A Visit With Friends

This morning we drove to Jonesborough, TN to see our dear friends, Charlie and Jennifer.  Charlie recently had surgery and was needing a little excitement in his otherwise boring recovery routine.  We felt like we could provide that diversion; plus we really were anxious to see them and catch up on what is happening in their lives.  We had a wonderful visit; however, I’m afraid we may have kept Charlie from his needed rest today.

One of Jennifer’s hobbies is her flower gardens.  Their yard is just gorgeous--certainly a testament to her long hours tending her plants.

We were quite surprised to find them nursing a newborn raccoon.  Apparently, one of the dogs found it and brought it home.  They are feeding it and trying to keep it warm during the day.  Then it goes outside at night in the hopes the mother will find it.  They have a call into the local wildlife rescue association.  I’ll have to admit--it’s cute.

It was great to see these friends again and glad Charlie is recovering nicely.

That’s it for today.  I’m not sure what’s on the agenda for tomorrow.

Appalachian Trail to Charlies Bunion

With our time running out here in the Smokies, we decided to hike in the higher elevations today.  Until recently, the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies has been covered by snow, snow that we didn’t want to hike through.  Although there is still some small patches of snow, the trail is now clear of this hazard.

View from Charlies Bunion

We drove up to Newfound Gap and headed north on the AT.  The trail through the Smokies is roughly along the TN/NC state line with North Carolina to our right and Tennessee to our left as we made our way to Charlies Bunion.  We started out at just over 5000 feet elevation at Newfound Gap.  The clouds were thick which made for poor visibility.  Occasionally, the sun would break through and we would get a nice view of the mountains to our right as we made the climb to 6000 feet.  It was cold up there this morning, as well.

Icewater Springs Shelter almost lost in the fog.

We stopped for a break at Icewater Springs shelter.  These 3-sided lean-to type structures are the overnight home to backpackers along the AT as they pass through the Smokies.  Icewater Springs shelter was shrouded in clouds this morning.  This shelter ties for second of the highest shelters in the Park at 5920 feet.

Hikers leave behind the strangest things

From the shelter, we pressed on to Charlies Bunion.  This large pile of rock was named by local writer, Horace Kephart.  He apparently saw the shape of his friend’s bunion in the shape of the rock.  Mountaineer, Charlie Conner, claims not to remember the incident.  In any case, Charlies Bunion offers a fantastic view of the surrounding mountains.  Because of the relatively short distance (4 miles) from the Newfound Gap parking lot, this is a very popular day hike.  We saw several hikers along the trail today.

Besides those out, like us, just for the day, we saw about a dozen backpackers.  We weren’t surprised to see this many since this is just about peak time for the AT thru-hikers to reach the Smokies.  Gene spread around lots of trail magic until his food ran out.  I guess it was a good thing he had eaten his lunch before we started to see so many backpackers.

Charlies Bunion

Of all the places in the Smokies, the high elevations are my favorite.  I love the smell and the feel of the red spruce, Fraser fir, and birch forest.  Due to the large amount of rainfall at these high elevations, it is actually a rain forest.  Everything is wet and dripping and covered in moss.  A very special place.

We didn’t see a bear or deer today, but we saw several slate-colored juncos.  This small bird migrates up and down the mountain rather than a more common north-south migratory path.

The edge of Charlies Bunion

Well, that’s about it for today.  Tomorrow looks like a chore day.

A Rain Day

The day dawned cloudy and the rain started almost before we had finished breakfast.  I got hiking in the rain out of my system last week and had no intention of getting out there in it today.  To tell the truth, I was a little excited to see the rain this morning.  I had not sufficiently recovered from our hike yesterday to be too enthusiastic about going out again today.

Consequently, today has been a very relaxing day.  I suppose I could have run the vacuum and done a load of laundry, but I didn’t.  So as not to appear entirely useless, I did wipe out the microwave and wash the grease filters over the stove.

Gene was finally able to secure a reservation for our month-long stay near Harper’s Ferry, WV.  He had hoped to find a campground in Harper’s Ferry, but there were none that met our standards for ratings and price range.  It appears that anything remotely close to Washington, DC is very expensive.  He finally found a campground in Winchester, VA that could accommodate us for the month of June plus the 4th of July weekend, had fairly decent ratings, and won’t break the bank.  I should say that the KOA in Harper’s Ferry was cheaper by a couple hundred bucks, but they don’t do reservations.  Given the proximity to DC and the Memorial Day and July 4th holidays, we didn’t want to take a chance on not having a reservation.  However, if we find they have a space for us, we may forfeit our $100 deposit in Winchester.

Otherwise, we have occupied our time reading, knitting, surfing the internet, and napping.  And the rain has continued all day.

It’s not much, but it’s all there is for today.

