Smoky Mountain National Park Hiking & CC-Skiing

Post-900 Hike #162: Noisy Creek 0.4 mi., Old Settlers ~8.5 mi

2012-01-26T10:10:00.008-05:00

I picked up Cecil Rowe at 0700 and we proceeded to Sevierville where we met Bob Bolinger at 0745 and proceeded in his SUV to the 0830 meet-up on U.S. 321 East of Gatlinburg with those who for the most part do their hikes with the Tom Wainer-Bill Broome Sub-Group of our Margaret Stevenson Wednesday Hiking group. (I last hiked with this group on 11/9/11 when we did Curry Mtn, Meigs Mtn,& Meigs Creek.) Rather than doing a key-swap, vehicles were shuttled to the ending point in Greenbrier and all 12 of us started the hike at Noisy Creek at 0915 ~0.4 mi. of our starting point on Old Settlers Trail (latter was ~8 mi. West of this trail's Eastern trail head at its Madron Bald junction).

The Noisy Creek manway has deteriorated since I last did it for the creek has overtaken part of its route; if I were to do this hike again, I would go to the ridge on the right which would lead would also lead to the Old Settlers Trail. Shortly after we started we in essence were split into two groups, for some of us wished to move at a slightly faster pace. Although we had ~7 stream crossings, none required water shoes.

At 11:45 we stopped for lunch; it was at this point that I realized that my GPS batteries died out 3.5-4 mi. into the hike. After we ate we waited for the rest of our group and I then took the first picture.

Those of us who had finished our lunch went on and our subgroup finished the hike at 1400. My Omron pedometer registered ~9 mi. (19,919 steps with 16,817 being aerobic, 715 kcal burned); the post-lunch GPS data indicated that we traveled 4.27 mi., with a moving average speed of 3.0 mph (we could move on the post-lunch part because it was basically down with only one stream crossing).

When we finished (road to Ramsay Cascades trail) I took the picture of Peter Lloyd to show his unique trekking poles; 8-days ago I had given a presentation at Wilderness Wildlife Week and one segment of my presentation was on Trekking Poles. I was only able to show a poor picture of this design which is unique in that it has two handgrips; this permits, for example, using the upper grip for downs and lower grip for level trails without having to adjust pole length.

On our return trip to the other vehicles, Tom Wainner and I volunteered to ride in in the bed of a 5-passenger pick-up over a few miles of rough park roads to the other vehicles. Because we have sons that went to high school and church together, we were able to "shorten" the trip by relating issues of their respective lives.

AT, Charlies Bunion, & return to Newfound Gap

2012-01-18T19:56:00.020-05:00

For today I had planned to do a quasi loop that included Hannah Mtn & Rabbit Creek; however, the stream crossing were deemed to be too high (i.e., they would also be very cold). BZ Lane and Bob Bolinger (the three of us have had some great winter hikes over the past few years) came up with a hike that has previously appeared on this blog, namely Charlies Bunion. I picked up Cecil Rowe; we met Bob at his and my usual meet-up in Sevierville, and we proceeded to to SVC where BZ and Amy Howe joined us; Bob then took us to Newfound Gap. The temperature was in the low 20's when we arrived there; I usually do not wear a coat in hiking but did initially. Because I use my arms quite a bit with trekking poles, a vest is usually suffices for a coat; possibly the fact that I am full-blooded Norwegian helps too.

In the first pic we have the AT (basically in a NE direction for our hike) and the second is my attempt to capture scenery on the right; hoar frost brightens both of them up. (Although we often had ice on the trail, hardly any snow.)

None of us wore crampons initially even though things were a little dicey at times. Prior to putting them on we cautiously tried to step around the ice; after putting them on we in essence aimed for the ice for we were most comfortable is so doing. We stopped momentarily 2.7 mi. out at the Icewater Spring shelter. It was then on to the Charlies Bunion trail (~1.7 mi. on AT & then ~0.1 mi. to the Bunion). Cecil, BZ, & I left first and Cecil asked if we had been to Ober Bunion; BZ and I were not aware of this manway and followed Cecil to a point overlooking Charlies Bunion; even though my picture does not do it justice, going there and the view were one of the hi-lights of the day.

In the next picture Amy is looking back with part of Charlies Bunion on her right; Cecil(tan coat) is talking to Bob & BZ (bluff on R is Ober Bunion); next picture is Cecil and BZ on top of Ober Bunion

The last picture is my attempt to capture nature shortly after we left the Bunion.

The return was somewhat inconsequential; since BZ's and my preferred pace are essentially the same, we hiked together on the return and kept our crampons on until we arrived at Bob's SUV at Newfound Gap; then BZ started the engine and we warmed up. It was truly a great hike.

GPS data: 8.2 mi., 1,918' gain (6,159' max).
OMRON: 8.33 mi., 18,272 steps, 686 kcal.

NOTE: Pictures by Amy & Bob will be included and/or replace existing ones when I remember how I've transferred such pictures in the past.

Post-900 Hike 160: Bullhead & Rainbow Falls

2012-01-13T20:22:00.011-05:00

It rained Wed. and most if not all of the Margaret Stevenson Wednesday Hiker group's hikes were cancelled. After my presentation WWW this past Tues. Bob Bolinger, BZ Lane, and I briefly talked about doing a hike; Bob called on Thurs. eve about hiking out of the Gatlinburg area because weather had already closed US 441. I met Bob at our usual meet-up site in Sevierville; Bob then drove to BZ's home in Gatlinburg which is very close to several trail heads. We decided to do the Bull Head--Rainbow Falls Loop (without the trip to LeConte).

We left from the Rainbow Falls parking lot ~0920. First we did the 0.4 mi. on Old Sugarlands Trail that took us the Bull Head trail head; it was cold. Although there was not much more than a trace of snow as we left, of course with altitude gain snow increased proportionately.

The snow on the trees was beautiful; although I forgot my camera, Bob forwarded me some pictures. Since he is in essence a professional photographer, it's a benefit to the viewer. The first picture is about 2 mi. into Bull Head; the second one is of "The Pulpit" with BZ presiding (~2.4 mi. up).

The next two pictures were also taken on Bull Head; the trail really offers some great views and Bob (the photographer for this blog) really knows how to capture them. In the first of these two pictures BZ is on the left and I'm on the right; in the second one I am on the left in the foreground and BZ is on the right up a bit.

Bull Head (almost 6 mi. in length) became quite a slog in its last two mi. (3,500' gain overall and all basically "up"); we lunched 0.5-1.0 mi. prior to its junction with the 6.7 Rainbow Falls trail. It was here that Bob and I donned our Stabilicer Ice Cleats. Not sure what happened, but when we finished Bull Head my GPS registered ~2 mi. more than it should have; thus I deleted its data in hopes that I would get a correct reading for Rainbow Falls. Although the latter trail basically descended (i.e., 2,880'), it has many rocks in it and is not very much fun. Of course snow waned as we descended; however, there were still slick spots and despite this, ice cleats were contraindicated for the lower half. Although we did not see anyone on Bull Head, on Rainbow falls there were 2-3 groups going to the LeConte shelter and one said he was going to the Lodge (it's closed in Winter?). Below the falls we met a few tourists; they did not seem sure where they were going.

When we arrived at the Parking lot my GPS trip odometer registered 5.5 mi. (the map indicates 6.0 mi.) with a moving average of 2.4 m.p.h.

Post 900 Hike #159: Middle Prong, Indian Falls

2011-12-26T21:09:00.018-05:00

In September my son Kirk drove up from Johns Creek GA to hike with me; we did Mt. Cammerer. Prior to Kirk bringing his wife Catherine and two daughters to celebrate Christmas with us; he advised me that he and Catherine would like to hike with me; assuming my wife Meredith would keep his daughters (4.5 & 7.5 yrs.), and their dog under control. My original plan was for us to hike the Rich Mtn Loop; I even gave them a copy of my last blog on these trails. However, during the night I decided to take them on a hike on the Middle Prong Trail to the Indian Falls Manway; I thought that a slightly shorter hike was desirable (not for my half-marathon runner daughter in-law but rather for my wife who would be responsible for their two daughters and dog, plus our Airedale Terrier Winston. Kirk and Catherine trusted my decision even though I could not give them specifics since that material resided in the room of their sleeping daughters.

We were on Middle Prong by 1000; I was somewhat surprised to note that Kirk was taking many pictures of the Middle Prong waterway adjacent to the trail; having done the 2.3 mi. segment eight times, the trail had not seemed that neat to me when in reality it is a very lovely trail.

When we got to the Panther Creek water crossing I told them a few hiking stories. Since I had not hiked the Indian Falls Manway for a couple of years and was not able to review my blogs relating to same (it is not on trail maps or in the Brown Book), I just knew that the manway was adjacent to a sharp switchback). Unfortunately it was a little further than I told them it would be. Nevertheless, when we arrived at the Falls they thought the trip was truly worth it; they took many pictures and we had a snack.

Retracing our steps was slightly easier for all the minimal slopes were now in essence "downhill".

My SUV was the only vehicle in the parking area at the Middle Prong trail head when we started at 0900; when we got back to it the number of vehicles numbered in the high teens.

Omron data: 7.3 mi. hiked, 15,952 steps (11,648 deemed aerobic--only steps counted were in bouts of 10 min. or longer), 571 kcal burned.

GPS data: 8.03 mi. hiked, 3.4 mph moving average speed, 930 ft. total assent (our max elevation on this hike was 3,193 ft). (NOTE: Omron-GPS disparity in part due to my failure to turn off my GPS prior to my driving 1-2 min from our parking space; thus the GPS distance hiked and the mph are slightly inflated.)

On the way home I selected the Back Porch as being a good place for them to try the Townsend cuisine. One had a barbecue and one a steak burger sandwich; I had a very delicious Reuben.

Post 900 Hike #158--Rhodendron Creek (a Manway)

2011-12-14T21:12:00.010-05:00

For anyone not familiar with the term "manway", I think of it as an unmarked/unsanctioned trail that seldom if ever benefits from trail maintenance; it is usually used to connect hikers with "regular trails" (e.g., those appearing on Park maps or in Brown Book) or just a rarely used trail that has a feature or two that attracts minimal use.

Those that made our hike today are seen in the first figure with the exception of Frank March, the one who took the photo.

I had done a longer version of this hike with Bob Bolinger 6-weeks ago; Bob had been asked to come up with a hike that was somewhat near the site of our hikers Christmas party. As might be expected, this trail parallels Rhododendron Creek. Although there is one "rock-hopping" stream crossing, if one has trekking poles it is of little problem; however, those without poles were dependent upon others if they did not find a "viable" tree branch. Except for those hikes in which I was also doing trail work and had to carry a tool of some sort, of the hundreds of other hikes that I have taken on only one easy one did I not carry poles. If one knows how to use poles they can reduce compressive forces to the knee joint; they can also markedly reduce the chances of injury on stream crossings.

Because I had done this hike 6-weeks ago and my pictures were not that great, I did not take my camera. Thus Frank also took the second picture and I thought of including two more of his; at least for this trail Frank's pictures are far better than those that I have taken.

In part because of the delay that stream crossing caused and because we had to also cross it on our return to our vehicles, and because we did not wish to be late for the Margaret Stevenson Wednesday Hikers Christmas Party in Gatlinburg, we retraced our steps after the Rhododendron Creek trail ended at its junction with the Grapeyard Ridge Trail.

Our hike today was ultra short. When Bob and I did this trail 6-weeks ago, we continued on Grapeyard Ridge Trail, and just past the point wherein the steam engine could not make a switchback (i.e., it toppled over and all that remains are its wheels and boiler), we took the beautiful Injun Creek trail back to Greenbriar Ranger Station. (That hike was a little less than 5-miles; it is one that I plan to take some friends on in the next few weeks because it is a flat-out nice little hike.) We then walked ~1 mi. on Greenbriar Road to Bob's SUV.

Post-900 Hike #157: Little River & Huskey Gap (in/out)

2011-12-07T16:39:00.012-05:00

This was Gracia Slater's last hike for membership in The 900 Miler Association; it was the 2.1 mi. section of Huskey Gap that was needed. Since this hike had to be rescheduled once already because of rain, logistics dictated that it be done rain or shine. Unfortunately rain was what it was.

I arrived at Food Lion at 0750; soon Jim Stanley and Tom Hickey arrived; then Theresa Yu and David Smith arrived; the latter two rode with me in part because Jim Stanley was carrying several things for a post-hike celebration. We arrived at the Little River trail head ~0850; Gracia was already there along with her daughter Shannon and her son Dixon. Dixon flew in from Northern California--believe that was a surprise to Gracia; also a surprise to Gracia was that he was using crutches. Three others from NC also came to hike with Gracia on her last hike; for a truly cold and rainy day, this really shows a strong respect and friendship.

The first picture is of Shannon, Dixon, and Gracia as they were about to embark on the aforementioned 2.1 mi. section of Huskey Gap Trail that Gracia needed.

The second picture is of Dixon coming down Huskey Gap. Even though the trails hiked today were not that difficult, because of the incessant rain there were a few stream crossings that were somewhat imposing. I doubt that very few could complete this hike on crutches as Dixen did.

Towards the end of the hike Gracia's husband John (who recently had back surgery) hiked in to meet her; from left to right in the picture are Shannon, Dixon, Gracia, and John.

A celebration of Gracia's achievement was held on the porch the restored Elkmont club house (forget the exact title of the building, it was closed for the winter months). Despite the weather, this was one neat day, one neat hike, and one neat celebration for one neat lady.

Hike Data
Pedometer:
9.61 mi., 21,005 steps, 18,228 of which were aerobic, 757 kcal burned.

GPS:
11.0 mi. hiked (cannot explain apparent error), 3.2 mph av., 1,356' total ascent

Post-900 Hike #156: Trails: Gatlinburg, Old Sugarlands, Twin Creeks,

2011-11-30T20:34:00.007-05:00

The 11/16 and 11/23 hikes were cancelled because of rain; a hike to and from Clingmans Dome today was cancelled yesterday because of snow (resulting that the road to the Dome was closed two days earlier than its usually planned winter closing date of December 1st. Bob Bolinger, BZ Lane, and I decided to do a hike that would least be affected by the weather.

I met Bob at our usual meet-up site on Dolly Parton Parkway in Sevierville at 0815; with Bob driving we arrived at BZ's home in Gatlinburg ~0835 and at 0845 we began our hike. We walked from BZ's home through a section of downtown Gatlinburg to the start of the Gatlinburg trail (1.9 mi., parallels US 441) which has as its terminus the Sugarlands Visitor Center. (Similarly if one follows US 441 to Cherokee NC, the Oconaluftee River Trail, 1.5 mi., connects the town of Cherokee with the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Just prior to SVC we crossed US 441 to take Old Sugarlands Trail (3.9 mi.), a little bit of Cherokee Orchard Rd, then most of Twin Creeks Trail, finishing up on Manways to BZ's home. My GPS indicated that are total hike of trails plus was 6.6 mi; our moving average speed was 2.8 mph and we had 1,265' of climb. After we reached BZ's home we ate at a little restaurant that serves the best .

Post-900 #155: Curry Mtn, Meigs Mtn, Meigs Crk

2011-11-09T21:08:00.008-05:00

The Wednesday hike that I selected to do today was one organized by Bill Broome and Tom Wainner; it was Curry Mtn (3.3), Meigs Mtn (1.9), and Meigs Creek (3.5). The latter two trails are amongst the very few that I have only hiked once; I had last done these two trails in 2005 (my first year of hiking).

I went to the Alcoa Cracker Barrel meet-up at 07:30; because the hike would start out of Metcalf Bottoms close to the Curry Mtn trailhead, I agreed to leave my SUV at The Sinks (Meigs Creek Trail culmination). I then rode with Tom et al. to Metcalf Bottoms; there were more hikers there than we anticipated. Although a key swap was considered, instead two vehicles were moved to The Sinks and the drivers of same were shagged back to Metcalf Bottoms by Bob Bolinger. I had considered waiting until Bob returned but ended going with those taking the short trek to the trail head ~08:45, thinking that would leave an option open of going to see a wood carver in Gatlinburg.

Initially I hiked with Tom and then with Joel Morris; the latter had had both knees replaced ~one year ago and was really moving along fine. Most of the trail was once a road and is a relatively easy up (total gain ~1,200'). The first picture was taken in the direction of Sugarland Mtn. After reaching Curry Gap I chugged a little and arrived at the junction with Miegs Mtn at 10:10 (my average speed was 2.7 mph). The second picture is of my cohorts at Buckhorn Gap; from left to right they are Larry Roovers, Phil, Alan Schultz, and Jim Ley.

As we were ready to leave the late starters Dale Teague and Peter caught up with us; I chose to no longer set the pace and Dale led once we started on Meigs Mtn (~400' of down); he set a very good pace for by the time we reached Meigs Creek Trail our average speed was 2.8 mph for the 5.2 miles hiked.

Meigs Creek Trail crosses its creek numerous times; sometimes these crossings are referred to as "rock hopping" crossings. However, although we never needed to don water shoes, many of these 18 crossings required "very careful" steps from one rock to another. One in our group of 7 may gotten one ankle slightly wet; however, no ever fell despite a few relatively challenging crossings. Meigs Creek Trail ends with ~400' of climb; I belatedly decided to get an aerobic workout again and pushed it a bit. When I arrived at The Sinks my moving average speed for the 8.88 mi. hiked (~0.38 of this was road miles from Metcalf Bottoms to Curry Mtn trail head) my moving average speed was 2.9 mph. (It should be noted that the time waiting at trail heads or even just stopping as is necessary in group stream crossings does not figure in the average speed calculation by my GPS. The total ascent for this hike was 1,613'.

At The Sinks (also a tourist stopping point--stimulus funding has resulted in dressing up this area including adding a considerable amount of parking) we ate lunch and I took this picture. Just below the rock in the foreground is some relatively deep water with a bit of under tow that can be quite dangerous. This past summer a young woman drowned there; I have no idea how many fatalities have occurred at The Sinks over the years. I drove a few over to Metcalf Bottoms to their cars and I waited around for a few others to return. It was a great day and a nice hike.

Post 900 Hike #154: Rhodendrum Creek, Grapeyard Ridge, Injun Creek

2011-11-02T20:19:00.011-04:00

Bob Bolinger was asked to come up with a hike that could be conducted the morning of Dec. 14th prior to our Margaret Stevenson Wednesday Hikers' Xmas party in
Gatlinburg. He was exploring a probable recommendation that he would make; I chose to go with him.

I met Bob at our usual meet-up site in Sevierville; because of an accident on US 129, I had to take back roads in unknown territory that delayed our meet-up. Bob took it in stride and I rode with him to the Greenbrier entrance to the GSMNP off US 321. We then took Rhododendron Creek Trail; this is a "manway" ~1 mi. S. of the Greenbrier Ranger Station. As might be expected, this manway followed Rhodendron Creek; the first picture shows water falls adjacent to this rather pretty trail that few see.

When we came to Rhodendron Creek Trail's junction with Grapeyard Ridge Trail; we took the latter, thinking James Gap would be a possible turn-around spot for hikers choosing to do this trail 12/14. However, after reaching James Gap we continued on Grapeyard Ridge ~200 yds to the remains of the steam engine that fell off this quasi road back in ~1920. In the Brown Book it is stated that the steam engine was brought to this area in the 1920's to saw wood for the Greenbrier School; however, on this self-propelled equipment's return it did not execute a switchback and tumbled into the creek. It was salvaged and about all that remains is what is seen in the picture plus its big drive wheels.

We then went to Campsite 32 just off of Grapeyard Ridge on Injun Creek trail (i.e., a manway). I could not believe how good a shape this manway is in today! Of course like many trails it once was a road; however, even though not given the upkeep that most trails receive, it is about as nice a trail that I have ever hiked. It even has four "logged bridge" stream crossings which also were in good shape; Bob thinks that this trail will make it to the list of required trails to gain membership to The 900-Miler Association. We followed this excellent trail until its junction with Greenbrier Road; at this point in time my GPS indicated that we had traveled 3.84 miles. Even though that would sound like a reasonable morning hike prior to our Christmas Party, there is a little over 900 ft of "up" by the time one reaches James Gap; thus turning around there is an option that some would take. We then walked on the road ~1 mi. S. from the Ranger Station to Bob's SUV; when we arrived there our moving average speed for the day was 2.8 mph (2.7 mph on the manways/trails) and our total walking distance was 4.75 miles.

Just outside the GSMNP we stopped at the home of a man who does bear carvings; although he was out of town, I was able to reach him by telephone and I believe that I will contract with him for a "bear climbing a tree" to be placed off my back deck. We then stopped at a little restaurant that has the best Reuben sandwiches; it was a late lunch but a great one. (I had stopped there once with BZ and Bob; it is among the Gatlinburg resident BZ's favorite ones.)

Post-900 Hike #153: Porters Creek

2011-10-26T18:30:00.015-04:00

Porters Creek, my hike for today, was the one in which John Hutsenpiller qualified for membership in The 900 Miler Association. It was a little less than four years ago that I met John at a dog park and told him about our hiking club; ironically the first hike that he went with me was about twice as long as the one done today. (In retrospect that was sort of dumb of me and it's a wonder that he did not quit after that hike; moreover, he persisted even though three different health issues curtailed his hiking.) The hike that he chose for his finale was Porters Creek; 3.7 mi. in (John finished his quest at this point), but since it dead-ends, an additional 3.7 mi. out.

Originally I thought that just a few of us would be there to witness John's accomplishment; however, there were 12 including John's wife Martha. Unfortunately in this picture I captured only eight at the start of the hike; from L to R they are Dick Ledyard, Joan Tomlinson, Lane Hughes, Ellie Doughty, the honoree John, Judy Gross, Lowell Reed, and Amy Howe. Not in picture were Frank March, John's wife Martha, Janetta Baker, and me.

This is a hike in which the trail is quite different in the spring than it is in the fall; although the flowers bring many to this trail in April and May, I think it is much neater in the fall. Moreover, on our way back we met far more people than I would have expected to hike this trail in the middle of the week. Unfortunately many of these were not hikers and doubtfully would complete the hike. One of the more unique log bridges in the park is on this trail; it not only has an angle in it, it's height above the stream is relatively high.

The next picture shows John at the point in which he completes the 900 and passes under the trekking poles; usually that perk is not present.

The last picture was taken at a shelter a short distance from the trail. In addition to this cake which depicts the GSMNP, John's wife Martha had toothpicks with trail-name pennants on each, as well soft drinks. It was really a neat occasion for a neat guy.

Post-900 Hike #152: Lkshr 3.3, FrnyCrk 11.4,F-Rdg1.1

2011-10-12T22:22:00.008-04:00

This is a hike that Richard Ryburn organized; because my records indicated that I had done Forney Creek only once, I told him that I would do his arduous hike. It was later that I realized that he was only doing a short section of Forney Creek and going in more of a Northerly direction whereas I would be heading more NE; since he had another going with him, I decided that I would do most of Forney Creek solo.

After Richard and I enjoyed a breakfast at Hardees, at 05:45 we met John Hutsenpeler at Food Lion and went in my Outback to SVC. There we met Ramsay Roth at 06:30 and he set out in my vehicle to Clingmans Dome and Richard drove his vehicle to the parking lot by the Tunnel to Nowhere (via Bryson City). To our surprise the parking lot was full and an RV was there too. A Park Ranger advised us that a movie was being shot with at least some scenes taking place in the tunnel. Although I almost went full speed through the tunnel, dodging vehicles and people, Richard was a little more observant; he noted contrived body parts and other props suggesting that less than a high-rated movie was being filmed. Evidently the movie makers just needed a tunnel, not a Park, for this film.

After going through the tunnel Lakeshore Trail lay waiting; my average speed for it was 2.9 mph. Then we hit the 11.4 mi. Forney Creek Trail; at 3.6 mi. Richard and John exited on Jonas Creek; the exit point was the log bridge depicted in the first figure.

