Short Springs/Old Stone Fort TTA

I joined the Clarksville TTA for this hike to see waterfalls. 14 hikers led by Terry had a great day at this beautiful SNA. Machine Falls was flowing well and lots of people were there enjoying the water on a hot day. We hiked to Upper and Lower Busby Falls and Adams Falls and Laurel Bluff Loop. It started raining as we were heading out to the parking lot. Some of the group stopped at Rutledge Falls. I was going to stop but the parking area was packed. We regrouped at a local BBQ restaurant for lunch. Then five of us went on the Old Stone Fort SP and hiked the Enclosure Trail, about 1.3 miles. 

Pictures from Hike Clarksville FB page

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North Chick TTA

 

We got a late start on the trail because the CTC website said the gate at North Chick opened at 9. Scenic City starts their hikes at 7:30 in the summer. So it was already getting really warm. The Ranger at the parking lot said the gate opens at 7. Oh well. We got started with Tammy leading. Upper Hogskin Loop to the main trail. It was getting hot as we got out by the sunny bluff walls. We made it to the wooden steps, and 4 of us decided we'd had enough, the others bravely kept going. Too hot for me.

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Michigan 2024

This year we had some last minute changes this year. We lost our Aunt, age 90, so we had a funeral to attend. We took Dad and Mom with us and headed North. Our first stop was Lake Loramie State Park in Minster Ohio. We have stayed here twice before. It is a nice park on a lake. From there we headed to my brothers house in Lowell. We did the visitation thing and funeral on Thursday and Friday. Saturday we hung out with family at my brothers. Sunday we went to Lake Michigan for the day. Monday we visited my brothers vet clinic and got some jobs done around the house. 

Tuesday we headed North to Elk Lake in Gladwin to visit my Aunt and Uncle. We got some projects done around the house and watched some fireworks. Wednesday was more of the same. Thursday we participated in the 4th of July boat parade. 28 boats doing laps around the lake. One had a good stereo system, one had a bubble machine, one was throwing out oreo cookies, and one was throwing out hotdogs. After the parade we were invited into a home to hear a concert with some singing, piano playing and violin playing. Later that evening was another concert on the lake followed by fireworks.

Sunday we got to visit with my sister and her husbands family. His dad passed away that night.

We headed back South on Monday and stayed at the Wright Patterson Famcamp for the night. Made it back home Tuesday night.

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Bluestone SP West Virginia

This was the start of our trip to West Virginia.  We drove to Bristol Virginia and stayed at their City Park, Sugar Hollow Campground. It is a beautiful park up in the woods with a bit of space between campers. All electric sites and clean. Lot's of bike trails as well as walking trails. After we got set up we visited with the host who was very informative and talkative. We hiked the Wetlands Trail before dinner and saw baby ducks swimming the creek.The next morning we hiked the Rocky Top trail before heading North. We got to see deer.

Day two: We left Bristol Virginia stopping in Princeton City Park, West Virginia for lunch. From there we continued to Bluestone SP where we had reservations for three nights at the Meador campground. After we set up camp we drove around the park to familiar ourselves with it. Then we attended a spoon carving demostration by Jonathan an Interpretive Ranger. We took a dinner break, hiked the Riverview Trail to the two waterfalls and back, then we joined Jonathan again for the campfire. The Riverview Trail was overgrown, but the falls were pretty and we saw a raccoon. Jonathan had a lot of knowledge to share and was fun to talk to.

Day Three: We drove to Pipestem Resort State Park. First stop was the Bolar Lookout Tower right at the enterance. There is a paved road for you to walk to the top of the hill and then climb the tower for some good views of the surrounding mountains. From there we went to the Nature Center for a map. The Ranger there, Julie, was extremely friendly and helpful. Lora loved her because they both got so excited about flowers. From there we went to the McKeever Lodge for a overlook of the gorge.

We headed to Brush Creek Falls State Park and hiked the three and three quarter miles to Brush Creek Falls and White Oak Creek Falls and back. Lora was blessed to see a black snake. We had lunch at  White Oak Creek Falls. There were quite a few people hiking today.

