Boulevard Trail Alum Cave TTA

Richard knows how to gather some hikers: list a hike in the Smoky Mountains to climb to Mt LeConte.
11 of us met in Harriman, settled the logistics of drivers/cars needed, then plan B when Gary's car wouldn't start even with a boost from Richard's jumper cables. I drove and along the route we missed the ramp for the short cut thru Maryville and Townsend so Gary lined up a rental car in Sevierville. Dropped him off there and made our way to Sugarlands. Richard was meeting up with up Jeff here but we didn't see anyone we knew. Everyone had gone on so we drove to Newfound Gap and Gary pulled in as we did. Zoom zoom zoom. We found Richard waiting for us at the trailhead wondering where we had been, then made our way on the AT to the Boulevard Trail junction where everyone was stopped for lunch. We had a late start so after just a couple of miles, food!

 Lots of folks were heading to Charlie's Bunion so we left the crowd to go up the Boulevard. This is a beautiful trail and it's been a while since I hiked it. We saw a few blooms still on the rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. Green blackberries thornless this elevation, and the huckleberry bushes had blooms. Too early for berries. Saw one salamander. One hiker didn't feel well, a few of the others were ready for extra miles and went to the Jumpoff, Myrtle Point and Clifftops. I thought 13 miles was plenty so I didn't do those spur trails this trip. We met up with everyone at the LeConte Lodge, did some logistics to get the shuttle cars off the mountain top since the car at the end of Alum Cave Trail belonged to the hiker not feeling so well, then started down the mountain with the drivers. Logistics fell apart when one hiker fell, then another hikers had a sore knee. We got the drivers into the shuttle car, had some issues with unfamiliar truck column shift, emergency brake, and switch, but perseverance paid off and we got to Newfound Gap at sunset just in time to get pictures.
Turned my phone on to see message from my sweetheart wondering where I was??? Back at the parking for Alum Cave our last two hikers made it out just as Gary was going back to look for them to make sure they had headlamps. More logistics to get everyone home and I headed home thru Wears Valley and Townsend, stopped for a really late supper of tacos in Madisonville, got home after midnight. What a beautiful day of hiking, but I'm tired.....

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Hunter Bend - Tennessee River

Lora and I got out on the river trying to beat the storms coming in at lunch time. We put in at 30 again and headed straight across the river. We got to see two different otters, lots of birds, turtles, and fish. We got out just as it started to rain.

That evening we went to the Chattanooga Lookouts game that her company bought tickets for. We made it to the third inning before the storm came in and washed us out.

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Notchy Creek Campground

We headed out to Notchy Creek Campground in Vonore on the Little Tennessee River. We met Dad and Mom there and Melissa brought the grandbabies. This is a very nice and quite campground. We enjoyed the swimming area and walking around the two loops.

The next day Lora and I explored the Tellico Blockhouse and Fort Loudoun.

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Roan Mountain TTA 2019

Nancy planned a camping trip to Roan Mountain State Park to hike and see the rhododendron and azaleas blooming. The weather forecast said it might just rain. When I got there, Gloria Dale was there already set up.  I found a good site by the river to hang my hammock, then we went for a walk around the campground. It's really pretty here, they have a pool too. Lots of campsites up the road on the ridge side. Nancy, Jane and Debbie arrived, and we set up Jane's canopy over a picnic table, just in case it rains....  We were there early enough on Friday to hike in Roan Mountain State Park on the Fred Behrend trail. It started from our group campsite and looped around the ridge side. We saw lots of newts  and got sprinkled on a couple of times. When we got back to camp, Betty had worked magic and had a feast ready for hungry hikers. Happy hour! Then fajita time, and off to hear some Appalachian/Celtic music at the amphitheater, only they moved it to the picnic shelter because of the possibility of rain. (surely not)
Thistle Dew had us tapping our toes and one gentleman flat foot dancing. Very talented musicians and singers. Back at camp it was too wet for a campfire so we called it a night.

Saturday's plan was to drive to Carver's Gap to hike the Balds. The sprinkles off and on had us in and out of rain gear and the wind tried to blow Debbie away. We had rocks to shelter us for lunch on the Grassy Ridge top. Limited views today but the blooms sure were awesome. No Grays Lily blooming yet, so I am glad I got the see them last year. Back at camp we got a fire going and had sprinkles trying to put our fire out, but we were determined. We gave up when the umbrellas come out, so supper was in the town of Roan Mountain at the Smoky Mountain Bakers. Pizza was delicious, baked in a wood fire oven. Good thing we got there early on Saturday afternoon. Others that came in after us had a 45 minute wait or more. I got the last loaf of sourdough bread they had. We got back to camp and went back to the picnic shelter for more music. This time for Marshall Ballew a singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, instructor, and music historian who played 5 different guitars and sang. It was raining when we came over, and sprinkling when we got back to camp. Nancy decided to sleep in her car since thunderstorms were supposed to happen during the night. I saw that the river was up and didn't like how close I was to it so I took down my hammock and put all my gear in the car. Had just settled in for the night when a Park truck came in and flashlights were shining at the river. Rangers checking the water level. They left and about an hour later they were back. I got out and asked them how much danger we were in if the rain kept falling. They said if the river crested it would be in our camp, but they would keep an eye on it and wake us up if we were in danger. Nancy and I didn't like that so she asked where they could put us if we evacuated. They offered the Conference center so we said yes thank you. We woke everyone and started packing up their tents at 11:00 at night. The Conference center had 3 couches and plenty of floor space. Four slept in their cars in the parking lot, 4 of us slept inside. If we had thought about it we could have set up our wet tarps and rain flys and dried out, but we were tired and just tried to sleep thru the Rangers coming and going and the lights from the games lighting up the room we were in. Yawn.