Although I had gone solo on high-teen hikes when I was working on my first 900, this one I knew would be tough because of stream crossings and climb. After about one mile I came to the first crossing noted on our trail map. As I ate my lunch and put on my water shoes, a young man approached. (Michael from Indianapolis, who likes to make an annual trip to the GSMNP to hike.) Because he did not have any water shoes, I offered to go first so that he could get a better idea of water depth and develop a strategy for the route that he would take. He was quite adroit in stepping or crawling from rock to rock (see 2nd pic); however, he did say that the water went over his gortex boots once. Although the water never reached my knee brace, it was close as I just slogged across each of the 4-stream crossings.

After the 4th crossing I encouraged Michael to head on for I had to dry my feet and again don my hiking boots. I soon met a young couple going down and advised them to be careful crossing the stream; neither had trekking poles or water shoes. Yes, the Brown Books shows three more water crossings; however, these would be at a bit higher elevation and would be expected to be relatively easy rock hops. At the first of the last three going up there's a series of cascades; the picture attached was looking upstream (I also took one looking downstream).

After taking a few pictures I realized that the trail became somewhat indistinct; in part because I was alone I had an anxious moment. However, after looking at my GPS I realized I had to cross this stream about now; I found a spot that looked feasible, and low and behold there was again a trail. The last 1.75 mi. of Forney Creek Trail has more than a 1,200' gain. In part perhaps because I was alone I verged on becoming physiologically and psychologically spent; moreover, I thought that I must be near the Forney Ridge Trail junction. It was then I met a young GI hiking in his Army boots, and of course no poles or water shoes; I warned him too about the impending stream crossings but I knew that he was tough.

I finally hit Fork Ridge Trail and had but a smidgeon over one mile to the Clingmans Dome Parking Lot. I met two more backpackers close to my destination; ironically one as a youth, who with his mother or aunt, had hiked with Margaret Stevenson; an individual I never met but who was the founder of my hiking group (i.e., The Margaret Stevenson Wednesday Hikers). After arriving at my SUV in the parking lot a little after 17:00, I lay down on the grass to stretch my neck; the considerable amount of ice remaining in my Platypus water bag made a nice neck brace and was somewhat comforting. Initially it is was quite warm and sunny; although a number take the ~0.5 mi. trek to the observation deck, many do not wonder very far from their vehicles. As I endeavored to rid my Platypus of its ice, my hands got cold and then I got cold and put on my jacket.

GPS Data: I hiked 15.2 mi., 2.5 mph was my average velocity (it was 2.9 mph for Lakeshore Trail), final elevation was 6,315' and my ascent total was 4,264' (no wonder I was tired). My pedometer data indicated that I took 33,805 steps and that I hiked 16 mi.; I must have really been taking small steps towards the end.

When John and Richard arrived visibility was diminishing rapidly. Shortly after leaving the Dome parking lot a bear darted out and ran down the mountain on the narrow R-shoulder; the car in front of us stopped. After a few moments I passed that car cautiously. I was never really close to the bear and trailed him at his pace; he then crossed the road in front of us and scurried up the embankment. That was truly a feat of beauty! (It would be an extremely foolish mistake to run up a hill if a bear was chasing you.)

Since our last ~20 mi. were going to be going down the mountain, this was my first "required opportunity" to use Subura's manual shift mode. There are minus and plus paddle shifts behind the steering wheel; as I learned how to work them, stepping on the brake became a rarity even if the vehicle ahead of me slowed rapidly.

I arrived home ~21:15.

Post-900 Hike #151: Non-contiguous hikes near Balsam Mtn

2011-10-06T22:56:00.013-04:00

Although I had planned to do a longer hike, since the impending winter closing of the Balsam Mtn Rd I decided to do these 3-non contiguous hikes for I knew that I had done each only once previously (I have done most Park trails a minimum of two times). Met Dick Ledyard at Food Lion at 0615; Joan Tomlinson was with him. I offered to drive but Dick thought it would be best to take his van since he could take more passengers if need be. At SVC we met Ramsay Roth, Frank March, and Cindy Spangler.

We then proceeded in Dick's van on US 441 South to the Oconulaftee Visitor Center in NC; Judy Gross met us there. After a cup of coffee, we went in Dick's van and Judy's SUV to Balsam Mtn Rd. on the SE corner of the Park. The first trail that we did was Flat Creek (2.2 m.); Judy, Joan, Cindy and I did it in a Northerly direction and Ramsay, Frank, and Dick did it going South. It is a very nice trail.

Both vehicles then met ~6 mi. up the road and we did Spruce Mtn trail in and out (1.2 + 1.2 with ~800' of climb, because we went to the campsite,the mileage was probably a bit more than the 1.2 mi. Believe the first picture was taken when we finished Spruce Mtn. From left to right we have Frank, Ramsay, Dick, Judy, Joan, and Cindy.

We then proceeded in the two vehicles ~2 mi. for the Palmer Creek trail head and ate lunch. Dick, Frank, and Ramsay were going to do an in and out on the 3.3 mi. Palmer Creek trail. Joan, Cindy, Judy and I walked on Balsam Mtn road ~3/4's of mile to the Balsam Mtn trail head. The section of this trail that we were to do had ~800' of gain in its 2.3 mi. length. For this trail Joan (who had run 8 marathons and was in training for her 9th) led; my GPS indicated that my average speed (no stops) was 2.9 mph going up (Joan's was well over 3 mph); the elevation at Beech Gap junction was 5,227'. We then sort of floated down the 2.5 mi. Beech Gap I trail (almost 2,000' decline); our speed for this was almost at 0.5 mph slower. (I only used my GPS for the latter up and down for I neglected to turn it off in vehicle travel.)

After a short wait Ramsay, a very fast hiker, who had just finished an in and out on Palmer Creek trail, arrived in Judy's SUV. We then went to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, originally planning on waiting for Frank and Dick. (Might mention that Dick is a very gutty guy; he almost has bone on bone in his right-knee joint and is facing a TKR when Advil does not obviate enough pain.) After a short break we decided to do an in-and-out (1.5 + 1,5) of the Oconaluftee River Trail, one that both Judy and Cindy needed for their first maps; it was at least my 5th hiking of this trail.

A few of the Elk from Cataloochee have moved to the Oconaluftee area; we saw a few early in the morning by the latter visitor center before we started on our hike. From my training for the Elk Bugle Corps in Cataloochee I knew that we could expect to see them shortly. Nevertheless I was quite surprised when we came upon this bull and cow elk in the very narrow wooded area on the US 441 side of this trail.

When we neared the Occonaluftee Visitor Center we saw one bull and ~15 cows to our left; much to Cindy's and my surprise to our right at very close range was probably the bull and cow we passed earlier. However, because we were looking at the heard we missed them were now ~150' from the two.

The four non-contiguous hikes were a treat; moreover, our 7 hikers made it a neat group and a great day. Although I used my GPS only on the section of Balsam Mtn done, my pedometer registered 10.92 mi. for today's hike. Nevertheless, we were now faced with 2+ hour drive back to our homes.

Post 900 Hike 150: Rich Mtn Loop

2011-09-28T17:50:00.008-04:00

My recently retired Monday running buddy at UT (Craig Wrisberg) indicated that he would like to hike this Wed. The hike that I originally planned to do was out of Cosby; however, I did not think that the driving required for a relatively short hike would be the best choice for him. Thus I chose a hike out Cades Cove; it was Rich Mountain Loop (3.3), Indian Grave Gap (out and in 1.1, 1.1 & 0.8, 1.8), and Crooked Arm Ridge (2.2). Bob Bolinger indicated an interest and he met us at Townsend Y at 0830; because I wanted to show Craig the Rich Mountain Road and how familiarity with same could be advantageous (e.g., getting to Ace Gap & Rich Mtn trails), both Bob and I drove to Cades Cove. (Do not believe the distance from Cades Cove Rd to the first and last trails is included in the above.)

After about a mile on Rich Mtn Loop I noted that we were catching a number of hikers; to my surprise Otis's group of our Margaret Stevenson Wednesday Hikers had chosen (at their meet-up site--the plan was not published). Believe we passed all but two from this group of about 20 by the time we arrived at Indian Grave Gap trail (this was an in-and-out that Otis's group was not going to do). I knew most of the hikers and I briefly talked to a few on our way. One was Sue Hung who I had not talked with since the memorial service for her husband; Jim was also was in our hiking group and the mentor of the individual that founded the Garmin Co.

Indian Grave Gap had ~700 feet of descent to Rich Mtn Road and of course ~700 feet of ascent back. At this point we ate our lunch and I took a picture of my two cohorts; unfortunately it was quite poor and fortunately Bob (in essence a professional photographer) used my camera and shot one of Craig and me.

The second picture was taken where our trail (Indian Grave Gap) was on the N-edge of the park; it is of Wears Valley or the area just West of Wears Valley.

When we got to Crooked Arm Ridge I went ahead in order that I could ice my knee in the parking lot. When I finished it there were two hikers that requested that I take their picture by the trail sign. It was here that I also left a note for Bob and Craig telling them that I went to the parking lot. I then walked to the parking lot (~0.5 mi.) talking with the two individuals that I just met.

Craig and Bob enjoyed talking with each other; I enjoyed the hike for I pressed it a bit in the latter part and my neck did not bother me. Yes, I assume that the residuals of my January accident will always be with me; however, as long as the minimal discomfort does not revert to pain I can take it. That is 3-hikes in a row in which pain has not really been a factor after a 6-wk hiatus; however, although Mt. Cammerer had a bit of up, none of these hikes have been very hard or long.

My Garmin GPS data indicated that we went 11.3 mi. with 2,566' of total ascent and our max elevation was 3,676'; my average speed was 2.6 mph.

Post 900 Hike #149 (School House Gap, Turkeypen Ridge, Finley Cane, Schoolhouse Gap)

2011-09-21T22:33:00.005-04:00

Had planned to do a hike of ~15 mi. since I thought it would be a fair indicator of my neck condition; however, a chance meeting last evening with Dale Teague prompted me to consider Bill Broome's 8-9 mi. hike. It was a hike that I thought that I needed for my 2nd map; moreover, (1) the 15-miler was on trails that I had done a minimum of three times and (2) I thought that today's weather would be more problematic for it than this shorter hike which required far less driving.

I was at the Cracker Barrel in Alcoa ~07:20; besides Dale there were Bill Broome (who was with me on the first hike that I had ever made in the GSMNP and one who was most instrumental in my completing my first 900), and two individuals whom I had never met--Stewart Creech and Peter Lloyd. Lowell Reid (one with whom I hiked many a time) arrived shortly thereafter. Lowell rode with me and we met the others at School House Gap trail head off Laurel Creek Rd; it was sprinkling lightly.

Schoolhouse Gap is only 1.1 mi.; I put an emergency poncho on shortly after we left but could have done with out it. Next was the 3.4 mi. Turkeypen Ridge trail; we then crossed Laurel Creek Rd. and did the 2.8 mi. Finley Cane Trail. Next was ~0.6 mi. of Bote Mtn Trail; we then did a 1.2 mi. segment of Schoolhouse Gap which brought us back to Laurel Creek Rd. and within a few hundred feet of our vehicles. (Rather than do the latter trail, Dale and Peter did West Prong into Tremont (Stewart and Bill would pick them up there).

Not sure where I took this picture of my cohorts; from left to right they are Stewart, Dale, Lowell, Peter, and Bill.

We got back to our vehicles at 12:07 and Bill, Stewart, Lowell and I ate our lunches. Bill and Stewart then drove to Tremont to pick up Dale and Peter; Lowell and I went back to his car at the Cracker Barrel. All in all it was a very nice hike; Bill and I had not hiked together for quite a spell and we were able to fill in some voids, something that I find pleasurable.

Post 900 Hike 148: Mt. Cammerer

2011-09-12T22:59:00.008-04:00

Today's hike was very special; our son Kirk from Johns Creek GA drove up Sunday evening (without his wife and daughters) in order to hike with me. Although years ago he and I went X-C skiing together on numerous occasions, I was not into hiking in his formative years. The hike that I chose for us to do was Mt. Cammerer; some might say that is a corker but he is a competitive tennis player in his early 40's and I knew that he could do it. Unfortunately I forgot my camera but fortunately he had his telephone and got some very good photos.

The first picture is obviously the 1937 structure; the second picture is Kirk on it. The third picture shows I-40 in the background from this vantage point and the fourth picture is one that he shot while we were descending the Mt. Cammerer Trail.

It was a lovely day for a hike and I believe that Kirk thoroughly enjoyed it and will want to hike with me again. I asked him to drive my Outback home in order that I could ice my knee and stretch my neck. Although I have accepted the fact that I will always have neck symptomatology because of my January accident, I am so thankful that in the two hikes done after resuming hiking after a 2-month lay-off I have not needed to deal with pain.

GPS Data: 11.4 mi., 2.5 mph moving average speed, 3,111 feet total ascent, and 5,064 feet maximum elevation attained.

Post-900 Hike #147:

2011-09-07T23:44:00.006-04:00

After the aggravation of my neck problem on a relatively easy AT, Lost Cove, and Lakeshore hike that I did on 6/6/11, a hiatus from hiking seemed in order because (1) I wanted to see if rest and PT would help me resolve my head-neck posturing issue, (2) our Russian trip would take me out of the loop for 3-wks, and (3) latter would be immediately followed by cataract surgery. Even though I did a fair job of keeping up with my running and to a lesser extent lifting on the cruise, I did not wish to bite off too much on my first hike after a 2-month lay-off. My good friends Bob Bolinger and BZ Lane were most accommodating to my needs.

I met Bob in Sevierville and we met BZ at Mynatt Park in Gatlinburg; from there we took a manway to Twin Creeks trail. As we approached Elijah Oliver's cabin we caught up with Mitzy Cain and ~6 of her hikers; I had not seen her for quite awhile and it was interesting to meet a few of her hikers (her group tends to hike on Wed. too). We then took Cherokee Orchard Rd., Sugarlands Trail, a stop at SVC, Gatlinburg trail, through a corner of Gatlinburg and back to Mynatt Park. (It was on the Gatlinburg trail that I took the picture; although 3-streams merge at this point, I was able to only get two of them.)

(We had originally planned to have lunch in Gatlinburg at one of our usual spots as we walked through it on the way to our vehicles; however, when BZ mentioned the Mountain Lodge on the E. Parkway, I asked about it. Bob was also familiar with it; when he and I drove to it, he said that is was a place that I would never pick just by looking at it. He was correct; nevertheless, I had one of the best Reuben sandwiches that I have ever had. I recommend it.)

Although I am probably destined to always have to contend with a neck issue, today's hike of 9.8 mi. was not uncomfortable. On 9/12 my son Kirk from Johns Creek GA is making a special trip (i.e., no family) to hike with me; I plan to take him on one of the GSMNP's most scenic hikes (i.e., Low Gap II & AT to Mt. Cammerer). If my head-neck posturing does not give me a problem on that hike, I might do one of our group's (i.e., Margaret Stevenson's Wed. Hikers) boat hikes on 9/14.

;

Sojourn: Ukraine & Russia

2011-09-02T10:43:00.009-04:00

As regular readers will recall I injured my neck and broke my R-clavicle in January. Although that did not keep me from hiking too long, and I subsequently did some rather arduous hikes (e.g., N on Jenkins Ridge, Lead Cove to Clingmans Dome, Newfound Gap to Cosby), my neck was giving me some problems even on relatively easy hikes. For this reason I decided to take a break from hiking that that also included a trip to the Ukraine and Russia with Grand Circle Travel (GCT), and my second cataract surgery. In this blog I have included six pictures from Russia.

Slide1496--Krasnaya Plolshchad is known in English as Red Square; however, in Russian it in essence means beauty of the city square. Nevertheless, to our right in this picture was a platform from which bigwigs could view military parades. (Also toured the Kremlin; it is in essence a walled city that contains at least one cathedral.)

Slide1512--I have not been on that many subways, but the subway stations that we saw in Moscow (each had different art) were the prettiest that I have ever seen; GCT materials that we received indicate that Moscow's subway system is one of the best subway systems in the world.

Slide1524--Moscow State University--not sure which departments, but several are located in this beautiful building.

Slide1591--In a relatively large auditorium of this beautiful hotel (with Charles de Gaule statue in the foreground), we saw a thrilling show by a professional dance ensemble. (Frankly I was surprised to see such a beautiful hotel in Moscow; my perception of Russia totally changed on this trip.)

Boat1667--On the way to St. Petersburg our GCT river boat (218 passengers aboard--bigger river boat than we traveled on in prior trips in both Eastern and Western Europe) stopped at Kizhi Island in the middle of Lake Onega (one of the two largest lakes in Europe). Here we visited one of the most ancient inhabited sites in Russia. Although we saw many extremely large and pictorial cathedrals (Russian Orthodox--saw one Lutheran church in downtown Moscow), the Church of the Transfiguration with its 22 timbered onion domes was something else--this picture does not do it justice. No nails were used in its construction; we could not go in it for it is being jacked up and they are putting a new foundation under it.

Slide1920: This picture was taken in Catherine's Palace (named for Peter the Great's wife Catherine the First). The original palace was heavily damaged in WW II; the restored building stretches 978 feet; besides many beautiful rooms, the gardens may be as least as nice as those in Versailles.

Post 900 Hike #146: AT (Fontana Dam to Lost Cove, Lost Cove, LakeshoreHazel Creek et al.

2011-07-06T21:43:00.012-04:00

Two days ago I received a call from Ellie Doughty asking me if I would do a hike to facilitate transportation of those who were doing the Eagle Creek hike. I did the latter hike a few weeks ago; Eagle Creek hikers always need transportation from Fontana Marina back to their vehicles at a Maryville meet-up point (a pontoon boat picks them up at this trail's terminus at Campsite 90). Thus I drove Ellie's van (with Theresa Yu) and Becky Gibson followed me in her vehicle to Fontana Marina; these two vehicles were left there and Gracia Slater (from NC) took us to the nearby start of our loop hike. Our hike was to be on the AT from the Fontana Dam area to Lost Cove trail (3.7 mi.), then Lost Cove trail (2.7 mi.) and finish with a Lakeshore trail segment from the latter to its "almost" junction with the AT (i.e., a few feet from our starting point, 5.2 mi.).

The AT presents ~2,000' climb prior to descending ~250' and its junction with the Lost Cove trail. I felt quite good on this; although I did not get my HR up to 150, this was in part because I waited for my cohorts twice in the ascent. Because Becky had not been to the Shuckstack Fire Tower, Gracia accompanied her there just before we finished this section of the AT.

We arrived at the Lost Cove trail head momentarily; this trail descends about the same number of feet that we climbed on the AT segment; moreover, the Brown book indicates that there are 10 stream crossings. We did not expect to use water shoes until the last 2-3, which were close together. We ate lunch at Campsite 91.

Shortly thereafter we began crossing the stream. Gracia and I put on our water shoes, in part to cool off our feet. Theresa wanted to do a short section of Lost Cove that was beyond our Lakeshore trail turn-off; this picture was taken moments before we started on Lakeshore Trai; from L to R my cohorts are Becky, Gracia, and Theresa.

We then began on the Lakeshore trail segment that would take us back to Gracia's SUV; shortly after our start on it I decided to push it a bit on the way back. My neck was beginning to tighten up again in flexion; I felt the best way to deal with it was to finish as soon as I could. In the last couple of miles going West there are a few old vehicles that were left there during World War II. It was not the inability to get gas but rather the inability to attain tires; thus few owners just left their cars when there tires wore out. (Many of the trails in the Park were at one time roads or rail beds for the logging industry prior to this area becoming a National Park.) The next picture is one of the rusted hulks that were left there in the 40's.

By this time my neck was really starting to bother me; I would drain water from that which was frozen in my Platypus water bag unto a cloth and put it around my neck; it felt good for a few seconds. Within my last half mile I heard a rustling noise to my left ~50-70 feet away; it was a bear. By the time that I got my camera out it increased its distance from me. If you look carefully in the right center of the accompanying picture you'll see her silhouette; she was looking at me. I then realized why she had not run further away from me; there were two cubs following her. Unfortunately they were even less clear than the picture of their mom.

I then proceeded on with the last ~0.5 mi. of my trek. When I arrived at Gracia's SUV I laid on my back on the road in my attempt to obliterate the neck flexion that progressively increased during the hike. I then took my Ice Up , that I really had brought along to ice my knee, and just iced my aching neck. GPS Data: 11.6 mi. hiked (same as map), 2.5 mph moving average speed, 2,855 ft. total ascent.

After my cohorts arrived we departed for the Fontana Dam and its "facilities". I bought a soda there; we also picked up an AT Hiker and Gracia graciously took him to Fontana village; there we had some ice cream and then went back to the Marina. Much to our surprise our cohorts were already there; the boat pick up for the Eagle Creek hikers was 30 min. early.

All hikers then departed in either Ellie's van or Becky's sedan. Although Becky followed me on the "Dragon" (U.S. 129) in the A.M. when I drove Ellie's van, she was able to recruit Brian Schloff of the Eagle Creek hikers to drive it back to the Central Park locale where Theresa, Brian, and I had our vehicles. Driving on the dragon but once is enough for most. Brian stayed on U.S. 129 and Ellie drove back via the Foothills Parkway to drop a few off there by its junction with U.S. 321; then she eventually returned to Central Station with the rest of her passengers sometime after we departed from that locale.

Although it was a good hike, I realized that if any hike that I do exceeds ~10 miles (it might just be a function of time), I am going to have to deal with one sore neck (i.e., from my head-first tumble down 13 steps in KC in January). Although I in essence took a 2-wk layoff prior to this hike, if you read my blog you will note that I did a number of arduous hikes in which my neck dictated that I not enjoy any of them. I have come to the conclusion that the PT sessions and the anti-inflammatory drug that was recently prescribed must be supplemented with less demanding hikes if I am ever to overcome my neck disability. After returning home I even forewarned my good friend Jim Harb that because of my neck condition, my doing his Kanati Fork et al. 17+ mile bus hike 7/13 was a long shot.

Post 900 Hike #145

2011-06-22T08:35:00.005-04:00

Did not hike on 6/15 for I took my wife to her recreational property listing on the Hiawassee River; the last road would have been difficult for her Prius and I had just acquired a new 4-wheel drive Outback. Rather than do a group hike scheduled for either 6/21 or 6/22, I chose to take my running buddy at UT (Craig Wrisberg--he and I ran together for the first time in 1978) on a short hike; he just retired and when he finishes with his last Ph.D. student, hopefully will be a regular in our hiking group. Although he has hiked a little bit, today was his first hike with the trekking pole gift that he had received some time ago; he wanted a little guidance on their use. The hike that I chose for his first hike with sticks was Little River, Cucumber Gap, and Jakes Creek (~5 miles). Ironically this was very first solo hike that I made ~6 years ago. I have done this segment of Little River trail (& Jakes Creek) countless times; however, I had done Cucumber Gap only twice.

We got on Little River trail ~09:30; our pace along its 2.4 mi. length was somewhat leisurely; however, when we came to Cucumber Gap I realized that we had to put it in high gear because he had an appointment with a graduate student at 13:00. (I had decided not to bring my GPS, Pedometer, or HR monitor; in retrospect I wish that had done so. Craig was very satisfied with the aerobic workout that we had on Cucumber Gap (~500' of up in its fist 1.3 mi. I should mention that for at least the 5-years prior to my retirement in 2005 he and I ran together ~3 X's each wk; after I started hiking 6-months later we have run together about once each week and plan to continue doing so. Craig is in pretty good shape; he has also run one marathon in a little over 3-hrs.). This was the first time that he had seen the old vacant homes along Jakes Creek; it was an interesting hike for him and from his perspective just the right one for his introduction to trekking poles.

We arrived at my home ~12:30; he was not late for his 13:00 hours appointment.

Post 900 Hike #144: Noland Divide. ....Martins Gap, Sunkota Ridge

2011-06-08T22:54:00.002-04:00

Met at 07:30 at Food Lion; although I had planned to drive, I was not needed and instead rode with Steve Lobertini (could not resist his invitation to ride in the park with the top down). Tom and Dennis McAdams were also passengers; I had hiked with Dennis several years ago when I was working on my first 900. Believe there were 10 others that we met at the Noland Divided Trail Head (just below Clingmans Dome); Dennis McAdams and I reached the 3.7 mi. to the junction with Pole Creek trail head at 10:23.

