Craig's Hikes

Chilly Chili Hike

2012-01-29T16:26:00.001-08:00

January 28
The last few days had started out at 50 degrees and got warmer thru the day. I was wondering how the Chilly part of the hike would turn out. Saturday dawned at a chilly 28 degrees and partly cloudy sky. I guess the Poteets have a lot of pull with the Man in charge of the weather. 32 hikers showed up at the trailhead for Bridal Veil Falls. I met some for the first time, and reconnected with a couple of ladies I had hiked with a while back. Hi Denise and Cathleen!

This is a really pretty trail on the grounds of the Sewanee Domain, University of the South. The trail was a little slick thanks to the heavy rain the day before. Bridal Veil Falls was beautiful, lots of water that tumbles down the bluff and then goes underground. We hiked back up the hill and around the bluff line looking into the beautiful valley below.

Back at the cars we headed to the Poteets lovely home for the Chili part of the hike. Lots of wonderful chili, cornbread, and lots of side dishes,and so many desserts..brownies, cake, breads, cookies, green fluff,.mmmmm sugar high. While we were eating Jim pointed out a hawk sitting on one of their birdfeeders, waiting for lunch I think.

Thanks to Marietta and Jim for the hike and the Southern hospitality. It sure was a beautiful day.

Pictures:

Samatha's Birthday

2012-01-25T09:45:00.000-08:00

We got to have the Grandbabies over the weekend. We celebrated Samatha's birthday and our Nephew's birthday as well. A great time was had.

Pictures:

Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Area

2012-01-16T08:51:00.000-08:00

Joyce Kilmer Memorial trail 2.0
Jenkins Meadow trail 0.9
Connector trail 0.9
Naked Ground Trail 1.6
Day one total: 5.4 Miles

Naked Ground Trail 2.7
Haoe Lead Trail 0.6
Stratton Bald Trail 7.9
Road Walk .25
Day two total: 11.45 Miles
Total Hike: 16.85 Miles

Lora and I headed to NC for the weekend. We had heard about the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness Area and wanted to check it out.

The Cherohala Skyway is worth checking out by itself. A beautiful drive with views of mountains as far as you can see. As soon as we crossed the boarder the roads were covered with packed snow and ice. We figured that we would be in snow as we were going to hike up to 5336 feet.

Our first stop was the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. There is a two mile figure eight trail which covers the biggest trees in the area. Well worth the drive. After that we went to the Jenkins Meadow Trailhead to park. We took this trail to the Naked Ground Trail.

The Naked Ground trail climbs along the Little Santeetiah Creek up to Naked Ground Gap. There are many huge trees all along this trail. We camped just after the Adamcamp Branch.

We got some flurries as we hung out around the campfire. We got to see some clear stars early in the night before the flurries. Sometime in the night we had a visitor. Not sure what critter it was. Lora said she heard clucking noises, I heard some kind of snorting noise, and something bumped our cooking pot. We didn't find any tracks in the morning.

We got on the trail and not far after that we came across the hollow yellow poplar approximately 16 feet in circumference. Yea, we had to get inside it.

The snow got deeper as we climbed and we saw coyote tracks, mouse tracks and bobcat tracks. There was one tree down that, yes, I got stuck with my turtle shell. Lora, after finally getting over the laughing fit and taking pictures, had to push down on my pack so I could get through.

The total climb on this trail was 2560 feet. The last section was 1060 feet in 1.2 miles. Now that will work those legs and lungs! We had about three inches of snow on the top and it felt like a twenty degree drop in temperature. We got in some good views and then topped off our water at the spring. It doesn't take long to filter water when you have no feeling in your hands.

We took the Haoe Lead trail to the Stratton Bald trail and up to Bob Stratton Bald. There besides all the views, we got to meet a group of hikers from UTC. They were doing two nights out. We headed back down Stratton Bald trail and dropped down off the side where we ate lunch.

On the way down we met a father and two sons that were backpacking up. On the lower half of the trail you get some wonderful views off Horse Cove Ridge. Then you cross back over to the Joyce Kilmer side for some more huge trees. The trail continues down till you get back to the road. You have a quarter mile walk back to the parking area.

Pictures:

Rock Creek

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000-08:00

January 7, 2012
Rock Creek Hike

Soddy Daisy TTA had a hike at Rock Creek scheduled for today and it's just 20 minutes from the house to the trailhead. Nine hikers showed up in the parking lot. We took 2 cars to Retro Hughes trailhead for the shuttle back. Back at the Lower trailhead, we started out with
George Bonneau leading the hike. It rained on us for a little while and two of our hikers turned back. Two more were only going for a while and then going back. So the other 5 of us hiked thru the shower and on down the trail. It was a beautiful day to be in the woods. The creeks were all flowing and the water cascading down the falls was so pretty.

We stopped for lunch at the Rock Creek bridge then hiked up out of the gorge. This is one of the prettiest sections of the Cumberland Trail. You get it all on this trail: ups, downs, rock walls, overlooks, creeks, cascades, hardwood forest, pine forest, rocky trail, pine needle covered trail, swimming holes if you want to get wet, birds singing, ice falling.......beautiful in every season.

Pictures:

AT- Neels Gap to Blue Ridge Gap

2011-12-31T16:31:00.000-08:00

Day One: Neels Gap to Whitley Gap Shelter 6.7 Miles
Parking to Neels Gap 0.5
Day Two: Whitley Gap Shelter to Blue Mt. Shelter 11.8
Low Gap Shelter 0.2 Miles
Day Three: Blue Mt. Shelter to Swag of the Blue Ridge 11.1
Tray Mt. Shelter 0.4 Miles
Day Four: Swag of the Blue Ridge to Plumorchard Gap 11.6
Deep Creek Shelter 0.6
Day Five: Plumorchard Gap to Blue Ridge Gap 1.2
Road walk 72 and down Upper Hightower Road 2.0
Total Miles: 46.1

Lora and I headed down to Georgia to Neels Gap where we left off our last AT hike. The trailhead parking is 0.5 miles before you get to Neels Gap. We had a light mist going on which turned into sleet the higher we climbed up Levelland Mountain 3900 ft. It is good to have a warm up at the beginning of the trail.

Day One:
Cowrock Mountain has a beautiful view, but no pictures due to the moisture. The views are wonderful as you descend down to Tesnatee Gap. The climb up Wildcat Mountain is tough, especially at the end of the day. There is a great view from the top as well. It was getting dark and we set up camp at the trailhead leading to Whitley Gap Shelter. The sleet and wind were both getting stronger. We cooked from the tent and ate in bed.

Day Two:
The wind blew like a Banshee according to Lora that night. We woke up to a white winter wonderland. It snowed during the night. We had breakfast in bed with the wind still blowing at gale force. We packed quickly and headed down to Hogpen Gap. We were surprised to see the amount of cars at every trailhead that we came to. Lot's of hikers out.

We saw our first person, who was packing up, on our climb out of Hogpen Gap. During our hike today there are wonderful views of the the surrounding mountains through the trees. You could see Mt. Yonah all day, which pokes up with a rock face.

We stopped at Low Gap shelter and visited with Keeps and his brother who were thru hikers coming South. We didn't even think about the Southbounders, but this is the time of year that they finish their six month hike.

From Low Gap you follow an old road bed up to Poplar Stamp Gap. We stopped and ate our lunch here. We passed another thru hiker who was hiking with Keeps and passed a message on for him. We saw another couple who were backpacking and a family group that were backpacking.

We saw a few more backpackers at Chattahoochee Gap, where the spring is actually the head waters for for the Chattahoochee River.

It felt like a twenty degree difference between the sunny side and shady side of the mountains. The snow has started melting on the sunny side. We continued the climb up Blue Mountain and stayed at the Blue Mountain Shelter. We had time to dry out the tent before we set it up and gathered firewood. There was a young couple that stopped by that were day hiking in from Unicoi Gap.

We sat by the fire and enjoyed a beautiful star filled sky.

Day Three:
The wind was blowing strong and cold when we got up. We pulled everything into the shelter and packed in there. As we ate breakfast a couple of backpackers came into camp. One had actually built the shelter that we were standing in. We finished the climb of Blue Mountain and started the long descent into Unicoi Gap.

Again there were many cars in the parking lot. From there we did the steep climb up Rocky Mountain. We met two more thru hikers that were hiking with the previous group. When we got to the top we stopped for a break. There were two young boys from Atlanta that had stayed out overnight here and froze. They found out that they were not prepared for this temperature. I had to take a picture of the fire ring here. It came up to Lora's knees. Why do people build such big fire rings? There were some great views from on top.

From Rocky Mountain you have a very long and steep decent into Indian Grave Gap. Here we met a couple of day hikers. One was from Appleton, Wisconsin, where my sister had lived. We ate lunch on our way up Tray Mountain. We met alot of people on our way up. We got to the clearing where a Cheese Factory had been located in 1840. NO cheese!

After a strenuous climb up Tray Mountain, we got some wonderful views. There were two guys and a dog hanging out at the top. We had lots of ice on the rocks during the climb. There are alot of blackberry briers all over this mountain. We saw alot of Galax growing all along this section of the trail.

We stopped at the Tray Mountain Shelter for water. There was an old man and a grandson staying here. From here we started the long descent down Tray mountain. There is a marked water source at Steeltrap Gap that is not noted on the map. The two guys and their dog from the top of the mountain were setting up camp here. We went on to Swag of the Blue Ridge to make camp.

The wood was wet and we had a cold fire. We were tired anyway and didn't stay by the fire long.

Day Four:
Kelly Knob was rough. They didn't waste any time making switchbacks here. Straight up. Good views and you could see Chatuge Lake to the East. After another deep descent we stopped at Deep Gap Shelter for some water. This is an old well built shelter that actually has windows in the loft.

We got spooked twice. Once by a Grouse and the other time by some day hikers as we were stopped for lunch at Wolf Stake Knob. They came up behind us and we never heard them till they were on us. We then spent the afternoon descending from Powell Mountain to Dicks Creek Gap. Another pile of cars here. We got out of site from the road and stopped for a nap in the sun.

There is a steep decent into and climbing out of Cowart Gap. It seemed like we climbed Buzzard Knob forever. Finally we started down to Plumorchard Gap were we spent the night. Another peaceful night by the fire with the stars shining from above.

The wind picked up that night. It woke us a couple of times hollowing through the night.

Day Five:
We got up and ate breakfast. We got our water from the spring and then headed up AS Knob. We got off the trail at Blue Ridge Gap and hiked down Forest service road 72 to meet our ride. We were early so hiked another mile down Upper Hightower Creek road to get to a phone service. We used Sam and Ron's shuttle service (samron@windstream.net) again for our ride.

Pictures:

Rock Creek Trail- Little Frog Wilderness Area

2011-12-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Rock Creek Trail in the Little Frog Wilderness, Cherokee National Forest.

Lora and I cancelled our backpacking plan due to the forcast for rain. We decided to do a day hike instead. We headed out to the Little Frog wilderness area. We started at the trailhead just past the Ocoee Whitewater Center on Hwy 64.

The Rock Creek trail climbs up the moutain with views the whole way. The first creek crossing is Laurel Creek. It is a small creek with a campsite just off the trail. The trail then climbs up and through a saddle. You have great views of Big Frog and other mountain chains. Then the trail drops down into the Pressley Cove where the Rock Creek passes through. Rock creek is also easily crossable.

Due to the early sunset, we turned around at Rock Creek and headed back. You could do a loop hike if you continued to the Benton McKaye trail and head South back to Hwy 64. You could either drop a car there or hike 64 back to the trailhead.

Pictures:

Hobb's Cabin- TTA Hike

2011-12-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Craig, Paula, and Marco are members of the Murfreesboro TTA, Lora is with the Soddy Daisy chapter. Dad also joined us as well as Pam. This was Pams first backpack.

We got on the trail around 9:30. We took the day loop trail to see the Savage Falls and then head down the Rim trail to Hobb's Cabin. It was a beautiful day and we got some great views in. We met up with the Upper Cumberland Chapter lead by Margaret that were doing a day hike in the area.

After we got to Hobb's Cabin, George joined us for the night. He had hiked in the Connector trail.

The first real entertainment was setting up Pam's tent. Of course this was the first time she set it up. We got some laughs as the four of us tried to figure it out.

We were then entertained by Pam as she carefully picked out a rock, wrapped it up in tin foil and then placed it over the fire. We were all thinking that there are other lightweight meals with more flavor. She was thinking that she was going to warm up her sleeping bag with this. We explained the melting of fabric and she changed her mind. She made a good comeback with making smores for everyone.

There were stories told from pies to chickens and some cough medicine taken. Ranger light foot stopped by to visit as well. Lot's of laughs all night. We apologized to other campers in the morning for our wild behavior.

The next morning we hiked out on the Plateau trail. We took a good rest break at lunch and Paula waited until the last bit of the trail before she showed Pam the correct procedure to use while falling with a backpack on. Always the teacher.

We got in a total of 17.6 Miles.

Pictures:

More Pictures:

Ohio

2011-11-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

Went to Ohio over Thanksgiving to spend time with our daughter and our grandson. We had a great time.

Pictures:

Signal Point Backpack

2011-11-22T10:43:00.001-08:00

Nov. 19
Prentice Cooper to Signal Point
13.4 miles

Looks like a beautiful weekend for a backpack. I drove to Signal Mountain to meet up with Charlotte, Sara, Ann and Kim from the Boro. We left one car and then drove to Prentice Cooper to the Cumberland Trail parking area. There was a big group of backpackers already there and getting ready to start on the trail. They were headed for Mullen’s Cove. We started down the trail towards Suck Creek. The Indian Rockhouse and Stone Door are some of the interesting sights on this trail. There are pretty views of the Tennessee River and overlooks into the gorge all the way to Hwy 27. You better watch for traffic zipping up and down; the motorcycle riders like this mountain road. We hiked on another mile or so to the big suspension bridge and set up camp on the other side. There was plenty of room for our 5 tents and maybe room for a couple more. Good group site.

As we gathered firewood for the night, a big group of hikers from the Plateau TTA Chapter came thru. It was good to see a lot of folks enjoying the Cumberland Trail.

As it got dark we were cooking supper, a screech owl talked to us as it swooped by the camp. We caught up on trail stories and enjoyed the campfire.

It didn’t get too cold that night and hiking up out of the creek gorge the next morning it warmed up real quick. Mushroom Rock was a cool photo op. This whole section of trail is so beautiful-all along the rim following the creek, stream crossings, seeing a couple of waterfalls. Then to Edwards Point for lunch. And right after lunch finding Edwards Point. Hmmm. There are so many rock formations to see along the rim; a natural bridge and the start of another one, I think. Just before dropping into the gorge we came to someone’s smoldering campfire from last night. Not good. Sara had some extra water and poured it on the log. We crossed the creek and started the climb out of the gorge up up up to the views of the beautiful Tennessee River at Signal Point.

A beautiful weekend and the rain didn’t start until we picked up the other car from Prentice Cooper.

Thank you Charlotte for the backpack trip!

Pictures:

Cloudland Canyon

2011-10-30T13:04:00.000-07:00

Lora and I attended the 2011 TTA anual meeting at Lookout Mountain. We got there Friday evening and set up our tent. We did some visiting with old friends. Saturday morning we took the following hike. I had to work Sunday so we didn't get to spend the next day. We had a great time.

Cloudland Canyon State Park Waterfalls and Sitton Gulch Trail.
Rising Fawn, Georgia.

Hike Leader: Joan Hartvigsen, 7 miles strenuous. This Georgia park is located on the western edge of Lookout Mountain. The park straddles a deep gorge cut into the mountain by combined waters of Bear and Daniels Creeks. The Waterfalls Trail consists of gravel and 1,200 stair steps. Both waterfalls cascade off of sheer faces at 60 and 90 feet, and are among the most beautiful in the state. The Sitton Gulch Trail follows Daniel Creek through open, green hemlock groves and overlooks numerous small waterfalls cascading through limestone crevices. The autumn color is magnificent.

Pictures:

Cardwell Mountain- Cumberland Caverns

2011-10-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday Ann Jacobs lead a group of seven hikers on a 5.5 mile hike at Cardwell Mt. Four chapters were represented on this perfect hiking weather day. Martin McCullough, Craig McBride and Ann from Murfreesboro, Robbie Benson and Joyce Chapman from Nashville, Stephanie and Michael Brice from Highland Rim and Lora McBride from Soddy Daisy, enjoyed the beautiful fall colors and sunshine. We stopped at the historic entrance to Cumberland Caverens ,just off the trail, on our way up the mountain. Ann told the story of Aaron Higgenbottom and his almost fatal exploration of a cervice in the rocks along the trail in 1810. We stopped at Balance Rock for a light lunch and then hiked on to Buzzard Bluff where we did see buzzards and a wild hog. A great time was had by all.

Pictures:

North Carolina AT

2011-10-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

Day one: Hwy 28 to Cody Gap 8.8 Miles
Day two: Cody Gap to Locust Cove Gap 8.8 Miles
Day three: Locust Cove Gap to NOC 10 Miles
Total 27.6 Miles

Time for the annual Father-Son outing. We all threw out ideas and it came out to a vote to do some more of the Appalachian trail. North Carolina here we come. Steve came in and we all met at the ponderosa. We got to do the dragon twice as we dropped off the car at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser, NC. It is always fun to watch the motorcycles try to keep up to Dad's van. I think we even passed some in the curves.

The next morning we did it again as we headed off to do some hiking. We started at the Hwy 28 trailhead by Fontana Lake. As is family tradition we start out uphill. So we climbed for three miles at a heart busting incline to the top of High Top mountain. We were counting on the Yellow Creek Mountain Trail as a sign that we were almost at the top. Well, they don't mark any of the trails off the AT in North Carolina so we just got to the top. If you take a side trail, you better know where it is at.

We learned another family trait. We would pull out the map and study on the hike for the day. In a matter of twenty steps, non of us could remember what we were going to come upon next. So out comes the map, a study of just the next bench mark. Twenty steps.....nothing!

We stopped at the Cable Gap Shelter to do a water resupply. It is an older shelter made with some major sized logs. The spring runs right next to it which is nice. From there we hiked across Hwy 1242 and on to Cody Gap. The Gaps are all signed so you do know where they are.

Cody Gap has a campsite right on the trail. The Wauchecha Bald Trail heads out from there, which you also follow to get to the spring. The main spring was dry, but water was about twenty feet down from it. There is also a campsite right there so that is where we stayed.

Entertainment for the night was Dad hanging the bear bag. We watched as he tied a softball sized rock to the end of the rope. He wound up and pitched to see the rock sail through the air, with no rope attached. This was going to get good! Again the wind up, the pitch, the rock sailing through the air. We pictured either the rock going through one of the hammocks, or the rope actually staying attached to swing back and nail him in the **##@@. Through our tear filled eyes, we see him finally tying to a stick and scoring.

It was a peaceful night with stars shining while we sat next to the fire. We heard an owl and a tree falling through the night. Luckily not one that the hammock was tied to.

The next morning we got up and headed out. We started out with an uphill climb. When you get to Hogback Gap, there are two fancy benches made of logs. There is no view or anything else here, but there are two fancy benches. After some serious climbing, we earned our first clear views of the mountains just before you go down into Brown Fork Gap.

Brown Fork Gap is a steep down hill and steep uphill. We stopped at the Shelter here for a rest and some water. This is the first shelter that I have seen with a mote around it. Not sure why, but the floor does not come all the way out to the front of the shelter. There are boards here to lay down so you can get across. There is also a shelter machete for what? We got our water from the spring and met the first two hikers on the trail. The man and wife had stopped for lunch. They were from Florida.

We finished the strenuous climb and then took a serious down hill to Sweetwater Gap. We took a break at Stecoah Gap at Hwy 143 where they have some picnic tables next to the road. Then is is time to climb again. 600 foot a mile climb. By the time we got to Locust Cove Gap, we were ready to stop for the night.

At camp there were three bear hunters. They had been chasing bears all over this mountain with the dogs all day. They were ready to go home......Great! Tired, hungry, and mad bears to sleep with tonight. Just our luck. We left Dad in charge of camp and went in search of the spring. DRY! Down the creek bed we go. Climbing through the Rodedemdrum thinking about those mad bears. Finally finding a puddle of water. We filled our containers and headed back to camp. Coming into camp thinking about the hunters, so we were whistling and singing "We are not bears, we are not bears."

Dad did a great job. He hadn't moved at all. We set up camp and then we left him in charge again as we climbed back down to the water whole for more.

We got a fire going and watched the stars. Life was good. Early to bed tonight.

Rain woke us up in the middle of the night and it poured. It rained into the morning.

In the morning we started out with a good climb. Up 1500 feet in two miles. Up to the best view on top of Cheoah Bald. OK, it was in the clouds and the rain poured down on us. We thought "cool" and then started the eight miles down.

We stopped at Sassafras Gap Shelter for lunch. A dry spot. This is where I found out that the Friends of the Smoky's take care of the Appalachian trail in North Carolina. A little note in the privy told me so.

The Jump-up is a serious climb section of the trail or for us South bound folks a serious down. It will work your everything if you were wondering. At the NOC there is a restaurant that serves ice cream. There is one big scoop covered with granola, cranberries, butterscotch, chocolate, and powered sugar. SWEET!

The NOC also has a train stop, a rafting place, stores, and a bunch more.

This section is a very strenuous section of the AT. There are alot of major ups and downs along with rocky sections, with loose rocks. A very good challenge.

