took in the sights.

After lunch we encountered the bird. The bird came down from the high side of the trail and walked in front of us. I brought it to Lora’s attention and we watched it walk until it left the trail. We went through the list of birds in the mountains and all we could come up with is “Chicken”. It looked like a chicken, it walked like a chicken, and it didn’t match any bird that we knew were in the Smokies. Not very impressive to tell people about, but that is what we saw.

The next side trail that we added on was to the Jump Off. This is a tough trail, but worth the hike for the views. The Jump Off is a rock that drops straight off the mountain. You can see the Appalachian Trail, Charlies Bunion, Sawteeth and Mt. Guyot from here.

We hiked on to the Appalachian Trail and made a stop at Icewater Shelter. Hiking along Mt. Kephart you get some good views of Charlies Bunion before you get to it. Once there we did the photo shoots and took turns taking pictures of others that were there. We climbed on the Bunion and ate lunch with the spectacular view. While we were eating a large rock fell from the knob above the Bunion and just missed a young couple that was eating lunch below. I almost had to go to work.

Parts of the trail over Sawteeth according to the bible are only ten yards wide. The measurement that Lora and I got was about ten foot wide. We also saw a grass hopper that was about five inches long. From here we hiked on to the shelter at Pecks Corner. This was our stopping place for the night and we were greeted by our four new friends that were already there. Two of these guys were from England and two from Indiana. They had a fire going in the fire place for some unknown reason. It was 80 degrees.

Once at the shelter, we headed down to the spring for a bath and then some drinking water. We visited while we made and ate dinner. The English guys had hiked for 8 hours without eating. Why? They arrived famished and worn out. Surprise! Lora was asking them if they saw all the wild flowers. What flowers? She told them about the Spring Beauties, the Bead Lilies, the Trilliums both white and painted, and the Violets. She told them about our hike from LeConte and they said that it took them two days to hike that.

At dark everyone settled in for the night. The stars were shinning that night and the owls were talking. The only noise we heard that night were when I kicked the shoes off the top bunk and they hit the bottom bunk.

DAY THREE:
The next morning we got everyone up and ate breakfast. We were the first to head out. We stopped for a snack before climbing Mt. Sequoyah. The two English men caught up to us and stopped to eat as we got up and left. They caught up to us at Tricorner Knob shelter where we stopped for lunch. There was a bear warning sign up there. We talked about the privy there that faced the shelter like being on a stage. We filled our water bladders and continued on.

After climbing Mt. Guyot we had completed our top three highest mountains out of the four highest in the Smokies. Clingmans Dome was not on this hike. The second highest is Mt. Guyot followed by Mt. LeConte, and Mt. Chapman.

When we got to the Deer Gap Creek Helipad we met the trail runner, Scott. He asked about our hike and told us about his job, which included hiking back and fourth along the AT helping people out and reporting trail conditions. He felt like he was a glorified trash collector. He told us that a large male black bear had taken a hikers backpack at Tricorner Knob a month ago and that is why it is still posted. He also told us the correct pronunciation of Guyot that neither Lora nor I can remember.

From there, we hiked on to Snake Den Ridge trail. We took a break at the trailhead and the guys caught up with us again. We talked for a little while and then headed out. As we hiked down Maddron Bald trail, we had a little blue bird jump up next to us. As we looked down where it had flown up from we found a nest with four little eggs in it. This happened another time as well. As we neared campsite #29 we came across Lady Slippers, Foam Flower, and Toothwart.

We were the only people at campsite #29. That didn’t last long. As we set up our tent a couple of guys hiked in and picked the far campsite. Shortly thereafter, a group of four girls and a guy came hiking in. We had the creek there to clean up and fetch some water. After dinner it started to rain lightly. We got in the tent and it quit shortly after. We got out and did the bathroom break thing. It was dark by then and we called it a night. Then the rain came. It poured down so hard that it was splashing back up high enough to mist in the tent under the rain fly. It didn’t last very long and later that night the stars were shining.

DAY FOUR:
The next morning one of the girls, Mandy, came over and wanted a picture of us. They were beginning hikers and she was pregnant. They were from Cincinnati and the guy was the only experienced hiker. She wanted the picture for her scrap book.
We ate breakfast, packed up, and headed up the trail. We saw Rhododendron, Mountain Loral, and Magnolia blooming.