Carol Anderson, Steve, Tom, Becky, Jim Stanley, Dave Smith and 1-2 others reached Deep Creek (neat new log bridge had replaced the one where one hiker almost met his Waterloo ~3 years ago). I was not prepared for what we saw next; it was perhaps one of the saddest cases that I have ever seen. An alive beautiful horse was laying down (probably broke his leg crossing the stream). It has been my experience that most riders in the park are quite rotund; this one just took the saddle and left his horse to die. We moved on a fraction of a mile and ate at Camp Site #57.

I had planned to leave the group solo to go up 1.5 mi. of Martins Gap (800' of gain in 1.5 mi.) in order that I could hike down the 3.75 mi. of Sunkota Ridge Trail; fortunately David Smith decided to go with me. He was ready to go while I was just finishing lunch; I told him to go ahead because in my prior experiences in hiking with Dave he was slow on the ups. This was a totally new Dave; I never caught him and even had my HR running over 150 a bit of time. Dave was waiting for me at the trail head of Sunkota Ridge; waiting for the both of us were some onerous weather conditions. Although I would have liked to have taken a break, I (& Dave agreed) thought that we should minimize our time on the high parts of Sunkota Ridge should we have thunder and lightening. Moreover, the first 3/4's mi. of the latter was a fairly steep up (it peaked at only 3600 & we had but 500' of gain) but it seemed like it was much more. One reason was the fact that we did not use our sticks; we did not need to have an aluminum connection with mother earth when it was lightening. Some of the thunder crashes and the attendant lightening seemed mighty close; my HR stayed close to 153 for this endeavor (not sure that I have kept it that high for that long in any prior hike. When you consider that one's max HR decreases ~1 beat for every year as one ages, I had a cardio workout. (Fortunately it would appear that my HR can go a little faster than most almost 77 yr. old codgers.)

We got out of the thunder and lightening prior to finishing Sunkota's 3.75 mi. length. Just after we started turning left on Loop Trail, Steve (and I believe Tom) came up Loop Trail from the right; however, they had to retrace their steps. By the time we reached Indian Creek, Dave said that I was listing to starboard; I cold feel it too. The last couple miles were not comfortable.

Shortly after we reached the picnic shelter in Deep Creek (~15:30--bus was to come at 17:00), and after a few others arrived from their respective hikes, some of us walked to the tube rental area to get a cold drink or ice cream. When we got back a few of my cohorts were talking with a Park Safety Ranger; I certainly hope that the hombre who left his horse to die gets caught.

It was a long ride back; the 14 of us who started together this morning were the last to get off the bus for it had to go to Clingmans Dome and turn around since such a maneuver was impossible where we started our hike on Noland Divide. Nevertheless, it was a good day and I do not remember when I got home. (FYI, since 6/12 I could not get into my blog to finish its writing; today, June 27, I was able to do so by using my wife's computer.)

Post 900 Hike #142: Hazel Creek et al.

2011-06-01T23:06:00.004-04:00

Even though I am the scheduler for the Margaret Stevenson group's hikes for May and June, my job is more like getting the data out on each of the Wednesday hikes. Last week we had five options; today there were four options. Three of the four options ended at Hazel Creek with one pick-up by a Fontana Marina pontoon boat at 1730; seven individuals chose the Hazel Creek hike (Gracia Slater--organizer, Joy Kelly, Becky Gibson, Jim Stanley, Steve Lobertini, Tom Hicks and me). My alarm went off at 0345; I was at the Food Lion meet-up at 0450. Some rather neat logistics were worked out (e.g., leaving two vehicles at Foot Hills Parkway) and proceeding to Clingmans Dome where we met Gracia (from NC).

At 0643 we left Clingmans Dome on the 0.5 mi. Dome Bypass trail. We were on the AT at 0700 and Steve and I finished our 3.8 mi. section of the AT at 0830 (junction of the 1.7 mi. section of Welch Ridge trail which would take us to the trail head for Hazel Creek). While we were waiting for our cohorts at the Welch Ridge trail head we noticed the presence of at least two fawns in the area; possibly we were their first humans for they did not seem to frightened about our presence.

If one were to look at the latest Park Trail Map, Hazel Creek is not on the list of trails which show stream crossings. However, if one looks in the Brown Book 13 stream crossings are noted in its first 6 mi. of its 14.7 mi. length. I wore my water shoes for most and did not put my boots on until we stopped for lunch at Campsite 82. On last week's Eagle Creek hike we had 17 unbridged stream crossings and I took quite a few pictures of my cohorts crossing a number of them; somewhat to my surprise today I did not take one picture of any stream crossings but did take one picture of Hazel Creek as we were abreast of it (which we were for the majority of our hike).

At ~3.7 mi. we reached Hazel Creek Trail's junction with Jenkins Ridge Trail. We waited at this spot ~30 min. and a few hikers from our group who were doing other trails met us there. I believe that it was 1500 when we left this point; in part because I never sat down during our rest break, I was ready to go on the remaining 4.5 mi. of Hazel Creek. Not sure how much time transpired when I looked back but it appeared that I was a good 0.25 mi. ahead of everyone. The adage that I was following was that the faster that I went, the sooner that I would get there (must have averaged >3.0 mph but my GPS had stopped working so I cannot authenticate it). I waited a few minutes after I crossed the last bridge at Proctor (once a thriving logging town). I then decided to take Lakeshore Trail to our boat pick-up site and wait there; however, I found Ramsay (a very fast hiker who had done a different set of trails) waiting short of the pick-up site; he wanted to stay in the plentiful shade. Steve arrived shortly and he and I decided to walk to the site where the boat would pick us up; I wanted to put on my water shoes again and wade to cool my feet, to relax and ice my knee (I also found shade). The rest of our entourage arrived shortly prior to our boat's arrival at ~1730.

On the boat trip back to the marina, Richard Ryburn (our GPS resident expert) was able to get mine functioning again. Did not notice the time of our arrival at the Marina; however, Gracia's husband John was there, and as usual, had ice water. Nothing better after a hike such as this. Gracia and 5 of us (1-2 from our group who were on other hikes) either had vehicles at Clingsman Dome or rode with someone who did. We took a little more scenic route (rather than the Dragon--John & Gracia, being NC folk, were familiar with the roads).

Not sure when we got to the Dome; however, I did not get home until sometime after 2100 and it was getting dark. At the Dome I stopped to give one who I thought might be an AT through hiker; however, he only wanted a ride to Indian Gap. To my surprise he recognized me as one giving a presentation at Wilderness Wildlife Week last year or the year before. On River Road I saw one of the most unique sites that I had ever seen. An oncoming vehicle had stopped, and lo and behold two adult geese, with four goslings in between them as the marched in single file, crossed the road in front of me and then proceeded to walk down the road. I am still kicking myself for not trying to get my camera out and take their picture as they were abreast of my SUV; even though I do not like to walk my dog where geese have been, I doubt if ever again I'll have such a unique picture opportunity.

Post 900 Hike #141: Eagle Creek et al.

2011-05-25T23:06:00.009-04:00

The meet-up for the Knox and Blount County hikers was at Food Lion at 0600; further hikers would join us at the Foothills Parkway junction with U.S. 321. Vehicle swaps would be made at that point and eight proceeded to Lead Cove trail head (on Laurel Creek Road near Cades Cove--they were to hike South) while three drove South to the area of Fontana Marina and Lakeshore Trail (they were to hike North). (The logistic arrangements made by Carol Anderson for this hike were truly outstanding. Although I had wanted to do the hike North, since my January accident I have experienced problems on two of four recent hikes that that exceeded 19 miles; hiking North would have been harder since they were doing ~4 more miles starting at Fontana Dam instead of taking a boat close to the Eagle Creek trail head, and I did not want to press my luck. The hikers going North were Ramsay Roth, Dennis McAdams, and Steve Lobertini; those going South were Becky Gibson, Jim Stanley, Richard Ryburn, Tom Hickey, Gracia Slater, Carol Anderson, Teresa Yu, Dick Ledyard, Jerry Roddy, Lisa Mynat, and me.)

We were on Lead Cove trail at 0645; Tom and I finished its 1.9 mi. (~1,200' of climb) at 0730; our moving average speed was 2.8 mph. The first picture is of Tom at our junction with Bote Mtn trail. The 2.9 mi. section of Bote Mtn that we did has ~2,900, of gain; we reached the AT in 79 min., and our overall speed was reduced to 2.5 mph. We proceeded to the Spence Field Shelter on the AT (and in essence at the Eagle Creek trail head) and waited for the others.

Eagle Creek descends ~3,000' by the time it junctions with Lakeshore trail; the Brown Book indicates that it has 19 unbridged stream crossings in its 8.7 mi. Our group stayed fairly close together on this descent. Lisa and I rock hopped the first major crossing (the rest donned water shoes); think there were ~17 water crossings in which water shoes definitely required. I broke in my new Keene ones for the second; although the water got my knee brace wet, it never reached my knee cap. The next picture was taken of a rather typical water crossing.

After ~1 mi. of Lakeshore trail, several of us proceeded to do ~0.3 mi. of Lost Cove; at this point Jim Stanley completed his requirements for 900 miler certification (he hiked > than 1,500 mi. to complete his 900; some day I'll have to check to see how many I did to complete my 1st 900). The next picture is of Jim after he completed the Lost Cove trail segment that he needed. (Must say something about the perseverance of Jim; because of asbestos poisoning he is absent total lung functioning, yet he guts it out on ups. I should also say something about the same trait in Dick Ledyard; he has bone on bone between his R-femur and tibia; if he wants to "go" without pain he needs a TKR. For the time being anyway, Dick just takes more Aleve and guts it out on downs (i.e., compression force is grater on downs). I am so thankful that all I have is a patella tracking problem and a stiff neck since my January accident; however, PT and anti-inflammatory medication is improving my prognosis.

We then went back to wait for our boat; it was a long wait but it is better to be early rather than late. The last picture is of Fontana Marina taken from its parking lot. At Dick's and Jim's vans a bit up from where the picture was taken, a little party was held in Jim's honor; it was very nice. Then the long drive back, including a number of miles on the Dragon (U.S. 129). Nevertheless, it was a lovely day and a very nice hike. I believe that I arrived home ~1900.

Post 900 Hike #140: Bradley Fork & Chasteen Creek

2011-05-18T23:20:00.001-04:00

This is a hike that BZ Lane, Bob Bolinger, and I had tried to do previously. Although modest (BF--1.25 & CC--4.0, both X 2 since in-and-out), Chasteen Creek has 2,500' of gain at its junction with Balsam Mtn Trail. Since I am getting further treatment for my neck, I wanted something in which I could get a good workout on the up (i.e., test myself) but yet much shorter than the 4 consecutive 19 mi. plus hikes that gave my neck a problem.

Since I am our hiking group's scheduler for May and June, I disseminated info on this hike along with four other options. Sandy Martin called me the night before indicating that she would like to hike with us. I was not sure who she was but she told me that she had done the Goshen Prong hike in the preceding week, and I knew that we had a Sandi in our hiking group of more than 300, so I assumed it was this person. Moreover, it was a short hike and I was not too worried. Obviously, if it were a tough hike, one would want to ensure that those doing the hike were capable. I picked up Sandy at Lakeside Market at 0745; I learned that (1) she was not the Sandy that I had expected and (2) subsequently learned that she is a very strong hiker.

We met BZ and Bob at SVC at 0900; BZ decided that it was his turn to drive and we went on US 441 to Newfound Gap and then down to Smokemont in NC. We were on Bradley Fork Trail at 0857; after we reached the Chasteen Creek trail head I was feeling quite good and decided to push it to see how I'd react. Typically I would be checking my HR but today I did not even wear my monitor for I thought that I would be taking it easy. I reached the Balsam Mtn trail head at 1057, thus I completed the 1.2 mi. section of Bradley Fork and the 4+ mi. of Chasteen Creek in 2-hrs. My GPS registered 5.19 mi. and a 2.8 mph moving average. Because I was a little wet with sweat, I put on my jacket since it was a little cool at 4700'.

We left the Balsam Mtn trail junction at 1140. We did not push it but of course it is a descent vs ascent and hence much easier. It was BZ's contention that poison ivy would not be found above 2,500' of elevation (at least at this date--not sure if he thought that would hold true for whole summer). I have hiked a countless number of hikes with BZ (he was my mentor on my 1st 900 and we probably have hiked together 50-100 times since then). When he spotted the first poison ivy on our trail, he asked me to check my GPS; I forget the exact reading but it was within 60' of the 2,500' that he had predicted.

At 1335 we completed Chasteen Creek and our 1.2 mi. section of Bradley Fork. My GPS indicated that the hike was 10.4 mi. (same as in Brown Book) and that we had the same speed going down as up (2.8 mph moving average).

We then had the ride to SVC with BZ and Bob, and then Sandy and I left in my SUV (this time through the Park rather than through Sevierville and Pigeon Forge) for her SUV at the Lakeside Market (~2 mi. from my home). Not sure when I got home. It was a good hike and I felt that my neck could take on a harder hike 5/25; however, I will go down Eagle Creek rather than up. I need to test my neck more before I elect to do a hike of that ilk.

Post 900 Hike #139: Brushy Mtn (~6.8 mi.)

2011-05-14T19:58:00.003-04:00

After my hike on 4/30 and the ensuing neck problem, I decided that I would not hike 5/4 or 5/11. Rather, I'd get therapy for my neck and hopefully hike 5/18. However, a former student from Germany was in town briefly and hoped that I would be able to hike with him; I decided to do so on 5/12.

I met Sebastian at SVC ~0900 and presented four hikes that we might do that were feasible. I had really wanted to take him to Fontana Dam and do the AT to the Shuckstack Tower, then Lost Cove, and return to my SUV via Eagle Creek; however, it would be a 2-hr drive just to get there.

Instead we did Trillium Gap to Brushy Mtn (and of course through Grotto Falls). It was a short hike and included a bit of up; I really felt quite good. It was a downhill trip on the return (i.e., Brushy Mtn and Trllium Gap).

It was a very short hike (6.9 on my GPS) and I had neglected to bring my camera; our moving average speed was 2.4 mph. Even though it was not much of a workout, Sebastian was most pleased with the hike and I demonstrated to myself that after a PT appointment on Monday, running with Craig on campus Tues., I should be able to do a more demanding hike on Wed. (5/18).

Post 900 Hike #138, Newfound Gap to Cosby (24.7 mi.)

2011-04-30T22:30:00.012-04:00

NOTE: This is a very brief entry for the 2nd longest hike that I have ever done; however, the writeup was done ~2wks after completion of the hike.

After setting the alarm for a little prior to 0400, I arrived at SVC ~0540; Ramsay Roth and Tom Hickey (my first hike with latter) rode with me to Newfound Gap where we met Gracia Slater and her daughter Shannon (the latter lives in Asheville, and in part because she runs marathons, is a very strong hiker). We were on the AT for our 24.7 mi. trek at 0615. This picture was taken at the junction of the AT with Sweatheifer Trail; from left to right are Ramsay, Gracia, Tom, and Shannon. Ramsay, a very strong hiker, was going to go down Low Gap II rather than Snake Den so he went ahead after this point.

Despite its length today's hike had a lot of good views; the next picture (of course from the AT) presents one of them.

This was my 4th hike in four weeks that exceeded 19 mi. The first included going N. on Jenkins Ridge after a boat ride to Hazel Creek trail; when we reached the AT my neck was really bothering me; however, I still had more than 5 miles to go. The next hike was very easy and included a bit of the S-part of Thomas Divide. The 3rd hike of this series was from Lead Cove to Clingmans Dome; on this hike my hamstring pull one week prior plus a compression sleeve, and again possibly my neck, made this the most difficult hike that I have ever done. For today's hike my neck really started bothering me about midway; I was uncomfortable through at least half of the hike. (For 1st time readers, in mid-January I went head first down 13 wooden steps in KC on way to a funeral in Nebraska; although C-scan revealed a neck strain vice fracture, upon return to Knoxville a clavicle fracture was seen.) The last 5.7 miles of today's hike (i.e., where we were to leave the AT and go down Snake Den to the Cosby Campground on a very rocky trail), was extremely uncomfortable for me. When Tom and I reached Cosby Campground, they said (and I could feel it) I was really listing to Port. I knew by then that I must have more PT-work on my neck prior to doing a difficult hike.

Gracia's husband John (he and I incidentally both retired from the Naval Reserves at the O-6 level) then dropped Ramsay and Tom off at SVC and then proceeded to Newfound Gap; Gracia and I picked up our vehicles (she went S. following John to their home in NC and I went N. to Gatlinburg and on to my home in Louisville. By the time I got my vehicle my neck and low back were feeling OK.

Post 900 Hike #137: Laurel Creek Rd. to Clingmans Dome

2011-04-23T23:22:00.008-04:00

Although I had done this hike twice going North, I had never done it going South (i.e., ostensibly the more difficult direction since it starts at ~1,400’ and ends at 5,700’. However, to facilitate a key swap the organizer of the hike asked me a month or so ago if would accompany Ramsay Roth going South; there were 4-5 who planned to start at Clingmans Dome, and a key swap is the best way to do it.

After two "warm-up" hikes on preceding Wednesdays, each 19 mi. plus (including one going N. on Jenkins Ridge, I said that I would hike from the Cades Cove area to Clingmans Dome. I knew that it was apt to be the hardest hike that I had ever made; at almost 77 years I may not be getting any stronger. Hah! The hike was originally scheduled for April 20; however, because of expected thunder showers, it was moved to Saturday, April 23. That change was great for me for I had pulled a hamstring in a prep workout for this hike in Johns Creek GA on April 16; I ran too fast on an uphill. On April 19 I had electric stimulation treatments, and received modality and exercise recs and a thigh compression sleeve from the Lady Vol Training Room.

Although I was still dreading the hike, I was pleased that it was moved from Wed. to Sat., for the extra healing time to my right hamstrings could be critical.
In part because of our Good Friday church service and in a hurry, my Fri. eve meal was not particularly good with respect to carbohydrate loading (really should have started 2-days before). Breakfast on the road at 0430 was not much better and I arrived at SVC at 0530, 15 min. early. My hiking partner Ramsay and I left for the Lead Cove trailhead in a vehicle of one of those scheduled to finish there. Ramsay is a bit younger than me and a very strong hiker; on hikes of lesser challenge we have really moved; if he had been leading on those he could have moved faster. However, for this one I had no desire to lead nor to move too fast.

Ramsay and I were on Lead Cove trail at 0630; it has ~1,200, of gain in its 1.8 mi. (we finished it in 42 min.) Then it was Bote Mtn sections (1.2 & 1.7); this was tough and we finished it at 0832 (our moving average speed was 2.6 mph for this 4.7 non-AT segment of our hike). On the AT our first hurdle was Rocky Top and then Thunderhead; the ladder is the biggest test going North but not bad going South. However, I did note on serious ups such as this that the compression sleeve that I wore to protect my pulled hamstring was getting awfully tight (eventually it became quite painful). Believe I had my 8 oz. of Ensure plus a gel shot prior to finishing the 6.2 mi. section of the AT at Greenbrier Ridge trailhead. I also had to nurse a great toe blister; moreover my stiff neck (from my January accident) necessitated that Ramsay tell me where to drain it since I have a little problem getting a good view on things such as this. In the first picture Ramsay is in the foreground on Rocky Top with Thunderhead in the background.

The second picture was shot of Rocky Top from Thunderhead.

Believe we ran into the N-bound hikers at the Derrick Knob shelter (I decided that I did not need to write down GPS data any more; I was not moving fast). On this hike I elected to snack rather than really stopping to eat; that’s the procedure my cohort used and I had recently heard a backpacker endorsing this idea. (This might have been a mistake for me; particularly since my previous evening meal and the bagel I had while driving to SVC at 0430 were not that great and only partially eaten. Carbohydrate loading is particularly important for long hikes or runs; I did a very poor job of loading.)

As we left our cohorts it was fairly level and I felt OK; however, on a ridge you obviously have ups as well as downs, and since we were aiming for Clingmans Dome, there were more ups. My right thigh (the compression sleeve one) was really painful and ups became a particular problem for me; having problems on ups has not been my history in hiking. Although I have never particularly relished steep ups, most I took in stride; today nominal ups became a problem. Not exactly sure when I removed the compression sleeve on my right thigh; although the thigh then felt much better, I had reached a point that I had never reached previously. How could I be so damn tired? Yes, I’m an old dude but it’s been in my history that I can go faster than 90% of the individuals with whom I have ever hiked. How could I be so slow today? (In addition to the hamstring problem, and after discussing my plight with two exercise physiologists, I believe that I in essence ran out of fuel.)

The last picture is of the Clingmans Dome observation decki; we still had a little ways to go. We electedd to do the Dome Bypass trail to the parking lot; it too basically descends but is a little more difficult than the asphalt one. Nevertheless, I moved well on it. At the end of the hike my moving average speed was 2.1 mph; that does not factor in the gross number of rest stops that I felt obligated to make. Also, my pedometer indicated that I went 23.31 mi.; my GPS reading was 21.1. I obviously took some very small steps. My throat was very dry and by the time we made the trek down the mountain to SVC, I could hardly talk; however, a Mellow Yellow made me feel quite a bit better.

After having time to reflect on what in essence was a disastrous hike for me, and after consulting with two exercise physiologists, I believe that the following directly or indirectly contributed to my poor hiking performance: poor carbohydrate loading, moving to fast in 1st 10 mi. of hike, hamstring pull and compression sleeve effects, great toe blister, and almost continuous neck discomfort (i.e., residuals from my 1/18/11 accident in KC).

Post 900 Hike #136: Pretty Hollow Gap et al.

2011-04-13T21:40:00.005-04:00

We met up at 0700 at Cracker Barrel; this is typical meet-up for all Cataloochee-area hikes. Although I was gassed up and ready to drive, I most willingly bowed out when Lorelei Jacobos (new to our group) volunteered to drive the second vehicle (I am still dealing with neck issues). At 0850 we were ready to start Pretty Hollow Gap Trail; because it has ~2700' of fairly good climb (but nowhere near as difficult as doing Jenkins Ridge N last week), it was today's cardio-hike.

My cohorts were Gracia Slater, Carol Anderson, Becky Gibson, Lorelei Jacobs, Terri Veldman, and Joy Kelly. At the start of the hike one of the group labeled those in the pic as "Wendell's Harem" but during the course of the hike they changed the name to "Wonderful Women with Wendell". I might add that they are all strong hikers; moreover, one visiting Carol from Michigan (Terri) recently ran a half marathon. Nevertheless, in part because they chose to stay together and I wanted to prep for next week's humdinger hike (Lead Cove to Clingmans Dome), I led. However, I stopped and waited at all trail junctions as well as one stream crossing. (Should mention that in the solitude of hiking alone I came up with a new program idea for next year's Wilderness Wildlife Week; I decided that I could not do an additional modification of the program of prior years because I felt that I could never top my 2011 presentation. Thus my plans for 2012 will be a program centered on three variables important to hikers: hyponatremia, trekking pole use & adjustment, and crampons.)

Now to today's hike. Pretty Hollow Gap has two 0.8 and one 4-mi. section; its one serious stream crossing was close to its end (~5 mi. into the trail). At 1115 I had reached its its junction with our next trail, Mount Sterling Ridge. My GPS indicated that I had traveled 5.49 mi. and that my moving average speed (exclusive of stop-time min.) was 3.0 mph. The elevation at this point was 5,241'.

I started the fairly level Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail at 1130 and finished at 1310; I slowed down a smidgen for my MA speed was 2.9 (i.e., this was the average speed for the 9.45 mi. hiked at that point). Here we ate lunch prior to starting on the 2.0 and 2.3 mi. sections of Balsom Mtn Trail at 1345. Although there was a little climb initially (Balsam High Top, elevation 5,705), most of the trail is down. We finished Balsam Mtn trail at 1520; my MA speed remained at 2.9 for the 14.1 total mi. hiked at this point (Gracia was with me for much of this).