Pictures:

Steve's Report and pics:

Georgia AT

2011-10-12T12:03:00.000-07:00

Day One: 4.9
Parking to Shelter and back 1.7 miles
Parking to Three Forks 3.2
Day Two: 11.3
Three Forks to Gooch Mt. Shelter 10.8
Hawk Mt. Shelter 0.4
Gooch Mt. Shelter 0.1
Day Three: 12.75
Gooch Mt. Shelter 0.1
Gooch Mt. Shelter to Slaughter Creek Camp 12.4
Slaughter Creek to water 0.25
Day Four: 3.55
Slaughter Creek to AT 0.25
Slaughter Creek to Neels Gap 3.3
Total Miles: 32.5

Lora and I headed out to Springer Mountain for a few days. We were going to celebrate our anniversary with an Appalachian Trail hike to Neels Gap. We got to Springer Mountain at 2pm. We hiked to the Springer Mountain shelter from the parking lot because we didn't want to miss any miles from our last hike doing the approach trail.

We got to visit with some friendly folks at the parking lot before we headed back out to the Three Forks campsite. The trail was easy and the Benton MacKaye trail crosses over numerous times. We stopped and checked out the Stover Creek Shelter.

The Three Forks campsite is a very open campsite along the Noontootla Creek. Across the creek is USFS Road #58. We set up camp and collected fire wood. There were two men that set up camp in this area as well. We had a quiet night beside the campfire. The stars were out and we got to hear the owl.

The next morning we got up and headed out. We had ten miles to put in and wanted to enjoy it. Just up from camp we came across the first two water falls along the trail. Shortly afterwards we came to the blue blazed side trail to Long Creek Falls which is pretty. There was a man that had camped there overnight. We headed back to the AT and soon passed a few other folks heading the other way. The Benton MacKaye headed out for the last time off to our left.

We stopped at the Hawk Mt. Shelter for a snack and just to see it. There are not a lot of views from the AT until you get around Woody Gap. Just a lot of up and downs. Everybody hears about Springer Mt. and Blood Mt. I have never heard of Sassafrass Mt., but I know about it now! It is the hardest part of the 32.5 miles that we did. Both up and down! Talk about feeling out of shape. We did it, but it hurt. If you ever talk to anyone that has hiked this part, just ask them. They will remember. While we were taking a break on the way up Sassafrass, a father and son passed us. Craig and Noah. We met them again at Gooch Mt. Shelter. When we got to the top of the mountain, I finally gave in and wrapped the sore ankle that started bothering me the day before we left. We ate lunch here too.

We climbed two more mountains and then stopped at Justis Creek to fill up water bladders. We were tired and ready to camp, but decided that we would go on. While we were filling another guy stopped and said that this was the last water source for a while. On day one we passed some hikers that told us that water was low everywhere and we needed to fill up every chance we got. The next creek, Blackwell Creek had water as did the spring at Gooch Mt. shelter.

We set up camp, got water, and ate. After dinner we went up to the shelter and visited with Craig and Noah along with another hiker from North Carolina, Don. Craig and Noah were from Florida. We got to hear some owls that night as well.

The next morning we slept in a little then headed out. We started out with a climb like we like to do. Then another and another. The wind was blowing in Gale force today. Just before we got to Woody Gap we came across the first rock overlook of the trail. A man was camping just the other side of the trail from it. It was windy, but gave us a beautiful sight.

Woody Gap reminded me of Newfound Gap as far as the parking lots, paved road, and a million cars. This is where Hwy 60 crosses. After you get across the road and other parking lot you start a good climb up Big Cedar Mt. There is a large rock overlook just up from Woody Gap and then another overlook off the right side of the trail on a short blue blazed trail.

After coming down Big Cedar, we ate lunch in Dan Gap. A trail runner passed us while we ate. By the time we got to Jarrard Gap where there is a campsite, we had decided to stay at Woods Hole Shelter instead of going to Slaughter Creek campsite. We were running out of energy.

Well, when we got to Woods Hole shelter, there were two guys camping there. They said that they walked towards the shelter and found the creek dry which was supposed to be the water source, and never came across the shelter. They also told us that Slaughter Creek was dry as a well. Not good because we needed water. We decided to move on and camp at Slaughter Creek. We passed the trail runner again and she said there was water up ahead. So when we got to Slaughter Creek it was dry. We checked out the camping area, then headed down Slaughter Creek trail looking for water. About a quarter mile down, we came across a campsite next to the creek. There was a small amount of water there so we set up camp and had us a campfire.

Mr. Owl woke us up the next morning. My sore ankle was swollen this morning too. Not good! We packed up and headed back to the AT, then began our hike up Blood Mountain. The trail is good to us on the way up. A steady but easy climb. We came across the privy first then the rock shelter on top. The shelter is surrounded by boulders, which protect it from the wind. Good idea I must say. There were a few people there and more coming up from the Neel Gap side all the time we were up there.

Beautiful sights to see from the mountain top. After you pass the Shelter and head across the top of Blood Mountain there are rocky overlooks everywhere. We talked to a group of boys that said there was rain coming in this afternoon so we head down the mountain to Neels Gap.

The AT goes between the Store and Hostel at Neels Gap. We stopped and looked through the store. We called our shuttle and ate lunch while we waited. They have a bunch of hiking shoes that through hikers send back after they complete the trail. They hang them in the trees outside and all across the ceiling in the store.

Our shuttle ride picked us up and took us back to Springer where we picked up our truck and headed home. We used Ron Hulbert and Sam Duke Shuttle samron@windstream.net 706-745-1596

Pictures:

Gobbler's Knob Hike

2011-10-03T10:58:00.000-07:00

DAY ONE:6.8
Gobbler's Knob Trail 0.8 Miles
Hatfield Ridge Trail 0.9
Hatfield Ridge Loop 1.0
Twin Arches Loop 3.1
Slave Falls to Charit Creek Trail 1.0

DAY TWO:11.6
Slave Falls to Charit Creek Trail 2.6
Slave Falls Overlook Trail 0.4
Slave Falls Overlook Trail 0.4
Slave Falls Loop Trail 1.1
Fork Ridge Road 0.7
Gobbler's Knob Trail 6.4
TOTAL MILES: 18.4

Lora and I headed out to Big South Fork for an overnight hike. We started at the Gobbler's Knob Trailhead off Terry Cemetery Road. Gobbler's Knob trail is a wagon trail as well as the Hatfield Trails.

We stopped at the Charit Creek Lodge which is a hike to or horse ride to lodge. They have a pretty cool set up that will feed you and everything. We did the tour.

The Twin Arches Trail is beautiful. It is also a very popular trail. There is plenty of water available. We checked out the twin arches and then hiked on to Jake's place which is really a pile of rocks where the chimney once stood on the side of a meadow. There was a large group of tents set up with campers on the side of the meadow.

We hiked down Slave Falls to Charit Creek trail and found a spot to set up camp along the Mill Creek. We ate dinner then got a campfire going. We waited for the stars to come out, but not before bed time.

When we got up to use the bathroom, the stars were shining. We even had a owl talking to us. Then the incident happened. We were getting comfortable and the headlamp was still on. I looked up to see an eight legged enemy on the inside top of the tent. I set off the alarm as practiced in the pass. My brave Little Outcast bravely stated that she had it. I watched expecting great things......then I saw the plastic container. Warnings went off in my head along with the great "WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING?" I later found out that she had intended to smash it with the container. I thought she was going to try to catch it. Anyway she swung, the spider fell, I screamed.....I mean I was going to take action, but had the headlamp in my hand. The enemy was crawling over the sleeping bag. She swatted with her bare hand....HER BARE HAND! She missed, I yelled, I mean told her she missed. She swatted again with a deadly blow. Success! She followed up with a Kleenex clean up. I cleaned up too.

Somewhere in the night, I finally got back to sleep. We woke in the morning to the owl singing a song. We got up, had breakfast and headed out.

We took both overlook trails to the 60 foot Slave falls. The Needle Arch is between the two overlooks. From there we hiked to the Sawmill Trailhead and took the road to the Middle Creek Equestrian Trailhead. Then we hiked Gobbler's Knob trail back to the car.

Great overnight hike.

Pictures:

Gregory Ridge Trail

2011-09-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

I joined a fine group of TTA hikers, from the Sumner Trails Chapter, led by Anne Wesley for a backpack to Gregory Bald in the GSMNP. We were meeting at the Cades Cove Ranger Station coming from Nashville, Hendersonville, Monteagle and Dayton. Pulling into the Ranger Station, I watched a 6 point buck prance across the road in front of my car. Marietta was waiting in the parking lot, and the others pulled in shortly after. While Anne went inside to file our permit, we met Malcolm, Karen (the newbie backpacker), and Amy. Coming out of the Ranger Station, Anne was stopped by visitors asking questions…she did have a GSMNP shirt on. She COULD have been a Ranger…..

On the way around the Loop Road (nicely re-paved) we spotted a mama bear and cub feeding on acorns on a hillside. A little farther, traffic was stopped while 3 bear cubs played in the tree branches hanging over the road.

Finally made it to the trailhead. Malcolm passed around homemade granola bars his wife had made for the backpack. It started raining as we started up the trail. We saw a lot of huge trees on this old growth section of trail. We had 3 log bridge crossings and came to campsite 12 right by the creek. We had our choice of sites, no one else was here. We set up and inspected housing for the trip. Amy gathered firewood and started a fire. We cooked supper and enjoyed our wet firewood fire. Lights out, wow it gets dark here! More rain thru the night made me wish I had let Craig spray my tent with water repellent when he asked if it needed it. It was fine the last trip…which had been Easter weekend, no precipitation….

Got up Saturday morning to drips from the trees, and a cloud sitting on the mountain top. It’s gonna be a beautiful day! A squirrel playing in the tree tops by the creek was trying to pelt me with the remains of his breakfast. It was like little missiles raining down. I was just trying to get some water! As we climbed up the trail the sun was starting to peep thru the mist. When the beams started shining down, it was an incredible sight to see. Wow!

We got to the junction for Gregory Bald took the path to the stream to get water and take a break. When we got up to the Bald we took out our wet gear and dried it in the warm sunshine, then on to the campsite to set up. The water source at the camp is just a seep and it was so seepy, we used ziplock baggies to collect water. We carried our cooking stuff and food back up to the bald and had dinner and watched the gorgeous sunset. A big group of Florida U students were on the Bald and asked if they could share our fire at the campsite. We said sure! Met up with a Ranger carrying a rifle on the way back to camp…hog hunting. We got back to camp and watched the FU group try to keep a fire going with wet wood so they could cook their canned food: ravioli, soup, beans, baked potato. There were 15 of them -a great group of young people. Met some backpacking firefighters and a couple of other groups. The stars came out for a beautiful night.

Sunday morning light woke us up. Leisurely breakfast and pack em up and move em out.

Back to the Bald and back down the trail, which is always different in the opposite direction. We saw lots of bear scat on the way down, but no bears.

Ice cream back at the Ranger Station finished our trip.

Great group of folks, great backpack, Thanks to Anne and now Karen’s not a newbie any more!

Pictures:

Dale Hollow Lake

2011-09-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Lora and I decided to do a canoe camping trip at Dale Hollow Lake. We made reservations for campsite #8 Big Goat Island.

It was a beautiful day for being on the lake. We put in at Willow Grove boat ramp. The first place we paddled to was our campsite to make sure we knew where it was. They mark the campsites with an orange marker that is supposed to stand out. Basically you look for an outhouse and go with that. We found our orange marker in the middle of a bush on the beach. We checked out the beach with a little swim. After that we canoed around Big Goat Island and over to the main coast by accordion bluff.

There were alot of boats out and few operators that knew nothing about the rules of boating. We even had one ski boat do a loop around us.

We explored the coast and inlets and did a lap around Geiger Island which has campsite #13 on it. We headed back to camp after that.

We set up camp and gathered firewood. We had another couple stop by in their boat asking about the campsite. They were going to spend a few days here in a couple of weeks. After a swim, we enjoyed our dinner and then walked around the island to watch the sunset. After that we got our fire going and enjoyed watching the stars and looking at the full moon reflecting off the water.

We got up the next morning and after breakfast we headed out for a day of paddling. We went to Clark Island to check out the campsite #6 then went to Graveyard island and checked out campsite #9 and hike across the island. We had a house boat speed up so that they could pass in front of us. What is up with that? From there we went to Hendricks Creek and paddled into Kentucky. We checked out campsite #12 and were heading to #11 when we stopped for lunch.

During lunch we listened to the sound of waves and jet skis and thunder.....THUNDER? A black cloud was heading toward us. We headed towards an island and then changed coarse as the closest shoreline we could get up on was on the mainland. We got caught and our tiny ship was tossed. The only thought we had was what a lighting rod we were out in the middle of the lake in an aluminum canoe. We made it to shore and set up a tarp to watch the rain pass by and calm down the old nerves.

After the storm went by and after emptying out the canoe, we paddled back to the boat ramp. After loading up the car we took another swim. It was a great weekend on a beautiful lake. We got to see ducks, geese, woodpeckers, turtles, fish, eagles, vulchers, deer on little goat island, and got to hear a screech owl and horn owl at night.

We had to stop and get us a Sonic Blast after all that paddling.

Pictures:

Hiwassee Refuge Lake

2011-08-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

Lora and I decided to go back to the Hiwassee Refuge and canoe the lake there. When we got to the inlet we found a dirt dam across the end of it. Off to the left side there was an access point between a metal section of the dam that you can canoe through. It is hidden through another inlet.

Once inside we had the entire lake to ourselves. It is a large lake and the wildlife is abundant. We saw all kinds of birds, including Cranes, Blue Herons, Red Wing Black birds, Crows, and all kinds of ducks. We saw numerous turtles, deer, and fish.

When we came around one corner there was a doe standing in the water next to a bush. Once she saw us coming she climbed out of the lake and headed up through the corn field. We tied off at a tree just down from where she was standing and ate lunch. Shortly after we heard a crashing sound and a buck came running out of the corn field. He walked down to within thirty yards of us and just stood there watching us while we ate. Finally he just disappeared with no sound.

We came around another point and a flock of red wing black birds came out of the tall grass. Numerous adults followed by many young. Around another bend flocks of ducks took off. It is a beautiful and peaceful place to take a water tour of.

Pictures:

Childers Creek

2011-08-16T13:35:00.000-07:00

My hiking partner had to work so I went hiking with the East TN TTA Chapter in Reliance, TN on the JMT Recreation Trail. It’s been a while since I’ve been hiking; trying to make sure I had all the essentials. Craig said “don’t forget your first aid kit.”

The temps were cooler and humidity low, perfect day for hiking. It’s a pretty drive coming into the Cherokee National Forest. When I called Craig to let him know I was on the road, he asked about my first aid kit….oops….have a small one in the car, got it. Then came the other questions…did you bring???????

I got to the trailhead early and drove around a little in the area. Rosemary got there so I started to put my hiking shoes on and realized I had two different shoes. Oh well, at least I had a left and a right. Robby (hike leader) Karen, Gail, and Larry pulled in and we took a shuttle vehicle to the other end. Spray down with deet and off we go.

This is a beautiful trail, hiking along the river side. Lots of wildflowers blooming, some we knew, some we didn’t. Didn’t carry the wildflower book. Took pictures, feel free to identify them for me. I can’t find the white ones in the guide. Never seen them before. Somebody had done fine trail maintenance thru this area. Nice job.

We stopped for lunch at a real pretty camp spot by the river where I realized I didn’t pack my little sitting pad. At least I remembered food! Had to wade in to see how cold the water was. There was a little rocky beach area with several wildflowers blooming along side. Saw some spotted Jewelweed-pretty. As we were finishing lunch and getting ready to get back on the trail, someone said look where we were standing by the water. Wow, the water was rising fast! It wasn’t long till we saw kayaks and rafts coming down the river. Lots of folks out enjoying the river.

We hiked out to a parking area and there was our shuttle car. Oops, we didn’t park in the right place. Plan B. We all kept going and a little while later, 3 of our hikers turned back to get the car while the rest of us kept going. This part of the trail had not been maintained lately and we had to crawl under a tree across the trail and watch out for briar's. Our trail came out on the road to the powerhouse that releases water for the rafters and kayakers and the traffic was a little dangerous. When our shuttle car came by we jumped in and drove the ½ mile to the powerhouse.

This is a beautiful trail with lots of swimming holes.

Pictures:

Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge

2011-08-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

Lora and I took the canoe out for a trip around the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge Island on the Tennessee River. It was a beautiful day with a wind that gave us a good test. The east side was protected from the wind pretty good so we had some smooth sailing. The west side kept us paddling pretty strong and the trip back to the boat launch was challenging.

We did get to see lots of Ospry birds and there were a lot of boats out on the water. Lora even got to see a black snake which she is always so excited to do.

Pictures:

Michigan 2011

2011-08-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

Another wonderful and exciting vacation in Michigan. Marco joined us again this year for a week up at Elk lake. It was going to be different this year without Granny. She was thought of often throughout the week.

We got to the lake just before Deanna and McKinley got there, so I could rub that in.

Sunday morning we got up and got some stuff done before our trip to Lake Michigan to fish with Captain Ed.

The weather was beautiful and we were all excited about the limit of trophy fish we were going to bring back with us. Captain Ed was ready to go after the introductions of the new people in the group. We got to set sail in his updated boat for the first time.

We went about ten miles out to catch our fish. We trolled for a few hours with no luck. It wasn't the Captains fault as he had every line he owned in the water and fish were on the finder. I think it was the storm coming in. It felt a little like Gilligan's Island as a storm came in and our little ship was tossed. We did manage to catch one Salmon as we were reeling in all of the lines. We went through a major rain storm on the way in to the shelf. We set the lines out again, but the waves were getting bigger and bigger. Lora didn't appreciate the waves and got a little sea sick. We ended up calling it off as the weather was beating us down.

We slept in Monday morning for a little bit and then we got the chores done before doing the vacation relax thing. We went out on Elk lake and Marco caught his large mouth. We had a campfire that night and watched the stars.

Tuesday the girls went shopping and the guys worked on the dock. It was an overcast day with rain on and off. The dock had to be braced up and the bench repaired. When the girls got back we got into some Sequence games and then Smear card games into the night.

Wednesday was another relax day. We took a walk around the lake and then did some relaxing. We got the Corn hole game going. That night after dinner we went to the Ice Cream shop. They were not opened yet so we entertained ourselves learning to whistle with our hands and doing the snap clap dance. That evening the toilet backed up and it was time for another septic tank search. We found out that the drain field was going to have to be replace.

Thursday was the Canoe trip down the Manistee river. Betty, Steve and Kathy came up to join us. It was a great day on the river. It was hot enough that we did alot of swimming and did the picnic lunch. That evening we celebrated Betty's birthday with some banana splits. Another night around the fire.

Friday we had Mandy, Melanie, and Kim join us as well as Aunt Micki. It was a beautiful day at the lake. We went out for a fish dinner that night and came back for another campfire.

Pictures:

Granny 1917-2011

2011-07-08T19:14:00.000-07:00

This post is in memory of my Grandma. She meant the world to me. She was a strong lady who stuck with her beliefs and never swayed. She didn't give up on life, her body gave up on her.

Virginia passed away Thursday June 30, 2011 at Brian’s House age 93 years. Daughter of the late Harry & Dora (Villaire) Hogan she was born October 14, 1917 in Bay City. She married Howard “Smokey” LaCombe June 11, 1938 in St. Mary’s Church. He predeceased her April 20, 1995.

Virginia was a member of St. Mary’s Church and the Altar Society. She was a former Miss Bay City, she enjoyed gardening, going to her cabin and was an avid Detroit Tiger fan. Virginia truly loved spending time with her family.

Surviving are three children; Carol (Jim) McBride, Linda (Rick) Stephenson all of Maryville, TN., Janelle (Greg) Hart of Bay City, ten grandchildren: Steven (Kathy) McBride, Lynelle (James) Moyar, Craig (Lora) McBride, Deanna (Dan) Brewer, Leslie (Chad) Wilbourn, Michael (Tawyna) Lindsay, Chad (Brandy) Lindsay, Austin Stephenson, Brad (Betsey) Hart, Jennifer Hart & her fiancé Charlie Warren, thirteen great- grandchildren and five great-great grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters in-law; Joanne & Evelyn Hogan. She was predeceased by four brothers; Harry Jr., Ray, Larry & John Hogan, one sister; Marie Howell and her pet dog “Baby”.

Funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday July 6, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. from St. Mary’s Church. Fr. Craig Albrecht will officiate with burial in Calvary Cemetery. Friends may call at the Squires Funeral Home on Tuesday from 2 – 8 p.m. and at the church on Wednesday after 10:00 a.m. There will be a parish vigil service for Virginia on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Those planning an expression of sympathy are asked to consider Brian’s House or the American Heart Association.

I have attached some pictures of the family get to gether.

Pictures:

Gregory's Bald

2011-06-20T08:39:00.000-07:00

Day One:
Twenty Mile Trail 0.5
Wolf Ridge Trail 5.2

Day Two:
Gregory Bald Trail 1.2
Long Hungry Ridge Trail 4.6
Twenty Mile Trail 3.1
Total: 14.6 Miles

We did a special backpack this weekend. It was a Fathers Day hike with my Dad, a TTA hike with Sara and Lora, and an a wildflower hike to Gregory's Bald to see the Azaleas. This would be a first hike for Sara and Lora to Gregory's Bald and new trails for Dad and I.