Beard Cane Trail

There is a crazy group of folks out there who have it in mind to hike all 900 miles of trail in the Smokies.  I’m among that group of crazies.  Gene is, too, but he has already hiked all the trails and is now out with me.  Does that make him doubly crazy?

I have almost all the trails done on the Tennessee side and was hoping to get several trails on the North Carolina side during this month in the Smokies.  However, since so many of the roads going over to that side of the mountain were closed and we were unable to get to a campground over there, I have been unable to hike much new trail this month.

Polygala

Today, however, we finished Beard Cane Trail.  This trail lies in the far western corner of the park with no access directly to the trail by any roads.  All I needed was the first 3.5 miles of that trail, having done the far end a couple years ago.  The closest we could get to the trail was at the Goldmine trailhead.  In order to get that 3.5 miles, we had to hike a total of 13 miles today--6.5 miles each way.  Thank goodness, it was mostly flat.

However, we did have a few creek crossings and blowdowns to climb over.  Actually, there was more than a few.  In the 2.5 mile stretch between campsite 11 and campsite 3 there were 26 creek crossings and 13 blowdowns.  Since we had to do it all again on the way back, that made for a fairly difficult hike.

We stopped for lunch at backcountry campsite 3.  This was our turn around point.  It is a nice campsite on Hesse Creek--a great spot for lunch.  It would have been a nice spot to pitch the tent and spend the night.  Would have hated to cross all those creeks and crawl through all those blowdowns with a full backpack on.

Lunch at Campsite 13

We went down Goldmine trail which is a rutted horse trail at the edge of the park.  We connected with Cooper Road trail which took us over to Beard Cane.  Cooper Road was the primary road into Cades Cove back in the early 1800s.  Before that it had been an Indian trail.  Beard Cane trail is a horse and hiking trail.  With so much water around, the edge of the trail was a carpet of spring wildflowers.  Huge patches of crested dwarf iris were my favorite.

Crested Dwarf Iris

Well, you can guess what I’m doing this evening.  After I put dinner in the microwave, I’m heading over to the recliner.

Catching Up On Our Rest

We are having some absolutely gorgeous spring weather this weekend.  A cold front pushed through and left clear blue skies with temperatures in the low 70s.  Can I say PERFECT?!!  It has been great to have the windows open instead of the AC running for a change.

We have spent our weekend relaxing.  We get up and do a chore occasionally so as not to feel too guilty about doing nothing.  Gene hosed down the Everest and the truck to get the pollen off.  He also changed the anode rod in the hot water heater.  I did a few light housekeeping chores.

Saturday morning we spent some time at Starbucks.  Haven’t done that in a while and really enjoyed it.  While in Maryville, we stopped by Hobby Lobby so I could pick up some yarn for the next baby afghan and then we went to Belks for a mini food processor.  I have been wanting one for a long time, but just didn’t feel like I had the space for a large kitchen appliance.  The little 3-cup Cuisinart was on sale so I managed to find enough room in the cabinet.  Wonder if I can find the space for a Kitchen-Aid Mixer.

We met our friends, Rich and Patti, for dinner and that made a perfect ending to a perfect day.

Today has been basically a repeat of yesterday--a lot of resting interspersed with a few chores.  We also had a SKYPE call with Ansley and Kayley.  That’s always fun.  Kayley is cutting teeth, so she had her mouth stuffed full of toy to chew on.  She is 6 months old today--getting to be a big girl.

We made a fantastic discovery Friday evening.  One of the reasons we are trying to hike so hard here in the Smokies is to prepare ourselves for a couple of really long hiking days on the AT in northern Virginia.  I think I mentioned a few months ago that we found a website which lists all the parking areas along the AT.  That was a great find for us, especially since we discovered that there are parking areas about every 12 miles in northern Virginia--the section we want to hike next--making it possible to day hike instead of backpack.  When we found that website, I immediately got out paper and pencil to make a tentative hiking plan.  It worked out well, with 8-12 mile hiking days, but there were 2 stretches that were longer--both over 15 miles.  So, we’ve been here in the Smokies working hard at climbing these mountains and hiking more and more miles to build up our strength and endurance for those couple of big days on the AT.  Friday, I got out the list of parking areas again to refresh my memory.  You can imagine my surprise (and excitement) when I realized I had missed a parking area on both of those long days.  Boy, what a relief.  Now we think we’re ready to head to Virginia.

We actually have a 15 mile day planned for tomorrow.  We’ll go ahead and do it just to be reminded of what it is like.  Besides, it is one of the trails I need to hike to color in on my “all of the trails in the Smokies” map.

That’s it for today.  Better get back to my resting.

The Hiking Continues

We have had two more days of good weather and two more good hikes bringing our total miles hiked for the month to just over 68. The wildflowers continue to amaze and thrill.