We then walked Balsam Mtn Road (~0.7 mi.) until we reached Palmer Creek Trail (3.3 mi.). Gracia and I hiked it and the remaining miles together. Palmer Creek had at least three log-bridge stream crossings; these three were of note. The hand-rail of the first of the three angled out ~30 degrees; if anyone with any heft put too much reliance on it, it could doubtfully sustaine it. On the next crossing the first section of the handrail was no longer there; on the last one the handrail was totally missing. I was still going to cross on the log but Gracia thought that was unwise; ever since my January neck injury I have questioned my balance skills--I am glad I listened to her. We both sort of waded without water shoes; I did not have to pay much of a price but did change my socks. When our cohorts came all carefully walked across the log without incident; we were thankful for it was ~5-ft above a rock filled stream. (I subsequently reported the status of the 3-bridges to the Park Service).

We then walked the two 0.8 mi. sections of Pretty Hollow Gap trail (that we started out on this morning); that took us to our vehicles on Cataloochee Rd (believe we finished at 17:30). This morning as we drove in as well as this early evening when we drove out we saw many elk eating or lounging. Unfortunately I did not turn off my GPS prior to traveling a few miles; thus that type of data are not reported for the last segments of the hike. All in all it was a great hike on a very lovely day; believe we reached Cracker Barrel ~1930. Through out the day I consciously worked on my neck ROM; undoubtedly that is why I did not suffer as I did on last week's Jenkins Ridge hike.

Post 900 Hike #135: Jenkins Ridge et al.

2011-04-06T22:32:00.001-04:00

Carol Anderson did a great job in organizing this hike; it was facilitate by key swaps. Those of us from the "North" met at Food Lion at 0600; at 0615 we met those from the "South" at the US 321/Foothills Parkway junction for key swaps. Those of us going to the Marina rode in Jim Stanley's van piloted by Joy Kelly; Carol, Rob Carroll, Ramsay Roth, Steve Lobertini, and I were in this vehicle. (Seven individuals started at Lead Cove on Laurel Creek Rd.) We arrived at the Fontana Marina ~0800; we then boarded the open-air pontoon boat for a very cold ride to the Proctor/Campsite 86 vicinity. Our group then set out on ~0.5 mi. jaunt to the Hazel Creek trail head.

That's Steve and Ramsay at the trail head; the 3 of us stayed pretty much together for the remainder of the day. Hazel Creek trail is 4.5 mi. long with ~500 ft. of gain; we finished it 0955. At that point my GPS registered 5.63 mi. traveled and a 3.9 moving average speed (both were slightly higher than those registered on Steve's GPS.

We then set out on the scourge of the day, Jenkins Ridge. It almost has 3,000' of gain; although it has a few downs, they are always followed by ups. Although I believe I did Jenkins Ridge North once previously, it must have been when I was young (e.g., 71-72). Today there were ups which I must say were downright difficult. At a point when I thought I was approaching our last up I advised Steve of same only to find we had two more. Somewhere in this vicinity we met our S-bound cohorts; we stopped for lunch shortly thereafter. It was after lunch that my neck started bothering me (i.e., relates to my January mishap); it had not really bothered me on any other hike done since I resumed hiking on the 2nd of March. However, today's hike was the longest that I had done in quite awhile; although definitely not as daunting as Bob Bolinger's an my manway hike of a few weeks ago, it was not an easy aerobic exericise (I did not count the number of times that I reached "my target HR" of 150.

The second picture is of Thunderhead, the highest peak in the NW-area of the GSMNP; the third picture is of tree that looks like it is giving birth to a large piece of quartz. In this area there was a trace of snow (~4,900' elevation). We reached the AT at 1412; my GPS registered 14.2 mi. After recording data I assumed the supine position and did ROM-exercises for my neck; that made it feel much better (lots of soft grass on a relatively level surface facilitated my endeavor).

We then had 0.6 mi. on the AT and then 2.9 mi. on Bote Mtn trail; in the first mile or two my neck started bothering me again. It was then Lead Cove for 1.8 mi.; both of the latter trails are down (BM ~2,000' plus and Lead Cove ~1,700'). We finished Lead Cove 1615; my GPS indicated that we had traveled 19.7 mi. with a moving average of 2.9 mph. It was a beautiful day and a good hike despite a sore neck and limited ROM. Fortunately Steve agreed to drive Dave's SUV for me.

Post 900 Hike 134: Thomas Divide 1.1, 2.1, 2.4), Deeplow Gap 1.8. 0.4, 0.4), Indian Creek MT (1.8), Thomas Divide (2.1, 1.1)

2011-04-01T21:01:00.009-04:00

This is a hike that Rita Haynes organized for her 900-mile quest; some of the mileage also contributes to my Geezer Map. We met at Food Lion at 0700; Rita drove and Becky Gibson and I were passengers (Gracia Slater, from NC, would meet us at the trail head). Road work is being done on the Tennessee side of Newfound Gap; the shots made through the car window do not do justice to the rime frost that decorated the landscape.

From left to right my cohorts were Rita, Gracia, and Becky at the start of our endeavor. There''s a little climb initially; I chose to push it and got my HR up to my 150 goal and a moving average of 3.1 mph. (NOTE: I FORGOT THAT I HAD NOT COMPLETED THIS ENTRY; IT WILL BE VERY BRIEF.) Because I will be doing Jenkins Ridge North on 4/6, I sort of pushed it on all ups; however, I always waited for my cohorts at each succeeding trail junction.

After the 2.1 mi. section of Indian Creek Motor Trail, Rita and Becky proceeded on Stone Pile Gap; Gracia and I did the last 1.1 mi. section of Indian Creek Motor trail and then Gracia drove her SUV and I drove Rita's sedan to the parking lot (i.e., relatively close to Rita's and Becky's finish). On the drive I realized that I made one gross error; I forgot to turn my GPS off prior to driving Rita's car--this in essence ruined today's data. Nevertheless, it was a great hike and a lovely day.

Post 900 Hike #133: Chestnut Top 4.3 & 4.3 (in & out)

2011-03-23T16:25:00.012-04:00

This was an Otis Group's Hike; it was an excellent hike for me because it (a) was short enough to be completed prior to our annual Chili Luncheon, (b) was one I needed for my Geezer Map, and (c) offered an opportunity to get in a good workout relatively quickly.

The trail begins at the Townsend Y; I started on the trail at 0900 (slightly later than the ~20 doing the Otis group's hike). The first 2.75 mi. presents ~1,000' gain (latter point referred to as Chestnut Top in the Brown Book); it then descends ~250' where it ends ~1.4 mi. later at Schoolhouse Gap Trail. I needed to push because I wanted to complete the 8.6 mi. round trip and still get to the Event Barn in Townsend by noon.

At 1015 I had completed the 4.3 mi. and reached Schoolhouse Gap (my GPS said it was only 4.2); my moving average speed was 3.6 mph. At 1021 I began my return; in 200-300 yds I met the only one hiking with Otis's group who planned to hike to the Schoolhouse Gap junction. On the way out I did not even stop when passing folk; however, on the way back I stopped a few times to try and get a picture of Thunderhead Mtn; at 5,527' it is the tallest peak in the western end of the Park. (At our luncheon 1-2 hrs. later I committed to doing a 21.3 mi. hike that goes across its peak--I've done this same hike twice previously.)

Despite stopping to take a few pictures, I completed the return hike at 1133; this was 2-min. faster than my trip out (trip back had much more descent than ascent). Although I passed a few from our hiking group prior to reaching the parking lot, at the latter Bill Broome (an individual ~4 yrs. older than me and (a) was most instrumental in my completing my 1st 900 and (b) often reads my blog) asked me if I had gotten my HR up to 150 bpm. With a certain amount of chagrin I had to tell him that I only reached 146; the "ups" were not long enough for me to sustain a higher HR. (For the first time reader I should mention that the 150 number is a "psyche thing" for me, there's nothing magical about reaching this number. However, it does tell this 76-yr. old codger that he still has a few more miles left.) My moving average mph for the return trip was also 3.6. It was a lovely day and I was totally satisfied with this half-day work-out hike.

Post 900 Hike #132: Trillium Gap 2.9 & 3.6, Bull Head 0.5, 5.9, Old Sugarlands 0.4

2011-03-16T19:44:00.015-04:00

I arrived at Cecil Rowe's house at 0705; we left in his vehicle by 0710 and arrived at Sugarlands Visitor Center ~0810; this we well ahead of the 0830 meet-up time. Not sure how many of us were there; we were all doing something to and from Mt. Leconte via Trillium Gap, Rainbow Falls, or Bull Head; the eight in my group were going up Trillium Gap (from the Grotto Falls parking lot--Trillium starts 2.3 mi. West of here) to LeConte and return by Bull Head. We went to our starting point off the Roaring Fork Motor Trail in the vehicles of those who would finish with Trillium Gap.

The first picture is of our group; they include; from let to right: Richard Ryburn, Jerry Roddy, Dick Ledyard, Steven Lobertini, Bob Bolinger, Cecil Rowe, and BZ Lane.

The second picture is of Jerry and Cecil passing under Grotto Falls.

After 2.9 mi. we arrive at Brushy Mtn junction and Trillium Gap becomes a little more difficult in its last 3.6 mi; shortly after this point BZ, Steve and I had separated ourselves from rest of the group. (This was only the second time that I hiked with Steve; he like BZ is a strong and fast hiker.) Close to the summit there was snow on the trail; when we reached the cabins, Ramsay Roth (from the contingent who went up Rainbow Falls) was there along with staff getting ready for a helicopter to bring in provisions--their first overnight guests arrive next week. During our lunch break several more arrived from Ramsay's group, but none from ours had arrived when we departed down Bull Head. In the second picture Ramsay and Steven are in the foreground and others from Ramsay's group had arrived and were now on the porch. (Unfortunately it was too overcast for the helicopters to bring provisions.)

On the way down Bull Head we met several students from Notre Dame coming to LeConte; some were in shorts and 1-2 in short sleeves. (We also met a cople from Ramsay's group.) Not sure exactly when the three of us arrived at our vehicles in the Rainbow Falls parking lot. My GPS indicated that our moving average speed was 2.3 mph from Brushy Mtn to our vehicles (had not zeroized at start so the easier part of Triliuim Gap was ignored in this calculation). For the full hike my Omron pedometer indicated that I had taken 31,648 steps (27,994 were aerobic) and burned 1,294 kcal. I left a note for Cecil and Steve gave me a ride back to my vehicle. It was a good workout and a very good hike.

Post 900 Hike #131: Lumber Ridge--4.1, manway--~6e

2011-03-11T22:27:00.012-05:00

The Bradley Fork and Chasteen Creek hike that BZ Lane, Bob, Cecil and I planned on doing Wed. was canceled because of very heavy rain. Thursday it rained again and by Friday only Bob and I were available to hike. We chose this hike because (1) it purportedly was a neat one, (2) Bob wanted to check it out as a possible hike for tour groups that he leads, and (3) I needed Lumber Ridge for my Geezer Map. Although the Brown Book delineates all hikes needed for the 900 (to a lesser extent the trail map does also), manway hikes are not even mentioned in either. We assumed the manway's would be close to the 4.1 distance of Lumber Ridge; moreover, we felt that if it was dicey, we could just turn around and return via Lumber Ridge. Bob had a little better perception of the hike than I; although I had water shoes, I had not endeavored to determine the topography of what we were to encounter on the manway (info is scarce on such trails). Although I took my old water shoes for I assumed we might encounter mud; in retrospect I should have worn my new Keene ones. The latter are very comfortable and I could have kept them on for the majority of the manway hike.

We were on Lumber Ridge trail ~0930; somewhat to my surprise it had snowed a smidgen in the early morning hours. I was glad that I had my gortex coat for it was sort of cool. The trail gains ~1300 ft. in its first 2.5 mi; the picture is of Bob on Lumber Ridge trail.

After the gain Lumber Ridge then drops ~400 ft. in its next 1.6 mi. as it reaches Buckhorn Gap (also the junction of the Meigs Mountain, Meigs Creek, and our manway trail). Initially the manway looked like other manway trails (i.e., unmaintained and one had to navigate through windfalls). Then came a water crossing, then another, and another, and another, and another--there must have been at least 10. We used water shoes and some just hurriedly across; I in particular got my boots and trousers wet (Bob was wearing his goretex knee-high gaiters and he could "more dryly" traverse than I those crossings in which we did not use water shoes.) The snow melt and the heavy recent rains truly made the crossings a bear; those telling us about this neat manway probably did this hike at a much more arid time.

Those countless stream crossings although not fun were the minor part of our travail. We found that we had lost our manway close to Spruce Flat Falls. (When Bob mentioned that name I knew I had heard of it previously; it then dawned on me that I had been close to this area when I had done volunteer work at Tremont in conjunction with the Experience Your Smokies organization.) The Spruce Flat Falls that I had seen previously from its trail (i.e., this trail is not on our trail map and one that I had actually worked on) looked nothing like the Niagara Falls that we saw today. Coming at the falls from above totally obfuscated to me any sense of where the trail was. Moreover, we were on the steepest slope that I have ever attempted to hike; in some cases we crawled and grabbed roots. The slope seemed at least 70 degrees--trekking poles tended to get in the way and twice we threw them down to each other and once Bob slid ~20 feet. Somehow we had gotten to a point where we should never have been. (Because there were times that I could have used a 3rd or even a 4th hand, I chose not to take any pictures of our plight.) Bob, however, had a very good perception of where we should be (if I were ever lost in hiking, I would want to be with one of his caliber). After about 2-hours of this workout on our way down the mountain, we saw young people from Tremont on the Spruce Flat Falls trail. Both Bob and I were most relieved. Today's hike was the most daunting hiking experience that I have ever had; I think Bob would state the same for himself.

After we had finished this "Tremont" trail the trip indicator on my GPS indicated that we had gone 10.1 miles; that suggested that we had gone close to two more miles than anticipated. My pedometer only gave me credit for 7.85 miles; I guess it did not record the distance crawled. We had never stopped for lunch and arrived at my vehicle at 1620. I guess that I am glad that I had that experience; however, I would never want to have it again.

Post 900 Hike 130: Middlle Prong--4.1, Greenbrier Ridge--4.2, and retiurn

2011-03-02T20:15:00.009-05:00

This hike was organized by Gracia Slater and Carol Anderson; it is a hike needed by Gracia for her 900 and I believe it is also needed by Carol's husband Dave for his. I needed Greenbrier Ridge trail for my Geezer 900. I had planned to drive to the GSMNP since I was picking up an old pair of X-C skis that I had loaned Ramsay Roth; however, at our meet-up at Food Lion Dave or Carol suggested that I ride with them since there was plenty of room for the skis in their pick-up. At the Townsend Y we met Gracia, Ramsay, and Bob Bolinger; we then proceeded to the Middle Prong trail head in Tremont; I rode with Bob and the other four went in Ramsay's SUV. (This was only my 2nd hike after my mid-January accident; it was Bob's 1st hike after his two cataract surgeries.)

We got started on Middle Prong Trail (1900' elevation at start, 4.1 mi. & 1300' of climb) ~0830; at ~2-mi. while waiting for one I went off trail to take this picture of what remained of an old Cadillac. Normally I would not put a picture such as this in my blog; however, it serves as a reminder that the GSMNP was private land until the mid-30's. Moreover, until 1939 Little River Lumber Co. was still hauling out logs on their rail tracks that were on what is now Middle Prong Trail; the Cadillac purportedly belonged to a foreman for the lumber company.

At 1005 we reached Greenbrier Ridge Trail (1500' of climb in its 4.2 mi. where it ends at the AT). Ramsay and I sort of relish pushing it on ups so we led. However, at ~0.5 miles there are two stream crossings; because of all the rain the area had in the last week, the first crossing was rather imposing (in retrospect I should have taken a picture of it). After crossing it we remained until everyone had crossed it; the next crossing was a piece of cake and we pushed it and I got my HR up to one beat faster than my typical goal (i.e. 150). I was pleased in that our moving time average speed was 2.8 mph. for this trail.

The next picture is of our crew less me at the AT (~4800' elevation); from left to right they are: Carol, Gracia, Ramsay, Bob, and Dave.

After a leisurely lunch we proceeded down at a relatively easier pace. When we came to the two stream crossings the easy one was much easier and the difficult one was easier too (guess the tap had been turned down). Middle Prong Trail, just flat and rocky, becomes sort of a slog by late afternoon. On it we see lots of tourists; these are ones who just walk a mile or a bit more since it is quite lovely with the rushing water next to the old rail road bed. Seeing so many take pictures reminded me that I had not yet taken one of any water; thus I did take one.

Finally reached our two SUV's. Despite it being a slog, moving average speed was 3.1 mph, emphasizing again that even though we had been on our feet for a number of hours, moving one's body down a mountain is much easier (the declines were not steep) than moving it up. (Omron data: 35434 steps, of which 30128 were aerobic, with 1463 kcal burned)

Post 900 Hike 129: Little Greenbrier—1.9, 2.4, 2.4; Little Briar Gap—1.4; Walker Sisters 0.2, 0.2; Metcalf Bottoms—0.7.

2011-02-23T21:26:00.003-05:00

This was my first hike since 1/12/11 due to a little mishap occurring in Kansas City on 1/18/11; after a lengthy C-scan in an ER, a sprained neck was the only diagnosis and I was put on pain meds (upon return to Knoxville area 6-days later X-rays revealed that my right clavicle was broken too). Although I ran on UT’s track on 2/7/11 (this really helped my psyche as did several treadmill runs and another run on the track), I was not permitted to return to my regular weight lifting program until this week. Although it was with some trepidation that I hiked today, I figured that I could handle a short hike and I am really glad that I went on it.

At our Food Lion meet-up at 0745 Theresa Yu (a hike organizer helping Gracia Slater from NC complete the 900--latter helped Theresa do same), Jim Stanley, John Kennerly, Elke Norten, and Tina Becker were also making this hike; Jim drove since his van permitted taking just one vehicle. Gracia, Joel Morris, and Manfred Grote joined us at the Little Greenbrier trailhead at Metcalf Bottoms (ele. ~1800’).

The first picture was taken by Theresa at the junction of Little Briar Gap trail; from L-R: Jim, Joel, Gracia, Elke, John, Tina, and me. According to my GPS I maintained a 2.8 mph average speed; after this point the trajectory of Little Greenbrier takes a decidedly upward bent from ~2200’ to its junction with Laurel Falls trail; because I was feeling my old self I took the lead for I wanted to get my HR to my 150 bpm goal. (Note: 150 is not too significant from a physiologic perspective; reaching it just helps this 76 yr. old's psyche.) Although I had passed 150 on two days on the track in the last 3-wks, going up an incline precludes any facsimile of coasting; when I reached 151 I was gassed and took it easy. Nevertheless, when I reached Laurel Falls trail (my GPS indicated 3631’ ele.), I was pleased for my moving average speed was still 2.8 m.p.h. After taking a break I went up the Laurel Falls trail a bit to take the picture of Clingmans Dome. (Laurel Falls in turn junctions with Cove Mtn trail; for the first few miles of the latter the "Dome" is visible.

On the way-up Little Greenbrier trail my GPS registered a max. speed of 4.3 mph; although I doubtfully maintained that speed very long, one of the reason I wanted to start last on the way down was to see if 4.3 was an artifact or if I could exceed it. Do not know how long I maintained it but in the first mileon the way down my maximum speed reached 4.5 mph. I then hiked with Theresa for awhile and then caught up with Gracia (she was leading our pack) and walked with her for the remainder of the hike. We have a little affinity for her husband is also a retired professor and we both retired from the Naval Reserve at the O-6 level.

We took a sojourn to the Walker Sisters' cabin (no pictures today but if interested I have a couple when it was covered with snow--see my blog 2/14/06 entry). It was then to the school and then finishing up with Metcalf Bottoms trail. The trail map indicates it's a 9.2 mi. hike; my GPS indicated 9.4 miles but I did a little sojourn on Laurel Falls trail to take the picture of Clingmans Dome. I was most pleased to be "back from the dead" and hiking again.

Pictures from Bob,s and BZ's Charlies Bunion Hike

2011-01-26T15:40:00.017-05:00

Bob Bolinger and BZ Lane made this hike on 1/12 (I was out of town)

Blog Hiatus

2011-01-25T14:44:00.002-05:00

Please be advised that I had an injury (not a hiking or X-C ski one) and will not be making any new blog entries (with the possible exception of a belated one on X-C skiing done on 1/13) for several weeks.

Wendell

X-C Ski Sojournj: Old Sugarlands Trail (at least that was planned)

2011-01-13T21:32:00.002-05:00

After yesterday's hike that included Old Sugarlands Trail, I decided that it could be most appropriate for X-C skiing. At 1300 I was on the Cherokee Orchard Rd. (i.e., it is blocked off to vehicle traffic in the winter); I had parked my SUV at the new Science Center. When Cherokee Orchard split, I took the left branch which would be against vehicle traffic if it were open to vehicles. I goofed; I should have taken the right branch which I belatedly realized is the one that we came down yesterday in our hike. I had forgotten my map but some hikers let me look at theirs. So I retraced my steps and then took the branch that would lead toward the Rainbow Falls trailhead. Immediately after one is on Old Sugarlands trail there is a stream crossing; the options are wading through a few inches of water (not too good an idea on skiis or just ski boots) or going across a log bridge (not very fun carrying skiis and holding ski poles, and transversing a relatively narrow log in ski boots (definitely not made for such usage). My better sense did not prevail and I took off my skiis and carefully walked across the icy log bridge.

When I got to the other side I could not get one ski clamp to attach to the boot. I decided that I better retrace my steps back across the log bridge and try on the "home" side. I spread out my gortex coat that I waS carrying on a big rocik and proceeded to work on making this one obstinate ski clamp work. In the process of this endeavor, two hiking three hiking groups passed by; two were doing a clockwise trip on this Cherokee Orchard "triangle". To my surprise a woman in one of the first two groups said something to the effect that I should have no problem since she saw my presentation Monday at WWW and saw that I was skiing then. The 3rd group that passed by while I was laboring with my ski clamp was two individuals who had originally planned to hike to LeConte but gave up.

Eventually I gave up too. Most of the trip back I skied on one ski with one foot dragging to slow me down; made pretty good time but this procedure is sort of dangeous for I fell backward once. However, I am a rock-head sometimes; every quarter mile or so I tried to put on the obstreperous ski but to no avail

I made it back without injury. Moreover, I was easily able to back my SUV out of the snowy parking lot of the Science Center. I was also able to get around a SUV whose owners thought it was alright to have all 4-doors wide open (on the 2-land road) as they attempted to extricate which was quite possibly a friend's vehicle that slid off the road.

Yes, my X-C ski outing was not that great; however, it could have been worse. (I may add pictures but none approach the quality of yesterday's overlapping trail.)

Post 900 Hike #128: Old Sugarlands & Gatlinburg Trails

2011-01-12T18:15:00.012-05:00

Bob Bolinger and BZ Lane organized this our third "Snow Hike" of the season; I was in essence marooned in Pigeon Forge because of snow after my presentation at Wilderness Wildlife Week. Because most GSMNP roads were closed due to snow, BZ and Bob had to come up with a hike from Sugarlands Visitor Center since the latter was one of the few places accessible (i.e., River Road, US 441 were closed when we arrived at SVC. Jim Stanley rode there with me; Cecil joined us there too.

We started on Old Sugarlands Trail ~0.25 mi. from SVC;; much of its first few hundred yards parallels the W-Prong of Little Pigeon River (see first picture).

With a fair climb after this we had ~8" of snow; that is BZ navigating the trail.

All in all the hike was quite scenic since snow is not often seen at this lower elevation (max. elevation ~2500').

We all got together again at the Bud Ogle cabin; from left to right we have BZ, Bob, Cecil, and Jim. From here we walked into Gatlinburg and then to the trail head of the Gatlinburg Trail. Because BZ and I have comparable paces, we were together for most of the hike.

After we arrived at SVC; Bob, Cecil, Jim, and I went into Gatlinburg for lunch. It was really a great day and a great hike. Believe that I dropped Jim off at Lakeside Market ~1800. On Thursday I plan to check out a bit of today's trail for X-C skiing.