Sara met me at the firehall after work and we drove home to get Lora. We were going to take The Dragon to the trailhead, which Sara was all excited about since she had never been on it. We stopped and picked up some Subway and then headed to The Dragon. When we got on 129 Craig said Wee, Lora said Wee, and Sara said STOP! I guess it wasn't too good on the stomach.

Well anyway, we met Dad at the Twenty Mile Ranger station. The trailhead parking was FULL! We finally managed to squeeze in a spot and a hiking we went. It was a beautiful overcast day. I guess it was about a mile from the trailhead that the rain began. As we all did the poncho deployment move, a gentle gale force wind started to blow. We heard a loud crack followed by more cracking as it seemed to be getting closer. I looked up in time to watch a large branch fall onto Sara, Lora, and myself. Luckily it hit me on the head and there were no more injuries. The rain came down and on we hiked. It turned into a drizzle for most of the afternoon.

We passed a lot of wet day hikers that were coming back down from the Bald. There were a variety of trash bags, a few ponchos, some rain coats, and lots of just wet people. Day hikers that were not prepared. Imagine that.

There were a lot of wild flowers along the trail. Fire Pinks, Sundrops, Buttercups, Indian Pipe, Spiderwort, Pippissiwa, Tassle Rue, Rhododendren, Flame Azaleas: Pink, Orange, White, Red, Yellow.

As we crossed Parsons Bald, we heard a loud Squeal, a few snorts, and then we got to see three hogs heading through the brush. That will get your attention!

When we got to campsite #13, which we had reservations for, there were plenty of tents already set up. We found us a corner and made camp. By the time we set up, collected water, got fire wood, and ate dinner, it was time to light the fire. After some good visiting we gave up and went to bed.

The next morning we woke up to the sound of thunder. The stars had been out all night, what is up with that? Now do you rush to pack up before the rain or do you sleep in through the rain? Well we didn't have to choose as all we got was noise. There were three deer that walked into the campsite and were hanging out by the other tents.

We packed up, ate breakfast, and then headed to the Bald. On the half mile walk to the top we walked into a cloud. So to see all the beautiful flowers we had to walk up to each bush. Needless to say the view of Cades Cove was not to be seen.

After the flower show we hiked on down the trail. Before you get to the Long Hungry Ridge Trailhead there is a side trail to Moore Spring. It is marked with a sign that says no horses beyond this point. We had never known that this was here, but found it in the trail description. So we had to check it out since we were here. It is a good strong spring. We got water here and then took the other trail from the spring that connects to the Long Hungry Ridge Trail. The trail description says that a cabin that used to stand here burned in the early 1970's. I don't remember it.

It was all down hill from here. We hiked down and took a break at campsite #92. This is a very large campsite and we explored it for a while since the description told of a three foot section of railroad track leaned against a dogwood. We never even found a dogwood.

Further down the trail we were talking about bears. Sara said that she had never seen a bear outside of Cades Cove. I told her that all she has to do is ask my Dad and he would schedule it for her. He has a track record. Sure enough on down the trail a black bear crossed the trail in front of us. All my Dad could say was "Anything else?"

We stopped at the Twenty Mile Cascades and took some pictures. After that the rain decided to kick in again. That is when Dad found that he had lost his poncho. Thinking that it was back at campsite #92 he declined the offer to hike back and get it. It quit raining right after that.

Another great hike with great company. This time on the Dragon, Sara said Wee, Craig said Wee, Lora said STOP! OH MY. We stopped on The Dragon overlook on the way back and then stopped to look at the "Tree of Shame" where they hang all the motorcycle parts of those that didn't make it safely down the Dragon.

Pictures:

TTA National Trails Day

2011-06-05T06:28:00.000-07:00

We got to spend the day with the Soddy Tennessee Trails Association. They did a set up at the Rock Creek Section of the Cumberland trail and took hikers out on the trail and then fed them. It was a good time with some great people. Lora and I led a hike around the loop trail and then got some swimming in at the old swimming hole.

Pictures:

Citico Creek Wilderness Area

2011-05-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

North Fork Citico Creek Trail #98 5.45
Cold Springs Gap Trail #149 3.2 Miles
South Fork Citico Creek Trail #105 8.5 Miles
Total Miles: 17.15

Trying to avoid Memorial Day crowds, we picked the Citico Creek Wilderness Area to hike in. We wanted creeks to keep cool in and it is somewhat close to the house. We have never been in this area.

After work I headed home and picked up Lora. We headed out and was on the trail a little after noon. Lots of people on the Cherohala Skyway and in Tellico. Even lots of people in the Indian Boundary area, but after a mile on the trail we had the mountains all to ourselves.

We used the trail description from "Wilderness Trails of the Cherokee National Forest" by Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock, and Haw Knob. Yes, you need trail description for all trails in the Cherokee National Forest because the trails are not blazed. There is a sign post at the trail intersections.

We parked at the #105 trailhead and hiked the .97 miles to the North Fork Citico Creek Trail. This trail follows the creek to the Cherry Log Gap of the Unicoi Mountains. It's a very pretty trail and you have many creek crossings, water falls, and cascades. We stopped at a forty foot water fall to take a break and cool down in the creek.

We took the Cold Springs Gap Trail #149 across to the South Fork Citico Creek Trail. This is an old road bed which was overgrown a bit. It cleared up a little bit when you get to the Benton MacKaye section. One section worked us over with the Stinging Nettles which burned our legs. Later, on the trail as the wildflowers and undergrowth was knee high, Lora screamed out "Jesus!" I looked up to see the glory as I myself have never seen him in person. With out seeing anything I looked down at a rabbit who had obviously never seen Jesus himself as he was looking up as well. Oh, I guess the rabbit must have scared Lora.

We hiked to the South Fork Citico Creek Trail #105. It descended quite steeply down the mountain side. I showed Lora a couple of advanced sliding moves including the hooking one leg on tree as you butt slide by it. Nothing really for an old pro.

When we got to the first flat area by the creek we made camp. It was 1.5 miles down. We got to watch the fireflies as we sat next to the campfire. The stars were out so we got to watch then all night.

We got up the next morning to another beautiful day. We had a rabbit in camp pulling up ferns and eating the roots. Lora didn't yell a name at him.

There was one place on the trail that was heavily overgrown with wild grape vines and blackberry bushes. It did have some good views here when you could see. We climbed the rest of the way down the mountain to the creek and took an afternoon swim. There were more creek crossings, waterfalls, and cascades. It is a beautiful place to hike.

After we got off the trail we explored the campground across the creek and the campground by the lake at Indian Boundary. It's a nice area. On the way out we stopped by Bald River Falls to check it out.

Pictures:

Grand Canyon

2011-05-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Day One: 9.3 Miles
Day Two: 11.5 Miles
Day Three: 9.3 Miles
Total Miles: 30.1

Well, neither of us had been to the Grand Canyon. We did the research and planning. We got turned down twice on our permits and finally they gave us the go ahead. You basically hike when they tell you to. The first time we put in, they said that 800 other people put in the same day.

We left after work and flew out of Nashville. Our second flight out of Dallas, they waited until we were all on board to tell us that we were on a maintenance delay waiting on a part. Good ole airlines! A little late, but we made it to Phoenix Arizona. We were just talking about the cactus and Lora had said that she has never seen the old western stand up cactus other than on TV. Well, she had to wait until we got to the airport before she got to see one. They were everywhere in Phoenix. On the bus, we sat next to a guy from Phoenix. He said that the people here were alot less friendly than we were used to in Tennessee. Everyone we met was friendly.

We got in our rental car with a sweet 92 degrees outside and headed North. The further North we went the higher the elevation and cooler the temperature. We stopped in Flagstaff for dinner. A little later we stopped again. This time because one of those friendly policeman wanted to talk to me. Something about the speed I was traveling did not match that of the speed limit sign that I passed. He let me off with a friendly chat and a warning.

The last fifty miles from Williams to the Grand Canyon felt like eternity as we were waiting in anticipation of the Great View. After we went through the gate of the park and finally made it to the visitor center the sun was getting ready to set. We hurried to the rim as you cannot see the canyon until you are literally standing at the rim. WOW............WOW.........WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As far as you can see, the canyon just keeps going. There is no end or other side. It's like looking over the ocean. Then you look down. WOW! As the reality sets in, you notice that you are incredibly small and insignificant. You also wonder how the hell you are going to be able to hike down to the bottom of this mammoth hole. We scanned the cliff walls for any sign of trail. None! You could see tiny ant sized trails running down at the bottom of the canyon, but nothing on the walls. We stood in awe as the sun set down over the rim.

We found our campsite in the Manther campground and set up camp in the dark. The stars were wonderful and the night was only interrupted by the other people making noise in the campground. The next morning as soon as we saw a sign of light we were up and packed. Talk about excited and nervous. What were we going to see?

If you have a permit you can drive to the trailhead of the Hermit trail. They never gave us the code to get through the gate so we waited until a bus was coming and got the code from them. When we got to Hermits Rest, the trailhead, we met some people from North Dakota. They were actually from Minot so I got to do some reminiscing with them about the great Air Force days. They took our picture for us before we headed down the trail.

The Canyon was nothing like you would imagine. There was green everywhere with plants growing all over the rocks and flowers of every color growing everywhere. We saw a million lizards. We saw squirrels, chipmunks, Birds of ever kind, and lots of cactus of different types.

The trail dropped very steeply for the first mile then went along the canyon wall. You could only see the trail in front of you for about thirty yards tops at a time. It curved around the walls and there was a surprise around every corner. Sometimes you would catch a glimpse of it along the wall across from you or below you. You were walking anywhere from five to twenty feet from the cliffs edge as you wandered. That safety distance was steep down hill as well. The drop offs were anywhere from 500 to over 1000 foot drops. You could see the Tonto trail level of the canyon way out in front of you, but when were we going to go down?

We came to a shelter at Santa Maria Spring. It's a little hut in the side of the cliff with a trough that the spring ran into. Good resting place for the climb back out. There was one spot on the trail that I looked everywhere and we had a clear shot of the trail. I told Lora this was a good spot to use the bathroom. She got behind a bush and I was going off the side of the cliff. I looked down the cliff and a guy was looking back at me. The trail switched back under us. Oops! I told you that you couldn't see the trail.

The next major downhill drop was at the Cathedral Stairs. Steep switch backs and we dropped and dropped. Then the trail winded down to the Tonto trail. Everyone we passed were friendly to us and everyone spoke English. Up on the rim you couldn't find an American if you had too.

Finally we got a glimpse of the Colorado river. The Colorado river was in a canyon of its own. It's 950 feet down to the river off steep cliffs. If you were rafting, and we did see rafts, you would never see the whole canyon unless you did some hiking.

The next two and a half miles to Monument Creek on the Tonto trail was more like rolling hills. The heat started beating us during this section and there was no place to go for shade. We did find one spot where two rocks were leaning on each other with a shadow that we took refuge in.

The trail dropped into the creek gorge and we got to see the Monument of Monument Creek. A large stone tower that stands in the middle of the river gorge. From here it was right close to camp. There were two girls in camp already that were hiding in the shade of the canyon. There was a three seated toilet at the campground that was interesting. We set up our tent and I put my tarp over it to try to get some shade. We cleaned up in the creek which felt really good and relaxed for the evening. There was only one other group of campers that came into camp that night. The night cooled off and we got to enjoy the stars. No campfires allowed in the canyon.

The next morning we left the tent set up and hiked down to the Colorado river. It had a nice sandy beach and with the rapids right there it made waves come up on the shore. Yes, we had to get in. It was cold. It was very pretty down there at the river, like a little paradise. After we got our water fix we hiked back up to camp and then took the Tonto trail further East.

The day warmed up, but the wind kept us cooled off. Sometimes it almost blew us off the trail, but most of the time it was a gentle breeze. We headed past the Cedar Spring campsite which wasn't hitting on much and on to Salt Creek campground. The Salt Creek Gorge is beautiful and rugged. We ate lunch in that area and then hiked on to the furthest edge of the Salt Creek Gorge. We decided that this was far enough for one day and headed back to camp. On the way back we got to see some white and orange spots on the river below which were rafts.

When we got back to camp we got to relax in the gentle gail force winds. Later that evening there was another group of four that came in and camped on the other side of the campground. That night we got rain off and on all night long.

We got up the next morning and headed out. About the time that we got to Hermit trail it started to rain, but didn't rain long. It was breezy and cold on the hike out. Some of the hikers we passed were telling us about the snow and hail they had on the rim. Sure enough we got snowed on. The last mile out of the canyon we had to step it up because we could hear thunder and didn't want to get caught on the side of a cliff in a storm. After we got up to the rim it cleared up and we could look down into the canyon and see where we had hiked. We did the tourist thing and then headed back to Phoenix for the night.

The next morning we flew back to Nashville and drove home.

Pictures:

Smokemont

2011-05-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

Day One: 3.6
Bradley Fork 1.25
Chasteen Creek to Campsite #48 2.4

Day Two: 8.2
Chasteen Creek to Enloe Creek 2.0
Enloe Creek to Hyatt Ridge 3.6
Hyatt Ridge to #44 2.6

Day Three: 8.0
Hyatt Ridge to Beech Gap 0.9
Beech Gap to Balsam Mt. 5.3
Balsam Mt. to Laurel Gap shelter 1.8

Day Four: 11.7
Balsam Mt. to AT 6
AT to Pecks Corner 5.3
Hughes Ridge to Peck's shelter 0.4

Day Five: 9.1
Hughes Ridge to Bradley Fork 1.8
Bradley Fork to Smokemont 7.3

Total Miles: 40.6

Well we again went from plan A to plan B. We had a five day hike planned starting on Thursday. Wednesday on the way through Woodbury going to work, I had waves coming down the road at me in the heavy rain. The water was getting deep and the radio was saying that Rutherford County was having the worst storms. It just happens to be where I was heading to. This was only the beginning of a long day. The storms were going to get worse.

The most tornadoes to hit in one day in history......wow! After working storm damage at work I headed home the next morning. The last conversation with Lora was when I told her it was all clear on the radar. The phone wasn't working at the house that morning. Finally I got a call from her telling me she didn't know how I was going to get up the mountain as the tornado damage has blocked the way I usually come up the mountain. Four people had died less than a quarter mile from our home and damage was massive. Lora had visited the basement while this was going on, but had no idea that the tornado had hit so close and so much damage had occurred. She found out when she drove down the road to get a cell signal. I got another call from her just before I got to the mountain and the police had told her they had cleared enough road to get one car at a time up the mountain.

I got the generator running as Lora grabbed food from her Mom's and sisters houses. With no damage at home other than replanting a couple of bushes, we loaded up some saws and headed out to help the neighbors. Most of them were waiting for the insurance people. We ended up just collecting belongings from fields and bringing what ever we thought was important back to the people it belonged to. Afterwards, since we didn't have any power and it would be days before we got it back, we decided to go ahead with our hike. We took our generator and food to Lora's parents and headed to the Smokys. On the way, Lora looked at her phone and said "What? 5:30pm already?"

We registered at 8:11pm. We left out of Smokemont. We had planned on hiking the Smokemont Loop today, but since it was now dark we hiked the 3.6 miles in to campsite #48. It was a beautiful night and the stars were shining so we left off the rainfly and slept under the stars. We woke up with the splashing of water in our faces. AHHHHH it's raining. I got up, grabbed the rainfly, and deployed. The rain had stopped before I got the rainfly strapped down. Oh well.

The next morning we got up ate breakfast and headed down Chasteen Creek going towards Enloe Creek. Lots of uphill this morning. We saw a black bear just up hill from us digging at a fallen tree. He turned and looked at us, then walked up to the trail above and ran off. When I took a step forward a turkey flew off. He was about twenty feet downhill. It's going to be a good day. These are some beautiful trails.

When we got to Hyatt Ridge trail we saw four Yankees at the junction. We knew they were from the North when they didn't return our "hello's." When we got to campsite #44 there was already a tent in the premo site, so we had to set up at the group site. Campsite #44 is a pretty site with a spring flowing through it. After we set up the tent, cleaned up, and collected firewood, the two guys who had the other tent showed up. They came up from the creek and had been fishing all day. No, we didn't see any fish. Later on one other backpacker showed up. He collected water and went back down the trail. Lora and I sat by the fire and enjoyed the stars.

The next morning we hiked down the Beech Gap trail where we took a lunch break at the Straight Fork river and aired out our tent and bags. After lunch we past our first hiker of the trip as we started the steep climb up to Beech Gap. On the way up we passed three Benton Mackaye hikers that were hiking the Smoky Mountain section.

When we got to Beech Gap we took a well deserved rest in the meadow. We saw a group of seven backpackers come up that were heading to Laurel Gap shelter as well. At the shelter we ended up with ten people from North Carolina, Indiana, and Florida. Here we also made the rookie mistake of leaving our food in the shelter while all these people were around as we fetched water and cleaned up. When we got back we found that a mouse had attacked the food bags. Not too much damage luckily.

We did kick up a Grouse on the way to the spring and heard more the next morning. Our time at the shelter was spent socializing with our many backpacking brothers. One even had a guitar and played some songs for us. He didn't know "Rocky Top."

We did have fun with their "Fire Master." He broke out the old flint, shaved some off, got a spark, and was blowing like hell. In between he asked how I started one. I told him with lint and a lighter. He gave me that surprised look and ask the golden question; "You have a lighter?" After saying yes, one of his fellow hikers said that he had one too. Mystified he asked his partner why he didn't tell him this the night before. "You didn't ask!"

The next morning after saying our good byes, we hiked the easy Balsam Mt. ridge to the Appalachian Trail. We got to see some Juncos flying from their nests on the trail. Once we hit the AT we met backpackers. Three Ladies just hiking the Smoky Mountain section and eighteen thru-hikers heading to Maine. This is just on the 5.3 miles that we hiked. We enjoyed the views as always. This is what I consider the most beautiful part of the Smoky Mountains.

When we got to Pecks Corner shelter there were three hikers there already. These men were from Kentucky and one recognized the "Outcasts". He had read our hikes on the Sheltowee Trace. By dark we had ten hikers total, two of which were thru-hikers. Some of the hikers had also climbed Half Dome like Lora had. We had some wonderful conversations throughout the evening and in the morning as well. We did get a phone signal that night up by the privy that one of the hikers tip us off to. We had gotten power back the afternoon before.

After saying our goodbyes we headed down the Hughes Ridge trail and took the Bradley Fork trail back to Smokemont. Talk about a wildflower hike. These are some great trails.

Pictures:

Easter Weekend Backpack in the Smokies

2011-04-27T12:11:00.000-07:00

Diane planned a three day weekend trip in the Smokies and 5 ladies said “I want to go!” I met up with all of them in Crossville at the Cracker Barrel. They drove from Nashville (Diane, Sue, Gloria Dale, and Nancy) and the ‘Boro (Sara). My sweetheart drove into the parking lot just before we took off. He was heading to Maryville to spend the weekend with his mom and dad, and I needed a hug before hitting the trails. We all took off for the mountains.

We stopped at the Subway at the Sevierville exit and then joined the millions of cars heading into the Smokies. Diane whipped out the road map and found 416 to Greenbriar. Yeah! No driving thru Pigeon Forge!!!! We got off 416 onto 321 just outside the road leading into the Porter’s Creek Trail. Lots of folks were along the river enjoying the pretty weather and holiday weekend. Lots of cars at the trailhead. We jumped out and sat down to eat our Subway sandwiches; then off we went.

Porter’s Creek Trail is one of the most popular trails well known for spring wildflowers and there were bunches! We saw so many different kinds: Yellow Trillium, Showy Orchis, Dwarf Crested Iris, Pink Lady Slippers, Phlox, Wild Geranium, violets, one of the violets has two different blooms on it; one purple, one white. So pretty. The Pink Lady Slippers drew quite and audience, fancy cameras and tripods set up waiting for the light to be just right. More flowers: Sweet Cecily, Toothwort, Fringed Phacelia, Squaw Root, Brook Lettuce, Torch Grass, and Frasier’s Sedge.

We checked out the old cemetery and saw the remains of a rusted old car. We passed Fern Falls, I got a picture of the falls waiting for everyone to cross the slippery rocks. We hiked to the campsite at the end of the trail and took a short break. It’s so cool to look up at Charlie’s Bunion looming over you. This is a great campsite and pretty. There were Painted Trilliums blooming close by. We were reading the trail description and some wanted to know where Fern Falls was; I told them we passed it on the way up and would make sure they saw it on the way down. We spotted Umbrella Leaf coming back down the trail.

Back at the trailhead we drove back to 321 and went to Greenbriar Island Campground to set up for the night. Sara brought a six person tent and it worked out perfect for our crew.
Watched the stars pop out and got a good night’s sleep.
Day one 7.2 miles

We got up early packed up and took one car to the Bullhead Trailhead, and drove back to Porter’s Creek. Looked at the wildflower show again on the way to the Brushy Mountain Trail. We stopped long enough to check out the old SMHC cabin built 1934-1936, a big barn and the spring house. Lot of history here. Then it was up, up, up the trail. And it started getting WARM. We noticed lots of piles of rocks on both sides of the trail, left from old settlements. We saw more wildflowers that we didn’t see yesterday: golden ragwort, chickweed, and lots of buttercups. There was an old washtub and a collapsed chimney at an old homesite.

