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Saturday, April 5, 2008

Laurel Forks Falls

We went for a very nice little hike with good friends on Good Friday. There are so many “ways” to hike, but what we did is my absolute favorite.

We let our lives get so bogged down with work, chores, and a wide variety of obligations and too often we fail to stop “and smell the roses”. It seems the more modern the technology to reduce our work load the more work we have to do. Our lives are so crowded, not with things to do for the enjoyment of that activity, but as a means to another end. How have we gotten so busy that we can’t take time out to enjoy each other and God’s magnificent creation?

Friday we did what we are always aspiring to do—enjoy the day, enjoy each other, enjoy friends, and enjoy the wonders of being out doors. We started off by meeting our friends at the donut place. Now how can you go wrong from there? Good conversation over good coffee. I’m not thinking about the fat in the cream filled, chocolate iced confection. Then we loaded our packs into their car and struck out for the trailhead. We ended up in Hampton, TN at a little side trail that lead to the AT.

It was a wonderful hike with very little up hill along the Laurel Fork Branch. It was a beautiful spring day and, being a holiday for many, there were lots of folks along the trail. The water was too cold for a dip, but compelling nevertheless to get as close as possible without getting wet.

Our destination was Laurel Fork Falls about 2.5 miles from the trailhead. It had rained quite a bit during the week prior to our hike, so we were confident the falls would be full of water. We were not disappointed. We found us a rock with a good view of the falls and broke out our lunch (prepared by our friends) of sandwiches, chips, and fresh fruit salad. Oh, I can’t forget the brownies. Now this is my favorite kind of hike--a beautiful, easy stroll to an outstanding natural feature to enjoy a decadent lunch with friends. Blessings untold!

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