When we got to the Old Settlers Trail, a couple of guys told us that they had seen a bear when they came in that morning. This was the last people we saw on our hike. The Old Settlers Trail has a lot of history on it as we came across many rock walls and chimneys. We took a lunch break by the creek where we came across the first rock wall. The humidity was extremely high and we really appreciated it every time the wind blew.

After lunch we had a Baird Owl fly through the woods and landed on a branch in a tree next to the trail. We walked up slowly with the camera in hand to catch it on film. It was expecting us to be walking a little faster as it crapped on the trail in front of us, then flew off before we got the picture. We also got to see a humming bird, a small dark blue bird with a yellow spot on it, and a salamander.

According to the trail description, after you walked through a rock wall and saw signs of a settlement on the other side of the river, there was suppose to be a side trail to a barn that was still standing. We crossed over the river and searched the area over. Then we backtracked on the trail and read the description about four different times. Finally we just hiked on. Down the trial was a big trail sign that said “BARN” and had an arrow pointing down the trail. OK, we found it. It was a cool old barn that they had kept in good shape.

After that we started coming across a lot of bear sign. There was scat, turned over rocks, trees tore to pieces, and tracks at the creek crossings. The trail is overgrown in some areas and we started to get some light rain. We covered our packs, but the humidity was too much to put the ponchos on. Even though we heard a lot of thunder, it never did rain hard.

We finally crossed the creek into campsite #33. One site actually has an old rock chimney in the campsite. There are three sites there, but only one had bear bag holders. With all the sign we saw that day, we wanted to use them for sure. We listened to the woodpeckers and laughing bird until it got late enough to watch the fireflies. We got a good nights sleep that night with peace in the woods and no other campers.

DAY FIVE:
The next morning we got up and headed down the trail. There were a lot more rock walls and chimneys to see that day. At one point Lora started talking in a foreign tong and backed up four feet into me. I grabbed the hiking stick and was ready for what ever was coming down the trail. It turned out to be a copperhead snake laying in the trail. It was not interested in us or anything else. After trying to get it to move, we decided that we would just hike around it.

Another fifty yards and Lora started with the “bla….bla…..bla….” I looked around her and saw a five foot black snake on the trail. I helped her out with pronunciation of “Black Snake”.

So now that Lora was studying the trail that we were hiking, she didn’t see anything else on the trail including the extremely large black bear that jumped over the rock wall in front of us and ran across the trail down to the creek. I got her attention and tried to get the camera ready. The bear started up the mountain on the other side of the creek. He stopped and looked back at us then head up the mountain.

We stopped back by the Ponderosa and had dinner with Mom and Dad and some family friends from Ohio that had stopped by.

Another great hike!

Pictures:

Big South Fork Scenic Railway

Blue Heron Loop 6.6 miles
Yahoo Arch, Negro Creek, and Sheltowee Trace 10.9

Tornado, large hail, and server thunderstorm watch. Yep, that’s what they are calling for so its time to go hiking. We had already gotten tickets to ride the Big South Fork Scenic Railway and you can’t cancel them. We headed to Stearns, Kentucky for a train ride and hike. I took off an hour early from work to make the 11am train.

It’s an hour train ride to Blue Heron from Stearns. They slow down for some scenic areas and you go through a tunnel and through the historic town of Barthell. They had some short hikes and programs planned, but we decided to hike the Blue Heron Loop as a wild flower hike instead.

We ate at the snack bar and then hiked the loop. The Ranger wanted us to know that the hike was 6.6 miles and we had to catch the last train which left at 4:30. He made it sound like it might be hard to do. Anyway, we headed off. We hiked up through the Crack -in-The- Rock’s which is a rock formation that you actually hike through. Then we took the side trail to the Blue Haron Overlook. From there you hike to the Devils Jump Overlook. Somewhere in this area we got the thunder storm noise, but only a light rain for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Talk about a wildflower hike. We saw at least 15 different varieties including the lady’s slipper and all of them in abundance. We even had a turtle pose for a picture. When we got back we still had a half hour so we hiked over the coal tipple bridge and also caught the ranger talk which was pretty cool. She pulled out a guitar and went to singing an old folk lure about the Devils Jump. As it turns out, they were mining salt when they hit oil. Not knowing what is was, they decided to sell it for medical purposes because it tasted bad. They put it in a barrel and tried to raft it down the Cumberland River. At Devils Jump, which is a rapid, the raft crashed and the Cumberland got its first oil spill. This ordeal actually puts this as the first oil well in the America’s.