When we got to the trail junction for Trillium Gap we took a long lunch break resting from the climb. 5 of us went on to the end of the Brushy Mt. trail while 1 watched our packs; she had already hiked this part before. The view from the top was of the towns below and sand myrtle was blooming along the way. Then up Trillium Gap. We found Ramps, nice oniony smell, lots of Spring Beauty, Trout Lily, and Bead Lily. We have now walked from late spring back into early spring wildflowers. We had great views of Brushy Mt. and Mt. LeConte going up. This is the trail the llamas are used to take supplies to and from the Mt. LeConte Lodge. We found evidence. I think they are trained to all go at the same spot on the trail. One poops, they all poop.

We made it to the top by 4 pm and found the shelter. Oh no! The door to the privy was lying on the ground. Anyone at the shelter can wave at you while you potty.

We walked back down to the Lodge and pumped our water. Rested for a while and then Yoga time. Stretch out those muscles. Thanks Diane and Nancy for Yoga class. We walked up to Cliff Tops to see the sunset with all the people from the Lodge. It was windy and sort of cloudy; the sunset was beautiful and made pink and orange swirls.
Day two 10 miles

I woke up sometime thru the night to look at the stars. Seems like you can reach up and touch them. I woke up at daylight and jumped out of my sleeping bag; I wanted to see the sunrise from Myrtle point. I hiked maybe ¼ mile past the shelter and there’s the sun! It rises earlier on the mountain top? It was cloudy on the horizon so the sun was shining thru the multi colored clouds. What a glorious Easter sunrise!

Back at the shelter everyone was up and cooking breakfast. The Easter Bunny showed up with treats for all and hopped along the trail with us the rest of the day.

We started down Bullhead Trail and down it is. Lots of pretty views going down. We got to the Pulpit and took a short break studying the trail description so we wouldn’t miss seeing the head of the Bull. Found it. Well, a couple of the ladies found it and spent some time trying to help some of us see it too. I think I saw it. Then on down we hiked to a rock house and stopped for lunch.

Just around the bend was another rock house, more room for sitting, and not as damp inside. Oh well. We finally made it back to level ground and to the parking lot. Picked up the other car at Porter’s Creek and headed back to I 40. Back in Crossville we ate supper at the Cracker Barrel and then headed for home.
Day three 7.6 miles
Total miles 24.8

Six Wild Wacky Wonderful Women Walking in the Woods, Watching for Wildflowers!

Pictures:

White Oak Sinks

2011-04-24T09:13:00.000-07:00

I wanted to spend some time with my parents over Easter weekend. I was off Friday and Saturday to I went to the Ponderosa after work. We spent the day cleaning up brush from several trees that my parents had to have taken down. We got quite the fire going as we hauled piles of limbs over to burn. That night after a good dinner of fish from a local restaurant we had a serious game of cards, which Granny and myself won two out of three games.

The next morning we head to the mountains and did a five mile hike in and out to the White Oak Sinks. It is not on the official trail map but is off the Schoolhouse Gap trail. There is a water fall and cave in the sink area and this time of year all kinds of flowers.

After we got back we had a wonderful Easter dinner before I had to head home. Happy Easter to all of you out there.

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Sugarland Mt.

2011-04-18T08:54:00.000-07:00

Jakes Creek 0.6 Miles
Cucumber Gap 2.4
Little River 0.4
Husky Gap 0.3 Campsite 21
Husky Gap 0.3
Little River 1
Goshen Prong 2
Little River 1
Husky Gap 0.3
Day One Total: 8.3 Miles
Husky Gap 1.8
Sugarland Mt. 4.1
Rough Creek 2.8
Little River 4.6
Day Two: 13.3 Miles

Lora and I headed out for an overnighter. We hiked out of Elkmont in the Smoky Mountains. We parked a car at the Little River trailhead and hiked to the Jakes Creek trailhead.

It was a beautiful day and after the rain the day before, the rivers and creeks were swollen. We ended up wading about five times over the two days.

We saw people out on Jakes trail and Cucumber Gap trail checking out the wildflowers. They were all warning us about the water crossing on Cucumber Gap. Lora said the water was below freezing, but I didn't see any ice. She does a cute dance trying to get the feelings back in her feet and legs after each crossing.

When we got on Little River trail the river was running like I have never seen it before. Wow, what a current. When we got to the bridge there were four kayakers getting in the river. We had to stop and watch them as they headed out. It would be a wild ride for sure.

We had a bit of confusion on Campsite #21. When we got to Husky Gap it said it was 0.3 miles up the trial. According to the trail description it was supposed to be on the Sugarland trail which would be another 2.5 Miles down the trail. Well, we set up camp and then did a day hike up Little River and the Goshen Prong trails.

When we got back to camp we ate dinner and enjoyed an evening by the campfire. There were four other people that camped in the same campground.

The next morning we got up early and got to hiking. The weather was great and we got some good views going up Husky Gap and on Sugarland Mt. After we got on Sugarland Mt. trail we found the other campsite #21. It still has the bear bag cables and fire pits and is marked 21. Oh well.

Lora did teach me and a couple of other guys on the trail about Tea Berry. A little red berry that is eatable and taste pretty good.

On the other side of Sugarland Mt. we got some great views of Mt. LeConte and the Chimney Tops. We started down Rough Creek trail when we stopped for lunch in a sunny spot.

Rough Creek drops down in the valley and is a beautiful trail. We did a few crossings of Rough Creek which cooled the old feet down. We came out of one crossing and we walked through some mud. There was a small ditch full of water running next to the trail, so I got Lora's attention and said lets wash off the mud here. As I stepped off the trail I noticed that there didn't seem to be a bottom to this ditch. Actually my foot sunk a little over a foot deep in the mud. As I looked down the trail for my sidekick that is always there ready to help me, I didn't see her. I looked down and thought at first that she might have tripped. Then I noticed the tears in her eyes were not tears of pain. As she was holding her sides and rolling on the ground a distinct sound of laughter came to my ears. Seeing that she was in no condition to help me I pulled, and I pulled, and I pulled, until finally my foot came free. Lora was trying to breath at this time and I slowly collected up my pride that I had spilt on the ground. We continued on.

There were a couple of people at campsite #24 as we hiked by. Of cource as we got closer to the trailhead we saw more and more people out looking and taking pictures of the wildflowers. Here goes the list: Yellow, pink, and painted Trilliums; Showy Orchis; Wild Geraniums; Star Chickweed; Wild Ginger; Foam Flower; Bishops Cap; Fringed Phacelia; Bellwort; Trout Lily; Spring Beauty; Bluets; Purple and Yellow Violets; Squaw Root; Blue Cohosh; Brook Lettuce; Frasier Sedge; Toothwort; Wild Brue Phlox; and Tea Berry.

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Trail Maintenance

2011-04-12T07:34:00.000-07:00

Sunday 4/10 Trail Maintenance
Nance Jo scheduled a work day for the Soddy TTA adopted trail section so after church I drove to Hotwater Road to join the work crew. I started up the trail with a rake, hand saw and clippers. A lot of this section had already been raked by the Soddy crew; last Sunday was when I saw Nance Jo raking. Walking up the trail to find the others, I got to see the wildflower show. Yellow trilliums, bluets, violets, phlox. and what I thought was really early honeysuckle. Later I was corrected by Caroline who told me that was pinkster. Alrighty then. Then I found a few fire pinks blooming by the trail.
When I caught up to the others, I had smelled the fresh dirt for a while and could see how hard they had already been working. Nance Jo, Cat, and Caroline were raking up a storm. I found a spot and got busy realizing quickly that forgettin to bring your work gloves wasn't very smart. Oh well, I did have my first aid kit so I wrapped my thumb with moleskin and kept on raking. Someone told me once that blisters build character. Hmmmm. Caroline didn't like the looks of a dead tree by the trail and started trying to push it over. As it waved back and forth the top broke loose and bopped me on the noggin. I must be hard headed cause it didn't hurt. I did pick up the broken pieces and get them off the trail. Think I'll get up ahead of Caroline and work the other way. We found a good stopping spot and Nance Jo marked our progress. Start here next time. We clipped as we hiked back toward the trailhead stopping long enough to saw a fallen tree and drag it off the trail.
When we got to the trailhead Caroline spotted a dwarf crested iris on the bank right behind the vehicles. So pretty hiding there all by its self.

I know the Soddy crew appreciates any rakers that show up to work. Come out and see the trail sometime!

Fall Creek Falls

2011-04-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday 4/9/11 Fall Creek Falls

I drove to FCF to hike with Upper Cumberland TTA. Weatherman says it's gonna be a hot one-bring a hat and sunscreen!

The original plan was to hike the Upper Overnight Loop but that changed when the Ranger said turkey hunt--hunters with weapons. Plan B Lower Loop. We checked out Cane Creek Falls by the Nature Center. The sunshine on the mist from the falls made a pretty rainbow. We dropped one car at Piney Falls and drove the others to the maintenance shed overnight parking area. We sprayed down with deet - it's tick season you know-and started thru the woods. Eleven of us with Margaret leading the way. Some campers were at the first campsite, people out taking advantage of the warm weather. First snake sighting--a black snake coiled up asking us to not bother him; not a problem for me, I don't mind taking a wide berth. We saw several yellow violets and the leaves of puttyroot, pipsissiwa, and rattlesnake plantain in the woods. I was so looking forward to the wildflower show. We had a lady with us that knows her flowers and was a wealth of info for inquiring minds. I was carrying my wildflower guide but couldn't walk and read at the same time. But it did come in handy for verifying some of what I found when we stopped. We started down into the gorge and WOW the wildflowers were everywhere. It began with blue violets and phlox, then star chikweed, buttercups, green violets, white and purple violets. Next was hepatica, tall larkspur, anomone, bluets and cumberland spurge. We also spotted a woodpecker as it briefly landed on a tree and then took off again.

We stopped for lunch at the bottom of the gorge by the creek. Thanks to all the rain lately the creek was beautiful and guess what- more wildflowers; pennywort, jack-in-the-pulpit, white and yellow trilliums, and violet wood sorrel. Good food and some dark chocolate covered almonds (thanks Steve) got us ready to climb out of the gorge. And see more wildflowers. Purple phacelia all over the rocky hillside, blue cohosh and squaw root.

It's quite a climb up to campsite 2 and it was getting WARM! Found a stream and wet our bandannas and hats to cool down. Got to watch out for overheating, rest stops and lots of water!. I have only been on this trail one other time and the creek was dry then. I had never seen the waterfall at the top of the gorge. It was pretty cool. When we got to it, a few of our hikers stood under it to cool off.

When we got to campsite 2 there was a backpacker already set up for camp. The pump was working so we filled up our water bottles and sat down for a little while to cool off. Then on thru the woods. Piney Falls was really putting on a show, more water coming over than I've ever seen and I've seen it many times thru the years. Five of our hikers drove out from here and the rest of us hiked on to Fall Creek Falls where the others met us with a couple more cars. We decided it was getting too late for us to walk back to the maintenance shed. We had to see the waterfall. It was beautiful- 256 feet high- highest one east of the Rocky Mountains. YES we're proud of our Tennessee State Parks. I got a ride back to the parking area to get my car.

When I drove back thru Pikeville I checked to see if there was still singing going on at the John Ross House. They had performances all day and I was hoping to catch some of it. Carrie Hassler was just ending her set and the other performers were about to have a jam session. They call themselves the Sequatchie Valley All Stars and they played Southern Rock- a little Skynyrd, Hank Jr, Jackson Brown, and some Eagles. Watched the sunset and then headed home. Beautiful hike and a beautiful day.

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Soddy Gorge

2011-04-12T07:32:00.000-07:00

CT Soddy Gorge Lora
Sunday April 3
I met up with Diane and friends from Nashville and M'Boro to hike the Soddy Gorge section. We left one car at the 111 exit and then the 5 of us piled into the Outcastmobile and drove to Hotwater Road to begin our hike. Yellow trilliums greeted us at the trailhead. Birdsong was the music for the day and we had a bird enthusiast hiking with us identifying the birds. We warmed up quickly shedding layers and zipping off pant legs.

The views from the trail are pretty- you can see Soddy Lake and further out towards the river. Seeing the trees starting to put on leaves
makes you really appreciate spring. Dogwoods are starting to bloom and the redbuds. The streams were flowing down the hillsides and dripping off the rock walls. Lots of rain lately. Creek crossings could be interesting today. We were noticing that someone had been cleaning the trail and I said it had to be the Soddy Chapter. This is their adopted trail section to do maintenance on. Yep there's Nancy Jo raking and doing a great job. We stopped to talk and compliment her on a job well done. This was the same area I was helping rake 2 years ago when some backpackers came thru and stopped to talk to us. When they told us they were firefighters from Murfreesboro who backpacked together, I recognized they were the Outcasts. I had been reading their trail blog. That's where I first met Craig.

We got to Deep Creek and looked at the crossing. Someone has stretched a rope from the middle of the creek to the other side. Getting to the rope was going to be a problem as the water was high and rushing over the rock just before the rope. Hmmmm. Maybe go up the creek a little and find a shallow spot to cross. We thought we could make it and wondered how slick the rocks would be. Only one way to find out....boots off, crocs on.( Outcast training) I crossed the creek and was waiting for everyone to follow. Only no one did, so I crossed back and after the feeling came back in my feet, put my boots back on and we backtracked to the roadbed above the creek to have lunch and figure out what to do. We decided to hike back to the Outcastmobile and try to come in from the other end of the trail.

Drove back to 111 and started walking, it was already 3 pm so we decided to walk in about an hour and then come back out. After walking along beside a fence for a while we started down a hill and saw this would be a good place to come back when the blackberries get ripe. Getting back into tree cover was nice, the temperature had gotten up a bit. We came to the creek crossing and saw where a crew had been working on a log bridge. I think this was the Eagle Scout project Tony and Ann Hook were supervising the day before. It's looking good. We hiked to a beautiful shady spot by Board Camp Creek and made good use of the big log laying by the trail. We sat for a few minutes resting and took a group pic. It was getting late so we hiked back to 111 where Diane and crew headed back towards M'Boro and Nashville and I headed back to the mountain.

Beautiful hiking day. Diane, maybe we can cross the creek next time. And maybe even cross Soddy Creek without me going in for another swim.

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Snow Pocket Wilderness

2011-04-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

Lora and I were going to see our Nephew's concert in Dayton. We had some extra time in the morning so we went to the Snow Pocket Wilderness Area and did a hike in and out. It was a beautiful day and the wild flowers were out.

After our hike we went to the park in Dayton and watched our Nephew's band "The Red Letter Apostles" play. They were very impressive with some great songs.

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Rock Creek- Cumberland Trail

2011-03-28T09:46:00.000-07:00

Lora and I hiked the Rock Creek section of the Cumberland trail. Our origanal plan of doing an overnighter in the Smoky Mountains got changed due to weather.

This section lies between the Possum Creek Section and the Laurel Snow Segment of the Cumberland Trail. It has 9.6 miles of through-trail and associated side trails near and in Rock Creek Gorge. This is the northern-most section in the Three Gorges Segment of the Cumberland Trail, which altogether contains 36.2 miles of trail.

We parked at the lower trailhead on Leggett Road and hiked the connector trail to the Cumberland trail. Then we hiked the Cumberland trail to Retro Hughes Road, took a break and hiked back to the Loop trail coming back out at the upper trailhead on Leggett Road. A total of 12.9 miles.

With all the rain we've had lately, the water falls and cascades were beautiful. There were alot of different wild flowers out as well.

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Greenbriar Pinnacle

2011-03-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

Greenbriar Pinnacle March 19

I went to the GSMNP to hike to the Greenbriar Pinnacle. The drive into the trailhead at Ramsey Cascade was beautiful, the sun was trying to peak thru and the Middle Prong of the Little Pigeon River was rushing over the rocks. Lots of fishermen on the river today.

I met up with the Upper Cumberland TTA hikers at the trailhead. Ten of us started up the trail stopping by the entrance to see the bloodroot starting to bloom, along with some yellow violets. First of the spring wildflowers!

At mile 1.5 you come to where the Ramsey Prong meets the Little Pigeon and we turned left on the Old Greenbriar Pinnacle Trail. It was beautiful in the forest, there was a LOT of rhododendren and mountain laurel that will be covering the trail with blooms later. We climbed over several huge trees across the trail on the way up, and under some and around some.....

It looked as if we were hiking up into a cloud, wondered if we would get to see a view from the pinnacle or not. We stopped where some logs were down for a good lunch. Thanks to Carol for the Thin Mints (next time we want Samoas) and Steve for the dark chocolate covered almonds. Just as we got almost to the overlook, the sky cleared and wow! The overlook was awesome. Picture time. We climbed on up to where the old fire tower used to be for a short break and hanging out talking, then started down the mountain. Isn't it amazing how the trail looks so different going the opposite way? A couple of our hikers started down first and got turned around on the trail, instead of under a downed tree and sharp right, they went straight. 3 of us started down after them but never caught them. We didn't know they had taken a wrong turn, thank goodness they had a whistle and got the attention of the others in the group who guided them back to the trail. I know, I know, everyone stay together!!!

The sun was shining and I could see some blue sky between all the clouds. We got to see a few old growth trees and one really huge one right by the trail, tree hugging time. Down at the junction we saw a few people heading up the trail and chatted with them. You wonder why anyone would hike in rubber crocks and where is their water bottle?

At the trailhead the bloodroot had all opened up in the sunshine. After everyone got off the trail, I said goodby andI drove toward the Ponderosa. On the Foothills Parkway, all the pulloffs were crowded with people trying to see that huge full moon. Saw lots of cameras set up and one telescope. The moon looked like you could reach up and touch it.
At the Ponnderosa I had a great hamburger and visited with Craig's Mom and Dad before turning in.

After we went to church Sunday morning Craig and Marco drove from the Boro to the Ponderosa to do an overnight with Craig's Dad. Tagteam hikers.

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Grandbaby Day

2011-03-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

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Oregon 2011

2011-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

Lora and I flew out to see the girls in Oregon. We had a great time. We did some snowmobiling and some short hikes in the woods. There was 70 inches of snow on the mountain.

Pictures:

Cedars Of Lebanon

2011-02-14T10:50:00.001-08:00

Hidden Springs Trail 5.0
Limestone Sinks Trail 0.5
Dixon Merrit Trail 0.5

Day two of the weekend. We hiked Cedars of Lebanon State Park. We started with the Hidden Springs Trail. The weather had warmed up enough that we were hiking in mud as everything had thawed out. This trail goes through limestone glades in the cedar forest. There are Limestone sinks, caves, and rocky outcrops. The Hidden Springs were down in a cave that you can hear running down through the opening. This is a very popular trail and we saw many people out hiking and running.

The Limestone Sinks Trail is actually attached to the Hidden Springs Trail. A spur does go out to the road, but there is no sign showing a trail head. It is pretty much the same as the rest of the terrain.

The Dixon Merrit Trail is hidden behind the nature center by Hermit Cave. Hermit cave was explained to us a fenced in enclosure. When we found it, it fit the description. There is a fence around a wooden fence around the opening of the cave. Pretty much a hole in the ground. The Trail is more of the same.

We had a good day of hiking.

Pictures:

Long Hunter State Park

2011-02-14T10:40:00.000-08:00

Couchville Lake Trail 2.0
Day Loop Trail 4.0
Volunteer Trail 5.5

Lora and I hiked at Long Hunter State Park today. We started out with the Couchville Lake Trail, which is a paved two mile trail around the Couchville lake. Every time I have been on this trail I have seen deer. The deer are not scared of people and usually just watch you go by. This is the first time I have hiked here that the lake was frozen over. Someone had actually drove some type of vehicle out on the ice. I'm not sure how that went as the tracks just stop out in the middle. This two mile trail passes by sinkholes, through hardwood forest, and crosses the lake on a 300 foot bridge.

After hiking the Couchville trail we headed over to the Day Loop and hiked it. The weather was warming up and the trail is beautiful. We stopped and had a snack on the bench overlooking the lake. When we got to the split where the Volunteer Trail comes in, we decided it was early enough that we could hike down towards the campground. We passed our first hiker on the way out towards the camp. We stopped along the lake shore and ate lunch. After lunch we hiked on to about two miles shy of the campground. Here we got to listen to a couple of Barred owls talking to each other. There were numerous different birds to see including some blue birds.

We turned and headed back. On the way out we past seven backpackers that were going to spend the night. We finished the Day Loop on the way out to the car.

This is a beautiful park to hike.

Pictures:

Virgin Falls

2011-02-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

Virgin Falls
I hiked with Marnel Cothran from Upper Cumberland TTA for her 100th hike at Virgin Falls. I met up with Pokey Pete and crew at Sparta for the drive to the parking area. Good thing, cause it got crowded. There were 21 hikers there to go with Marnell; plus other hikers including two firefighters from Cookville. It was a little cold and overcast but we warmed up as we got into the woods. One group hiked up to the overlook with Marnel and Lillian leading the way. The other group went ahead to the falls.

There was a lot of water coming over Laurel Falls; it was beautiful and so was Sheep Cave Falls, one group went up to the top, one group went on. We all met up when we got to Virgin Falls; alas no fire was burning in the fire pit. Several people said they had never seen this much water spilling over the falls. We had lunch and again broke into smaller groups to hike out.

When we got to Laurel Falls we took a different route along an old road bed and came out at the road leading to Welch’s Point and the party waiting for us to get there. The crew at Welches point had a warm fire built and hot water warming up for coffee and hot chocolate. Marnel brought brownies to share and others had brought along veggies and fruit and cheese and chips and dip….. One of the ladies was with Marnel for her very first hike to Virgin Falls.

We walked out to the Point for the view and it is spectacular. You had to brace against the howling wind and not get close to the edge (Steve this means you).

It was a great day for hiking and wonderful to celebrate with Marnel.