Post 900 Hike #127: Alum Cave to LeConte (In/Out)

2011-01-05T20:03:00.012-05:00

Because of the rain this past week, snow was expected to be scarce. I assumed that we would have to forget doing a snow hike when Bob Bolinger suggested that we do Alum Cave Trail; we knew we would at least have ice and assumed that we would have snow near LeConte. The third member of our triumverate (BZ Lane) planned to go with us but had to cancel. Ellie published the hike and Doug Jerger rode with me. Somewhat to my surprise Jim Stanley and Stephen Lobertini met us at SVC along with Bob as I had expected; we proceeded to the Alum Cave trailhead.

The picture at "The Cave" presents my cohorts. From left to right they are: Jim, Stephen, Doug, and Bob.

We did not see the "rivers of ice" that Bob and I saw on 12/30/09; nevertheless, believe everyone had their crampons on by Alum Cave Bluffs. You'll note in this picture Bob is trudging along with crampons and his sticks, whereas the stranger that he is passing is hanging on to the cable.

The Lodge appears in the next picture; it is so unique to see so little snow at this time of the year. Nevertheless, we all donned our coats as we ate our lunches; these were kept on for a good part of our journey down the mountain. A light snow began covering prior ice stretches as well as rocky terrain; thus it was difficult to ascertain where the ice was.

Although we did not meet as many ill-prepared hikers as Bob and I did about a year ago, there were still a few. Two young men from Kentucky took the cake; neither had head covering and one was wearing shorts (note he is sticking his left leg out in the next picture.

When we arrived at the parking lot it was still snowing; moreover, by the time we came to the Little River Road and U.S. 441 junction, Park Service employees were in the process of closing the highway. Believe that Doug and I reached the Alcoa point where he had left his vehicle about 1800.

Post 900 Hike #126: Laurel Falls--3.1&0.9; Cove Mtn--8.4

2010-12-29T21:52:00.010-05:00

BZ Lane, Bob Bolinger and I wished to continue last year's snow-ice hikes into the new hiking year; because Bob was skiing in NC 12/28, we decided to just meet at SVC at 0900 12/29 and then decide. Amy Howe, Emma Penson, and David Smith joined us. The accessible snow hike that we chose was Laurel Falls & Cove Mtn.

Most donned their crampons at the Laurel Falls trail head, for this heavily used trail, although nominal snow initially, it was packed. Dave and I were leading our group when we arrived at Laurel Falls; at this point I started taking some pictures but experienced camera problems after the first few.

The first picture is one of BZ at the base of the Falls. In the second picture Emma is crossing the log bridge just prior to the falls. Again, although the snow was slight, from the 3rd picture of Amy and Bob just below the log bridge, even though the snow was modest at this point, one can see that we were going to have a beautiful day of hiking.

Bob, a true camera guru, was unable to solve my problem so I had to give up on pictures for the neatest part of our hike (i.e., relatively deep snow since the junction of Laurel Falls with summit of Cove Mtn is a tad over 4,000 ft). BZ, David, and I finished our lunch sooner and stayed together for the remainder of the hike. It was a slog for the snow was ~one foot deep at the higher elevations; thus stride length was shorter. The last time I had done the Eastern part of Cove Mtn trail Doug Jerger and I were carrying our X-C skiis; we could have really used them today. (At the end of the hike, Bob remarked at how much better this trail would have been for his snow shoes.)

My camera was not the only electronic dysfunction that I had today (couple days later my son Kirk determined that the 4GB memory disk was the problem); my Garmin GPS had dead batteries so the data that it supplies is missing too. Thus the only data I have is from my Emron pedometer: 29,570 steps of which 28494 were aerobic, with 1235 kcal burned. Because of slogging through snow my steps were a bit shorter than usual, it overestimated miles hiked (i.e., 14.00 vs. 12.4 according to trail map).

X-C Interlude: Newfound Gap to Fork Ridge Trail on CD-Road

2010-12-20T18:04:00.007-05:00

For those regular readers, I aplogize for being a bit deliquent in writing my blogs; I had two chapters due 12/15 for the 6th edition of a physical fitness. I dropped many other things to meet this deadline.

Bob Bolinger and I had planned a couple of snow outings in which he wuld try out his new snow shoes and I would do my X-C ski thing. Although we did not make it to Roan Mtn. last week as planned, we made it to Newfound Gap this week. Snow conditions were not great but passable; snow depth was OK but thare was a bit of surface melting and crusting. Although we were the first ones out there today, pedestrian traffic from the week particularly packed snow in the first 0.25 mile. Although this was Bob's first true test of his snow shoes, I have been on this "trail" countless times; moreover, I have experienced much worse conditions than we faced today. The first picture is of Bob and his snow shoes.

We decided on reaching a particular X-C ski goal if time precludes making it to the Dome; that goal is the Fork Ridge trailhead (which is immediately across Clingmans Dome Rd to AT access. If you go by trail maps, the distance is 4.2 mi.; however, we went via Clingmans Dome Rd. We estimate that the distance was 3.5-4.0 mi.

A short distance below the preceding sign is this speed limit sign; Bob shot the next picture as I was passing it.

The last picture, although there is little snow on it, is what I thought was a lovely view of a mountain in NC visible from Clingmans Dome Rd.

As we came within 100 yards of Bob's SUV we started meeting "pedestrians" who were sliding, throwing snow at each other, etc. When we started out this a.m. Bob's was the only vehicle there; when we returned to it there were ~13 vehicles parked just off of US 441 and the blockade to Clingmans Dome Road.

Post 900 Hike 125: Trilium Gap--2.9, Brushy Mtn--0.4 & 0.4, 4.5, Porters Creek 1.0

2010-11-24T20:53:00.010-05:00

Because this was the day before Thanksgiving, no hikes were scheduled. I e-mailed Bob Bolinger suggesting a hike that we had to cancel previously and a Trilium Gap-Brushy Mtn hike; Bob in turn called BZ Lane and he endorsed the latter. After Ramsay Roth and Charlie Woodward signed on, we had more than enough for a key swap and I asked Ellie to disseminate our hike. Debra Barton then signed on and she and I left Food Lion ~0735 in her SUV (others there were not interested in our hike). When we arrived at SVC ~one hour later our cohorts were there and we learned that John Kennerly would join us. While BZ waited for John, in two vehicles we proceeded to hike's terminus in Greenbrier; Bob left his SUV (which seats 7) there and we proceeded in Ramsey's SUV to our starting point off the Roaring Fork Motor Trail; BZ and John joined us there and we began our hike with BZ leading. One can always depend on BZ setting a good pace; when he and I are hiking alone I like to have him lead.

Grotto Falls is the first point of interest on this trail; that is BZ about to go under the falls with Debra and John following (our elevation gain at this point ~450'). (Sent my good camera to Sony--pictures are not the best.)

Shortly after this point Ramsey and I noted that BZ was quite a bit ahead of those immediately following him; we decided to catch up with him. The elevation gain in this last ~1.5 mi. of Trilium Gap was about 1100'; I got my HR up to 150 just prior to our reaching Brushy Mtn trail. The three of us paused there and had a drink; the signage indicated that the Brushy Mtn summit was only 0.2 mi. (it is 0.4 mi. in Brown Book); when Debra arrived we decided to go to there since whe would wait for our cohorts. The next two pictures are taken from the summit (4900' elevation) in a westerly direction.

After returning from the summit our group of 7 began the trek down Brushy Mtn to Porters Creek (~4000' decline). After we had gone a little ways Ramsay and I noted that BZ had again separated himself from the group; we put it in a higher gear and joined him. For the rest of the hike the three of us stayed together; we reached Bob's SUV ~1410 (had we just done a key swap, we would have completed our hike ~one hour earlier but it was nice to be in a larger group too).

At this point I iced my knee; because the three of us had not stopped to eat (originally we were thinking about eating in Gatlinburg), we had a snack. (We subsequently learned that our cohorts had eaten their lunch on the trail.) The 7 of us got in Bob's SUV and he dropped us off at our morning's starting point and BZ's and Ramsay's SUV's; Ramsay then took Debra, John, and me to SVC. John went his way and Debra and I set out for Food Lion; believe we arrived there ~1700.

TRIVIA DATA:
(1) OMRON 9.42 MI., 19914 steps with 17824 being aerobic, 818 kcal burned.

(2) GPS: Max. speed 5.2 mph, average speed for hike was 2.8 mph. (Unfortunately I have misplaced manual and in resetting I did not get data on all variables of interest.)

Post 900 Hike 124: AT--1.0, 1.9, 3.3; Miry Ridge--2.5, 2.5; Jakes Creek--2.9

2010-11-17T19:01:00.010-05:00

This is a hike proposed by Jerry Roddy enroute to his completion of the 900; he needed hikers to do the hike as proposed above and also hikers to do the reverse to facilitate a key swap. Jerry and Richard Ryburn had volunteered to hike up; Dave and Carol Anderson agreed to hike down. Although I usually pick ups, I chose down because (1) my new LL Bean Cresta have provided comfort even on "descent" hikes and (2) my annual physical on 11/12 revealed something for which I am having further testing done on 11/19, which in essence suggested to me that making the easier downhill hike was the more appropriate choice.

I left my home ~0540 and one minute later I found that a large tree (20-24" dia.) had fallen across Heron Hill Drive (my only exit or entry street). After getting my chain saw, and after a substantial workout, at ~0615 I had enough room for my SUV to exit. In route to our hiking meet-up I called one neighbor to warn him of what happened and my wife to wake up those living at the "dead-tree" residence (this is the second time that my chain saw has been used to open up Heron Hill Drive because one of their dead trees).

My early morning "ado" did not delay our departure from Food Lion more than 5 min.; I drove and my passengers were Dave & Carol Anderson, Carl Muse, and Joan Tomlinson. At SVC Jerry and Richard drove my SUV, accompanied by Ramsey Roth and Amy Howe in Bob Bolinger's SUV, while Bob and I drove Ramsey's and Jerry's vehicles to Clingmans Dome, our hike's start and Jerry et al's. terminus. As we neared the Dome the road got icy; the road was truly borderline for being closed. Perhaps the hardest part of our hike was ascending the paved path leading from the Dome parking lot to the AT (and of course the observation deck). It was icy.

We were on the AT ~0820; the temperature was ~20 degrees F and it was foggy so the group picture was taken at a later trail junction on the AT. From left to right my cohorts are Joan, Tom, Carol, Carl, Bob, and Dave.

Bob took the second picture of me with my camera on the AT. Carol Anderson forwarded the 3rd and 4th pictures that were also taken while we were on the AT; I particularly like the rime frost one. (Last week I reported my good camera breaking down; my old camera just does not have the resolution.)

I decided to pick up my speed on our last section of the AT; during this time I met Ramsey of the "up hikers" who had separated himself from the others. (I hiked with him last week; Ramsey and I moved well with each other. I wish to hike with him again.

When I came close to Miry Ridge trailhead, Jerry, Richard, and Amy were eating lunch. The rest of my group joined us shortly. I advised Jerry that I would have not been surprised if Clingmans Dome road had been closed prior to our reaching the parking lot; that would have really created a problem for the "up" hikers for their vehicles would have not been waiting for them there.

The rest of the hike was pretty much nonconsequential. Towards the end of Miry Ridge trail I decided to move out and get a bit of an aerobic workout. After waiting at the trailhead for Jakes Creek trail I advised the first comer that assuming he would wait for the others, I would go on in order that I could ice my knee after completing Jakes Creek at my SUV. I completed Jakes Creek and the 0.4 add-on for the new parking lot; my SUV was parked there. As I iced my knee I recorded the following data:

GPS: Odometer = 16.09 mi., max. speed 4.9 mph, moving time 6 hrs. 23 min., average moving speed 2.5 mph, stopped time 1 hr. 9 min. (Prior to next hike I will learn how to determine total climb for the hike.

Omron pedometer data: 16.8 mi., 35502 steps with 28628 being aerobic, 1471 kcal burned.

Post 900 Hike 123: Gregory Bald to Doe Knob--7.3, back GB to Gregory Ridge---2.0, Gregory Ridge to Forge Creek Rd--5.0

2010-11-10T20:26:00.019-05:00

This ~14 mi. hike was scheduled to meet Jerry Roddy's need of one 2-mile section for his 900; it helped me a bit more for my Geezer Map quest. We met at Food Lion at 0700; those making the hike from this point were Richard Ryburn, Dick Ledyard, Theresa Lu, and Joan Tomlinson; Dick and I drove and at Townsend Jerry Roddy, Ramsey Roth, and Tom Thomson (today was Tom's & my first meeting) met us there. They followed us in Jerry's and Ramsey's vehicles. On the Cades Cove Loop many tourists stopped in the middle of the road (not pull-offs) when they saw a deer; that part of the trip was truly exasperating. We finally reached the Forge Creek Rd. and left Dick's and Ramsey's vehicles there; all of proceeded in Jerry's and my vehicles to the Gregory Bald trail head. Theresa took this "starting the hike picture;" from L-R it is me, Richard, Ramsey, Tom, Joan, Jerry, and Dick. (My camera had problems.)

I am not exactly sure of our starting time; I was perhaps the closest one to the trailhead, and since I try to chug on ups, I took the lead; Ramsey (a very strong hiker) joined me and he and I stayed together until the last 5 mi. of the hike. It was an exceptionally beautiful day; since neither Ramsey or I had an operable camera, we did not dally. Fortunately others in our group did; the first view from Gregory Bald was taken by Theresa and Dick took the one of Cades Cove.

When Ramsey and I reached our turn aroud at Doe Knob on the AT at 1212, my Omron pedometer registered 16040 steps with 16017 of them being aerobic--GPS data indicated 7.08 mi. covered and that are overall average speed was 2.6 mph; I guess with the climbs we should be satisfied. We had pushed it a bit; I got my HR to 154 twice in this endeavor during the 2400' of climb in our first 4.5 mi. This trail declines slightly in its last 2.75 mi. by the time it reaches the AT at Doe Knob. We ate our lunch at this point and then started our return trip.

There are a few ups on the way back but mostly downs; on one up I pushed and again got my HR to 154. Believe the "snow" picture was taken by Dick on this 2 mi. section where we also met our cohorts. Again, all Jerry needed was the 2-mi. section. (This is an example that why on one's 900 mile quest that one will hike 12-13 hundred miles.)

At the junction of Gregory Ridge trail Joan and Tom were waiting; they had decided to enjoy Gregory Bald a bit. From this point Ramsey and Tom proceeded on Gregory Ridge trail since they came from the Gatlinburg area in their Ramsey's SUV; Joan and I waited for the rest of our group. When they arrived I decided to go ahead for I wanted to test my new boots on a decline of ~2700 feet at a "down the mountain pace" faster than I usually take. My new boots passed the test for my feet felt fine. I finished the hike at 1606; my Garmen data for the day were: odometer--14.00 mi., moving time 5 hr 25 min; average speed was 2.6 mph. (My pedometer data indicated 14.78 mi., 31217 steps with 29397 of them being aerobic, with 1290 kcal burned.)

It was a good hike and I had a very good workout. Dick took us on Parson Branch Rd. (a one-way with lots of room for improvement) to Jerry's and my vehicles parked by our morning starting point. In three vehicles we then proceeded down to the Dragon (US 129); Richard was with me and during the first few miles as I was picking Richard's brain (I always do that when we are alone--he has a vast knowledge on many topics) four speeding motorcylists came out of the dark around a switchback. Yes, they did have their lights on but nevertheless, it reminded us that the Dragon is in essence their road.

Post 900 Hike 122: Noland Creek--4.1, Springhouse Branch--7.0, . . ., Tunnel Bypass (17.2+1.8)

2010-11-01T22:45:00.019-04:00

This hike was organized by Theresa Yu; she will complete her 900 on 11/3. At 0510 Jim Stanley, Amy Howe, Theresa and I set out for Lakeview Ave., ~due West from Bryson City NC; it was there that we met Gracia Slater, one of our newer hikers who lives nearby in NC. We started our hike at 0740.

After completing a 4.1 mi. section of Noland Creek at 0911, I realized that I brought the wrong Omron pedometer; therefore data reported is from my wife's Garmin GPS. It was at this point that I took this picture of my fellow hikers; from L-R: Gracia, Theresa, Amy and Jim.

Springhouse Branch is truly a lovely trail; granted there are "ups" but I tend to prefer ups over downs. The second picture presents Amy and Gracia on what I thought was one of the more scenics aspects of the trail.

The 3rd picture is of Theresa after she just completed Tunnel Bypass (one of the several trails that she needed for her 900); at this point we were very close to Lakeview Drive. We then motored to the parking in which today's hike started; however, instead of going N as we did in the A.M., Teresa and I went S on Noland Creek on an "in and out" in order for her to complete the last trail that she needed in this area of the Park. The last picture is of Noland Creek close to our hike's terminus.

Garmin data: My moving time (exclusive of any stop) was 4 hr 57 min.; my max speed: 5.1 mph (I do not remember being chased by a bear); my average speed: 2.7 mph; total ascent on hike: 2693'; and max elevation: 4139. I also got the coordinates on a very large tree that had fallen across Springhouse Branch (will report). Now I am not sure that I'll return the GPS to my wife (unless she really needs it to list very expensive acreage); these data are more interesting than my pedometer data. (I must thank Richard Ryburn and Jim Stanley for teaching me how to use the Garmin.)

Epilogue: Again no toe problems! Thank you LL Bean Crestas. However, some of my hiker friends know that I always ice one knee after a hike; unfortunately I did not realize that my ICE UP sprung a leak until a day or two before this hike. On the long car ride back it ached and this A.M. it was a bit stiff as I walked Winston.

Post 900 Hike 121: Low Gap II--2.5, AT 2.4, 2.3, Snake Den Ridge 0.7, Madron Bald 0.7, 6.1, 1.2

2010-10-27T23:06:00.016-04:00

Had planned to hike with Theresa and Ellie on Wed. but this tunnel-area hike was cancelled because of inclement wheather; at 2315 Tues. eve I then decided to hike with Rita Haynes, Jerry Roddy, Richard Ryburn, and Emma Penson. Did not check Brown Book but took water shoes anyway to 0700 meet-up at Food Lion. Although I had worn them about the house, this was the first time that I truly tested my new LL Bean Cresta boots (had done most of my thousands of miles in my old Crestas but had also recently tried one of Asalo's finest boots).

Jerry joined us in Walland and then left his vehicle at our hike's terminus; he then joined the rest of us in Rita's vehicle and we set out for the Low Gap II trailhead in the Cosby campground area. The first picture is of Jerry and Richard close to the start of our hike; Cosby Creek was roaring.

Did not really speed on Low Gap II but in ~the last mile I pushed it a bit (its gain to the AT is ~2100'--it was on Low Gap II coming down in April that I met two bear). This picture was taken at the junction of Low Gap II with the AT; from L-R my cohorts are: Rita, Jerry, Emma, and Richard.

The first section of the AT gained ~1300' but then droppped ~400' as it reached Camel Gap, but then gained ~1200' as it reached Snake Den Ridge. The views were quite beautiful; however, the clouds precluded getting any real good pictures. The white in the pictures is the smoke; the ridges are a shade darker.

In the latter section we met scads of AT trail crew volunteers; they were from as far away as England and from Mass. to Florida. It is truly great what these unpaid volunteers do; as I met them on the trail I really could not thank them enough. Other than a tent and food, not sure if anything else is provided.

As expected my new boots felt fine on "ups" but it was "downs" that they would truly be tested. The second section of the AT declined ~400' by the time it reached Inadu Knob; at this point I changed socks, ate lunch and waited for my cohorts. It then started to rain as we got on Madron Bald; the latter declines `2700' by the time it reaches Gabes Mtn-Old Settlers trails. This was a true test for my new Cresta boots; it was also a test of our stream crossing skills. I rock-hopped the first one since I figured that I could step in 4" of water; it was a little challenging but really no problem but the others chose to don there water shoes. However, rock hopping was not feasible for the next crossing and I donned my water shoes. Although I believe it was the 3rd crossing that could have been rock hopped if I did not have my water shoes on, the 4th crossing was perhaps the most formidiable crossing that I have ever done, ranking ahead of my first Abrams Creek crossing that I did solo several years ago. The GSMNP received lots of rain last evening; this is only the second time that I did this section of Madron Bald--I don't think that I even used water shoes the first time.

Richard and I took it sort of leisurely on Madron Bald. In the past few hikes my criterion of success was "no bleeding" of toes. This was the first hike in months that my feet felt good throughout the hike on both ups and downs.

Post 900Hike # 120: Noland Divide 7.8 & 3.7T

2010-10-06T20:40:00.010-04:00

This was a hike doing Noland Divide that Richard Ryburn listed to help Jerry Roddy complete the certification requirements for membership in The 900 Miler Association. When I read the hike listing, I thought that they planned to do a key swap and that sounded great if I could go North (i.e., go from lower elevation to higher) because my toe problems are much more problematic on down grades. However, it was not until I committed to go with them that they had enough for a key swap; they thought that they would have to do a time consuming vehicle shuttles.

I arrived at Food Lion at 0550; Jim Stanley, Richard and I left for Townsend to pick up Jerry; the latter and Jim went in Jerry's SUV while Richard and I proceeded in his car to SVC. There were no new takers there and the key swap was made; Richard and I went to Deep Creek Campground in Jerry's SUV while Jerry and Stanley went up Clingmans Dome road to the Noland Divide trailhead. Richard, as did I when I finished my 900 ~3.5 yrs ago, is trying to help others attain their 900; however, although I had completed the majority of the trails for my 2nd 900 endeavoring to help others, after reaching age 75 I decided to work on my Geezer 900 Map.

When Richard and I started at Deep Creek Campground (~1800') at 0830, the temp was 31(F); I did not hear what the temp was at 5700' when Jerry and Jim started their trek down. The elevation gain on this 11.5 mi. trail is 4100'; however, since there is a 600' decline in the latter portion which one has to make up, we in essence climbed 4700' when we reached Clingmans Dome road (5900').

Noland Divide is really a pretty nice trail; although yellow jackets and rattle snakes are two of its few hazards, the cooler weather kept them quiet at least for today. The first picture is one of the views we had looking in a SW direction; the second and third pictures were shot from Lonesome Pine Overlook. The white area in the 2nd picture is a low cloud; in the center of the 3rd picture is a red roof (Bryson City is to the left of it). The red roof stood out as we moved along the ridge.

The 4th picture was also taken at Lone Pine Overlook; we heard Jerry and Jim on the trail and called out to them to ensure they came to the overlook. (It was here that the key-swap was also made.) From left to right in the picture are Jerry, Jim, and Richard.)

Richard and I stopped for a long lunch break ~2-hours after the last picture. As per usual I nursed my toes and, as I expected, they were in pretty good shape since there was hardly any descent up to that point. Richard has a vast knowledge of many topics but today I particularly wanted to learn more about using a Garmin 60 CSx; this is a GPS that I bought for my wife as she endeavors to sell her acreage listings with Cabellas Trophy Properties. (I swear that this is the GPS that her cohorts in California recommended; when I bought it for her I did not know that it was the same GPS used by a few of my hiking friends. My wife believes me even if you do not.) Although this GPS can provide a vast amount of knowledge on a hike, I would much rather see it help her sell property.)

The first 7.8 mi. of the Noland Divide trail (if one starts from the S.) has no intersection with other trails in its 7.8 mi. (latter mileage was new for my Geezer Map). Originally I had planned to get a good aerobic workout when we reached its junction with another trail for this last 3.7 mi.; however, I was having too much enjoyment discussing a host of topics with Richard. Nevertheless, in the last mile I decided to push it a little to his car on Clingmans Dome Rd.; however, I only got my HR to 145 (150 is the typical goal for this 76 yr old--reaching it helps my psyche). My pedometer registered 11.43 miles, not too bad for a 11.5 mi. hike.

After we got back to Food Lion where my SUV was parked, we found Ellie Doughty waiting for her vehicle (believe she was helping Theresa Yu complete her 900 but must have gotten involved in a complex key swap). I was somewhat surprised to learn that she knew about the problem that I had been having with my toes since acquiring my Asolo boots (a very good boot). Then she asked me why now do I not just get another pair of Cresta boots (i.e., the Italion boot that I purchased from LL Bean and wore out after ~2,500 miles). In essence Ellie hit me on the side of the head with a 2 X 4; it took her comment to wake me up to a relatively simple solution that just might be the right prescription in solving my foot perplexity. By midnight I had ordered a pair of Cresta boots on the internet (moreover EE width is now available). Anyone like to buy a pair of size 12 Asolo boots used on ~5 hikes?

