Tag: hiking

First Road Trip for 2018- Finale

Posted on by

The day started with a drive on Newfound Gap Road, which traverses the highest parts of the park, and ends in North Carolina. Along the way is Clingman’s Dome, the highest peak in the park. The hike to the observation tower is not a long hike, but, the trail is very steep, it is ranked as one of the more strenuous hikes in the park. Knowing that, we all decided to stay by the parking lot, which still offers some fantastic views of the mountains. Among the cars parked were several Minis, they were either on their to or from a rally. One of the Minis caught my eye- I am a huge Jeremy Clarkson fan, and the owner of the car turned it into a Clarkson/Top Gear tribute. I had to get some photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a picnic lunch on the way to North Carolina, and continued on to the old Mingus Mill, which is near the Oconluftee Visitor’s Center (the North Carolina side of the park).

After stopping at the center, we headed back, and stopped at a turnoff overlooking the Oconoluftee River. We got some long exposures of the rushing water, and then continued back toward the NW end of the park where we were staying. We made another stop at Tremont, and by the time we were done there, it was dinner time.

 

 

 

 

We drove into Gatlinburg and had dinner at Bones BBQ Joint, it was a great last meal of the trip. Afterward, we went to the Ole Smoky Distillery and had a moonshine tasting. I bought some to bring back, it was really good!

 

 

 

 

 

Thus ended our spring excursion to the Smokies. As always, a fantastic time, with great people to share the experience with. Cathie and I will be returning to the Smokies in November. Before then, other adventures await, it will be a great summer!

First Road Trip for 2018, Part 6

Posted on by

Thursday, May 3- recovery day. We didn’t have a set wake up time due to the strenuous hike from the previous day. The simple act of walking, going up and down stairs, standing up and sitting down, all were very tough. My legs were not prepared for the work, but, I’m not one to just sit around either. We went to breakfast at a place Cathie had seen during one of her previous trips, the Applewood Farmhouse Restaurant The food was incredible, we ate more than we should have, but, it was a great reward for the previous day’s efforts. Their apple fritters were delicious, and Cathie bought some of their mix to take home. We walked around the candy store and their general stores, before heading out for our next stop, back to Cades Cove. After stopping at their stores, we left the park and played a round of miniature golf. We drove back out to Townsend, to see if we could get some information on cabins or hotels for future trips.

We intentionally left the day open and didn’t push our bodies too far, although Cathie fared better than I did. Later in the afternoon, we went back to photograph some of the roadside streams in Greenbriar, and on better days, I would have walked down the somewhat steep slopes to get closer to the water. But, I knew my legs were not going to handle it well, and I could just envision me tumbling down, breaking either bones, or my camera gear, or both. So, I played it safe and stayed up where we parked. Still, I got some photos I was pleased with.

We went back to the cabin, had dinner and relaxed a bit. It was a very light day.

First Road Trip for 2018, Part 5

Posted on by

Wednesday, May 2.

We had breakfast at the cabin, and prepared for what we knew was going to be the toughest day of the trip. There are two very strenuous distance hikes in the park, and we wanted to do at least one of them on this trip. We chose the Ramsey Cascade’s trail, because it seemed that it would be the easier of the two, on paper. The waterfalls at the end of the trail are the tallest in the park. The last photo doesn’t do them justice, they are about 60-70 feet tall.

We arrived around 9:15 am at the parking lot at the trail head. The trail is about 4 linear miles one way, and we knew from what we had read that it was uphill most of the way to the falls. While I had not really trained for this kind of hike, I was confident. After all, this is not one of the trails chosen by the Navy SEALs for BUDs training. So we set off with the idea that we would be back to the car by mid afternoon.

We got back to the car a little over 9 hours later.

There is about a 2,200 elevation change one way. I was carrying over 40 lbs of camera gear, with plantar fasciitis in my right foot, two herniated discs in my back, and a surgically repaired right knee. But, none of that stopped me. It just meant that the going was slow. And it was for all of us. We had to make numerous stops on the way up. And when I say it is uphill, it’s steep in several spots. And, the last 1/8 of a mile was basically climbing over and around huge boulders, there wasn’t really a “trail.”

 

We brought provisions for the hike. It was one bottle of water for each of us, and one granola bar. For the entire day. By the time I had gotten to the 3 mile mark (going up), my granola bar was gone. And I finished the water before I got to the waterfalls. So, there were no provisions at all for the return hike.

When we finally got to the falls, Cathie had already sat down on the big rock in front of the falls. I put my gear down, and lay down flat on the rock on my stomach. I didn’t kiss the rock, but it was the same idea.

Cathie christened this “the hike from hell.” I will not disagree. She and I also made a suicide pact on the way back down. It was brutal. My legs were hardly holding me up as we were heading back down the trail. I tripped over my own feet, over rocks, branches, tree roots, you name it. And you know what? I would do it again. Because with all this being said, the pay off was incredible. And even with all this, there were spots that were achingly beautiful along the way. They had put narrow log bridges across some sections of the stream. I paused at these just lose myself in the moment, the water rushing below, the wind in the trees, and no other ambient sounds. In those moments, I truly understand what John Muir meant when he said “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares drop away from you like the leaves of autumn.”

I used up everything I had that day on that hike. It took my legs several days to really recover from it. Walking was not easy, but even worse was the hill we had to walk up and down to get to and from our cabin. And the stairs in the cabin to and from my bedroom really, really sucked. But these were just muscle aches. My foot, back and knee held up fine.

It was a day we all will never forget.