Pictures:

Ijams Nature Center

2011-01-30T09:37:00.000-08:00

North Cove Trail
River Trail
Toll Creek Loop
Tharp Trace 1.1
Pink Marble Trail 0.4
Imerys Trail 0.75
Ross Marble Quarry Loop 0.25
Hayworth Hollow 0.1
Amber Trail 1.4
Hickory Trail 0.75
South Cove Trail
Beech Trail
Universal Trail

Lora and I decided to do a little hiking, so downtown Knoxville we went. Where else would you go to see some good nature? We went to the seed swap at Ijams Nature Center. Once a year they get together and do a wildflower seed swap at the visitor center. They also have cookies and apple juice.

Ijams Nature Center was started by the Ijams family who started with just their house. Now it has grown to a 275 acre natural area with hiking trails, a museum / zoo, shop, and class rooms. They have a Red Tail Hawk and Turkey Buzzard in cages too. The Will Skelton Greenway passes through it along Island Home Ave.

After we went to the seed swap and collected the goods, we hit the trail. We took the North Cove Trail to the River trail, which goes through the woods to a board walk that is along a bluff wall on the Tennessee River. We took a side loop trail along Toll Creek and then headed to the Mead's Quarry Lake. This is a 25 acre lake which fills in the old rock quarry. They have a trail that goes all the way around it. There is one overlook that you can see Mt. LaConte over in the Smokey's. From there we took the Pink Marble Trail that leads down to the lake and a observation deck and cave.

After that we hiked the Imerys Trail, which is a gravel road, to the Ross Marble Quarry. Here they have a large rock bridge with a key hole at the bottom that you can go through and down to the bottom of the quarry. Then we hiked the Hayworth Hollow trail down into a Quarry gorge to some caves.

The Amber Trail and Hickory Trail wrap back and forth though the woods and wetlands. These trails were built by the Appalachian Mountain Bike Club. We hiked back on the South Cove Trail and Beech Trail to the Universal Trail.

This park is very popular and is dog friendly. We saw more different types of dogs that you would see at a dog show. We had a great day and enjoyed the trails. When we got back to the visitor center, they had the Red Tail Hawk out and were giving a class about it so we stopped and listened.

Pictures:

Dale Hollow Lake Eagle Watch

2011-01-24T10:55:00.000-08:00

According Bluff Trail 7.5 miles
Day one: 4 miles
Day two: 11 miles

Lora and I decided to attend the Dale Hollow Lake Eagle Watch put on by the Nashville District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They take you out on a barge to see the bald eagles of Dale Hollow Lake. It's a three hour ride they do for free. The Friends of Dale Hollow Lake serve refreshments while your out on the water.

After we got to the lake we found out that the Tennessee Trails Association were doing a four mile hike after the tour. This is a beautiful lake and has the largest small mouth bass record.

We all got on the barge and we headed out. They had a small spotter boat from the Kentucky State Police that helped out finding the Eagles. It didn't take long and they had us hooked up. We got to see five different eagles and a couple of hawks while we were out.

After the trip, we ate lunch and then joined the TTA for a hike on the Accordian Bluff Trail starting on the Willow Grove side. We hiked two miles in and then back out. After saying good-bye, Lora and I headed to the Cove Creek primitive camping area. They have 34 primitive camping areas, most of which you need a boat to get to. Yes, we did have a few concerned citizens about us camping out in "this type of weather?" We had a great time sitting by the campfire looking at the stars and listening to the owls talk. We were only disturbed a minute by some young teens that drove down to the ramp to be loud and then drove off. Sometime in the night a ranger or police drove through. I told Lora it was one of the rangers loosing a bet on us.

The next morning we went back to the Lillydale Recreation Area and hiked the Accordian Bluff Trail the opposite way so that we could get the whole trail in. We only got a few inlets over from the campground when we saw our first Eagle. As we were watching it fly, another eagle flew up. Soon another eagle joined them and they started flying off across the lake. Another eagle flew up and was circling around where the others had come from. It was amazing just to watch them fly. As we hiked on another eagle was circling around.

We continued down the trail which goes along the side of the lake. When we stopped for lunch, two red tail hawks flew over us and circled for a while. After we started down the trail again we saw a large Great Horned Owl. He would fly a little ways down the trail and then wait for us to catch up, then fly again. We continued. About half way down the trail there are two out houses off the side of the trail. They are on top of a ridge and we were trying which committee decided to place these here. There is nothing around them.

Finally we got to the place where we hiked the day before and we headed back. On the way back we got to see the owl again. We also had three different red headed woodpeckers put on a show for us. When we thought we had been blessed enough for one day, a Bald Eagle flew in and landed in a tree right next to us. Wow, what a hike. We got to see another hawk and another eagle on the way out.

Pictures:

Pickett State Park

2011-01-18T09:36:00.000-08:00

The Upper Cumberland TTA chapter hosted a hike at Pickett State Park Saturday. I met up with Pokey Pete and friends at Clarkrange. We met everyone else at the Visitor Center and 13 of us took off onto the snow covered trails. Kathleen our hike leader led us down the Natural Bridge Trail. It was so pretty in the woods with the rhododendron snow covered along with everything else. After crossing the Natural Bridge we slid, skidded and slipped down the steps to get below the bridge to see the under side. It looks pink and with the beautiful sunshine all the icicles were shimmering. The sky was so blue.

We hiked the Hazard Cave Trail, Lake View Trail, then after some snowball tossing, we took a lunch break at one of the park’s lovely cabins. Thanks Kathleen for the shrimp mold and the yummy fudge! Then back to the trails.

We hiked the Island Trail, Lake Trail and decided to check out the Ladder Trail. First ladder, bottom 3 or 4 rungs iced over, 2nd ladder, icy all over. Here we go, oh wow look up! Huge icicles hanging overhead, and melting….don’t sneeze! Everyone made it safely and on we went across the ice and along the bluff. It was a beautiful day for hiking. Thanks again Kathleen! On the drive back toward home, the sun was setting and turning the sky glorious swirling colors. Another beautiful day spent hiking with good friends.

Pictures:

Springer Mountain Hike

2011-01-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

Day One:
Appalachian Approach Trail 1 Mile
East Ridge Trail 1 Mile
Day Two:
Appalachian Approach Trail 9.5 Miles
Day Three:
Appalachian Approach Trail 2 Miles
Hike Inn Trail 6 Miles
Total: 19.5 Miles

Lora and I decided to travel to Georgia and check out Springer Mountain, the start of the Appalachian trail. We headed to Amicalola Falls State Park in Georgia where the Appalachian Approach Trail begins. It rained all the night before and all of our first day and into the night. Knowing that the rain was called for, we reserved a campsite at the campground where we could have hot showers.

After we arrived at the park and got checked in, we set up our tent and went hiking. We hiked down the 604 step staircase next to the 729 foot Amicalola Falls which is actually part of the Appalachian Approach Trail. We hike to the Visitor center and then hiked the East Ridge trail back up to the top of the falls. After that we made us some dinner and called it a night.

It finally quit raining sometime in the night and we got up, made breakfast, took a hot shower and then hit the trail. The weather was great for hiking and we saw many hikers on the trail. As the day went on the colder it got and the wind got stronger. We stopped just before Black Gap shelter for lunch and aired out equipment that was wet from the rain yesterday.

After lunch we hiked up Springer Mountain and got to see the first blaze on the Appalachian trail. It was extremely cold and windy at the summit. We hiked on to the shelter. This was the first shelter I have seen like this. It had a main floor with pegs for backpacks and then a ladder that took you up to a sleeping loft.

We checked out the two campgrounds and could not find a campsite out of the wind. A vote was taken and we hiked back down to Black Gap for the night.

After we found a place out of the wind, we set up the tent and got a campfire going. It was a beautiful night as the sky's cleared and the stars put on a show.

We got up the next morning and took the Hike Inn Trail to the Len Foote Hike Inn which is an Inn that you have to hike to since there are no roads. We stopped by to check it out. The staff was very friendly. They gave us a tour and let us have a snack and drink. We had an apple cornbread with honey that was outstanding. If you stay there they feed you dinner and breakfast doing it home style.

From there we hiked back to the car. We took pictures of the falls and the lodge since it was raining on the first day. To wet for the camera and the lodge was in a cloud.

It was a wonderful hike and we got to climb the famous Springer Mountain.

Pictures:

Savage Gulf 10 mile loop

2010-12-31T15:55:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-27T15:40:00.000-08:00

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 where 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 harts.

Pictures:

After Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T12:39:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-19T09:09:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-01T11:40:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-09-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-09T13:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-19T13:08:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-16T12:18:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-18T05:37:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-26T12:59:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-17T08:01:00.000-07:00

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

2010-04-11T12:48:00.001-07:00

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

2010-03-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-03T10:57:00.000-08:00

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.

Pictures:

Big Frog

2010-02-25T18:19:00.000-08:00

Lora and I headed out to do a five day hike in the Chattahoochee National Forest. We started out with a plan which we would need a shuttle. After doing some more figuring we came up with a plan B which would be a loop hike. We were planning on hiking from Beech Bottom, to Jack’s River, to Rough Ridge, to Sugar Cove, to Jack’s River, to the Benton MacKaye, to Hemptop, to Chestnut Mt., and a road hike back to the truck for a total of 30 miles.

We had called the ranger to check road and trail conditions and everything was fine. They said that part of Big Frog road was closed due to ice but we could still get in from the South end. After I got off shift, we headed out. TN road 221 is a dirt road with a lot of pot holes and mud. When we got to the South end of Big Frog the gate was locked so we decided to drive to the North end which we found also gated. By this time I was thinking it would really be good to have a four wheel drive as we were sliding around corners with no guard rails to stop you from plummeting over the the steep drop offs. We ended up driving to the Wolf Ridge trailhead and hiking in from there.

Plan C added another four and a half miles on our trip. We found a place to park at the actually crowded trailhead. The truck was covered in mud from our ride in. We were just happy to be on the trail and solid ground. We had decided to hike our trails the opposite direction which would put us staying on top of Big Frog Mountain the first night. As we started the climb up Wolf Ridge, we met another couple that was doing an overnight trip going up to Big Frog Mountain. When we passed them, we told them that we would see them up there.

From the ridge that we were hiking, you could see that Big Frog still had snow on it. Soon, we too were hiking in snow. When we got to the crossing of Hemp Top Ridge trail, we met the Boy scouts. This was as far as they were going. They had set up camp and had a crew going for water. There were three adults and eight scouts. They told us about an area just above them if we wanted to camp there. We told them that we were going on to the top. They weren’t sure that we would make it before dark.

The further we hiked the deeper the snow got. Luckily someone had hiked this way before us so we had footprints to follow. They do not blaze trails in this wilderness. We stopped for a snack and as we got up, the guy from the couple we passed hiked up to us and sat down for a break. This was the last time we saw them. The rest of the hike to the top was quite strenuous and the snow got up to twelve inches deep. We found the campsite that was buried in snow and set up camp. An owl talked to us while we worked. This was the first time Lora had done any snow camping and she was quite impressed with the hiking in shorts in the snow. She had seen it in magazines, but never done it. We got a fire going and enjoyed the sunset over the trees. Sometime in the night I woke to a coyote howling and then growling. I guess he saw the tent and wasn’t sure what it was. He growled a couple of times and then I didn’t hear any more from him.

Day two:

We got up and cooked breakfast just outside the tent. It was challenging enough last night making a fire with wet wood so we didn’t even try this morning. We got camp packed up and headed on down the trail. It didn’t take long for us to come to a spring so we filled our water containers up. After that the footprints that we had been following stopped and we had to do our own forging of the trail through the foot deep snow. We ended up hiking in and out of snow all day with the climbs and drops. We got our one and only phone connection at Double Springs Gap. It worked out as we had to update our people of the change in trail plans.

From there we hiked down the Benton MacKaye trail to Jacks River trail. We passed two young boys and their Labordoodle. Never seen a curly haired Lab before. They were hiking up to Big Frog so we notified them of the snow they were about to get into.

The reason we had changed directions on our trail loop was that they were calling for rain tonight and we wanted to get across Jacks River before the rain. The Ranger had said that it gets up fast and drops fast as well. Well, we got to cross it about five times. The river crossings were thigh deep and the river was running fast. The first time across I miss judged the weight of Lora and her pack. I got to the other side and turned around to find her fighting for survival in the middle of the river. I quickly went back and grabbed her as the current was trying to take her away. The second crossing I kept her within reach.

We figured that we had to be close to the Sugar Cove Trail when we saw a campsite on the other side of the river. There was nothing there to show a trail crossing or any sign telling us to cross here. We hiked a little further down the trail and came to a river crossing. After studying the map and trail description, we went back and looked at the campsite again. No sign of a crossing there so we hiked back down to the river crossing and crossed. We hiked about another half mile and saw no signs for Sugar Cove trail and went to studying the map again. It had to be back at the camp, so we hiked back, crossed the river at the crossing, and hiked to where we saw the camp and made another crossing. We found the trail. No sign anywhere.

It had been a long day with a lot of river crossings so we decided to stay at the camp by Jacks River. Besides that, according to the trail description Sugar Cove Trail is the most difficult trail to hike in the park and we were now going to hike it uphill. We got a fire going and enjoyed a quiet evening. Sometime during the night we had sleet and rain hit the tent. It never did get bad and by morning it had stopped.

Day Three:

Another morning of cooking just outside the tent and then up we went to our most challenging trail. We found a pair of pants at the bottom of the trail and then further up we found a pair of tennis shoes. We don’t know what happened, but we know he had to be going fast!

The Sugar Cove trail is overgrown and it is a challenge to stay on. It is STEEP! 730 feet of elevation change per mile. We had trouble following it without snow. It really became a challenge when we got to the snow. There is a campsite along the creek about halfway up. We topped off our water here. From there to the top was hit and miss as far as being on the trail. Finally, we knew that we were off the trail, so we just hiked up to the top of the creek and up to where the ridges merge. Here we found the Rough Ridge trail. We took a break as our hearts got back to a regular beat and had to eat some energy food.

Rough Ridge trail was a wonderful break for us to hike. We got some wonderful views from the top and by the time we got toward the end we were ready to call it a night. Lora even lay down in the middle of the trail once after a fancy trail dance. We stopped at the first campsite we came across. We had enough daylight that we could bath in the creek. We had another peaceful night by the fire.

Day Four:

The next morning we got a breakfast by the fire which was peaceful until the log we were sitting on broke in half. No food or hot chocolate was hurt during this incident.

We hiked on down to Jack’s River after a couple of fords over smaller streams. The ford over Jack’s was around chest deep. With the current, I figured that this just wasn’t going to work. Option two was to climb straight up the side of the mountain ridge and cross at the Hickory Ridge trail crossing which was one ridge over. We went for it. It was a pretty good workout, but worth it. The Hickory Ridge trail crossing was only calf deep. From here we took a 1.2 mile side trip to see Jacks River Falls. We ate lunch at the campsite just above the falls.

Beech Bottom trail is an easy hiking trail that is mostly old road bed. It is a popular trail that is used for hiking to Jacks River Falls. We forded Beech Creek and hiked on to the next creek crossing where we set up camp. This was the first night that we actually had dry feet, no snow hiking, and dry wood to burn. We even had a tree that made a comfortable love seat with a back to rest on. Too bad the wind blew the smoke in that same direction. This was also the first day that the owls didn’t talk to us.

Day Five:

We had a nice breakfast by a warm fire. We packed up and hiked to Big Frog Road. We met a couple of hikers that had parked at the trailhead there. Obviously they have opened the gate. From the trailhead on was still closed. This is where we hiked to get to the Hemp Top Trailhead. The wind was blowing ice cold on the ridge. We had some wonderful views as we hiked to Wolf Ridge. The clouds had came across the mountains and left a covering of ice on all the trees. As we drove back over the mud roads, we were glad that the mud was a little more stiff with the cold weather. This is a beautiful area and I would highly recommend this hike to anyone.

Trails:
Wolf Ridge..2.25
Hemp Top/Benton MacKaye...10.4
Jack's River..3.9
Sugar Cove..2.3
Rough Ridge..4.9
Jack's River...6
Jack's River Falls..1.2
Beech Bottom...4
Big Frog Road..2
Hemp Top..1.9
Wolf Ridge...2.25
Total: 35.7

Pictures:

North Chicamauga Creek Gorge

2010-01-02T16:10:00.001-08:00

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North Chickamauga, Cumberland Trail

2010-01-02T11:36:00.000-08:00

9 miles round trip rated moderate

Lora and I hiked the North Chickamauga segment of the Cumberland trail on a cold New Years Day. When we got to the trailhead there was one other car there. We took the upper loop on the way in. The wind was a little rough on us when it got whipping, but the rest of the time it was good hiking weather. It is pretty easy hiking until you go down the second ladder. From there to Stevens Branch campsite it is a lot of rock hopping and climbing.

At the mineshaft, we decided to check it out at least as far as you can see without lights. Glad we don't have to work in a coal mine.

Right before the first ladder, Lora and I met Tom. He said that he had hiked to the overlook and couldn't find the rest of the trail. So Lora and I decided to show him. We were quite proud as we hiked right by the first ladder and soon realized that we had lost our trail markers. When we stopped and said something to Tom, he said that we had already passed the ladder. So being the tough hikers that we where, we just climbed straight up to meet the trail at the top. This is not the suggested way of hiking this trail. On the way out Lora and I came down that ladder and it is pretty obvious that it is there. We are still not sure how we missed it as the ladder also has a walkway so there is treated lumber all up the side of the rock wall next to the trail.

Once we got back on the trail, it follows a old road way to a waterfall. There is a cable crossing and then you go down another wooden ladder to the base of the big fall. Look for the trail going down from here under the rock overhang as it is hard to find. You rock hop down to the river and campsite number one. This is where Tom left us and we continued on to Stevenson Branch campsite and waterfall. I would imagine that this part of the trail would be under water in spots during high water.

We ate lunch at Stevenson Branch campsite and then hiked out. We met quite a few folks on the way out. We even took in the overlook and used the ladder to get back down. One of the water falls down a rock wall put on a show for us with a rainbow. We also caught the sun dropping behind the other side of the gorge on film. We took the lower loop on the way back to the truck.

Pictures:

Cumberland Trail- Laural / Snow Segment

2009-12-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

9 miles- Easy with some big climbs

Lora and I hiked this Segment of the Cumberland trail. It starts at the trailhead and follows Richland Creek along an old rail bed for the first mile and a half. On this section you after you cross the first two bridges you hike right past Richland mine. The trail eventually leaves Richland creek and turns into a footpath. You climb up and take a bridge over Laurel Creek. At this point you come to the split in the trail. To the right is the trail to Laurel Falls and to the left is the trail to Snow Falls.

We hiked to Snow Falls first. You pass a large flat campsite that is right on Richland Creek. After that you cross the 60-foot metal bridge over the creek. You then start the numerous switchbacks going out of the gorge. You will be able to see Laurel Falls as you climb.

After you leave the gorge, you follow the edge to Dunn Overlook, which gives you a wonderful view of the gorge, and Laurel Falls. You then head through the woods until you cross Morgan Creek, which you have to ford. Once across Morgan Creek and get your feeling back in your feet, you will hike through another campsite and around the bend to 35-foot Snow Falls. There is a trail that will take you to the bottom if you follow the old road. It will be off to your left. Lora and I ate lunch on a flat rock at the bottom of the falls.

After lunch we headed back. We did another old fashion foot washing in Morgan Creek, which yes, it does build character. When we got back to the split we climbed the numerous switchbacks to 80-foot Laurel Falls. There are many smaller falls under Laurel Falls. It’s all down hill after this if you head back to the trailhead.

Pictures:

Obed Wild and Scenic River Trail

2009-11-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Obed Wild and Scenic River Trail…..10 Miles….Difficult
Day two:
Obed Wild and Scenic River Trail…..10 Miles….Difficult
Total Miles……20 Miles

The Obed trail is rated as extremely difficult 14-mile trail. It does have some difficult sections, but over all it is a good hiking trail. We started hiking from the Nemo Trailhead and made it to Turkey creek where we stayed the night. There is camping at the Nemo Trailhead if you wanted to get an early start the next day. We got on the trail around 10am my time which was after we stopped at the visitor center in Wartburg.

The trail starts following the Emory River and then follows the Obed River. You do not hike along the river, but rather along the bluff next to the river. So you start out going up hill. There are beautiful rock bluffs and some old mining areas. We enjoyed lunch right on the trail.

The first going down to the river is if you visit Alley Ford campsite about two miles in. After Alley Ford campsite, you really need to pay attention to the blazes as they are now few and far between and you can get off the trail as we did on a regular basis. You know the old Outcast short cuts.

You get some tricky climbing and descending parts of the trail on the way to Breakaway Bluff. Breakaway Bluff is a beautiful overlook of the Obed River. After the overlook you are hiking a lot of old roadbed and once again you must keep a look out for the markers. Yes, a few more shortcuts were taken. There are a lot of down trees along the roadbed, which you either climb or skirt around. There were plenty of water crossings this time of year, so water source was not a problem.

As we were working our way through the brush down to Turkey creek, we came across a doe that was standing by the trail just watching us. We had time to enjoy looking at her and took a picture. She wasn’t but about twenty feet from us and stayed there until after we left. It was getting time to camp, so we crossed the creek and set up camp.

It was a wonderful evening of enjoying the fire and company while watching the stars and very bright moon. You didn’t even need a light to walk around. We even had an owl talk to us.