Post 900Hike # 119: TD-1.1,S P-G--0.9,IC--2.2,MG--1.5&1.5,DC--4.3.LT--0.6&0.6,DC--1.0,DCH--2.0,JW--0.7

2010-09-29T21:12:00.023-04:00

This was a hike that John Hutsenpiller needed for his 900; because I got John started in hiking after meeting him at a dog park, I have always taken an interest in his progress. Dave Anderson also needed trails from the same area for his 900, and I needed some of John's trails for my Geezer Map; Dick Ledyard and Carol Anderson were facilitators. I did not understand what Dave and Carol were doing and thought that we would be moving their vehicle for them and I planned to drive. My understanding was only partially true; the five of us left Food Lion in Dave's big Nissan pickup at 0730. Dave, Carol, John and I started on a 1.1 mi. section of Thomas Divide at 0937, while Dick moved Dave's pick-up to the Deep Creek pavilion. (My cohorts for the first phase of our hiker were, from L-R, Carol, Dave, and John).

After we completed the 1.1 mi. section of Thomas Divide, Dave and Carol went on their hike and Dick joined John and me after we had finished Stone Pile Gap. We then did 2.2 mi. of Indian Creek, followed by a section of Martins Gap, which had ~900' of climb in its 1.5 mi. to Sunkota Ridge. It was at this point we had a leisurely lunch (as per usual I first removed my boots and socks--all toes were still there). After we had eaten (I talced my feet & believe we all changed socks), Dick shot the next picture of John and me as we were about to take Martins Gap down to Deep Creek trail (1.5 mi. & ~1,000' descent).

Then we had 4.3 mi. of somewhat boring Deep Creek trail; I had just done this 13.5 mi. trail ~4-5 wks ago. Dick reminded us of a special millstone that was placed there by the Kephart Boy Scout Troup in 1931 in honor of Horace Kephart, close to Bryson Place (Kephart's last permanent camp, now Campsite #57). Examining the stone suggests that the scouts were quite strong and/or there was a mill nearby. Although I had seen the stone on previous hikes, I never paid that much attentioln to it.

When I first did Deep Creek trail in 2006 there were many 4 X 12 treated planks placed along the trail; although a number have since been "strategically" placed, a number have not yet found a home. Next John and I did an in-and-out on Loop trail while Dick stayed with our packs; toward the end of this ~0.6 mi. trail with ~400' of gain, I decided to get an aerobic blast and got my HR to 150 just prior to Loop trail's junction with Sunkota Ridge. We retraced our steps and then continued on for one more mile of Deep Creek trail. Next on the agenda was the 2.0 mi. Deep Creek Horse trail plus a brief sojourn on Juney Whank and then finished the horse trail. We arrived at Deep Creek pavilion at 1650; somewhat to our surprise Dave and Carol were already there. Assume that I arrive home ~1900.

Epilogue: I have alluded to my OMRON (Omron Healthcare, Inc.) pedometer; it can be used in any plane because it is not, like most pedometers, pendulum driven. For data freeks such as me it provides more data, and it can be downloaded to one's computer. One of the features that I particularly like is that it discerns between actual steps and aerobic ones; thus if you putz around or often take breaks (steps are inconsistent, e.g., one might be penalized going slowly down Cold Spring Gap--that's a bad), the difference between aerobic steps and actual steps might be large. On this hike of ~16.5 mi. I did not loaf too much, for my aerobic steps (34,861) were fairly close to my total steps (35,742); usually the proportional difference is greater. I burned 1,314 kcal; should that not cover a big piece of pie?

Post 900Hike # 118, Cooper Creek--0.5, Deeplow Gap--2.4, Mingus Creek--2.8, Newton Bald--0.6, Thomas Divide--3.1, Deeplow Gap--1.5, Cooper Creek--0.5

2010-09-15T23:04:00.005-04:00

This is a hike that John Hutsenpiller scheduled for his 900; I subsequently found that my good friend Jim Harb needed part of this hike for his 900. Because it is relatively short and has relatively easy descents (excessive "downs" do not agree with my feet), and because much of this hike can apply to either my 2nd 900 or to my Geezer 900, I chose to do it. I picked up my "almost" neighbor Jim at 0700 and we proceeded to Food Lion. Although I had planned to drive, I was not looking forward to it for I remebered the ungodly road that led us to the trailhead >5 years ago; thus when Dick Ledyard decided to drive, I did not argue with him. The four of us set out at 0730; we were followed by Rita Haynes, Carol and Dave Anderson, and Carl Muse in the latter's van. It was almost 2.5 hrs. later that we arrived at the trailhead; both vehicles were parked shy of the trailhead and did not undertake the horrendous road that we had taken >5 years ago.

My cohorts are Rita, Jim, Carol, John, Dave, Carl, and Dick.

Because we originally planned to do a C-loope but ended up doing a CC-loop, my notes were in disaray so I did not keep much data on our first two trails (Cooper Creek and Deeplow Gap), and I believe that I brought up the rear. On the 2.8 mi. Mingus Creek trail (1500' of gain), after ~mile #1 I decided to get an aerobic workout and I moved ahead of our immediate group and eventually passed one who had not taken a break at the trailhead. I was feeling strong and got my HR up to 151, and then after encountering more rise, I pushed at got it to 154; for an old man I typically feel that getting it to 150 is a good goal. However, I was feeling strong and pushed a little and got it to 154; I am not sure that I have had it that high in previous hikes this year or possibly even last. Psychology is really a factor for fatigue is often just in the head.

After reaching the Newton Bald trailhead I removed my boots and socks to check on toe status; all systems were go. I then ate my lunch as my cohorts trickled in; they decided to go ~0.6 mi. to the next trail head to eat at Campsite 52. I leisurely finished my lunch and nominally nursed one toe; the 35 min. break was good for my feet. I then went on to the campsite but refused to sit down while my cohorts were eating lunch (getting these old bones moving from a stand is much easier than from a sit).

Since Thomas Divide and a section Deeplow Gap were basically down, I took it easy for it is on descents that my toes are more subject to discomfort. The second picture is of Little Creek Falls; unfortunately my best picture (Rita in foreground) does not do the fall justice as Little Creek cascades >95' over of "Thunderhead Sandstone shelves."

At 1515 we arrived at Dick's and Carl's vans. Although the hike was just 11.4 mi., my pedometer registered 11.86 mi; this is quite accurate for we had to walk to and from the trail head (5 years ago we drove to it over one horrendous road). This was a hike in which vehicle time was slightly more than hiking time; despite this, it was a nice hike. After getting to my vehicle I dropped Jim off and tried 3-varieties of his luscious figs. He also gave me a 2nd sprig to plant; he had given me one a couple of years ago and I have many figs on it. Now that I know what a ripe fig is like, I am looking forward to the a.m. when I will see if mine are ripe enough to pick.

Trivial Omnron pedometer data: 11.86 mi., 31,098 steps (27,848 of which were aerobic), 1146 kcal burned.

Post 900 Hike #120: Crib Grap--1.6, Turkeypen Ridge--3.4, Schoolhouse Gap--1.0, Scott Mtn--3.6, Indian Grave Gap--1.8, Rich Mtn--2.3

2010-09-08T23:11:00.007-04:00

This is a hike that John Hutsenpiller needs for membership in The 900 Miler Association; this marks the 3rd time that I have done these trails and the first time that I have done them after reaching age 75 (i.e., it qualifies as an entry on my Geezer Map). After my hike in the Cataloochee area last week that finished with Baxter Creek (6.1 mi., 4100' of descent), I needed an easy hike (i.e., one with minimal descent) for my wounded feet. For it I chose to wear my old LL Bean Cresta boots, which have >2000 miles on them, rather than my relatively new Asloo ones.

John picked me up at Lakeside Market at 0645; we arrived at Brown's Creek Food Lion quite a bit prior to our 0730 meet-up time. Otis's group of ~15 for a relatively short hike were also there; Dick Ledyard and Leslie Toney planned to go with us. We did a key swap and John drove to Anthony Creek trailhead in the Cades Cove picnic area, and after a few tenths of a mile on Anthony Creek trail, we started on Crib Gap at 0835. Meanwhile Dick and Leslie entered the GSMNP via Rich Mtn Rd. and started on Rich Mtn trail.

On Turkey Pen Ridge we met those doing Otis's hike (now in 3-groups of 2-5); the last group encountered rain. On Schoolhouse Gap the rain really hit us and a fellow from WV whom we passed but who then kept pace with us. To our surprise we met three others from our Wed. group; stopping to talk to them (as well as to those in the 3-sections of Otis's group), and our subsequent encounter with our key swappers Leslie and Dick, made our trail times somewhat meaningless. (Leslie and Dick had seen a bear; it did not stay around to greet us.)

Because of the cloudiness and the rain, my picture taking was nil. However, on the ridge one at times could momentarily see Cades Cove on the L and Wears Valley on the R. This picture is somewhat representative of the latter trails; that is John with his red rain parka attached to his pack.

Believe we reached Rich Mtn rd and John's vehicle ~1500. I did not think that this hike was apt to damage my toes and it did not; now I am not sure if it was the ease of the hike or the wearing of my old boots that deserves the credit.

Omron trivia:
14.8 mi.
31,415 steps
27,848 aerobic
1157 kcal

Post 900 Hike #114: Big Creek--5.1, Swallow Fork--4.0, Mt Sterling Ridge--1.4, Baxter Creek--6.1

2010-09-01T19:35:00.020-04:00

BZ Lane was most instrumental in my attaining membership in The 900 Miler Association 3.5 yrs. ago. Because I am very indebted to him I have endeavored to help him complete his second map. For today's hike he chose to do Swallow Fork; easiest way to get it if one does not have a key swap is to do the loop described above. It so happens that I need both Swallow Fork and Baxter Creek for my Geezer Map (I have them for my 2nd map). At this rate it's going to be hard paying BZ back!

I picked up Cecil Rowe at 0545; we arrived early for our 0630 meet-up at Cracker Barrel. At latter Ellie Doughty and I discussed our plan; she was helping Theresa Yu on her hike and I had told the latter that we would move a vehicle for her. David Smith joined Cecil and me as we headed for Exit 440 to pick-up BZ; after putting his gear in my SUV, BZ rode with Ellie and 4-5 others to Mount Sterling Gap (he would then return Ellie's van to Big Creek parking lot); Cecil, David, and I drove directly to latter. Cecil and David immediately set out on Big Creek; I waited for BZ and we got started ~one hour later.

Big Creek Trail is quite easy for it has only ~1250 feet of gain in our 5.1 mi. section of it. BZ and I completed it 103 min. (10289/10,250 steps/aerobic ones). The early settlers farmed this area and then it was extensively logged until the GSMNP came into being in 1935.

We set out on Swallow Fork; it has more than 2K feet of gain in its 4.0 mi. Because it was markedly steeper and many rocks were in the deeply-cut trail (in heavy rains it would be a creek), it took us 110 min. for this shorter trail (9096/8945 steps/aerobic ones). At this point I removed my boots & socks and we ate lunch; it sure felt good to put on clean-dry socks over air-talc dried feet (little damage to my feet at this point).

We had only a little more than 250' gain in our 1.4 mi. of Mt. Sterling Ridge; but they were demanding (4330/3050 steps/aerobic ones--elevation at the Lookout Tower ~5842' (The latter figure, plus succeeding info on the tower and its photo, were taken from Peter J. Barr, Hiking North Carolina's Lookout Towers. A little more than 3-yrs ago I had the pleasure of meeting Peter on Lakeshore Trail when he was still researching his book.) The tower was erected in 1935; the 60' steel lookout gives it the distinction of being at the highest elevation of any true fire tower in the Eastern U.S. The pictures from the tower were taken after I climbed as high as one can go (i.e., the top cab is inaccesible. Although I took one picture from each of the 4-sides of the tower, only three are worthy of presentation. I believe these 3-pictures were taken facing E, S, & N.; I hope to be able to substantiate this by examining the pictures that I had taken on two prior climbings of the tower.

After descending from tower top to mother earth, in just a few strides we were on Baxter Creek at 1325; since climbing the tower is not a part of the trail per se, step-data now have very little relevance. One might think that the 6.1 mi. Baxter Creek Trail is truly a walk in the Park since it starts at ~5800' elevation and ends at 1700'; however, my aged feet do not relish descents such as this. We arrived at my SUV at 1551; after this 6.1 mi. segment (plus a few hundred yards to SUV) I had in total burned 1363 kcal.

BZ drove my SUV to his at Exit 440 while I iced my knee; I then drove David back to his SUV and Cecil to his house. Believe I arrived at my home ~1800. (Bunion felt fine but hammer toe status was evident prior to removing sock liners; although my feet feel good going up trails, going down is a different matter.)

Post 900Hike # 117, Pretty Hollow Gap--0.8, Little Cataloochee--4.1, 1.0 & 1.0, Long Bunk--3.6, Mt. Sterling--0.5

2010-08-25T19:19:00.028-04:00

This hike was organized by Rita Haynes; Dave and Carol Anderson also organized a hike in the Cataloochee area that enhanced logistics. I hiked with Rita and Dave Smith going N.; Theresa Yu and Brian Schloff did the same hike going S. The logistics not only enabled a key swap when we met on trail, but it also facilitated the hike that Carol, Dave and Joy Kelly made. Thus only two vehicles were needed for the eight of us as we set out at 0630 in our ~1.5 hr. drive from Cracker Barrell. Brian got off at Exit 451 in TN and went to Mt. Sterling Gap; Dave got off at Exit 20 and we entered the Cataloochee Valley. We saw one big Bull Elk ~75' off road just prior to reaching our trailhead; that guy truly warranted a harem but if he had one, his entourage was in hiding for we saw no other Elk. I should have asked Dave to stop so we could take pictures. (For those unaware, in late afternoons at this time of year many Elk would be seen in this valley).

The first picture is of my cohorts Rita and Dave just after we completed 0.8 mi. and were about to start on Little Cataloochee. The second one is of a cabin in the Cataloochee area (once a thriving community); it is the Cook cabin (a 1-room cabin with one big loft--it appeared that a "nice" stairway had been added subsequent to the cabin being built--possibly there was only a ladder to loft originally). Our sojourns such as this require a little extra walking; thus exact distance hiked and mph on each trail are not relevant.

The next two pictures are outside and inside shots of Little Cataloochee Church; it has been recently painted and is used for 1-2 special occasions each year. I assume that the GSMNP provides transportation for those who have ancesters buried there.) In the second picture Rita and Dave are standing by what appears to be a pulpit-altar combination.

The last structure pictured is the Hannah Cabin; if you look at the gable it appears that at one time there was a second story window that has been replaced by siding. Although I did not get a good picture of it, ~50 yards from this cabin there was what appeared to be remnants of a stone cabin; its window placement belies the suggestion that it was a building used for cold storage.

I did not take any pictures on Long Bunk; it has several ups and I tried to get my HR up to 150 (I only got to 147 bpm). Although we finished ~1500, Long Bunk seemed more of a slog; moreover, Dave's GPS and my pedometer (pretty much in agreement), had us hiking close to one mi. further than the 11 mi. figure presented in the Brown Book and on map.

(At our hike's conclusion when we were driving South in Brian's SUV, we met Brian driving North in Dave's. As we moved packs, etc., from one vehicle to the other, Brian told us about his "too-close encounter" with a rattle snake by the porch of the Hannah Cabin. That snake was probably watching us a bit earlier.

We arrived at Cracker Barrel ~1630; I arrived home ~1700.

Omron trivial data: 12.19 mi. traversed, 25,752 steps with 23,654 of these being aerobic steps, resulting in 954 kcal burned.

Post 900 Hike #116: AT C-Dome to N-Gap 7.7, Road Prong 2.7, Chimney Tops 0.9

2010-08-18T22:42:00.009-04:00

Today's hike is one that John Hutsenpiller needed for acceptance into The 900-Miller Association (at the conclusion of today's hike he had ~92 mi. to go). Richard Ryburn and Dick Ledyard also made this hike. We met at Food Lion at 0700 and, in 3-vehicles, arrived at SVC 0745. Dick dropped his vehicle off at the Chimney Tops parking area (hike terminus), Richard dropped his off at Newfound Gap (terminus for AT hike) and all of us proceeded in John's car to Clingmans Dome (from there we walked ~0.5 mi. up the paved walkway to our AT Starting point). The 1st pic--from L-R my cohorts are Dick, Richard, and John.

The trail to Newfound Gap includes a few ups in addition to many downs; fortunately for my feet the downs were not very steep. If you read any of my X-C ski or hiking blogs of this past winter, you realize that we had an inordinate amount of snow in the GSMNP then; with heavy snow as well as with heavy winds, many large trees fall. Interestingly at least 5-6 big trees fell adjacent to the AT in the lower part of the first leg of our hike on way to Newfound Gap.

Note the rectangular base of the root structure along with its long trunk; this was common in those that we saw. As you see in this picture as well as in the next, although the root area can be extensive, root dept is very constrained. Richard reminded me that particularly at elevation in the GSMNP, there is not much dirt so trees just have to adapt.

After we arrived at Newfound Gap we went in Richard's vehicle to Indian Gap and ate lunch there. The original plan was to eat lunch and then Richard and John would go to the Dome to get John's car; I planned to do a little first aid to my left foot then. However, with threatening weather, we decided to do Road Prong trail (it starts at Indian Gap--there is also a link to the AT there), then Chimney Tops trail, and then return to pick up the other two vehicles in Dick's van.

The upper part of Road Prong trail starts at Indian Gap and is an old road bed that at one time was the main route from Sevierville, TN to Cherokee, NC in latter part of 19th century; it was then called the Oconaluftee Turnpike (the wagon charge was 0.25-0.75, for horse & rider 0.0625 $$); it was also a strategic route during the Civil War). (Richard brought to our attention that Indian Gap was evidently the first gap found between the highest ranges of the Smokies; then a new gap was found--it was of course named Newfound Gap.)

Road Prong trail has 10-12 crossings and one of the more difficult ones is presented in the next picture in which Dick is leading with Richard following. I had previously done this trail both up and down. Granted I have a little foot problem now but I do not think it weighed too much on today's evaluation; I would much prefer going up rather than down Road Prong because many of the exposed rocks on the trail (at least for today) were wet and slippery.

When we arrived at the junction of Chimney Tops trail, John hustled up it and left his pack with me as I nursed my foot and iced my knee; Dick and Richard walked the 0.9 mi. to Dick's vehicle. When John and I arrived there it was up the mountain to pick up the other two vehicles; we then had a nice dinner at Calhouns in Gatlinburg.

Epilogue: Did not try to break any speed records today; doubt if I ever got my HR above 130. Because I seldom took my usual stride, and because many of my steps on Road Prong were very dicey, my Omron pedometer indicated that I only took 24,285 aerobic steps (far few than my actual ones), and thus according to my Omron I only burned 1,200 kcal.

Post 900 Hike #115: Bradley Fork--4, Cabin Flats--0.9+0.6, Dry Sluice Gap--4.2, AT--4.4

2010-08-04T18:41:00.015-04:00

NOTE: Had planned to finish this entry (started 8/4) while in NE but was unable to access editing mode; am filling in a few blanks today (8/15).

Met at Food Lion at 0600 and went on to SVC where I met BZ Lane; we went in his SUV to Newfound Gap. Melanie Harmon, with Dave and Carol Anderson, arrived shortly; the latter two began on the AT where BZ and I would end. Melanie dropped BZ and me off near the Bradley Fork trailhead at Smokemont. Melanie then went with Amy Howe et al. on another hike; BZ and I started on Bradley Fork at 0755.

Bradley Fork follows a fork of the Oconoluftee River; at one time it was a road. All stream crossings are bridged and unfortunately is a trail used by horses too. This bridge is somwehat unique for the back country.

Next we had a real slog on Dry Sluice Gap (4.2 mi. of basically up); although the gain was not a lot more than 2,000, we were ringing wet on its completion. In the next picture I tried to capture a view towards the top.

We then had 3-sections of the AT (1.7, 1.0, 1.7). At the start of the 1st section we decided to take the Charlies Bunion little sojourn. The next picture shows the Bunion from a distance; it is followed by one with BZ on it. (BZ and I climbed the bunion on 3/17/10 and Bob Bolinger made a classic photo with Theresa Yu in foreground; I have entered this photo from my Post 900 Hike 101 here too.)

After Charlies Bunion we sort of hustled on the AT, for it was thundering and lightning; of course being at elevation on the AT is not the best place to be under those circumstances. Fortunately the storm sort of steered around us but we wondered about our cohorts who were in different valleys. We arrived at Newfound Gap at 1445; it sure was nice to get in BZ's SUV and go down the mountain with the windows open. (Should mention that the problem with my left foot was negligible.) I arrived home ~1700.

Post 900 Hike #114: Ramsey Cascades 4 & 4

2010-07-28T19:25:00.008-04:00

Yesterday I had volunteered to do the 25 miler from Newfound Gap on the AT & Snake Den Ridge to Cosby because I was concerned that only two might do it; I like to see at least three on every hike. However, this hike was cancelled; rather than do any of the other 4-5 group hikes scheduled for today (my 2nd choice was a 20+ mi. hike), I decided to do Ramsey Cascades. It is one of the few trails that I have only done once; more importantly it could provide a good indicator of my ability to resolve my left-foot problems.

I started on the 4-mi. trail at 09:12; the first part of the hike is relatively easy as the trail was originally a road along Middle Prong and the Little Pigeon River. The first picture was taken from a foot-log bridge looking upstream on MP.

I stopped shortly after this to administer 1st Aid to my left foot. (It did not really bother me again until some of the downs on my return trip.) Ramsey Cascades Trail becomes narrow and at times steep when it follows Ramsey Prong; in some cases trail crews have built very nice rock steps. I had forgotten about the “ups” on this trail and did not think it is was worth wearing my HR-monitor; had I done so I am sure I would have pushed more to get my HR up 150. Although 150 theoretically exceeds the max HR for one my age, my heart appears to be in pretty good condition (at least it is in much better shape than my L-foot).

I arrived at Cascades and the trail’s end at 10:55; guess my time was not too shabby in that it included my 1st Aid stop and because the trail is not considered such an easy one. One gent from OH was recumbent on a very large boulder at its base; soon a young man, his son and nephew from PA arrived (had seen them earlier). Hiking in the GSMNP is an annual event for them. The next picture is of course the 90' Cascades.

I started my trek down at 11:20; on the way down I met scads of folk coming up in groups of 2-5 (I warned a few of the relatively rough terrain ahead--at the cascades they'll see a big sign indicating that 3 lost their lives there). A few very large Tulip Poplars still exist in this area that were not targeted by the lumber companies ~90 yrs. ago; the two youth from OH are standing in front of this one to give a perspective of its size.

I was alone the last couple miles of my venture; I could accelerate a bit more for the down-parts were not steep. At 13:10 I arrived at my SUV and then iced my knee prior to starting my drive home. For this hike I drove ~100 mi.

Trivia Data Collected: 16958 steps taken, 12575 of them aerobic, 634 kcal burned (Note: down steps were far less aerobic, a major difference being that in going up I push hard but in going down I take it quite easy particularly on steep parts.)

Post 900 Hike #113: Fork Ridge--5.1, Deep Creek--9.6

2010-07-21T22:36:00.009-04:00

This was my firt hike in 3-weeks; my left foot/boot problems were the reason for the rest. It was also why I chose to wear my really broken-in boots (believe I had a good 2,000+ mi. on them). I chose to do this hike because originally only Doug Jerger and Melanie Harmon were scheduled to do it; they are both working on their 900 and I like to see at least three people on each hike.

Arrived at Food Lion ~06:15; at 06:30 left with Doug and David as passengers. We arrived at SVC at 07:20; Bob Bolinger joined us and we set out for the Fork Ridge trailhead which is ~4.2 mi. from Newfound Gap on the Clingmans Dome Rd (that trailhead is also the point that I aim for on X-C ski ventures when there is not enough time to make it to the Dome). At the trailhead Debra Barton, Melanie Harmon, and Gracia Slater (had never met or hiked with her) joined us (David went with the car that dropped the others off for his hike starting on Clingmans Dome).