We woke up to "it's not raining right now" so we headed to our campsite and found the river did not flood the camp, woo hoo!  We took down the two canopies and one tent in record time. No one wanted to hike in the clouds and sprinkles again so we decided to have breakfast at the bakery but they were closed on Sunday. Nancy headed off for further adventures in the Smoky Mountains and everyone else headed somewhere to find COFFEE!!!

I explored on my way home driving thru Tennessee's oldest town, Jonesborough. Will have to come back and do the history tour. Stopped at David Crockett State Park and toured the farm. Funky looking chickens with one aggressive rooster that wanted to scare me off, some ducks and guineas, a donkey, Thomas Turkey was showing his plumage, and two of the fattest pigs I have ever seen. Real porkers.

What a fun and exciting weekend, really enjoyed the time with Jane, Debbie, Paulo, Nancy, Betty, Doug, and Gloria Dale.

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Eggs on the Hiawassee River

Lora and I got off work and drove to the North Georgia mountains for an Egg Rally on the Hiawassee River near Macedonia. This is the big one. We just thought we saw a lot of eggs at the Townsend rally. There were 104 eggs registered and 188 people. They had sponsored demos and a swap meet, open house, and games. Lots of very friendly people ready to show you their campers in a minute. After checking out the campers we walked along the river. Beautiful campground here in Georgia.

The next day we drove to Brasstown Bald (4,784 ft) which is the tallest mountain in Georgia and hiked to the top to get a view of the area. From there we had time for one more hike so we hiked to Dukes Falls (300 ft).

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Ivy Academy CT Wildflower Hike

Memorial Day (I didn't have to work) and Craig had to work. After canoeing this weekend, I wanted to hike. The CT State Park scheduled a Wildflower hike with Appalachia CARES AmeriCorps member Anna Schilling at the Ivy Academy in Soddy Daisy. The trail starts on the school property along the North Chick Creek. There were black raspberries ripe right beside the trail! It was getting hot at 9 am to start out, but after walking under the bridge and along the creek we entered the woods and it was a little cooler. Anna says the trail is used by the students during the week, summer too because of summer school, so it is closed to the public until after 3 pm, but open on weekends. Ivy is an Environmental Institute in partnership with TN State Parks.

Still a lot of wildflowers to see, Little Brown Jug, Trumpet honeysuckle, Skullcap, Bergamont, Basil Bee Balm, and sunflowers. The hike went to Pride Rock named for the one in The Lion King. It's a great place to view North Chick Creek. Great day to be in the woods.

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Memorial Day Paddling

We went back to Greenway Farms and this time we paddled down to the river and saw the dam and lock. Afterward we paddled a little way back up past the Farms.

The next day we went to Sale Creek after church and put in to paddle up Rock Creek and back.

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Nick's Graduation 2019

We hooked up the camper and headed North going to Nick's Graduation from law school.  We spent the first night in Pennsylvania at the Twin Bridges Campground which we stayed at the last trip to see Nick and Amy. From there we headed to Delaware Water Gap NRA to do some hiking so we would break up our second day of traveling. We hiked the Tumbling Waters trail at the Pocono Environmental Education Center which had a million red salamanders. We ate lunch at the falls which were amazing. We hiked the Dingmans Creek trail which had the Silver Thread Falls as well, and the Raymondskill Falls trail which has the upper, middle, and lower falls. Then we drove to Massachusetts and stayed at the Partridge Hollow Campground in Monson. Very friendly folks that run this place.

The next morning we headed over to Nick's and visited before heading over to the Basketball Hall of Fame where we met up with Amy and her family. That was interesting even for someone not interested in basketball. We found Pat Summit's display with all the UT Orange colors. From there we headed to lunch. After lunch we headed over to Western New England college for a tour and a reception/lecture on the Bar Exam that Nick is going to take. Sounds like two months of serious study! Then we met Nick's Dad and family for dinner. After dinner we checked out the new casino in Springfield.

Sunday morning Lora and I hiked the Munn Dike trail next to the campground and then we headed to church at the Trinity UMC which is a beautiful church. It was an inspiring service, which helped to not get lost staring at all the beauty inside the sanctuary. Then we met up with everyone for lunch. After lunch we attended the Graduation followed by the celebration dinner with delicious seafood.

Monday after we checked out of the campground, we headed back to meet everyone for a bagel breakfast before heading South. We camped at the Twin Bridges campground on the way back.

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900 miles of Smoky Mountain trails

SHE DID IT!!!! Finished the last of the all the trails in the Smoky Mountains. This last trail was hard on her. With the wildland fire which closed the trail down for quite some time, snow closing the road down, it was wonderful to actually be able to get to the trail. Thunderstorms were forecast for this hike, but the morning was hopeful. As we drove to Clingmans Dome Road it rained, and then sprinkled, then rained. We put our rain gear on at the trailhead hoping for sunshine. There was a lot of water on the trail. Didn't take long for the socks and boots to get soaked. We saw some wildflowers that looked similar to Solomon's Seal but had pink bell shaped flowers. (After checking the wildflower book, I'm sure it's Rosy Twisted Stalk, listed as rare. DIDN'T get a picture.) We looked for the man-way that used to go to the Chimney Tops and saw a path but it was too wet to try it. 4.8 miles was all Lora needed to finish her map and when the trail junction came in sight she got so excited. I got out the camera and the battery was dead! Cell phone to the rescue, filmed the happy dance. Now to print off the spreadsheet, fill out the application and send it in and wait patiently for my 900 miler sticker.........YES!



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Bledsoe Creek State Park

We got to spend the weekend with our Grandson. What a blessing! We took the camper to Bledsoe Creek State Park. This is a beautiful campground with friendly staff. We did some hiking and a lot of fishing.

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