The next morning we slept in and enjoyed camp before heading back out. We thought about hiking to the end of the trail, but decided to catch the other four miles on another trip. We took a couple more of those Outcast shortcuts on the way out. No telling how many miles we really hiked.

On the way out, we were blessed with being able to see three red tail hawks flying out over the river. We got to see squirrels, chipmunks, and woodpeckers. We hiked down to the Alley Ford campsite for lunch and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon.

After we got off the trail and had a root beer float in Wartburg, we drove to the Lilly Bluff Overlook and hiked the .3-mile trail to the overlook. It is a very nice park and they built benches and a handicap walkway at the overlook.

Pictures:

Father/Son Hike 2009

2009-10-25T16:01:00.000-07:00

Mountain to Sea Trail: A 935 Mile trail starting at Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and going to Jockey’s Ridge State Park at the Atlantic Ocean.

This year’s trip started with some excitement. Steve’s luggage didn’t arrive with him so I got the call to bring extra backpacking stuff. I arrived a little later than planned with some traffic problems. Luckily when I arrived, Steve had already retrieved his backpack from the airport.

We headed out to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center to drop the van off. This is a two and a half hour drive from the Ponderosa. We were slowed a bit by a bear jam on the other side of the road, but were blessed with seeing some Elk at the Visitor center when we arrived. There were three bulls and four cows. Of course we didn’t have a camera on any of us.

After dropping off the van, we headed back to the Ponderosa to a dinner of steak and shrimp. I had already gone with no sleep the night before on shift and then driven three hours, which turned into four and then ridden another five hours dropping off the van. I went to sleep after dinner.

We got up early the next morning and after a great breakfast, Mom took us to Clingmans Dome. This year we were planning on doing the 28-mile Smoky Mountain section of the Mountain to Sea trail. At Clingmans Dome we found that we would be hiking through some snow and ice just to make the day a little more challenging.

We had passed quite a few folks backpacking the AT and then on the Fork Ridge trail we met a couple of gals that turn out to be some seasoned hikers. Smokyscout smokyscout.blogspot.com and Danny www.hikertohiker.com. We did jump frog them a couple of times until we crossed Deep Creek where they headed on and we stayed at campground 53.

We had one of those cold fires as all the wood was wet, but we did finally get enough hot coal to stay warm. We sat around the fire checking out the stars taking cough medicine.

The next morning we got up and headed out about nine thirty that morning. We hiked down Deep Creek to Martins Gap Trail which I was excited to see was part of the Benton MacKaye trail which I have been wanting to hike. It follows along the Mountain to Sea trail until Newton Bald.

We did see some chipmunks and kicked up a grouse on the trail. We also saw a ranger on horseback doing some chainsaw work along Deep Creek.

When we got to campsite 52 we got to join a group of 14 college backpackers from Michigan. They had driven twelve hours and hiked in from Smokemont so they didn’t make it long into the evening. They did provide some entertainment, but camped on a knoll down from us.

We got a fire going with dry wood and watched as Dad showed us how to collect your Mountain House meal from the ground after spilling it. Not to let us down, he also showed us how to toss a brownie into the fire afterwards. It was of mom’s good brownies so yes, he did dive and retrieve it without burns.

Later that night or into the morning we got some rain. It did stop long enough for us to get packed up and on the trail in the morning. The rest of the day we got some mist on us, but nothing serious. We hiked down to Newfound Gap Road and the Mingus Mill. We did a quick tour of the mill and then hiked to the Oconaluftee visitor center where we did get to see another elk and had our cameras with us to take some pictures.

We got in the van and headed up Newfound Gap Road to Clingmans Dome where we were turned around as the road was blocked and they said would be for the next three hours. We had to go back to Cherokee to 40, which turned into a five-hour drive home for pizza and beer.

Pictures:

Frozen Head

2009-09-16T11:22:00.000-07:00

Day One: 8.3 Miles
I had never been to Frozen Head and wanted to do an exploratory hike to see what all was there for future hikes with my groups. After work I headed to Crossville. I had a wonderful drive to the park through the curves to the mountains.

I was originally going to park at the visitor’s center, but the lady at the desk insisted on me parking at the lot by the ranger’s house. So we started at that trailhead and hiked the Interpretive trail back to Chimney Top trail.

Our first wildlife was toads. We also saw lots of squirrels, a chipmunk, a doe, crawdads, and a bird that we think was laughing at us for most of the trip.

The climb to Chimney Top was a pretty good workout. When we got to the top, we really couldn't decide where the campsite was. There is a sign at the Chimney Top with the elevation. You could see where people have had a campfire by the overhang as well as beside the rock, but no sign or fancy table, which we found at every other site later on. There is no water source at this area.

We continued through low gap and over Little Fork Mountain to Mart Fields. This was another pretty good climb. There is a chimney there in a small grass field before you reach the actual Mart Fields campsite. Marts Fields campsite actually has a table made from a large flat rock put on wooden legs. We didn’t find any water at this site.

From Mart Fields we hiked to Spicewood Trail and then descended to Spicewood Branch campsite where we spent the first night. Spicewood campsite is right on the river, so water is no problem there. As soon as we set up camp and gathered firewood, we started getting a light drizzle. With the leaves on the trees, we could still get washed up and eat dinner. It was getting dark by this time and we called it a night as the rain got harder. Later that night the owls started talking. And they talked all night long. We figured that there were three of them and they all had a lot to say.

Day Two: 9.2 miles
We got a wonderful start to the day including breakfast. We packed up and continued down Spicewood trail. We turned on Judge Branch trail and hiked it to South Old Mac trail. The Judge Branch campsite is actually two large campsites right on the river. This would be a great spot for a group camping area. Judge Branch trail follows the river and then crosses over it and heads uphill to the crossing with South Old Mac trail.

We took South Old Mac trail up Frozen Head to the lookout tower. We did some hiking through the clouds for a good portion of the morning and worked up a sweat climbing. The sun started to break through as we got to the top. We explored Tub Springs Campsite and Tub Spring on the way up. The spring is 200 feet from the camp in a brick structure next to the jeep road. It had plenty of water even as the rivers where short on water.

We had a great time at the lookout tower and also enjoyed some great views. Our views didn’t last long as the clouds came in fast and blocked everything out. I tried to take a picture of the windmills that were on top of another mountain.

We hiked back across Panther Gap heading North on the Lookout Tower trail. Somewhere around Little Fork Mountain we stopped for lunch on the side of the jeep trail. Lookout tower trail is a jeep road.

Our original plan was to hike Coffin Spring trail to North Bird Mountain trail. When we got our permit they notified us that North Bird Mountain trail has been closed for 25 years and they just now got the section from Bird Mountain trail to Bald Knob open. So we hiked to Bird Mountain trail and then got on North Bird Mountain by Bald Knob.

They have a lot of good switchbacks down Bird Mountain and there is water at the creek at the bottom. We then hiked over Jury Ridge and back down to Phillips Creek, which is another good water source. We set up camp here as it was getting late and we had passed another hiker, which told us that there was no water at our intended stop at Bird Mountain campsite.

We set up camp and gathered firewood. It was a good night to dry clothes next to the fire. It was plenty warm so the fire was kept small. We had an owl talk to us, but were much quieter through the night.

Day Three: 8.4 Miles
We woke up to the sound of a turkey perking as it walked around the campsite. Another beautiful morning and we started the climb up Bird Mountain. We got to see a red headed woodpecker fly by. The Cumberland trail crosses the Bird Mountain trail at the top of Bird Mountain. As we stood there, we watched a small woodpecker pecking at a tree. We hiked down the other side to the North Prong campground where we ate lunch at a picnic table. You would be surprised as to what a backpacker can do with a sink at a campground bathroom.

From the campground we hiked the road to Panther Branch trail. There are two waterfalls, the DeBord Falls off the side of the trail and Emory Falls down a half-mile side trail. I would imagine that both of these would be pretty at a time of more water as they were worth the hike now.

The trail goes straight through Panther Branch campsite. They have bench there with a pavilion over it next to the table. The campsite is right on the water. From here you start the climb up Old Mac Mountain. It is a pretty area, but a strenuous hike.

At the top is the North Old Mac Mountain campsite. It is off the trail and there is a boulder that sticks out with a wonderful view. There is no water at this site. We took a good break there. From the campsite we hiked down North Old Mac trail back to the truck. On the way we got to stop and watch a doe wander through the woods.

This is a very beautiful park with a lot of nice trails. It is not a place for beginner hikers as some of the climbs are strenuous.

Pictures:

Maine Trip- Family

2009-08-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

My family decided to plan a family trip to Maine to celebrate our parents' fiftieth anniversary. This was a long and drawn out process with many suggestions put in the hat. It only took about a year to make the decision where we were going. We stayed at Sugarloaf Mountain Ski Resort in Carrabassett Valley.

Day one: The original day for everyone to arrive. Change in plans left Lynelle, Jim, and Jacob arriving the next day due to our awesome swimmer Jacob needing to (and did) qualify for the next round of competition in swimming.

Connie and myself flew to Washington DC to make our connecting flight. On the way in we had a missed approach which was our first sign that things were on the decline.

In DC every terminal has security and this time they held Connie's facial cleaner as a possible hazardous material. Not happy, we continue to our flight where we next sat on the ramp for an hour on a weather hold. After that we went back to the terminal and unloaded as they informed us that our flight had now been cancelled. The saga begins!

We head back out of security to the main ticket counter to stand in line. Some people inform us that we can call a 1-800 number and get rescheduled. Upon calling the airline informed us that we have been already assigned a flight to New York city which was leaving immediately. We race back down to security where we realized that we didn't have boarding passes. Back to the ticket counter to wait in line. Finally we get the boarding passes and the race is on to security. As I am waiting on my CPAP machine to be bomb checked for the third time today, Connie races on to the gate. I arrive in time to see Connie facing off with the Ticket Nazi.

The ticket Nazi is a black lady with heavy makeup and an attitude. One is not to talk to her. You will wait until she makes a decision and then she will be the one to speak. Anything spoke to her made her head spin around and spew green stuff from her mouth as she informed you to stand quietly in line. We showed her that we had boarding passes and she informed us that we were wrong. NO SEAT! After a one sided argument, she got mad and walked off as the other gate agent let us board the plane. WAIT............TWO FIRST CLASS SEATS EMPTY! Life got better.

After the first round of free drinks they informed us that we were moving. We assumed the same place on the ramp and waited. Two drinks later they said we were taking off. WE DIDN'T CARE! In flight we resumed the free drinks. After a couple of more drinks they informed us that we were landing in New York. NO, WE AREN'T READY! They landed and kicked us off.

Well, well, well here we are in New York City and there isn't plane one heading to Maine. 1-800 help and we found that we had already been set up to fly to Washing DC first thing in the morning to fly to Maine. AHHHHH No free hotel room because it was a weather problem, not an airline problem. We did as every other person in America would do in a time like this. We ate a pizza.

The hotel that we stayed at was just across the street from the Met's stadium and they were playing that night. We walked over to see and they were in the 9th inning and you still had to buy a ticket to see them. So we walked around the stadium and did a little exploring around the neighborhood.

Day two: The next morning we headed back to the airport and caught our flight to Washington DC. We got to the gate early because they didn't assign seat numbers to us. Guess who was waiting on us............THE TICKET NAZI! She said that she could not help us yet. We voted to go through security one more time and tried the ticket counter. They, of course, could not help us. It had to be handled at the gate. Yes, the NAZI must have the final say. Today, my CPAP is not worthy of checking for bomb residual. What the hell?

The NAZI showed up late. I was first in line and she acted like I wasn't there. I watched her eat up two other people as I waited patiently for her to speak to me. Finally she called my name and we were blessed with seats.

We made it to Maine without any other problems. We drove up from Portland about 2.5 hours and Steve and Kathy had a Mexican dinner ready to serve. Everyone else had made it by then.

Day three: A scenic drive with a couple of hikes was scheduled for today. We started out with a Moose sighting. A doe was crossing the road in front of us with a calf. Cars slid everywhere and out came the camera's. Dan was the only one to actually catch the moose on film.

Our first scheduled stop was Angel Falls state park. It was a popular trail which was a mile and half long. There were plenty of people on the trail and one offered to take the only family picture that we got on the trip. Everything on this trail was two minutes away by the signs. This caught on as a popular phrase that we heard the rest of the time we were there.

Our second stop was not visualized as we never found the gorge that we were looking for. The next stop was the AT at Madrid. Lunch was served at the trail head in the parking lot. We hiked to Piazza Rock and caves on the Appalachian trail. It was a beautiful day for hiking and the whole family made it. Piazza rock was a large rock that just stuck out the side of the hill. It was pretty cool and quite the photo shot.

After the AT we went to Smalls' Falls and enjoyed the water falls. It was amazing watching the people jump off the falls into the pools of water at the bottom. The boys got out and did some swimming and sliding down the small fall at the bottom.

We made it back in time to fire up the grill and throw on some ribs and chicken. Another great day.

Day four: Steve, Dad, and I took a hike on the AT. We had nine miles picked out over four peaks starting at Hwy 27 going over Crocker Mountain. The last being Sugarloaf mountain. Dan and Jim went golfing. Some went shopping, some swam, and some just hung out.

We got on the trail after a breakfast of blueberry pancakes. I have to give the boys in Maine credit. They are not scared to hike straight up a mountain. Switch back is not a term they use up here. We passed quite a few hikers, including an elderly lady with a large backpack on. We called her Mame as she was one tuff woman. There was one section of the trail that led to an overlook. After checking out the view, we started looking for the trail. We found it over the overlook. It continued down a rock slide.

We had a bailout route picked just before Sugarloaf mountain and we took it. Kathy and Deanna came and picked us up. Some how as it works out, a young lady came down the road heading the same direction as us. She offered a ride and we took it up until we met Kathy head on. Kathy made some comments about us always ending up with a woman some how. I guess it was just our luck?

We got back in time to head out to the local park where Lynelle and Jim cooked out hamburgers. Connie and I took a bike ride down the Narrow Gauge Railroad trail along the river while dinner was cooking. Afterwards, Dad and I got in a serious game of tennis. We played til we could play no more.

Day five: We got up early this morning and headed to the coast of Maine. Lobster was strong on our minds as this trip was planned as soon as we knew we were going to Maine. It took three hours to get to Boothbay Harbor, but it was worth the trip.

We walked around the bay area taking in the shops and boats moored there. We got to see the Lobster boats and the pickup delivering the fresh lobster to the restaurants in laundry baskets. I had the delivery man pose for a picture too. Lunch time is when we cut loose. With my family, the rest of the people at Kaler's restaurant just watched in horror as we attacked our lobster and clam chowder.

After we got kicked out of the restaurant, we headed around the inlet to Ocean Point, an area where we could walk the coast and take it all in. The coast was rocky and had a lot of tidal pools with different sea life in them. We watched the sail boats and saw the lobster boats in action. It was beautiful.

On the way back to the resort, we had to do the L.L. Bean outlet store in Freeport for Lynelle. It was a huge store and everyone ended up getting something. We did dinner in the parking lot and then took the trip back.

Day six: Since I got up before everyone else,
every morning since we got to Sugarloaf, I got up and hiked the mountain. I would come back in time for breakfast each morning.

Connie had mentioned to me that she would like to hike up the mountain. So after breakfast, we started the climb. There might have been some cussing. There were a few threats. I know for a fact that she told me she hated me in between gasping for air. Yea, it was a serious climb. We made it about two thirds of the way up when we took the road heading sideways past the ski slopes. As we were taking in the view, you could see a serious storm building over the next ridge. We quickly picked one of the ski slopes and headed down. About ten minutes after we made it in the lodge, the bottom dropped out. We headed down to the indoor swimming pool with part of the group and did some swimming.

The night before we had called around about getting some canoeing in. During lunch we discussed again and made some calls. We ended up renting a pontoon boat at Rangeley Lake due to the high winds. So after lunch we headed out.

Not long after we left, we came upon a car on the side of the road holding a camera out the window. We saw that they were taking picture of some moose. There is the screeching of tires, cars sliding everywhere, and camera's coming out that would make the paparazzi mad.

I jumped out with our camera with Kathy following close behind. There were two calves walking the treeline between the road and a field. I could see them in between the trees and was racing ahead to catch them walking through an opening. As I was setting up for the sports illustrated shot, I got to wondering where the mother was. That is when I heard those Oh so famous words......"LOOK BEHIND YOU!" Yep, just what I didn't want. Momma was standing on the road behind me clearing her throat.

I guess that after the OH, SH_T!, the mind started running headlines for the morning paper. "Man stomped by moose". I was all in the wrong position. Being the smooth talker that I had to be, I started with complimenting her eyes and that I liked what she had done with her hair. I was slowly backing up to the van when out pops Connie with "Take my picture with the moose!" Ahhhhhh get away from the moose. She had jumped between me and the moose with a big smile on her face. I flew into clicking pictures while still backing away. After momma decided we weren't going to do anything stupid she walked back into the woods.

After alot of laughs, we finally headed to the lake. We enjoyed a calm tour around the lake like the S.S. Minnow. Our three hour tour was spent taking shelter from the waves, wind, and rain. Gerrit and Adam provided entertainment as the waves broke over the bow spraying them with water and they were giggling wave after wave. We watched as a few major storms went around us and as one went over us only getting caught with the last bit of rain in that one.

We were just about all the way around the lake when another storm started approaching. We headed for the dock. The boys loved it as we got the boat up to speed trying to out run the storm. I looked over at Kathy as the waves broke and sprayed her in the face. Just as she was about to say something another did the same. We all got to laughing so hard, I had to slow the boat down so we wouldn't fall off. Memories were made and we made it back safely.

Deanna and Dan made spaghetti that night. Everyone was heading out the next morning except Us and Mom and Dad. We said our good byes that night as they were leaving out early.

Day seven: I got up and hiked the Burnt mountain trail before breakfast. When I got back we helped get things packed up and Dad needed to fill the motor home with water. Jim and Lynelle left before lunch.

After lunch, Connie and I did a hike up Poplar Steams Falls with Mom and Dad. There was also a hut on the trail. So we hiked to the hut. We found out that the hut was actualy a resort. Minor understatement of what we were expecting. Maine Huts and Trails,
www.mainehuts.org, is a 180 mile trail that you can hike or ski and stay in these resorts every night.

That night, we went down to the resturant at the bottom of Sugarloaf and had dinner while a singer performed for entertainment. That night we got to bed early.

The next morning we loaded the motorhome and said said good bye. We had a safe trip home with no further surprises.

Pictures:

The Steam Enging Search

2009-05-02T07:17:00.001-07:00

Dad and I headed out to find the Orr and Sembower ‘Prospecting’ hoist steam engine and boiler. The Westfeldt Copper prospect mine that opened in 1889, shut down in 1901 over a lawsuit, and reopened again from 1942-1944 used it. The engine hoisted men and ore from the exploratory copper mine that was sunk at a 45-degree angle and went 110 feet underground.

We got the location off some paperwork from 1992 that gave the location, which is on the North side of a branch of the Haw Gap Branch River.

Once again my Dad wanted to prove to me that I was just a flat land hiker. And once again he succeeded. I don't think that Dad has ever read an elevation chart. In his words "You have to get there anyway and it's going to be either up hill or down."

We started the hike at Cades Cove by taking the Anthony Creek trail 3.5 miles and gained 1800 feet elevation. We then took the Bote Mountain trail 2 miles to the AT gaining another 1500 feet. We ate lunch at Spence Field and then took the AT a half mile gaining 300 feet to the Jenkins Valley Ridge trail. This was the last we saw of any hikers.

The Jenkins Ridge trail is a less used trail, which is a little over grown. We took it 5.5 miles with some major ups and downs to Woodward Knob. As you descend down 400 feet to cross Gunna Creek, which is a tributary to Eagle Creek, you can see Fontana Lake in the distance. From the creek you climb back up 300 feet and cross the ridge at Haw Gap which is an over grown Bald. From Haw Gap you descend 700 feet steeply down with no switchbacks followed by a 200-foot steep climb to Cherry Knob. We found a lot of damage along this section by Hogs and some relatively new bear scat. As we rounded Cherry Knob we came eye to eye with a large Hog. Guessing his weight at close to 300 pounds, he carried it very well as he took off across the side of the mountain. As usual, my speed at drawing the camera was insufficient and I didn’t get a picture.

We dropped another 600-foot elevation and climbed 150 to get to the old trail that is unmarked just before Woodward Knob. As I was looking over the cliff knowing that we would never return if we went over the edge, Dad found the trail. It has a lot of trees down over the trail and it drops steeply 700 feet to our destination.

When we got to the bottom we found that Haw Gap Branch River and the tributaries are heavily overgrown with Rhododendron. We started climbing through the Rhododendron growth and decided to stop, go back and set up camp. It was time for dinner anyways. After dinner I crossed the river and climbed the other steep bank. I crossed two more ridges to find Haw Gap River. The entire area was covered with Rhododendron and to skirt it meant going tree to tree hanging on for dear life. I never saw anything in the Rhododendron to give me hope of being an engine. Exhausted, I headed back to camp and we called it a night. After hiking 13 miles up and down and climbing the sides of the mountain, sleep came easy.

The next morning I got up at 6:30 and planned on climbing once again after breakfast in search of the engine. About the time we got camp broke down and breakfast was ready, the rain set in. We finished eating under the tarp and decided to head out. Being a little wore out from the day before; it was a rough climb to Haw Gap. We stopped at Gunna Creek for lunch under a tarp. After lunch we continued our climb back to the AT, down Bote Mountain and Anthony Creek to Cades Cove. I don't know why no one else was hiking in the rain.