Cateby's Trillium

Yesterday, we hiked over 10 miles, but the hike was on a well-graded foot path with alternating ups and downs.  Although the distance was farther, it was not as difficult as that big climb up Bote Mountain.  We saw three deer, but no other wildlife yesterday as we made our way from Fighting Gap along Sugarland Mountain Trail then down Husky Gap to the Little River.

Nice spot for a break

We had to crawl over several significant blow-downs.  Gene was a little sorry he hadn’t brought along the saw. These trees were far too large for his little saw, but at least he could have cut off some of the smaller branches to make the crawl over, under, or through a little easier.  About halfway down Husky Gap trail we ran into the trail crew.  They were hard at work cutting blow-downs and cleaning out water bars.  We met them again on our return trip.  They had their work cut out for them on Sugarland Mountain trail.  Big hugs all around for those guys.  They did some work yesterday.

One of the old vacation homes

We wanted to hike today, but we wanted something slow and easy.  We selected the Little River/Cucumber Gap loop which is located at the back of the Elkmont Campground.  We started out on Little River for the very gentle climb up to Cucumber Gap trail.  I always enjoy this hike because I love to see the river as it tumbles downhill.  It was certainly gorgeous today.

Painted Trillium

We stopped for a break and a group of fishermen caught up with us.  They were struggling under the weight of very heavy packs heading up to a campsite where they’ll spend the weekend.  They’re hoping to catch a few trout.   There were about 7 of them and their packs were huge.  One gentleman kept inviting us to go along and help carry some of the weight.  Another said his pack weighed 75 lbs.  We could tell from what gear we could see they were not light weight backpackers.  We also suspect that plenty of Johnny, Jim, and Jack will also be around the campfire tonight.

view from our lunch spot

On both trails today, the wildflowers were fabulous.  Part of the reason we chose this hike was so I could get a few photos.  The camera was heavy to carry, but I was glad I took it along.

Trout lily

Elkmont is one of those historic districts inside the Park, but unlike Cade’s Cove it has not been restored.  In fact, the old vacation homes of wealthy Knoxvillians are falling down upon themselves.  The last we heard about this project is that the park service will select a few homes to be restored and destroy the remainder.  I wish they would get on with it.  As it is now, it is very unsightly.
That’s it for today.  No more hiking until Monday.  We’ll find something else to do over the weekend.  Starbucks comes to mind.

The Rest of Yesterday's Story

Well, it’s amazing what a good night’s sleep will do for the old human body.  We both seem to have recovered from yesterday’s abuse.

In retrospect, we enjoyed a great hike.  The first couple of miles was UP Lead Cove trail.  Although this is a horse trail which gets a fair amount of use, the trail bed was not beat up and was a very pleasant walk.  The first mile was along Sugar Cove Prong, with one easy crossing.  There is still plenty of water in this typical mountain stream.  Lining the trail were many of the spring wildflowers we have been seeing.  The trail gets its name from the very small amount of lead ore found here in days gone by.

Spring beauty

We pushed our way upwards and finally popped out on Bote Mountain Trail.  This trail is an old roadbed; it is actually the continuation of the old road we walked on Schoolhouse Gap trail--the road that went up to North Carolina.  That’s what we did yesterday.  We took a left on Bote Mountain Trail (after a short break) and headed UP and UP and UP.  Being an old road, the trail was very wide.  The last mile, however, was little more than a deep ditch through rhododendron.  The loose rock which covered the trail made this last mile very difficult.


The end of Bote Mountain Trail intersects with the Appalachian Trail on the TN/NC border.  This particular spot is just north of Spence Field, a popular place used by settlers to bring their cattle for grazing during summer months.  The area is still pretty open making it a great place for our lunch break.

The worst part about these long climbs is the going down afterward.  We ate our lunch, rested, and enjoyed the solitude of this spot before heading DOWN.  At least, the worst part was in the beginning--getting over that first steep mile of loose rock.  Once past that point, it was still steep but much easier on the feet and legs not to be twisting and rolling on the rocks.

A quick nap after lunch

Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got back to the truck.  This was the most difficult hike we’ve done since getting here.  However, we are both feeling pretty good today.  Recovery has been much quicker than our previous 9 miler.

Today has been devoted to chores.  First thing this morning (well, after coffee) was to take the Peanut for his annual shots.  This is always a difficult endeavor.  He never goes to the same vet twice--we’re never in the same city when it’s his time.  We struggle with who to call for an appointment.  Of course, Peanut turns into some kind of a monster cat when he gets in the examining room.  Today, we were very pleased with the vet and it was one of our better visits.  Plus, the bill was less than $100.  That may be a first.

I think that about covers anything of any importance for today.