Connector Trail-Savage Gulf

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pictures:

Fiery Gizzard

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

Pictures:

Big Frog

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

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North Chickamauga, Cumberland Trail

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

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

Obed Wild and Scenic River Trail…..7.1 Miles….Difficult
Day two:
Obed Wild and Scenic River Trail…..7.1 Miles….Difficult
Total Miles……20 Miles


The Obed trail is rated as extremely difficult 14.2 mile trail. It does have some difficult sections, but over all it is a good hiking trail with beautiful sights. We started hiking from the Nemo Trailhead and made it to an unnamed creek between Omigod and Obed overlooks 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 unnamed 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 7.1 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

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

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

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.

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