We enjoyed the train ride back in the rain. Our plans were to camp at Alum Ford. Because of the rain, we stopped at the restaurant in the train depot, Suzanne’s . Well, the owner took us for a tour of the dinner buffet and explained to us that everything was homemade by her. She was so proud of her food; we just had to eat there. It was well worth it as everything on the buffet was wonderful. We highly recommend this restaurant if you are in the area.

Well as we were sitting at the table, we recognized a lady there that had led one of the hikes. We asked her about how her hike went and after talking a bit she introduced herself to me and I recognized the name. She was one of my contacts for hiking the Sheltowee Trace and I have been sending her the trail condition reports as we have been going along. You never know where you might meet folks.

After dinner we drove up to Alum Ford. The rain had stopped and we put up the tent. More rain was supposed to come in, so we just walked down to the river to enjoy the evening. We got a wonderful show as the sun went down with all the different clouds and colors. We also got to watch as an otter swam playfully down the river in front of us. After dark we went back to the tent where we got to listen to three different owls talk for a long time. Sometime in the middle of the night, they decided to talk again and we woke to hear them.

The next morning we got up and enjoyed breakfast. As we were taking camp down, two fishermen stopped to talk to us as they were hiking up the trail a little ways to do some fishing.

We got on the Sheltowee and headed south along the Cumberland. The woods were full of wildflowers. We had a wild turkey fly up in front of us. We hiked down to Negro Creek and took Negro Creek trail back up to Yahoo Arch. We took the .5 mile spur trail to Markers Arch which is worth it. From Yahoo Arch we hiked the upper trail at Yahoo Falls, then went to the bottom and ate lunch. It was a beautiful day and the Yahoo Falls area had a lot of people on the trail.

After lunch we hiked down to the Sheltowee and took it back to Alum Ford. We would highly recommend these trails to anyone that is interested in wildflowers.

Pictures:

Newton Bald Hike

Kanati Fork Trail 2.9
Thomas Divide Trail 3.1
Newton Bald Trail 5.3
Total 11.3 Miles

I drove over to Maryville for a hike with Dad’s Hiking Club, the Retired Citizens of the Smokies. We all met up at the Sugarlands Visitor Center. There were fifteen hikers in all. We drove to the Kanati Fork trailhead then the drivers dropped off two vehicles at the Newton Bald Trailhead.

They rated the hike as strenuous and it was a good workout. The Kanati Fork climbs 2150 feet in 2.9 miles. The Thomas Divide trail takes you up another two hundred feet then you drop five hundred feet so you can climb back up. You climb another hundred feet on the Newton Bald trail and then drop 3000 feet in 4.5 miles.

The weather was wonderful as well as the company. We had a great time and after we got out of altitude on the Newton Bald trail, we saw lots of wildflowers of various types.

Pictures:

Frozen Head II

Day One: 3 Miles
Day Two: 11.3 Miles
Total: 14.3 Miles

After work, Lora and I headed out to Frozen Head for a campout and hike. We planned on hiking the Cumberland trail section of the park. We got packed, stopped for gas and stopped to fill our stomachs. We got to the park just as the Ranger was locking the gate. Thankfully he let us in.

We planned on hiking the two thirds mile to stay the night at Judge Branch campsite. Well, we hiked in and took the first left onto North Old Mac trail. After hiking about a mile we decided to check the map. Yep, wrong trail. So another mile and three quarters night hike and we made it to camp. You can see flowers on a night hike. We had to walk off that dinner anyway and the stars were beautiful. We got the fire going around 10pm. We didn't burn long and after a little cough medicine and listening to the owls, we were ready to call it a night. Sometime in the night we woke and listened to a couple of owls talking back and forth.

We got up the next morning and got breakfast going as we checked out the rest of the campsite. We packed up and headed back to the park office. We knew they were doing a flower hike and was wondering which trail they were hiking. It turned out they were hiking to the falls.

From the park office you have to go across the field and river to start the Cumberland trail loop. Nothing like a good old foot washing. They have applied for the grant to build the bridge and they have it marked where it would be built. We hiked up to Ross Gap and had lunch there. A couple of hunters on four wheelers drove by with a turkey tied on back.

