A Sneak Preview

This has been a relaxing day.  Of course, there are always a few chores to do, but they didn’t take long and we’ve had the entire afternoon to do fun stuff and watch our boots dry.  On these lazy afternoons between hikes, we like to study the maps and make plans.  Believe it or not, we actually have a rough plan for the next couple of months.  Thought I’d share that with you today.

When we got back to Cherokee after our trip to Nashville, we decided to sign up for a month at this little campground.  During the spring we enjoyed the freedom of moving around more often and especially enjoyed our stays inside the National Park.  However, with the temperatures warming up as we head into summer, we’ll have to save those rustic campgrounds without electricity to run our air conditioner for the cooler days of fall.  As you know, it’s much cheaper to rent a campsite by the month than by the day, so here we are until the middle of June.  I don’t have to tell you how we’ll occupy our time.

One of the “must do” items on our list for this year was to explore Pisgah National Forest and the area along the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville.  A great location to do that is from the Mt. Pisgah Campground.  There are a couple of problems with that campground.  One is--no hookups.  Late June can get pretty warm here, but we’re hoping the high elevation of this campground (nearly 5,000 feet) will be enough to keep us cool without the AC.  The other problem is there are only a very few sites large enough for us to fit into and these sites are not reservable.  We’re going to try our best to make this work.  If it doesn’t, then we’ll find a commercial campground nearby.

July will find us back in Waynesville.  I’m not sure how Gene will occupy his time, but I’m going to be hiking in the Smokies with my lady friends from Tennessee Trails Association.  Three other ladies and myself will be doing some backpacking in the Smokies.  We’re all coloring that map.  Those plans have not been finalized yet, so I’m not sure when we’ll get started, but am really looking forward to that adventure.

After the July backpacking extravaganza, our plans get a little sketchy.  We’re thinking we’ll move north on the Blue Ridge Parkway stopping to do some hiking around Mt Mitchell and then Linville Gorge.  We might even get as far as Mt Rogers in Virginia.

Of course, at a whim we could trash this plan and go with something entirely different.

One thing is for sure.  Hiking is our passion and this whole area of East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and Southern Virginia has some of the best hiking you’ll find anywhere.  We’re lovin’ it.

Herb, Doug, and Gene on observation platform on Mt Mitchell

Last week, Gene had his “boys time away” when he met his hiking buddies from Nashville at Mt Mitchell.  I’ve heard a few stories about that trip.  I’m not sure I want to know very many details.  I was hoping Doug would post a trip report on the TTA Nashville blog so you could read first hand what Gene was up to.  Here are a couple photos Doug sent of their trip.

Looking south from the top of Mt Mitchell

We want to welcome our newest follower--Linda.  She has a passion for hiking as well as other outdoor activities and documents her adventures with her awesome photography.  We’re glad to have Linda tagging along.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for tagging along.