The next morning we decided to do a little six-mile hike to stretch out our sore muscles. We headed to Abrams Creek and hiked the Old Cades Cove Road to Cooper Road Trail and back. It helped temporarily until we got back in the van and cramped again. This was a good hike even though we never found what we were looking for. We enjoyed this remote section of the Smokey's and should be able to walk again within a week.

Pictures:

Tremont Hike

2009-05-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

Dad and I had us another great overnight hiking trip. We used the Rhododendron in bloom as our excuse for this trip. After lunch we hiked out of Tremont on the Middle Prong Trail up to Lynn Camp Prong Trail and stayed at campsite 28. About six miles and 1600 foot up. We had beautiful weather and I guess Dad had proved whatever he had to because he didn't try to hurt me this time. We passed a few day hikers and one group of overnight hikers that were coming down.

Our hike up was rather peaceful and uneventful. I did find a railroad spike from the old rails that were used up in these parts. We stopped at Indian Flats waterfall where Mom had once tried to fall in and Dad showed me the claw marks on the rock.

We were the only campers when we made camp so we picked a remote site that was down a twenty foot drop from the main trail. It was right on the river. We heard the Thunder Gods talking so we set up our tarps first and then got water, fire wood and then dinner started. It never did rain so we enjoyed the fire and talked Man stuff. I was quite exhausted from a sleepless night at the fire hall so I apologized to Dad and dove into some serious snoring.

During the night we had a few visitors. Dad heard a deer stomping when it saw our hammocks and a bear was destroying a stump up on the trail looking for grubs. Something, I would assume a coyote, brushed under my hammock and Dad said that it had brushed his. By the time I got my light on I couldn't see anything.

After my second bathroom trip I noticed that my hammock was about six inches off the ground. I checked my knots and everything looked fine so I tightened up the strap on the foot end and climbed back in. Just as I settled in I heard a loud snap and my head hit the ground. I found out why my hammock was so low. The strap had stretched to its breaking point. Luckily it wasn't the foot end. I had tried out some lightweight three quarter inch straps that were good to 350 pounds. They were suppose to be better than the nylon. I found out different. I tied a granny knot in it and slept good the rest of the night. It's weird that you go to all of these ropes and knots classes and the granny comes through every time.

The next morning we got up and had a good breakfast. On the way out we checked out the stump the bear found so exciting. They are powerful critters.

We hiked the Miry Ridge trail and Panther Creek trail back to the Middle Prong Trail about nine miles and up 1300 feet and then down 2900 feet. We did have a beautiful view at Jakes Gap. Dad showed me a trail that used to be there but isn't anymore. We chased some deer down the trail on the way out and we saw some trout fishermen back at the trail head that said it was easy catching with the water down so low.

Since lunch time had us close to the trail head we saved up and went into Townsend for a hamburger and ice cream. After we got in the truck and started heading out the rain started. We put the packs in the back seat and by the time we got to Townsend the bottom dropped out and we could barely see the road. We got back to the ponderosa and visited with Mom until dinner. Had a safe trip home.

Pictures

Gregory's Bauld

2009-05-02T07:05:00.000-07:00

Well, my regular hiking buddies let me down. Troy came down with some sort of illness and Greg got scared of the weather forecast and bailed out saying that it was going to be too hot. Good thing that I can count on dear old Dad. He was scheduled to hike with us as we were going to hike Big Ridge State Park which is North of Knoxville.

I called Dad and asked him to pick out a hike in the Smokeys. When I showed up he gave me an option. We could either hike out of Clingmans Dome or out of Cates Cove. I picked the Cove because it was closer. As usual Dad pick a direct route to the top of the mountain to see the Flame Azaleas, the Gregory Ridge trail . Only 5.5 miles which as with any mountain the shortest distance is straight up the side and only a 3000 ft gain. Another .5 miles to camp 13. I'm not sure if he just doesn't like me to hike with him or he really does enjoy punishing himself as well.

Anyway there was a flat spot about twenty feet long that I remember somewhere along the trail. If you want to see a bear all you have to do is ask Dad. Every time I have gone into the cove he schedules me in a sighting. We saw three cubs and we know that Mom was around somewhere. We also got to see some deer all before we even started our hike. He likes to get the wildlife sighting out of the way.

We got to the trail head and headed in the upward direction. The weather was beautiful and we had a nice breeze blowing to help us out. We passed only one group of guys on the way up.

The Park had done a controlled burn sometime earlier and as we came up to a large tree on the side of the trail that had a ribbon to keep people away we stopped to comment on the ignorance of the average person now days. As we stood there a squirrel came rolling down the side of the mountain. I mean doing a somersault all the way down. I have never seen a clumsy squirrel and was wondering how a squirrel could have a McBride trait. When he finally hit the trail just in front of us and laid out on his back, we noticed that there were actually two squirrels and they must have been wrestling. They looked at us and you could tell that they were quite embarrassed to be caught.

Belive it or not we took a couple of breaks on the way up to Gregory's Bauld. When we got there we got to take in the beautiful sight of about six bushes in bloom. Oops, a week or so too early. We did get a beautiful sight of Cates Cove and the surrounding mountains. Dad was a little hesitant to list off the names of all the peaks. I guess just shy.

When we got into camp there was one other couple camping there. We picked the sight furthest from them and set up camp. The first thing we did was ask them where they found the spring. They said that there was not much of a spring, but it was down this other trail about 300 foot. Well luckily I saw a little mud through a break in the trees as we passed the "Spring". There was mud and that was about all. The biggest puddle we found was just deep enough to cover our screen on the water filter. Every time you pumped the silt covered the screen and you had to clean it off again. So other than the leg cramps, the back aches, the bugs, the cleaning of the filters, and Poison Ivy it was a wonderful experience.

After we finally got our water we headed back to camp. Dad started the dinner and I gathered the moist wood. After dinner we entertained ourselves with the starting of the fire. After a few hours we sat back and enjoyed our flame.

We had a doe come right up to the camp fire and look across it at us. You could tell that she was not impressed and wondered off. After we hit the sack I was wakened by the Does' fawn. She had quite the interest in my hammock. Four different times I heard the approach and looked up into the face of a deer. I would politely say "Excuse me" and she would run off. Finally she must of got the hint and wondered off. They stayed in camp and were waiting patiently beside my hammock when I got up in the morning. It was a Doe with two fawns. They even posed for a picture. After Dad got up they wondered off into the woods.

We got us a good breakfast and headed off down the mountain. We passed two different pairs of girls and a couple which were friends of Dad. For some reason the trip down was faster than the trip up so we ate lunch back at the ranger station. We celebrated a good hike with a fresh ice cream cone from the visitor center.

Gregory Bauld Hike

2009-05-02T07:04:00.001-07:00

I got to join my Dad for another great hike in the Smokey Mountains. After getting off work and driving to Dad's for another great lunch by Mom, we headed out. We dropped the van off at Abrams Creek Campground and headed to Cades Cove. Cades Cove is always a wonderful place to visit. On the backside of the Cove we took Parson Branch Road out to the Gregory Bauld Trailhead. Mom took our picture and headed out, as did we.

We hiked the 4.1 miles to campsite 13, which is a 1900-foot climb. We dropped our packs at the campsite and then hiked the other half mile 200 foot climb to the bald. All of the way up we had passed photographers with very expensive looking cameras heading back down. Everyone was excited about the flaming azaleas at the top. As you can tell by the pictures they were extraordinary this year.

At the top we had a young man approach us and said that they had been hiking for a couple of days now. He said that he was from the Nashville area, a small town named Murfreesboro. I let him know that I too was from that small town. It turned out that he and his buddy were MTSU students and worked at TGI Fridays in town.

After enjoying the views, we retreated back down to the campground and set up camp. There were about five groups camping there. After a short discussion we decided it wasn't worth trying to find firewood. We did pick up a few sticks and leaves to burn the debris left by previous campers and our own. We collected our water and had a good dinner.

A man from St. Louis came over to ask about the sunrise time. He and his girlfriend were going to catch it at the top in the morning. They were both students and had been camping a couple of nights. As it was getting dark a ranger came in with a gun complete with night scope to say that the hogs were bothering campers and he would be doing some shooting tonight. We counted three if he did good shooting.

By the time it got dark enough to light the fire Dad informed me that it was 9:00. Well we didn't need a long fire going to bed at 10. When I woke to use the bathroom, this was the quietest camp that I had ever been in. Nothing was making a noise, and I mean nothing. It was quiet enough that I thought I heard a tick fart. It struck me as very odd and was just as quiet the next time I got up. It was almost embarrassing to snore. I did anyway.

The next morning after breakfast we headed back down to Parson Branch road. When we came to the spring we saw a mother doe cleaning off a fresh young fawn. I couldn't get my camera out in time for the shot, but it was amazing to watch. It took us two hours to hike up and only one and a half to hike down. I think we took a short cut.

We crossed over Parsons road and took 7.6 miles of the Hannah Mountain Trail. This is not a very popular trail as it was more grown over, but a beautiful hike. It starts at 2800 and with a few hills drops down to 1300 feet. On this trail we passed one backpacker who is from Georgia and a student at Valdena. He caught up with us as I was taking a picture of a very large tree on the side of the trail. We visited with him a couple of times as we passed each other. We also enjoyed some blueberries, as they were ripe for the picking. There were a couple of times that we disturbed some very large animals, but never got to see them. Just heard the loud racket of them running off. Everyone we talked to on this trip said that they had seen bear. We assume that is what we heard.

We took 2.7 miles on the Rabbit Creek Trail back to Abrams Creek. As soon as we got going on this trail we disturbed another large animal. As we got to the top of the mountain there were three rangers that had been doing trail maintenance there. They had heard the animal as well and had a bear approach them earlier in the day. Dad got to throw out a few names and do some ranger talk with the men.

It was another great hike and great time with my Dad.

Pictures

Father/Son Hike 2007

2009-05-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

This year's trip was back down to the original three, Dad, Steve, and Myself. Dan opted out early this year and Jim held in until the mention of low water level, I mean something came up. We were operating on plan C as far as trail plans. This year, just for a change we did the drought conditions. The original plan of finishing the Appellation Trail was once again taken out of the picture as all of the springs along the trail went dry. Of course it will be plan A next year again for the fourth consecutive year as we don't give up easily.

With the extreme weather conditions that have occurred over the years, I packed everything I have into the truck and head East. I had a beautiful trip over to Maryville with all the trees putting on a great display of colors. Steve's flight was slightly delayed and with Mom and Granny going to pick him up, I got some quite time on the Ponderosa. Dad, who had to show us that we were still just young pups, decided to get a short eleven mile hike in the day before we headed out on our backpacking trip. Yes, he is the man!

So after the gang made it back to the Ponderosa, we headed out to meet up with Dad at the trail head so we could preposition the van. On the way, Mom had a couple of things to pick up in town. After we gathered up all of her goodies, she suggested we stop and get a drink. As we were walking into the Burger King, a strange but wonderful thing happened. Yes, I received a sign, I would assume from God. The large lit up sign saying those oh but wonderful words "ICE CREAM". As I froze with those wide staring eyes and a small drool starting at the corner of my mouth, Mom asked if we would like some ice cream. I said OK.

When we went in we searched over the many wonderful flavors available. Steve went with a multitude of chocolates and I with Raspberry. The lady at the counter took the ice cream over to a tabletop and asked what I wanted added. What, more? Yes, they could mix in all sorts of goodies with the ice cream. I added chocolate candies and real raspberries. She mixed all of this up and put it in a cone bowl. She then mixed up Steve's. After he got his and I had already tried mine and I was in the middle of proposing to the lady that made this wonderful gift, Mom grabbed me by the ear and led us out. There was some mention of getting Dad something, but I could hardly hear it over the slobbering noises coming from Steve and I.

Well we met Dad at the trailhead and got registered for the hike. Dad threw his daypack into the trunk and we started the wild ride back home. When we pulled into the driveway and Dad pulled the keys out of the keyhole he told Mom that these were her keys and to make sure he took the van keys with him tomorrow on the hike. Well when we walked around to the trunk to get his stuff out, there were his keys just dangling from the trunk lock. A laugh was had by all. That night after a wonderful meal, Granny and I kicked some butt at the card table.

We awoke to a great breakfast and last minute packing. The weather was looking great with no rain in the forecast. Mom dropped us off at the trailhead and after a couple of pictures headed on her way to town. Kathy had ruined her big shopping extravaganza and left her to just do her normal routine.

This year we decided to start out with an uphill climb. That was different. We headed out of the "Y" in Townsend with comfortable t-shirt weather taking the Chestnut Top trail. We did see quite a few folks out on the trail, but this was weekend hikers. We especially planned a weekend in the trip for the convenience of the brother-in-laws.

From Chestnut Top trail we took Schoolhouse Gap trail and since we had only nine miles scheduled we took a side trip to White Oak Sink, a sunken valley once home to up to ten families and some caves. Here we found a very heavy gauge metal cage over the front of the cave and a sign about the bats inside. We also explored a huge waterfall that turned up dry. This is where we ate lunch. A small trickle of water came over the edge into a large hole in the ground where a pool once was.

We returned to School House trail to Laurel Creek road and took Bote Mountain trail to the West Prong Trail to campsite 18. This was a large campsite area with numerous separate camps. We found one that was off by itself and set up camp.

We didn't have to find firewood because no fires were allowed. We had four younger guys come in later and took the site next to ours. We didn't hear very much from them. We relaxed awhile and ate a dinner of Spaghetti. There was a river with water running in it next to camp so we soaked the old pigs and got refreshed. It ended up being an early night, after we sat in the dark and told lies until the eyes got tired.

We didn't even set up the tarps. It cooled down quite a bit that night and we had to climb in the sleeping bags, but it was beautiful out. I got up once for a bathroom break when Steve came jumping up in his hammock going straight to the attack position. I quickly let him know that it was just me to calm him down. He said that he was in a deep sleep having quite a dream when he heard me. We laughed a while at that one and everyone took a bathroom break.

The next morning even after we had gone to bed early, we slept in and didn't get on the trail until close to ten. On the way out of camp we noticed that there was four other campsites that were taken. We decided to go uphill this morning and continue on to Tremont.

When we got to Tremont Steve decided to use a real restroom at the office. It was out of order so he went to the dorm where a worker there had quite an attitude and threatened us with trespassing on private property. You know that one scared us.

We took Lumber Ridge trail to Meigs Mountain trail. This was quite the uphill climb. We stopped and I had Dad pull out the old bandanna to keep the sweat out of the eyes. This is when we found Bug. Connie had put a plastic bug in my pack, which I found out was before my last hike, but was never discovered. Bug would join our pictures from here on out.

When we got to the saddle we were ready to stop for lunch. When we got to Meigs Mountain trail dear old Dad quickly decided to go uphill. It was an honest mistake; because when ever we come to a split we always go uphill. This time after a short discussion we actually got a chance to go downhill. Meigs Mountain trail had many water, or rock, crossings. Not much water at any of them. If there was water it took the form of mud.

When we passed campsite 19 there was no water at all. We stopped at an old cemetary by the trail and checked it out. Not much action there since 1920. Most of the markers were just flat rocks. When we got to campsite 20 we were all ready to stop. The river here showed very little action. Not much bathing to be done but we gave it our all. We had a very large campsite with of course the Bear warning sign attached. After getting our hammocks hung, which of course takes about three tries before being right, we had chicken stew for dinner. Another night of lies in the dark and an early out. It was warmer than the night before but the wind was blowing and every leaf in the woods ended up on top of us.

We got up the next morning and headed out. We took Meigs Mountain trail to Jakes Creek trail to Cucumber Gap trail. On Meigs Mountain trail we passed the volunteer rangers that take care of campsite 20. They said that the bear warning sign had been up for a few months.

When we got to Cucumber Gap trail we came upon a group of folks whose leader said that this was their first solo hike and was sending each of them out by themselves about fifty yards apart. Steve thought that this was one of those self-esteem classes. There were alot of them and some of them had already joined up further down the trail. Not much esteem there. Anyway when we got to Little River trail we stopped for lunch.

There was water in the Little River, but not much. From here we hiked to the van and headed out for our ice cream reward. When we got home Rick and Linda joined us for our celebration pizza and beer. We got a few hands of cards played, laundry done, and looked at our pictures. After a little discussion we decided to take in a hike in the morning before I headed back to Murfreesboro.

We got up Tuesday morning and Dad decided on a six-mile hike to get me back in time to leave. The weather was very muggy and a little warmer than what we have been hiking in. We ended up taking Little Bottoms trail past campsite 17 to Abrams Creek. It was one of those trails that you were glad that you didn't have a pack with. Most of it was just straight up and down, but some of it was like a goat trail. It was a very beautiful hike and around eight miles long. We ate lunch at Abrams Creek crossing, took a little rest and then headed on back. I had no problem working up a good lather and the gnats were very glad to hike with me. When we got back I ran through the shower and headed out. It rained from Maryville to Murfreesboro. Everything went as scheduled and we had another great trip.

Father/Son Hike 2008

2008-09-02T07:02:00.000-07:00

Over the last few years, this has been our trail of attempt. The first year we couldn't get reservations. One year it was closed because of bear activity. One year it was closed because of snow. One year it was closed due to lack of water. This year we made it happen. We hiked the Appalachian Trail from Davenport Gap to Newfound Gap. Hiking 32.8 miles over three days. I know that most people would hike the other direction going down hill, but I have a story to go along with that as well.

Planning for this trip started a few weeks in advance with food, stoves, water filters, and shelter reservations. The week before the hike, with all of the above handled, I get a call from Dad asking what day I was to arrive. Well, I picked my vacation day last December and everyone was sent the dates. I was working Saturday and would be arriving Sunday with the hike being Monday through Wednesday. So much for the shelter reservations, Dad called to reschedule the reservations and couldn’t get them for the days we were hiking. The answer was schedule the hike backwards and we got reservations that way. So what if it meant more uphill, we like challenges.

Well Steve and Kathy arrived on Saturday with Steve thinking that he was hiking on Sunday as well. I got in Sunday afternoon after running fire calls all night and Jim arrived Sunday night or early Monday morning. I was sleeping by then.

After a good breakfast at the ponderosa, we headed to the trailhead around 7:20am and arrived around 9:40. Mom and Kathy were heading out to hurt some stores in North Carolina so they dropped the van off at Newfound Gap. Due to parking hazards at Davenport Gap, we parked and hiked up Chestnut Branch trail to the AT. If anyone has hiked this way, and we have talked to a few, it is very challenging. We hiked up to the Mount Cammerer watchtower and ate lunch there while we enjoyed the scenery. This is a very popular day hike destination by the way of Low Gap trail and we saw many people at the tower.

After lunch we hiked on to the Cosby Knob shelter for the night. On this section we saw a Black racer about three feet long. Dad about stepped on it and I brought this to his attention. We got to the shelter around 4:30pm. This is where we met Kaitlyn. She is a young lady new to the area and working at the Knoxville school for the death. She is a Yankee from Massachusetts, but we didn’t hold that against her.

After we set up camp we got ready to make dinner. Jim gave us a long lecture about taking the desiccant package out of our meals. It was only fitting that when the dinners were done, Jim was fishing his desiccant out of his dinner. Right after dinner a guy walks into camp without any pack and asks how everyone is doing. Kinda like a Wal-Mart greeter. He had a bag full of chicken and noodles that he offered to us for dinner. There was a trail maintenance group that camped just down the trail from us. They had about ten volunteers that were doing trail work and five that didn’t show. He hung out and visited for quite some time. Finding that Kaitlyn was new to the area, he spent some time trying to recruit her.

After our visitor left, I wanted a fire, so Jim and I had to do some climbing to get it. There was no wood on the ground anywhere. There was a dead tree that someone had sawed off the branches about head high. With a little teamwork, we managed to get enough wood for the night. Jim actually brought his phat wood with him this year, as last time he left it in the van. It worked and he had a fire in the fireplace going in no time. We sat around and had a nice visit with Kaitlyn until it was time to sleep.

We hit the trail around 8:40. Kaitlyn was staying at Pecks Corner with us tonight, but she hit the trail earlier. Shortly after we passed Snake Den Ridge Trail we came across the wreckage of an old Air force F4 fighter. We scared off some deer at the site. It was pretty cool and we got some pictures of the aircraft parts. We stopped at Tricorner Knob shelter for lunch. Kaitlyn was there and had just finished her lunch. She headed out and we took us a break. Good time for a short nap. After lunch, the clouds came in and we lost our scenic sights. It was cool watching the clouds come across the trail. We were hoping it would clear up by morning.

We got to Pecks Corner at 4:30 and found quite a crowd. There was one couple, two men hikers, and another guy hiking alone along with Kaitlyn. It was going to be a cozy night. This was also the first water source that we came across with only a drip going on. It took quite a while for everyone to get his or her water. After dinner, Jim and I again did some searching for firewood. This site had an outdoor pit so Jim made the fire out there. We had a good visit with everyone that night. The highlight was when Kaitlyn checked her map and pointed out to Dad that tomorrow's hike was over ten miles when he had said it was seven. There goes another map reading mishap.

The good thing about shelter life is you never have to get up by yourself. Everyone gets woke up about the same time as the first person gets packing. The sky had cleared up last night and we had a frost on the ground. After breakfast we packed up and hit the trail about 8:50. Kaitlyn joined us today on the hike.