After lunch we hiked to the retention pond and watched the fish and tad poles swimming. The tad poles were large with all four legs and a short tail. We hiked on to see mushroom rock and then on to the overlook. There were many beautiful flowers all along this trail. We crossed over North Bird Mountain trial and took a break at Bird mountain campsite. There is a spring at this campsite, but I don't think you can count on it as it was low already.

We took Lookout Tower trail back to the Big Cove campground. Lookout Tower trail is a dirt service road. When we got to the campground we looked up our TTA friends that were staying the night. We had a good visit with them and then headed back to the house.

Pictures:

Connector Trail-Savage Gulf

Ranger station to Stone Door….2 miles
Stone Door Trail….1.8
Connector Trail..13.4
Historic Cator Savage Cabin…0.5
Hobbs Cabin…0.25
Total……..17.95 Miles

The weather was too nice for me. It was getting late and I was heading home. I sent a text to Lora, who was still at work, asking if she wanted to go camping. I immediately got a phone call asking where. We decided after we left the house to go to Savage Gulf and then started narrowing down the trails. We stopped to eat and then headed on to set up camp at Stone Door. We had decided to hike the connector trail to Hobbs cabin the next day.

When we got to Stone Door the parking lot was full. I almost had to turn the car on its side to find a place to park. We were thinking……….CROWDED! The Ranger was walking through the parking lot and told us that there were a couple of scout troops camping and that the Alum Gap campsite was full. We asked him about the trail conditions on the Connector trail. When we told him about doing it as a day hike he asked if we knew that the Connector trail was the most difficult in the park. Of course! Luckily we found a site that didn’t have anyone on either side and enjoyed a peaceful evening sitting next to the fire and looking at the stars.

We had a quite morning and didn’t get on the trail until 10am. Only 18 miles to go. It was a beautiful day and even with all the people in the park we only came across a few on the way to Hobbs cabin. The most beautiful area was at the first bridge just East of Stone door. We got to see many wild flowers on the trail as Spring has sprung.

We hiked down to the Historic Cator Savage cabin on a spur trail to check it out. It’s a little cabin in a clearing at the bottom of the gulf. We ate lunch shortly thereafter on the trail. We passed our first people as they were packing up their campsite at Sawmill campground. The strenuous parts are the climbs at either end of the trail; Stone Door and the climb to Hobbs cabin.

At Hobbs cabin we filled our water containers. We had carried just one backpack and took turns carrying it. Lora was carrying it when we left Hobbs cabin. We passed by three hikers on the Rim trail. They looked at me and then at Lora. I asked them why they didn’t have a woman to carry their packs. They got to laughing and said that was what they needed. I told them to watch and learn as we headed out.

We passed a lot of hikers on the way back to Stone Door. It had taken us about four hours one way to make this hike. It was a lot of fun, and we got our camping fix for the week.

Pictures:

Fiery Gizzard

Soddy Daisy TTA members Lora Smith with guest Craig McBride, Casey Stryker with his sister Kristin on her first hike, enjoyed a joint hike with 6 members of the Murfreesboro TTA. We had blue skies and sunshine with chilly breezes while climbing Chimney Rocks and picking our way along the rocky trail. We stopped along the way at Sycamore Falls and at Black Canyon where Big and Little Fiery Gizzard Creeks junction. A couple of hikers decided to get their socks wet in one of the stream crossings. Nothing like ice cold water on your feet to get you moving in the morning. On the way up to Raven’s Point we found Raven’s Arch. After a hunger building workout climbing to the rim, we had lunch at Raven’s Point taking in the beautiful views into Gizzard Cove. After waking up the resting new hiker we started down the Dog Hole Trail which wanders thru the forest along the rim of Gizzard Cove. Beautiful views on this trail into the gorge. After a steep decent into the gorge we walked beside ice covered walls with huge icicles hanging over the trail. Back along the creek our minds were on the sugary treats at the Dutch Made Bakery in Tracy City. A quick phone call to the sweet lady at the bakery reassured us they were still open. Pecan Tastys, 7 Layer Delights, Fruit filled Turnovers, sweet breads—what a great way to end a perfect day spent hiking with friends, old and new.

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