We headed to Camp Creek State Park and Forest. We drove to see Mash Fork Falls and Campbell Falls and got some play time in the creek.

Day Four: We drove to Cascades National Recreation trail in Pembroke VA for a four mile hike which we extended for another mile to see the upper falls as well. There was some beautiful stone work done by the CCC on the lower trail. We took it on the way up to the 66 foot falls. We ate lunch at the falls and then climbed to the upper trail. There was a split where the trail continues at the top. I guy was coming down so I asked what we were missing. Well a half mile up was the upper falls and if you continued a mile further it went to an overlook of the gorge called Barney's Wall. We hiked to the upper falls which was really pretty. We found some ground bees which we had to avoid to get to the bottom of the falls.

On the way back to camp we stopped in Narrows at the Mill Creek Nature Park. There was another hike to a couple of water falls, but we were done for the day. Back to camp we went. 

Monday we headed home..

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Sugar Hollow Campground

This was the start of our trip to West Virginia.  We drove to Bristol Virginia and stayed at their City Park, Sugar Hollow Campground. It is a beautiful park up in the woods with a bit of space between campers. All electric sites and clean. Lot's of bike trails as well as walking trails. After we got set up we visited with the host who was very informative and talkative. We hiked the Wetlands Trail before dinner and saw baby ducks swimming the creek.The next morning we hiked the Rocky Top trail before heading North. We got to see deer.

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Savage Gulf

So Lora said that she would hike with me, but it had to be atleast 10 miles. We headed over to the Savage Gulf and hiked in from Greeter Falls, headed to Stone Door doing the loop and back. After getting in her miles, we added another one going to the Blue Hole and back to get a swim in.

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Graysville Segment of the Cumberland Trail

Lora and I hiked the Graysville segment of the Cumberland Trail. We started at the climbers parking and headed North to the overlook. We picked up a couple of dogs to walk with us on the trail.

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Ft Mountain TTA

 Dave led a great hike with 13 hikers at one of the beautiful Georgia State Parks. We started at the Cool Springs Overlook. As we continued on our fearless leader found a rattlesnake resting in the road bed. I was just behind him, then suddenly 20 feet away... As we walked on we say pretty flame azelea, rhododendren, Fire Pinks, milkweed blooming. We hiked the West Overlook, part of the campers loop, the Gahuti, and Bike/multi use trail to make a loop. GPS All Trails was spotty, so we back tracked a little adding to our miles. 

Back at the parking lot, I got out my Wilflower Book to show some descriptions of a few of the things we saw. A couple was in the parking lot and they had the same book so we chatted for alittle while about the wonders of God's great creation.  

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Smoky Mountain Cosby Campground TTA

We set up tents in two group campsites in the Cosby Campground. The first day we hiked to Sutton Ridge by way of the lower Mt. Cammerer trail and then came back on the nature trail inside the campground. We enjoyed a potluck feast that evening and sat under a canopy during a light rain. The next morning, we hiked Porter's Creek in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies. We explored a cemetery, an old homestead and passed a beautiful waterfall. That evening we enjoyed a meal at the Crystelle Creek Restaurant near Gatlinburg. Thursday morning, we left the campsite to hike to the lookout tower on top of Mt. Cammerer. We hiked there via Low Gap, AT and Mt. Cammerer trails. We finally got to build a fire that evening since it hadn't rained that day. Friday, some of the hikers stayed back to hike to Ramsey Cascades. We experienced a lot of rain, but everyone enjoyed the hikes and identifying all the beautiful wildflowers. Participants were Jim Barritt, Patti Bradley, Betsy Darken, Wendy Fish, Joe Gonzalez, Susan Gonzalez, Joan Hartvigsen, Tammy Hendrick, Mark Hubbard, Mary Larsen, Craig McBride, Lora McBride, Sara Pollard, Georganne Ross, Cynthia Skidmore, Sherlene Spicer, and Michel Travers. 

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Laurel Falls

 

A morning hike to Laurel Falls

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