We got some good pictures today. The weather was wonderful and we had a lot of beautiful sites. We took one picture next to a cliff. After the picture was taken, I turned around and my hiking pole missed the trail so we had to do a little touchy retrieving to get it back. Our big stop today was Charlies Bunion, A wonderful rock formation on the top of a mountain. We ended up taking a lot of pictures for other people as well. They climbed out on the bunion and needed some help. Some needed help getting up as well as down. It was steep and the drop was a long way down if you messed up.

After Charlies Bunion, we hiked on to Icewater Spring shelter for lunch. Along with a good spring, this shelter also offers a wonderful view. After lunch we set up our hammocks for Kaitlyn to check out. She had not heard of hammock camping and was interested. The rest of the hike to Newfound Gap was pretty uneventful. We did see a lot of hikers being as Charlies Bunion is a very popular hike. Kaitlyn did drop her hiking pole off the side of the trail once to make me feel better. We got to Newfound Gap around 3:30 and were instant celebrities. Everyone wants to know if we came from Maine and how long we had been on the trail. There were a lot of everyones too as this is a popular stop. You would make around two steps before the next person asked the same questions. We were happy to see the van and once the packs were off, no one asked any more questions.

We had to drive back and pick up my truck at the trailhead. After dropping Kaitlyn off in Maryville with her boyfriend, we headed back to the ponderosa for pizza and beer. When Mom brought up the subject of cutting a tree down in the morning, Jim immediately said that he would have to leave before everyone got up in the morning to head home.

We spent the day cleaning up brush from three trees that Dad had cut down by the pros, and then we cut down an 80 foot oak tree just for practice. During the clean up, Steve pointed out the poison ivy that was all over the area we had worked. Luckily with washing in Lye soap and wiping down with alcohol, I didn’t have any breakouts.

Pictures

Ace Gap Hike

2008-05-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

I drove over to Maryville after getting off of shift. As soon as I got there, it was obvious that the Cicada were here. We ate lunch at the ponderosa and headed to the trail.

Mom dropped us off after prepositioning the van. We got on the trail about 2:00pm. Dad must have felt sorry for me this time because he didn't try to kill me. The trails were relatively easy and we spent a bit of time just enjoying the different flowers and plant life that were out at this time of year. We have had a wonderful year for flowers and you see them everywhere.

We hiked Ace Gap trail to Beard Cane trail and stopped at campsite #3. We got in around 6.1 miles. Campsite #3 is a beautiful campsite along the river. It was a quite night with lighting bugs putting on a show. The campers before us had built quite a chimney for a camp ring. We had to adjust it a little just to keep a fire going that you could see above the ring. We ended up lowering it just to keep a fire going with the usual damp wood of the Smokey's.

We got on the trail around 9:00am the next morning following Beard Cane trail to Hatcher Mountain. This was a mild 700 ft climb. The weather and scenery were both really nice. We hiked through an area that they had done a controlled burn. This is where we caught site of the rare "Killer Tree". Had to take a picture of that. From Hatcher Mountain we took Little Bottoms trail to Abrams creek for lunch. After lunch Dad was a little rough on me as we climbed up and down 250 ft on Little Bottoms to Cooper Road trail. Yes Steve, the knats were still there from our last hike. We finished at Abrams Creek campground about 11 miles for today.

Mom had already hit the strawberry fields and I was forced to take home a couple of boxes of fresh berries.

Pictures

Craig's Fishing Story

2008-03-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is the story of two Tennessee fishermen. The names have been changed to protect the actual rednecks.

One wintery morning with the temperature around 28 degrees, "Joe" called and said that the fish were sure to be biting this morning and he knew where they could be caught. Being a fair weather fisherman "Bob" did some questioning, but finally agreed to meet Joe. The two rednecks went and picked up a flat bottom boat from Joe's father-in-law. The two stopped by Hookers, the local bait shop, and picked up minnows and many smart ass remarks from other fishermen. Off to the river they went with snow coming down. When they got to the river, which was extremely swollen because of all the rain we have had this Winter, the two fishermen had to carry the boat through the woods to a launching spot. As they look across the extremely fast moving river, Joe showed Bob a tree out in the center that was the goal to tie off to. Bob, looking at the two paddles and the current, wasn't as confident as Joe was. After questioning Joe one more time, the two pushed off and the paddling began. After an extreme battle the two fishermen made it to the tree and tied off. Let the fishing begin.

In two hours the fishermen went through the six dozen minnows and had twenty eight keepers. The Crappie were biting like never before. They had already caught over 100 of them. Well it was time for more minnows. After a very furious battle they made it back to shore about 100 yards down stream, but they made it. You should have seen the faces on these two proud fishermen as they walked back into Hookers with the stringer of fish. There was much bragging to do over lunch. The fish were biting so, with a few more dozen minnows, off to the river they went.

The snow had turned to sleet, but the action would keep them warm. The battle was a little harder this time, but the two made it to the tree and tied off. As planned the fish began to bite. Joe went to measure his fish when he realized that the measuring tool was left in the truck. Joe and Bob looked at each other. They looked at each other hard. I'll tell you right now that Bob can come up with two thousand other ways to measure fish. Joe was nervous about game wardens and insisted that they go back for the measurer.

After one hell of a battle, Joe won and the paddling began. They were making extremely fast time across the river this time. There was a bush that they were well downstream of last time, but this time they were already a good way across the river and after a quick thought they went for it. The current, I must remind you, is like that you see on movies where people drown. Surely the two fishermen could make it in front of this bush and to the shore a few yards beyond at just about the same location that they had launched out at--Surely wasn't in the boat. As the boat slammed into the bush Joe was most certain that life as he knew it was over. You see there is a few twists to this story. Joe cannot swim. Bob would have to hold up Joe and swim across the river. Bob could see the head lines now: "Two firefighters drown in river." Well much to Bob's surprise the boat did not flip. As he did a heavy exhale he noticed a minor problem. The water was coming over the top of the boat. In a matter of seconds Bob knew he had a problem. Most of you have probably seen the movie Titanic. Yes, the boat was going down. Bob just stood there. It wasn't because the captain was suppose to go down with the ship. It was because Bob was in shock! Headlines were reading: "Boat sunk in river, two firefighters drown." Just as Bob was to have his heart attack, something happened. Something very important happened. Bob felt the bottom of the boat hit the bottom of the river. The water had just gotten to his chest. Yes, dear lord, I will be in church this Sunday. Bob turned and looked at Joe. He remembered the last thing he told Joe just before they hit the bush, "Paddle Joe, Paddle!" Joe was still paddling. You have to give it to Joe. He never gave up. I had to tell him to quit paddling and get out of the boat. The water was up to our chest and he was still paddling. We grabbed the boat and pulled it to shore.

We only lost our drinks and about half the minnows. The other half were still swimming in the bottom of the boat filled with water. The fishing poles had fallen out, but were recovered. Too bad for the headlines--the old cell phone in the leg pocket of my pants was the only fatality. We fished out the minnows and put them back in the bucket. Since we weren't cold, Joe made the suggestion that we go back and catch some more fish. When I finally got off the ground after the laughing fit, he actually talked me into it. After a safe trip we ended up catching over 200 Crappie and bring home 30 of them. Needless to say the fishing story is still being told at Hookers.

Hope you enjoyed this little tale. You would have to be crazy to try anything like this.

Take care,

Craig and Hunter

Granny's 90th Birthday Party

2007-08-04T19:24:00.000-07:00

Granny's 90th Birthday Party, Elk Lake, Saturday, August 4, 2007
We celebrated Granny's 90th birthday this year at the annual Elk Lake gathering. It served as the focus for a family reunion, the likes of which we haven't seen for many years. Family members and friends gathered from around the country to celebrate and renew acquaintances.

Miss Bay City hams it up at 90

Craig's memories
We are definitely blessed with a wonderful family. We don't all get together very often, but when we do there is guaranteed to be a great time for all. We used Granny's 90th birthday as an excuse this time. The Cabin was the location, which is by far the best resort in the world. Just counting family we had over 40 in attendance (and there were a lot of friends, in addition). As you can tell by the pictures we had lots of food, lots of games, and lots of adventures. The family started arriving on Thursday and most were gone by Monday. Saturday was the big party followed by a canoe trip on Sunday. We filled 20 canoes going down the river. There were many memories made and stories will be told for many years. Here are just some of the highlights:

•Tent city: There were at least five tents pitched across the cabin grounds, two motor homes and a booked motel.
•Dad and Mom with their garbage can dinner: You put everything in a new garbage can and bring it to a boil over the camp fire. The catch was that Dad has a tradition of his own and has thrown many a meal, only on special occasions, on the ground. Yes, he was successful again.
•The crew went missing: After some time Ardith said that Pat had been gone quite a while in their jetboat. She asked Dad and I to go find them. As we paddled out in the canoe and went around the far end of the lake, we found a couple of guys just floating around in their dead boat. Dad and I towed them back to the dock.
•Dad came down to the campfire at some early hour of the morning to tell us to turn down the radio (AGAIN). I have never seen a group of adults (maybe very drunk) all gathered in a group and whispering quite so loudly, “SHHHHH, MAYBE HE WON'T SEE US.” It was amazing to see Charlie come from a tent, dive through the air, and hit the off button in under 10 seconds. The funniest thing was a little while later when Uncle Greg snuck up to the camper and came down with a flashlight pretending to be Dad. People went diving everywhere, even trying to hide behind the folding chairs. I had one Uncle that was relieving himself by the flagpole that ran off into the woods, never stopping the stream. That was funny. Dad used the old red horn to wake up the drunks the next morning. Weren't they looking good first thing in the morning?
•Mike passed out at the campfire: He said that he had wanted to stay down there after everyone went up. He found himself still sitting all by himself the next morning. He was a little bit on the cold side.
•Uncle Rick and I got frisked at Wal-Mart: I guess that they are not used to people pushing out two carts of beer. It was enough for one night.
•Dad and Mom flipped their canoe with Granny in it. Granny ended up staying in the canoe, just getting her hair wet. Talk about a grip!
•The boiling of corn is a tradition passed down from the Brewer side. The popping of corn (in the same giant kettle) was a bit exciting for even the adults.
•Marjorie was in all of her glory “the morning after” floating in the canoe. When we passed by her she had her head down on the bow waiting for the river to quit spinning.
•Dancing on the porch: Dad was in lead taking everyone around the tables. Granny was dressed in her beauty queen outfit.
•Blowing up cans of corn in the campfire: A new sporting event.
•Five generations from Granny, Mom, Missy, Chloe, and me.
•The beanbag toss that every now and then the children were allowed to play.
•Looking: Looking for the dog, looking for the camera, and looking for granny.
Definitely a good time!

Tennessee Anaconda

2007-04-25T19:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was another day in the life of Craig and Connie. Shortly after I left home to help a firefighter with his hardwood floor, I got a call from Connie. She said that I was to return home immediately, that there was a snake in the house. So after the guys made fun of the call, I headed home. When I got home it was quite obvious that Connie was shaken up. She said that it was laying behind the couch at first and she thought that I had put it there as a joke. Then it moved. It went into the bedroom and into the closet. So I picture the walk-in closet with a thousand shoes and miscellaneous items. Trying to find a snake in there was going to take a while. When I opened the door things changed! The "snake" threw one of my shot guns to me because he wanted to give me a fair fight. The first thought could be wrapped up with "SH**"! I got a flashlight to size things up while Connie retrieved the grill tongs as my first reality weapon after I ruled out the shot gun due to the mess and damage to the house. It had a narrow head, so my first thought was "not poisonous". The head and tail were on the floor behind one of my gun cases. I noticed that the body went over the top of the gun case. You see the gun was standing on end. The diameter of the body at the top of the gun case was roughly one and a half inches. I took the tongs and began a slow but calculated move towards the head. A loud rattle was then heard. My heart, which now had met the stain in the underwear, had quit working. The hair on my back and up to my head stood up. "Rattler" was the new incoming message to the brain. Time to regroup....

Connie began to look up "HELP" in the phone book. After a deep thought and a call to my buddy, Hunter, I realized that this could not be a rattlesnake and that what ever kind of snake it was, it's tail was wiggling and hitting the gun case and wall. Bigger weapons were needed. While trying to keep my voice from breaking, I calmly asked Connie to go out to the shed and get a clawed hoe. Bless her heart. You see Connie's biggest fear is the wasp. There are wasps in the shed. She brought in about every tool in the shed except the one I asked for. I could have planted a garden. Finally she retrieved what I had asked for. While she was cleaning out the shed, I had managed to grab the snake by the head about three times. Each time it pulled free. When Connie returned, she asked if she could hold the light for me. She was shaking so bad that she could have threaded a sewing machine while it was running. I didn't figure that would be much help. Besides, I wanted a witness that could tell the story if things went wrong. I struck, the snake struck, I struck, the snake struck. I realized that he was better at this than I was. You might think that I am crazy, but I believe this snake had watched a TV show about rattlesnakes. I managed to pin his body about three inches down from the head with the hoe. Connie then grabbed the gun case and I put the tong on his head. Between the two of us we managed to get the snake out of the house and onto the front porch. Connie held the snake down with the hoe while a got the shovel and cut the life out of the monster. We did find that it had the neighbors Pit Bull in his stomach. The actual length after the calm had began to settle was five feet.

I took him over to the firefighters house and showed the boys. As I dragged him in, one of the guys dove for the door. The others were in quite a bit of shock. They decided that Connie had actually been pretty calm when she called.

How did it get in? I really feel that it could have opened the door and walked in. If it could have talked, it would have told us to get out. The only other thing was that I changed out the seal on the front screen door before I left. I took the seal off which left about a one inch gap, took the seal into the garage and changed out the rubber strips, then took it back in and put it on. It must have been watching me work. So if you have any doubts, I can tell you that there are Anaconda's in Tennessee.

Love,

Craig and Connie

Father/Son Trip 2006

2006-04-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Great Smoky Mountain National Park, October 22-24, 2006
The Route
Day one: Big Creek Campground to campsite #37 at Walnut Bottoms (5.3 miles). The hike follows Big Creek, with a nice little waterfall, Mouse Creek Falls, at mile 2.0.

Day two: Cosby Knob loop (10.1 miles). Big Creek Trail to Camel Gap Trail to the Appalachian Trail, then back down Low Gap Trail to campsite #37. Cosby Knob shelter provides a nice water and bathroom break.

Day three: Campsite #37 to Big Creek Campground via Swallow Fork Trail, Mount Sterling Ridge Trail and Baxter Creek Trail (12.1 miles). Wonderful views from the Mt. Sterling fire tower.

The Story
The planning for this year's Father-Son outing became almost comical, as bear problems in the Smokys caused one after another of our intended routes to be scrubbed. The inital route, planned casually over drinks on the picnic table at Granny's cottage seemed to offer the best of everything: streams, waterfalls, views, a good camp site, and a circular route. Then, sometime in late summer, the camp site was closed. After a hasty telephone conversation with Dad, he proposed an alternative route. That, too, got canceled as bear activity forced the closing of those camp sites. Craig proposed an alternate route from last year, taking us along the Appalachian trail and staying in shelters (clearly he didn't care about lack of sleep). Pretty soon, up came the bear warnings for those sites, but at least no closures. At the last moment, the original plan's sites opened up. As we would discover, it was a good thing we chose the more sheltered route.

Dad:
This year we started by setting the mood with an invasion of Rick and Linda’s house to party and watch UT and Notre Dame both come out victorious. Sure is great having them in town these days. After the fun, we came back to the house to get the packs and the food ready for the big adventure. There was a careful weighing of the packs this year to make sure Jim Moyar didn’t win the prize for the most excess baggage again. This time they all weighed in at slightly over 30 pounds. Little did we know at the time, we would need everything in them to keep warm on the trail.

The next day the girls did their usual wonderful job of filling our tummies and fixing our first day's lunch before we hit the road to the far eastern side of the park and the trail head. Although it isn’t that many miles, it took us 2 1/2 hours to manipulate the curves and finally find the dirt one-lane road that came to Big Creek Campground. While everyone unloaded and made the last trip to a real bathroom, I realized that the place to register for our hike was back at the Ranger's Quarters we passed on the way in. With a short trip back, I made us legal and we hoisted our packs and finally got started.

Craig:
The weather was warm and, although some rain was called for, the optimistic amigos headed out. We found a little waterfall on the way, where we decided to take our lunch break. As usual when you find a nice quiet spot, this was our first encounter with the red necks. We had the professional photographer that took her pictures holding her tripod off the side of the camera as a handle. We had the professional hiker that was combing his hair and eating tuna out of the can--BEAR BAIT! We were glad that he wasn't eating tuna at the campsite that we were going to stay at.

We had an uneventful trip to our campsite, where we found the usual sign posted warning about bear activity in this area--we have become accustomed to this over the years. After settling on the campsite we began to set up the hammocks. Jim had a new hammock set-up this year (Eagle's Nest) and we all had to check it out. After the camp was set up we began to gather the damp wood for the campfire. During this activity I came across our first live wildlife sighting. As I was dragging a rather large branch across the creek, I laid gracefully down in the creek and found myself eye to eye with a small brown snake about three foot long. He had the same thought that I had: "What are you doing here?" Thinking that he probably had more of a right to be here, and given the painful way I was laying, I decided to get up and continue my fire wood drag.

We pumped our water and as dinner was getting ready, Jim (the official Boy Scout) handled the fire starting. Let me set the scene for you: we had damp wood and some damp leaves to start the damp wood with. The official Boy Scout had spent quite some time prepping some fancy dry wood (he called it "fat wood") for a fire starter. Had he not left it in the van, it would have come in really handy right about now. After sending smoke signals to all of the critters in the mountains, we actually came up with a flame. Are you familiar with cold fire? It is a flame that you can see, but not really feel any heat from. That pretty much sets up the scene for the next night as well.

At about nine o'clock we headed for the hammocks. Some time that night I woke to sound of sleet hitting the tarp. I thought, "Darn." Then I thought about the firewood. Tomorrow's campfire didn't seem to have much hope. I dozed off again and was glad to hear that the sleet had stopped. I got up to use the bathroom. The reason that I could no longer hear the sleet was because it was snowing! I could just picture getting up in the morning to a couple of feet of snow. I had just been saying that I had never slept inside my sleeping bag because it was too hot. I slept inside my sleeping bag! Luckily we woke up to just flurries. Steve broke out the old thermometer, and it had gotten down to 30 degrees. We sent out smoke signals. Dad said that there was a bear in camp that night. We also found that a mouse had found that the bear bag we hung up was not sealed all the way. This was not Steve's fault! He enjoyed the trail mix, and we found that he recycled it quite quickly all over the inside of the bag.

Dad:
The next day we started off with some more hyperventilation exercises to get the fire going after a little snow and sleet overnight. Then a warm breakfast and it was time to hit the trail. We did a 4.5 mile climb to the AT and then a little more climb on that trail and then came all the way back down in 2.5 miles for a good knee check. Both Steve and Jim reported no knee problems, so we were in good shape. I should modify that by saying having not hiked since July, I was not in good shape. I sounded like the "little engine that could", trying to go uphill. That evening was much like the previous one. We had a good warm meal and then huddled around a not quite sufficient fire waiting for bedtime. My only excitement that night was a loud and rapid flap, flap, flap noise coming from under my hammock shortly after I had fallen asleep. After the noise stopped and the "what the hell was that" thought got out of my sleepy head, I realized that I had lowered my tarp all the way down to the ground to keep the wind from blowing under my hammock and evidently a bat had chased a bug in the end and got trapped under there. Steve reported that the bear was back again and he thought it was three times, but it turned out the third time was Jim, who got a little disorientated getting up to relieve himself and wandered around the campsite trying to get back to bed. We all went to bed a little better prepared that night, so kept warm all night.

The next day we found the seal on the bear bag was still intact so no clean up to do. Thank goodness as it was only 25 out and trying to do anything without gloves was short lived at best. It was my turn to huff and puff that morning, as I was the first up. There was just enough of an ember left to coax some leaves to start, and I had a flame going by the time everyone else came out. After breakfast we pack up all our stuff and hit the trail again. There was some talk about whether we really wanted to climb 3000 feet just so we could come down 4400 feet on the other side or go out the way we came in. Never ones to pass up a challenge, we headed up hill. Part way up I was beginning to think that was a really dumb decision, but determination took over and on we climbed.

Craig:
Today the high got up to 25 degrees. We got pictures of the icecicles hanging off the trees lying across the river. I think I can, I think I can...all the way to the top. Lunch was very hard on the hands. Trying to eat with gloves on was a mess and with the gloves off, the wind bit your skin. At the top we were rewarded with a view from a fire tower. The actual building on the top was frozen over so you couldn't see out the windows, but at the top of the stairs you could see for miles. There were some day hikers up at the tower that were freezing, because they didn't think that it would be that cold on the top of a mountain in October.

On the way down the mountain I was just complimenting Dad on his fast controlled pace down the steep slope when he did the expected and took a dive. His sleeping pad went shooting out the side of his pack. I knew that he wouldn't let me down. Steve made it clear that I had let him down. He had his camera ready at all times for my fall and I never took it.

For some reason, maybe the many miles, we got out of the woods a little late. The Women folk did not let us down. Pizza and beer were waiting. Make sure that you don't mention to Granny about the whipping that Steve and I put on her and Dad the next night playing Schmear. The following evening, we got to enjoy a hayride that Mom and Dad put on for us at Cades cove. I was telling Steve that the deer in the cove are so use to people that I could probably walk up to one and just start gutting him with a knife. Wouldn't Dad be proud to come back to the van and see a deer strapped to the top? Well, we had a great trip and all had a good time. We will consider this a successful trip.