The 6 of us were on the trail at 07:20; it was at this point that I realized that I had forgotten my pedometer. [Even though I had my good HR-monitor (I look at it primarily on serious ups--this hike was basically down), my pedometer data like kcal burned with my HR on serious ups (in addition to mileage) are the kind of info that I use to drive me; thus with the absence of technical data along with my foot problems, I felt that this hike was destined to be a bummer.] I had done Fork Ridge in-and-out at leat 3-times previouly.

We finished Fork Ridge <11:00; it then took us a few minutes to determine the best place to cross Deep Creek (water shoes were necessary). This is a very compatible group; everyone can move. We stopped at Campsite 54 for lunch; from L-R they are Bob, Debra, Melanie, Doug, and Gracia; the latter two were planning a longer sojourn rather than take just Deep Creek trail.

It started to rain as we finished lunch but stopped before I got my poncho on. Debra, Melanie, and Gracia led (each is a very strong hiker); Bob, Doug and I got a little interested in a fresh bear track. In the picture presented to get a better perspective of size, Bob placed his hand by it (that's no small hand--it is commensurate with Bob's 6'4" height). This is a front paw print; a rear-paw one would have a much greater length with sort of a human-like heel.

Although I planned to go with Doug and Gracia on their slightly longer sojourn, just prior to reaching their cut-off trail I decided that so doing might be a little too much for my L-foot. For the last 3-trail miles Debra and Melanie led; they really moved. After we got on the road, we met countless tubers going to an upstream starting point; obviously all of my prior hikes in this locale were not in the summer for I never saw so many tubers (this locale is on the very edge of the GSMNP--tubes are acquired from private venders).

We arrived at the picnic shelter ~16:00; a few who had taken a shorter hike were already there. My L-foot did not look too bad; the gel "toe sleeve" that my podiatrist gave me did the trick for my middle toe; however, my L-boot opened further at the bunion site (hereafter I will retire my LL Bean Cresta boots (Italian)and use my new Aslos (made in the Ukraine). I also iced my knee. John Slater picked up Gracia and Doug so that they did not have to walk a lot of road (John & Gracia live in nearby Silva NC). It was quite interesting talking to John; both he and I were on active duty in the Navy and retired while in the Naval Reserves as O-6's.

The bus from the Cherokee Indian Reservation came ~17:20; then it was on to Bryson City and then back into the GSMNP to pick up the other hikers on Lakeview Drive by The Tunnel. Then back to Bryson City, the seemingly long drive to Cherokee, then back on US 441 to Newfound Gap; one solace was that those who rode in my SUV could get out by the Fork Ridge Traihead. However, we still had a long ride down the mountain to SVC, dropped Bob off, then on the winding River Road to Metcalf Bottoms, and then the initially winding U.S. 321 to Food Lion in Maryville. I picked up a salmon dinner at Captain D's and arrived home ~20:40.

Announcement

2010-07-15T08:57:00.006-04:00

It has come to my attention that at least one attempt has been made to view my blog since the June 30th entry. I apologize; two minor orthopedic problems made hiking a little too problematic. Please be advised that I definitely plan on doing a "tunnel" hike scheduled for July 21; I decided to do a hike needed by Melanie Harmon (& possibly Doug Jerger--he may be doing it just to help Melanie) in part because I like to see a minimum of three on each hike. (This hike will end at Deep Creek rather than the tunnel on Lakeview Drive (i.e., the Road to No Where); therefore the bus will be picking us up prior to picking up the tunnel hikers.)

Followers of my blog have noted that very seldom do pictures of me appear since I do not take any of me or let others who offer do the same. My picture has appeared when Bob Bolinger has taken it; however, he in essence is a professional photographer and has taken some most excellent pictures despite my presence in a few. At our little get together this past Wednesday in honor of Margret Stephenson--the founder of our hiking group, John Kennerly took some pictures and forwarded this one to me. Since I have sort of been chastised for not including a picture that one can recognize as being me in my blog, I decided to include include this one for in it our also a few of my best hiking friends. From left to right they are: John Hutsenpillar, BZ Lane, yours truly, Richard Ryburn, and Doug Jerger.

Post 900 Hike #112: Jakes Creek--0.2, Cucumber Gap--2.4, Llittle River--1.0, Goshen Prong--7.7, AT--1.9

2010-06-30T19:35:00.025-04:00

John Hutsenpiller picked me me up at Lakeside Market at 06:30; we arrived at Food Lion at 06:40. Dick Ledyard and Kirsten Mosher joined us; we then proceeded in Theresa Yu's SUV to the Jasper Creek trail head in Elkmont. (Theresa along with four others proceeded to Clingmans Dome in Dick's van; thus my group would go from low elevation to a much higher one (i.e., ~4800 feet of gain); the hikers starting at Clingmans Dome in Theresa's group would proceed South from a high to a much lower elevation, on a different set of trails--we did not meet on a trail as usually happens on key swaps.

That's Dick, John, and Kirsten just prior to our starting on Jakes Creek Trail at 08:00. At 08:55 I had completed it and Cucumber Gap; I had gone ahead in order to do a quick check on my feet (i.e., bunion and blister problem exacerbated by new boots unaccustomed to my battle-worn feet).

The preceeding is a picture that Dick took of the Goshen Prong Creek; as might be expected the stream both parallels and crosses the 7.7 mi. trail (which incidently has ~3,000 ft. of gain). Kirsten and I had gone ahead; however, after 5+ mi. I needed to nurse my feet so we stopped for lunch; John and Dick joined us shortly. After lunch I got a later start on the trail than the others and instead of leading I was last; moreover, I did not catch them until the junction of the AT (they had stopped there).

As stated previously the 7.7 mi. section of Goshen Prong had ~3,000 ft. of gain; on the AT the gain was ~800 ft. in 1.9 mi. This is Dick's picture taken close to Mt.Buckley and looking towards Lake Fontana.

In addition to today's AT trek being steeper, the terrain was tougher too; since we had put on a few tough miles since our start, this 1.9 mi. section was our slowest from a mph perspective and we did not complete it until ~15:00. (Incidently, I did this part of the AT going down from the Dome last Wed.) Last week we did the bypass; this week we walked the paved walkway from the observation deck down to the parking lot. There were scads of tourists going both up and down; for most their goal was to make it up the 0.5 mi. walkway to the observation deck. Many I'm sure wondered what the four of us had been doing.

Some will perceive the last picture as being rather trite; it shows 2 of the 3 rest room buildings at Clingmans Dome; what used to be a rest room bldg. is now a new visitor center at the Dome. Even though these buildings are very neat they do not have running water; possibly the next time that I X-C ski to the Dome they will be available for back packers and skiers. (For those not familiar with the park, the road from Newfound Gap to Clingmans Dome is closed from Nov. 15th to April 1st.) The stimulus dollars have contributed to some very nice improvements to the GSMNP; because of all the work done this winter and spring, the road was not opened until June 21. (If you're interested in my latest snow pictures on the Clingmans Dome road, please see my blog for 2/26/10.)

As we took off our boots and got in Dick's van, as per usual he treated us with sodas; it sure beats Camel Pack water or warm Gator Aide. The trip down from Clingmans Dome to Newfound Gap and then on to River Road by SVC and then the ~20 min. trip to Wears Valley followed by the ~30 min. trip to our meet-up point at Food Lion. Then it was in John's car to my SUV at Lakeside Market; John was most gracious to follow me home to assist me with a problem that I had with my pick-up and we arrived at my home ~17:00.

Post 900 Hike #111: CD bypass--0.5, AT--3.8, Welch Ridge--2.4, Jonas Creek--4.1, Forney Creek--3.7, Bear Creek--0.4, Lakeshore--2.9

2010-06-23T23:05:00.018-04:00

First my apologies if anyone looked for my blog for 3/16, there was not one; family exigencies and a foot problem precluded hiking. Also, this blog was modified on 7-2-10 to add a picture of the tunnel.

There were 2-hikes that started on trails off the "just resurfaced" 7-mi. road between Newfound Gap and Clingmans Dome,2-hikes starting at the Dome (this is also the road that I X-C ski), and one hike started below this road in NC; all hikes terminated at either Deep Creek Campground, Lakeview Drive, or at the end of the tunnel (i.e., the tunnel to nowhere). My group met at Food Lion at 06:00; I rode with Carl Muse. The 6 of us were on trail at 07:55; the first picture was taken shortly after we got started on the AT. From L to R my cohorts were Melanie Harmon, Carl Muse, Rita Haynes, and Carol & Dave Anderson.

Although parts of the AT and Welch Ridge traversed provide beautiful vistas, there's a bit of high growth that can scratch arms. Along with the azaleas pictured, there were scads of blackberry bushes; too bad that we did not do this hike in August.

The Brown Book indicates that there are 4 "rock-hoppable" steam crossings on the 4.1 mi. Jonas Creek trail. There were more and a few were quite challenging. Although no one chose to don their water shoes, strategies differed (e.g., one walked and one crawled across a log over one stream and another straddled the log and inched across the stream). I and one other rock hopped every crossing with a bit of assistance from our sticks.

Forney Creek was somewhat boring; we donned our rain ponchos and roasted. When it started to rain a second time I did not bother with it.

When Dave and I reached the junction of Bear Creek Trail, Dennis McAdams was sitting on the bridge; shortly thereafter others in his group arrived. Dennis and I then took off; we used to volunteer at Sugarlands Visitor Center on the same day back in 2006 and used to hike and backpack together then.

(The picture is one that I retrieved from my file on 7/2/10 that I took in 2008, Although I retrieved it for another reason, I decided that I should add it now since some viewers of my blog may have never seen the Tunnel. It is ~100 yds long and was built in the 1960s and was meant to connect Bryson City with Fontana Dam via Lakeview Drive. However, the project was fortunately scrapped) Dennis and I arrived at the end of the tunnel ~16:00; three who had done Noland Divide/Creek, a shorter hike were already there. Others straggled in over the next hour; however, the bus did not arrive until 17:45 (in it were the hikers who finished at Deep Creek. Then the long drive back through Bryson City and Cherokee to Clingmans Dome; believe we arrived there ~19:00. From there it is ~a 2 hr. drive back to my vehicle.

Post 900 Hike #110: Newton Bald--5.4 + 0.7, Mingus Creek--5.7

2010-06-09T20:28:00.007-04:00

This is a hike that I elected to do after determining that my first choice (a longer one) would be more apt to upset the problem that I have been having with my feet. This is a hike that John Hutsenpiller and Judy Gross needed for their 900; I needed it for my Geezer 900. Dick Ledyard also did this hike; the latter finished his 900 last year and I believe that about every hike taken since has only been taken to help others achieve their 900. Although I also endeavored to help others achieve this goal, my efforts pale when compared with those of Dick.

John picked me up at Lakeside Market ~07:10; we arrived at SVC ~one hour later. Dick drove his vehicle too to facilitate logistics; Nan NLN met us at SVC; although she was not hiking with us, Dick helped with her logistics too. Dick left his vehicle at Mingus Creek Trailhead and dropped Nan off there; Judy, coming in from Ashville, met us there and we proceeded in two vehicles to the Newton Bald Trailhead by Smokemont; the four of us then proceeded up Newton Bald Trail (~2800' of gain). I took it relatively easy at first and stopped to nurse one foot; ~4 mi. up I decided to give it a go and got my HR up to 151 prior to reaching Mingus Creek junction. We then proceeded to Thomas Divide Trail, met Nan, and then all five us returned to Campsite 52 for lunch. It was a quick lunch for it started to rain quite heavily and we donned rain gear and proceeded on our quest. We did not try to break any records; the trail was relatively nice but had shades of Cold Spring Gap in a few parts (i.e., nothing but rocks to step on). The picture is one that Dick took; from L-R it is John, me, and Judy. (I did not take any pictures because I had a dead camera battery; because I did not bring a pen, I did not record times either.)

Dick and I dropped Judy and John off at the S-end of Tow String trail; we then proceeded to the Bradley Fork Trail in Smokemont Campground (Tow String feeds into it) and waited for John and Judy. (I originally considered doing this trail too but I thought I'd be pressing my luck with my bunion and blister problems.)

When our cohorts arrived Dick took us to Judy's and John's vehicles on U.S. 441; John had some refreshing sodas or tea for us. Then Judy proceeded South on her way back to Ashville; Dick in his vehicle and John and I in his then proceeded North on U.S. 441. John dropped me off at my vehicle ~17:30. In essence it was a good day; both Judy and John got some good mileage towards their 900. I was pleased that my feet did not give me too much of a problem (used my old broken-in boots again); moreover, I got some good miles for my Geezer Map.

Pedometer Trivia (will complete after I download):
Steps:
Aerobic steps: 22,453
Miles:
kcal burned:

Post 900 Hike #109: Roundtop--7.5 mi.

2010-06-02T15:21:00.006-04:00

After last week's ~15-mi. hike in which I used new boots and my feet took a beating (despite feeling very good on ups, on downs my toes and my bunion suffered), I did not plan on hiking this week. However, my feet started feeling better Tues. (primarily because of jell-type band aids). Thus I decided to go on the group hike because it was quite short and I felt that my feet could handle it (I also needed Roundtop Trail for my geezer map).

I arrived at Food Lion ~07:50. Because ~16 hikers were doing the hike and a little logistics was required, four of us drove. My passengers were Jim and Nancy Carmen, Diane Scarbrough, and Becky Brown. Those that I conversed with the most were Bill Broome and Jim Carmen (latter in vehicle as well as on trail). Bill was on my very first hike in 2005, and when I did the hike that completed requirements for my memberhip in The 900-Miler Association in 2007, he went above and beyond in providing key logistics in facilitating my last hike (it was from Clingmans Dome to Cades Cove via Thunderhead and Rocky Top). Jim, also a X-C skier, gave me some very good info on Elder Hostel's (now has a new name) X-C ski packages in the West; he also gave me some key info on kayaking. I have acquired a vast diversity of friends in our 240+ hiking group; although I really like to hike, getting friends like Bill and Jim make me all the more thankful that I am a hiker in a great group.

Although Roundtop Trail is a nice trail and relatively scenic, I did not take many pictures. The only one I am posting is Tom Wainer (I believe) crossing Little River at the Townsend Wye as he completed the hike. (When I did this hike in 2006 the water was up to my crotch; today it was no higher than my knee.)

After taking this picture I took a few more bites of my lunch, and then with three other drivers, went in Lloyd's car to pick up our own vehicles so that the three of us could return to the Wye and pick up our passengers. When I got back to the Wye there was a little consternation for a hiker riding in another car had not yet completed the hike. Fortunately he arrived shortly and all three cars then headed back to Food Lion in Maryville.

Post 900 Hike #108: Low Gap II--2.5, Low Gap I--2.5, Big Greek--~1.0, Camel Gap--4.1, AT--2.4, Low Gap--2.5

2010-05-27T19:42:00.020-04:00

This is a hike that BZ Lane recommended; I encouraged him to select something for his second map because he hiked with me the past two weeks on hikes that I needed for my Geezer Map. I submitted this Thursday hike to our Wednesday Hiking Group; John Hutsenpiller, Judy Gross, and Ramsay Roth indicated that they wished to do this hike too. I picked up John at Cracker Barrel ~07:05, Ramsay picked up his fellow Gatlinburg resident BZ, and Judy drove in from Ashville NC.

We got started on Low Gap II ~08:32 and finished it (>2000' of gain) at 09:42. My new boots felt great; however, on Low Gap I (~1300' of down, I realized that my sock selection was not appropriate; I had to stop to administer 1st aid. (I caught up with my cohorts; in an unguarded moment at lunch, they are: Ramsay, Judy, BZ, & John.)

On Camel Gap (~1700' of gain), my feet felt good; towards the end of Camel Gap I pushed and got my HR up to 150 on two different occasions. The section of the AT that we then did had both ups and downs; that's where this picture of the rhododendron was taken.

I decided to lead on our final leg (Low Gap II--going down this time) in order that I could ice my knee prior to leaving the GSMNP. If one gets a little advanced of the group, one is more apt to encounter surprises unless one talks to oneself very loudly. In many of my early hikes shortly after starting hiking back in 2005, I often led in hopes that I would see a bear; today it happened. I rounded a curve and low and behold there was a good size male (I think--he did not expose self that much) on the trail. (If you look carefully at this picture you'll see some "extra black" just to the left of his head--you can enlarge by clicking on it.) This I subsequently learned was another bear (assume female or one large cub) who quickly left the trail on the downhill side after seeing me.

I had frozen in my tracks upon the initial citing, after all, bears are supposed to be scared of people. However, the male bear obviously did not know what his reaction was supposed to be when he saw a human; he just eyed me for what seemed to be a very long time! Turning around and running on my part would have totally been inappropriate because the literature states that such a behavior could result in being chased (when I worked for the Forest Service back in the 50's we were told that at least Idaho bears could beat a race horse in 50 yds); having nothing better to do, I zoomed in on him to get the next picture.

Although it seemed like quite awhile, he eventually followed his mate (or offspring) down the embankment. I moved cautiously forward down the trail yelling as I went until I had well-passed the point they had originally defended; I also frequently looked back to ensure that I was still alone on the trail.

I was icing my knee ~16:00 and enjoying a soft drink (that John provided) when my cohorts arrived at our vehicles; it was then that I took out my camera and asked BZ to look at my last picture; although I had not looked at it yet, by his exclamation I knew that I had captured the moment. Shortly thereafter we left the Cosby parking lot; I dropped John off at the Cracker Barrel ~17:35 and arrived home ~18:05; I had put on ~150 miles roundtrip.

Pedometer trivia:
15.69 mi.
33,154 steps
31,367 aerobic steps
1,224 kcal burned

Post 900 Hike #107: Old Settlers Trail--15.8, Madron Bald--1.2

2010-05-19T21:53:00.009-04:00

This was a hike proposed by Doug Jerger; he is one of several whom I have endeavored to help attain their 900 Miler certification. Selfishly I must admit that this is a trail that I needed for my Geezer Map (i.e., doing the 900 miles after age 75).

After Doug announced this relatively arduous hike, four responded including me. I then called one of my best hiking buddies BZ Lane, who played a most critical role in my completion of the 900 miles; he said that he would be most willing to do this hike even though it is not one needed for his second map. Readers of this blog will note that I hike with BZ quite frequently; he is a very strong hiker and one great guy. I should mention that most do this hike in two sections with the Noisy Creek Manway as the division line; however, Doug, who is also my X-C ski buddy and has run marathons, does not shy away from arduousness.

I arrived at Food Lion ~07:15; I rode with Doug and Dave Amendt was also a passenger. We arrived at SVC ~08:05; besides BZ, Dana Murphy and Ramsey Roth (both of Gatlingburg--BZ and I met Dana last week as she hiked ~17 mi. alone) were also wanting to do this hike. BZ, Doug, Dave, and I went in Dana's SUV to the Old Settlers trailhead in Greenbier; Dana and Ramsey went in BZ's SUV to the Madron Bald trail head relatively close to Cosby.

We were on the trail at 08:55; this trail goes through what was part of the most densely settled area of what eventually became the GSMNP. The trail is relatively easy except for length; it includes nominal gains as well as declines in altitude with numerous stream crossings that for the most part are relatively easy. It also includes many chimneys and rock fences that remain from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

At ~12:10 we met Dana and Ramsey; our group backtracked a bit so that we could all eat lunch together. (Regret not taking a picture here, Dana would have brightened up the group of old men.) Assume we started back on trail ~12:30. Shortly we came to the most impressive stone fence (there are many) that parallels this trail; by my pacing the one pictured is ~350 feet in length (Brownbook states that it is >100 yds).

This most unique fence took an inestimable number of hours to construct. I assume that every member of one family (and probably descendents) took part in its construction.

Close to the end of our hike we took ~0.2 mi. sojourn to a barn estimated to have been build ~1876. Attached to it but not seen in the picture is what appears to be very well constructed corn (or other grain) storage compartment.

We arrived at BZ's vehicle ~16:00 and I iced my knee. It was then back to SVC and into Doug's SUV; I arrived home ~18:00 after stopping to pick up dinner. It was a great day and a good hike; it's length and difficulty was about the same as last week's hike (rock-hopping stream crossings instead of elevation were its bane).

Pedometer trivia:
16.67 mi.
35,217 steps
33,124 aerobic steps (with all the stream crossings, some steps quite short and not interpreted as being areobic.
1,308 kcal burned.

Post 900 Hike #106: Cataloochee Divide--4.6, McKee Br--2.3, Caldwell Fork--1.4, Hemphill Bald--3.0, Cataloochee Divide--6.4

2010-05-12T22:13:00.011-04:00

Our hiking group had two alternate hikes scheduled (including a 16.9 mi. one) in the Catalooche area when BZ Lane and I offered one of 17.7 mi. I left home ~05:50, ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel (our meet-up site) and left there ~07:00 with no one opting for our hike and thus I drove alone. (We had an additional taker from NC who had planned to meet BZ and me at the trailhead but she had to cancel.) I picked up BZ at Exit 440 at 07:45; an exit that he and I had met at many a time as he engineered my completing the requirements for membership in The 900-Miler Association in late 2006 and early 2007. We arrived at Cataloochee Divide trailhead at the entrance to the GSMNP off Cove Creek Road and began our hike at 08:20. (My roundtrip vehicle mileage from home to trailhead and back home was ~195 mi.)

We finished McKee Branch at 11:22 (4.6 mi.& 2.3); somehat to our surprise we had met an attractive young lady chugging right up the most difficult McKee Branch Trail. We stopped for lunch after completing the 1.4 mi. section of Caldwell Fork; There we talked with two other hikers; we were surprised that they had not seen the other hikers from our group who had started at the N-end of Caldwell Fork. We shortly came across a Northern red oak with a 6-foot diameter trunk (see Brown Book. That is BZ standing by it.

We met the young lady again and found that she was the daughter of one of our hikers from Gatlinburg that BZ knew. We finished the 3.0 section of Hemphill Bald in ~78 min.; at this point my pedometer registered 11.6 mi. (map distance was 11.3).

As we were debating leaving a note for our cohorts whom we thought might have had a problem, Doug and Ellie came into view; the reason that no one we met had seen them is that they chose to go up McKee Branch (it's an unpopular trail either way). After talking with them a few minutes we learned that (a) we would meet the rest of their group shortly and (b) the young lady we met probably intended to hike with them (she had just been added to our mailing list) but decided to hike alone.

We started out on the S-end of Cataloochee Divide at 14:48 and we both estimated that we would complete the 6.4 mi. and arrive at my SUV by 16:30; we got there at 16:28. We stopped at the SWAG's picnic area and took a few pictures; the next one presented here includes the trails of the Maggie Valley ski resort.

The fallen dead tree just off the trail with the spiral grain we believe must be a chestnut. The last picture presented are mountains outside of the GSMNP in NC. When we arrived at my vehicle BZ drove in order that I could ice my knee. In the first few miles the road is in essence a one-lane gravel road that is 2-way. Until we reached the pavement BZ was a gentleman and pulled near the road's edge to make it easier for up-hill traffic. As he drove on I-40 we were able to survey the extensive repair done on the mountain that closed the road for about half a year.

I dropped BZ off, picked a sandwich after ~ 40 mi., and arrived home ~19:00. My Airedale Terrier Winston, who had been couped up most of the day, expected to play and we did.

Trivia:
Age 75 yr 10 mo.
Ht 6' & Wt 157.2 lb., % body fat 12.9
Max. HR ~138--ups and down rather than continuous ups
Today's hike:17.7 mi.
Omron data:
17.77 mi.
37,547 steps
33,982 aerobic steps
1,384 kcal burned

Post 900 Hike #105: Rainbow Falls (6.0), Bull Head (5.9), Old Sugarlands (0.4)

2010-05-07T21:16:00.008-04:00

After my air conditioning was fixed ~17:45 this passed Tuesday and I was freed for hiking on Wed., I called Vicki Watkins to see if there was a space for me in her Newfound Gap to Cosby Hike (~25 mi.) relative to logistics. There was and I was ready to go; however, when my wife returned home later that evening she reminded me tht one of my two local granddaughters was in her school play on Wed. evening; had I gone on Vicki's long hike I would have been far too late to see any part of Marilee's play. Fortunately I had also made arrangements with John Hutsenpiller to do Rainbow Falls and Bullhead on Friday. John needed Bull Head for his 1st map; I had done both trails for my 2nd map but needed both for my Geezer Map (i.e., trails completed after age 75).

John picked me up at Lakeside Market at 07:30; we started on Rainbow Falls at 09:00 and we would have ~2700 ft. of gain by the time we reached Bull Head junction. The parking lot was relatively full, but evidently we got ahead of most. The first picture in my not too good picture taking day was of Rainbow Falls. Subsequently we met a father and two sons (possibly we saw his wife too) and later two couples, all who had spent the night at LeConte Lodge.

About one half mile of reaching Bull Head, I put it in what was my highest gear in my endeavor to reach this trail by noon. I got there at 12:01; however, I only got my HR to 146. (I wanted to get to 150 on my new Omron HR monitor.)

Both of us aired our feet at lunch; mine were sweaty and I put talcum poweder and fresh socks prior to our departure at 12:30. Much to our surprise we saw much more traffic on Bull Head than Rainbow Falls (two couples going up, ~10 at the Pulpit (not sure which way they were going), and a couple taking some "serious" photographs (assume they were doing and in-and-out on just part of Bull Head). At 14:50 we had finished Bull Head and had ~0.4 mi. to go on Old Sugarlands to get to the parking lot.

In addition to my new HR monitor (which seemed to work great on my hike today and on my treadmill Wed.--my old one would often show spuriously high readings particularly at the start of running workouts), while ordering it I also ordered an Omron pedometer (HJ-72ITC). This one does not rely on the pendulum technology seen in most; moreover it can be placed in a pocket (as well as on the belt) and collects data that can be downloaded to a computer. (For those who have followed this blog for some time, I also had one of these ~one year ago but lost it after a hike in Colorado.) The data that it provided me on today's hike were: Steps--28205, Aerobic steps--26238, kcals burned--1041, miles hiked--13.35. (I may have to tinker with stride length; however, I may have had it on when I walked my dog prior to hiking this a.m.)

Post 900 Hike #104: Grapeyard Ridge--7.6, Baskins Creek--2.7

2010-04-28T21:57:00.009-04:00

Arrived at Food Lion ~07:50 and proceeded with Richard Ryburn to SVC; 9 of us were going to do this key swap hike. At SVC it was decided that Ellie Doughty, Amy Howe, Doug Jerger and I were to proceed from East to West starting at Greenbrier Cove (~1300 & 500 feet of gain for the two trails); those who elected to proceed from West to East would have more downhill for their hike.

I forget exactly when we started out of Grennbrier; Ellie led and we had a nice pace. This is a relatively scenic trail; we could visualize where homesteads might have existed at the turn of the 20th Century. We took one sojourn to Campsite 32 on the way; it is scenic too. We met the West to East hikers ~12:30, this was slightly later than we had expected. All 9 of us had lunch at this point.

After we were on Baskins Creek Trail, we took ~0.5 mi. sojourn to Baskins Creek Falls; since this is not on the required trails for membership in The 900 Miler Association, I think that this was a first for all of us. Seeing the falls was truly worth the extra time spent (~0.3-0.5 mi. trip to it).

Somewhat to our surprise snow can still be seen on Mt. LeConte. This could be that remaining from the more than three foot of snow that fell earlier this year, or it could have possibly snowed last evening since temperatures at this elevation woul have been below freezing.

The next picture that I took of my 3-cohorts was a bit better than the one that I had taken near the start of our hike; from left to right they are Amie, Ellie, & Doug.

After we completed our hike (~12 mi.), Ellie shot this picture of Doug and me in Amy's van, enjoying our trip back to the Food Lion and our vehicles in Maryville; Doug and I were a little disappointed that Amy had not provided us with champagne. Nevertheless, it was a very nice hike with good company, and perhaps the most relaxing post-hike return trip that I have ever experienced.

P.S. Readers of this blog might be interested in viewing two blogs of fellow hiker Liz Etnier, namely (1) Wildflower Blog at www.myopera.com/smokieshiker and (2) info on an excellent GSMNP hiking manual at www.smokymountainshiking.com

Post 900 Hike #103: Anthony Creek--1.6, Russell Field--3.5, AT--2.9 +~1.5

2010-04-14T20:31:00.006-04:00

Our hike's terminus was Rocky Top; we then returned (AT ~4.4, Bote Mtn--1.7, Anthony Creek 1.9 & 1.6. (Unfortunately I forgot my camera.)

Just prior to our departure at Food Lion, Ellie Doughty asked each of us to carry two tangerines that she would purchase to give to "through Hikers" on the AT; Ellie (who completed the AT as a Section Hiker) knew how well received these tangerines would be.

Cecil Rowe and I departed Food Lion ~08:10. At the Townsend Y we went with Ellie, Rita Haynes, and BZ Lane to Cades Cove. We started on Anthony Creek ~09:00 and were on Russell Field Trail ~09:30. We arrived at Russell Field shelter on the AT at ~11:30; here we gave out 6 tangerines to through hikers; each immediately devoured one (bear in mind that these hikers had been on the trail for more than one week--this was their first fresh food in some time). We ate our lunch there and were on the AT at 12:00. At ~12:50 we had finished our first section of the AT and we decided to hike the ~1 mi. section to Rocky Top (~500 ft gain in this mile). I went ahead here but only got my HR up to 145 bpm; I passed the brother sister couple from Mass. with whom we spoke at the shelter. By the time that all five of my group arrived, 6-through hikers were also there; with Ellie's permission I gave my last tangerine to the brother-sister couple. As we talked with these two plus four other through-AT hikers, I believe it was BZ who pointed out Shuckstack Tower (visibility was great); these through hikers visited it after ~3 mi. in the GSMNP; it really gave a great perspective of their last ~13 mi. of their ~2200 mile trip. While at Rocky Top I received a few insect bites and had a bit of swelling; fortunately I had some Benedryl with me.

As per usual I took it easy on the downward trek from Rocky Top as well as our succeeding trails to our return to Ellie's car. When we arrived there I iced my knee; we arrived back at the Y and my SUV ~17:30.

It was a good hike of 16+ miles; moreover, I added 2.9 mi of the AT (+ ~1.5 mi. to Rocky Top) plus 1.7 mi. of Bote Mtn to my Geezer Map (i.e., trails/mileage that I have completedd subsequent to reaching age 75. My pedometer registered slightly over 16 mi. for today's hike. It was a lovely day and a very good hike; again I am sorry that I did not have my camera.

I arrived back in Mayville ~18:00 and stopped at Taco Bell and picked up a sinful supper.

A Cumberland Trail Hike

2010-04-07T20:46:00.018-04:00

My first hiking priority is to either help individual attain requirements for admittance to The 900 Miler Association of the GSMNP or to enable me to complete my Geezer Map (i.e., complete 900 Miler Association requirements after reaching age 75). Because no one needed my help today I decided to do a hike outside of the GSMNP that was organized by Gary Niebart and Mike Miller (the latter two were most instrumental in "firing my interest" in completing the requirements for The 900-Miler Association). Mike and Gary have proposed a series of Cumberland Trail hikes; it is my understanding that the completed sections are in State Parks.

I arrived at the Flying J service station on I-40 West ~0800. Somewhat to my surprise ~30 hikers were going to do this "Out of the GSMNP" hike near Dayton TN; I expected far less since this hike required a rather long drive. In part because I drove ~150 miles last week so that two hikers could complete the AT from Davenport Gap to Mt. Cammerer, I willingly accepted a ride with Jim and Nancy Carmin for what appeared to be a similar long drive.

We began our hike ~0930; in addition to Nancy and Jim, those in our "group" included Marita Vornehm, Debra Barton and Judy Collins. Judy was every bit as responsible as Mike and Gary in helping me complete my requirements for membership in The 900-Miler Association (Judy completed her requirements for the latter shortly after Gary and Mike and she invited me to go with her on hikes that required exceptional amounts of logistics). Although we had stayed in touch, I had not hiked with her since she completed her last hike for The 900-Miler Association in 2006. Judy has an "articular cartilage deficiency" in one knee for which the only final solution is a TKR.

Because no one in our group had a map, it was a rather unique hike. The first picture (you'll need to double click it to really see) presents Nancy leading, followed by Debra, Marita, Judy and then Jim.

We worked our way to a summit and intended to cross a stream; however, after I went a few feet and found that moss on solid rock was very slippery and that water level would exceed boot height for a few feet of the crossing, we retreated and had lunch. The next picture is one of several unique bridges that we crossed; if you enlarge the picture you'll see one of our group just getting off the bridge and two further ahead on one of many unique rock formations that we traversed and/or saw.

Shortly after this we met many others of our group who had taken a different trail initially; we decided to go where they had gone and came across the falls seen in the third picture.

We then worked our way back to the trail that we had initially taken; we eventually again passed the entrance to an old coal mine and/or a furnace used to make coke.

The hike that my group did today was perhaps only ~10 miles. The rock formations seen were very unique as were some of the stone walls, vistas, and a trestle for a bridge that did not appear to be going anywhere; much of this probably related to tree cutting (much done by Bowater) and its coal mine era. Although I am glad that I went on this hike, I am not sure how many of the Cumberland Trail hikes that I will make. I like hikes where the distance driven is more proportional to the length of the hike.

EPILOGUE: I am no longer allowing comments on my blog for the far majority (as of lately) have been anonymous trash. If you sincerely wish to respond to my blog I would love to hear from you at wliemohn@gmail.com.

Post 900 Hike #102: Chestnut Branch--2.1, AT--1.0 & 2.3 (to Mt Cammerer Trail), AT 2.3, 1.0, 1.9 (to Davenport Gap)

2010-03-31T20:26:00.008-04:00

I organized this hike to fulfill some of the 900-mile trail needs of Theresa Yu; although I had also hoped that some of Doug Jerger's and John Hutsenpiler's needs would be met by this hike, of the latter two only John was able to go. Bob Bolinger and BZ Lane also joined us on this hike.

I picked John at Lakeside Market at 07:10, Theresa at Krogers at 07:25, Bob at McDonalds in Sevierville at 08:20, and BZ near US 321 junction with I-40 at ~09:00. We then proceeded on U.S. 40 until its last exit (i.e., due to its closure because of rock slide, Exit 451). We arrived at Deep Creek Ranger Station ~09:20.

We proceeded up Chestnut Branch and arrived at its junction with the AT at 09:25. Then it was on to two legs of the AT; all trails from the start were basically up. We met several groups of backpackers plus a few others; one group was from Kansas City and I believe were doing all of the AT within the GSMNP (i.e., 76 mi.). BZ and I led and kept a relatively good pace.

The first picture, hopefully if enlarged, will enable one to see the A/C control tower and the bald in the background (Max Patch); both are on the AT outside of the GSMNP.

Although it was my original plan to retrace our steps to my SUV, and then BZ and I would pick up the others at Davenport Gap, I realized that if I did the 1.9 mi. (last section) of the AT, I could could count it towards completion of my Geezer map (i.e., complition of the 900 mile requirements after age 75). Bob most willingly took my place to go with BZ to retrieve my SUV.

The next picture is of those who accompanied me on this hike; from left to right are John, BZ, Teresa, and Bob.

I took this picture just a few feet prior to reaching Davenport Gap; except for Chestnut Branch, it covers the guts of our hike.

I was cleaning my boots at Davenport Gap when Theresa and John arrived; about 15 min. later BZ and Bob arrived in my SUV. We then proceeded on our long return trip home, dropping off my passengers in reverse order. After stopping for a take-out supper at Buddy's Barbecue, I arrived home ~18::15. The hike was only 10.8 mi. but the drive was 149.5 mi.; nevertheless, although this was not the most efficient use of time and resources, it enabled Theresa and John to complete 7.3 mi. of their quest to complete requirements for membership in The 900 Miler Association. It also enabled me to comolete the same number of miles in my quest to complete the 900 miles after reaching age 75.

Post 900 Hike #101: AT (1.7, 1.0, 1.7) Charlie's Bunion & return

2010-03-17T21:23:00.020-04:00

I picked up Theresa Yu at Krogers and we proceeded to The GSMNP; at SVC we were joined by BZ Lane, Bob Bolinger, and Cecil Rowe. We proceeded to Newfound Gap in BZ's Jeep Wagon; from there we set out on a NE direction on the AT. As we reached a greater elevation, our temperature centered around 31.7 F. A little prior to Icewater Springs shelter, Bob donned his his new snowshoes; I'll comment more on this later.

The first picture is of the Icewater Springs shelter on the AT. (We ended up returning there for lunch, since much of this area's AT is on a windy ridge, and our sojourn to Charlies Bunion was similarly devoid of windless respites.)

Charlies Bunion provides magnificent views; Cecil is pointing out some to Theresa. The next picture is one that Bob took; from left to right it is BZ, me, and Theresa on top of "the bunion"(a big rock). (As you have probably noted in my prior blogs in which Bob has contributed a picture, the quality of his photos is truly phemomenal.

This short segment of the trail off the AT to Charlies Bunion is daunting as you approach the Bunion; all of us, however, wore crampons throughout the hike. Because I was taking many pictures, I was the last one to leave. With the slope dropping precipitously to my right (BZ had said that if you fell to the downside of the trail, one would not stop until s/he traversed ~1,500'), I found that by inverting my left foot with forcible steps I was quite comfortable.

The next picture is of Theresa going up a rise after descending from Charlies Bunion; you'll note that she is quite inboard on the trail, and when this picture was taken, was not using her hiking poles (I guess that I should reprimend her for this, for I am such a firm believer in the utility and use of them.)

In the last picture presented I wanted to get a picture of Bob on his new snowshoes prior to his taking them off at lunch. Although his snowshoes would be very useful on deep snow trails, after the trail has been tramped down and sort of a trench has been created, their utility is diminished.

After lunch we met several contingents of hikers; they included backbackers headed for Maine, college students from Mississippi who could not have been worse prepared for their plan to go to Charlies Bunion, a slightly better prepared couple, a really prepared couple, and as we approached Newfound Gap many tourists who were just endeavoring to walk a few yards on the trail. I had gone ahead of our group of five (when I am in the picture-taking mode I'm usually last) in order to take a picture of my cohorts as they descended to Newfound Gap; the mass of humanity precluded doing so.

When we were back in BZ's SUV, at my request he drove a couple of hundred yards on US 441 in order that I could determine the feasiblity of going skiing (Bob would bring his snowshoes) on the road to Clingmans Dome Thursday or Friday. However, as sort of anticipated the road (closed to vehicular traffic until April 1st but open to others) is now closed to everyone for at least a couple of months (stimulus dollars at work).

On the way down from Newfound Gap on U.S. 441, much to our surprise one vehicle had gone off the road on a cruveless section and we were held up for a few minutes. Later on after Theresa, Cecil and I were in my SUV on the West side of Sevierville on U.S. 411, we were held up again for what appeared to be quite a severe accident. Somewhat to our surprise we subsequently met emergency vehicles (probably from Seymore).

Several of us had been endeavoring to finish off our winter hiking season with unique, beautiful, and sometimes challenging hikes. We truly have had a lot of winners this year! Assuming that I present at Wilderness Wildlife Week again in Pigeon Forge next January on X-C skiing and hiking on snow and ice, I'll have a raft of new pictures.

Post 900 Hike #100: Alum Cave to LeConte & Return

2010-03-10T21:17:00.011-05:00

This is a snow hike that Bob Bolinger, BZ Lane, and I have been trying to schedule for two weeks; we were finally able to do it. It is the same hike that Bob and I did on 12/30/09; we did it then in order that I would have some good ice pictures to show at my presentation at WWW in Pigeon Forge on 1/11/10. On that hike we encountered more ice on trail than we had ever experienced; however, today we expected that much of the ice would be covered by snow; it was and much was melting for the temperature was at least in the high 40's at lower elevations.

Cecil Rowe and Charlie Woodward joined us; Cecil and I left his house ~0715. About one hour later we arrived at Sugarlands Visitor Center--BZ was waiting and Bob and Charlie arrived momentarily. Not sure what time we arrived at Alum Cave Parking Lot for we made one sojourn first; we all put on our ice crampons before hitting the trail.

BZ and I went ahead; at ~2.2 mi. we were just walking in front of Alum Cave Bluff when some big ice "particles" fell from the cave's lip in front of us. These were big hunks; if one of them were to hit either of us on the head, it would probably have been our last hike. We hustled to the shelter of the cave to wait to warn our three cohorts when they arrived; while we were waiting no other ice hunks fell and I took this picture.

If one closely examines the next picture one will see a little nitch in the mountain against the sky (~45% of the way across from L to R). This picture is meaningful to me because (1) it puts our hike in perspective--our terminus was ~0.5 mi. beyond this point and (2) on 12/30/09 Bob coaxed me into walking back to him around a corner of a precipice past this point (that picture is now my desktop on my 3-computers).

Believe BZ and I arrived at LeConte Lodge ~1230. We ate our lunch on the porch of a cabin; as you'll note on the picture of the lodge, its porch was too laden with snow to sit on it. The elevation at the junction of Alum Cave trail with Rainbow Falls trail is ~6,300 ft.; at this point I assume it's at least a tad higher. (Ironically, Bob and I ate our lunch on the same cabin porch on 12/30/09).

After we had finished our lunch we wanted to move because we were getting cold and we also thought that we had better check on our 3-cohorts. Just as we were about to leave they showed up. However, because we wanted to get our blood moving again, BZ and I started our downward trip. The last picture presented shows BZ in somewhat of a foggy haze just a few hundred yards from the lodge and cabins on the level section of Alum Cave Trail.

The return trip was somewhat uneventful, although neither of us likes to go downhill on snow and ice. As previously stated, much of the ice that Bob and I saw on 12/30/09 was covered with snow, for we have had a lot of snow in the GSMNP this winter (see entries for prior 2010 hikes/X-C ski entries). For example, although Alum Cave offers a cable to grasp in some its sections, at times the cable was either at the level of our boots (because of deep ice and snow) or reachable only if we had arms 2-5 times as long as ours. It has been a very unique winter in the GSMNP.

X-C Ski Sojourn: Clingmans Dome Road

2010-02-26T20:34:00.011-05:00

U.S. 441 was closed yesterday and was also closed this morning. Nevertheless, Doug Jerger and I made a last minute decision to go X-C skiing today, for we assumed the road would be open prior to our arrival; it was. We were on our skiis at 11:35; immediately we noted that the road had been snow plowed in order that work could begin on the road as well as the facility at the Dome. This work would have started sooner had it not been for all the snow; undoubtedly this is our last ski venture on Clingmans Dome Road this season. (Normally this road is not open to vehicular traffic until April 1; this year it will probably be closed to everyone (e.g., X-C skiers, backpackers) beginning next week for the construction that will last several months. One week ago today the snow depth was over two feet when I X-C skied; today there was only ~4 inches of fresh snow after it had been plowed. However, the snow plowing was done only on what we estimated to be the first 4+ miles; after that I had to work to break trail, comparable to last week.

Primarily because Doug's waxless skis seemed to be no longer waxless (the same thing happened to me last year on 3/3/09 when my old skis seemed to lose their gliding ability), I was leading. A young man named Brian (only ~50) caught up with us; he seemed to like our pace and company, so he fell in behing me but in front of Doug. I had planned to stop at the Fork Ridge trailhead (this is directly across the road from an AT access point) to see what Doug and our new friend Brian wished to do. However, although the skiing was not particularly easy, this was one of the first times that I had ever had company this far up the mountain, thus we talked considerably and fatigue was far from my mind. When we reached the point that Clingmans Dome road actually descents 0.5-0.75 mi., I realized that we had passed the Fork Ridge trailhead; moreover, Brian advised me that he had seen the AT signage a while back. We convened and somewhat to my surprise everyone wanted to keep on going at least until 14:30. It was about then that I took this picture (Brian on the left and Doug on the right).

When we came upon the Noland Divide Trailhead (it's 5.5 mi. up the 7 mi. road--its picture was too blury), we continued on our quest. After plowing on ~0.5-1.0 mi. further, the lookout observation deck at Clingmans Dome faded in and out of the clouds; if you look to the left of the dominant tree on the right in the next picture you can see it.

Brian had never planned to go this far and planned to turn around; thus Doug and I decided that the pursuit to the top was not a good one for the time remaining in the day, paticularly when Doug's equipment problem was considered. And as previously indicated, Doug had serious equipment dysfunction (i.e., skis would not glide); it is a good thing that we turned around because subsequently on the descent both of his ski poles broke (he evidently was trying to get too much propelling from his arms to compensate for the lack of glide from his skis). Thus we sort of took it easy took in some of nature's beauty; the next picture really shows why we like to X-C ski in the GSMNP.

Brian had gone ahead and Doug and I took it leisurely. I really must correct that; our descent time was not great. However, I had a good workout (particularly in breaking trail on the way up). Brian skied further than he ever intended. Doug had a workout and a half, for with his equipment malfunction, he had to work harder than anyone.

Post 900 Hike #99: Anthony Creek--3.5, Bote Mtn--1.2, AT/Spence Field Shelter 0.3 & return

2010-02-24T20:48:00.013-05:00

Bob Bolinger and I had planned to do the AT from Newfound Gap to The Boulevard Trail and then down to LeConte; we would then take the Alum Cave Trail out to U.S. 441(i.e., we would have left one vehicle there on way to Newfound Gap). However, we were advised against this because of deep snow conditions; although I knew we would have deep snow since I had just X-C skied out of Newfoundd Gap on the Clingmans Dome Road on 2/19, I had not given the less-traveled Boulevard Trail much thought. We then decided to do the hike presented in the title; John Kennerly, Elke Narton, Doug Jerger, and Richard Ryburn joined us.

I think that we started on our hike out of the Cades Cove campground ~09:15. Although we had icy foot logs to cross a couple of streams, there was no appreciable snow; however, since we were on a climb, snow depth progressively increased. I brought up the rear in order to facilitate my picture taking; I deemed the four presented to best represent our hike of the 40+ taken.

The first picture presents my 5 cohorts on Bote Mtn Trail. Although there was no ice to contend with, we put on our crampons. (Four of us use STABILICER Ice Cleats; because they are so effective, the two without planned to order them ASAP. For their effectiveness on extremely icy trails, see my blog of 12/30/09.)

The second picture is one of rime frost; this picture was also taken on Bote Mtn. Trail. Rime Frost results when the moisture from low clouds "hits" cold objects; the direction of the ice crystals is in the direction of the prevailing winds. It was at about this time that most of us donned our crampons; although it was not icy, they help with traction on snow as well. The depth of the snow when we had reached the shelter (elevation 4900 ft.) was 2' plus.

This is Doug on the Appalachian Trail (AAT); he was picked since his red vest stands out.

The last picture is the Spence Field Shelter off the AT where we had lunch. My five cohorts are inside where the "bunks" are; enterprising AT hikers made what is typically a room with 3 walls a 4-wall room with the addition of plastic ground cloths. Needless to say had I taken the picture from the open side, it would not have been nearly as attractive as the picture presented. The temperature "inside" was ~freezing.

We took a leisurely lunch and ~1330 started a somewhat leisurely retrace of our steps made prior to lunch. I took only one picture on the way down; I also for the first time inserted "hand warmers" in my mittens that I had purchased ~3-yrs ago. My cohorts swear by them and they worked for me too after I really "shook my hands". I plan on purchasing more prior to X-C skiing on 2/26, assuming U.S. 441 is open then.

X-C Ski Sojourn: Clingmans Dome Road

2010-02-19T22:00:00.010-05:00

I awakened ~06:00; it was then that I decided that I should X-C ski today. After eating breakfast and walking the dog. I prepared for a trip to the GSMNP. I arrived at the Park a little before 11:00 and then drove to Newfound Gap; at ~11:30 I set out from the parking area below the gate to the road to Clingmans Dome.

One unique factor was that today I just stepped over the gate that blocks access to the road in the winter; in prior trips the snow level was such that I walked around it. Despite my late start I envisioned skiing to the top. At this time a couple of “pedestrians” and one bona fide snow-shoe “hiker” had left the parking area. I passed the pedestrians almost immediately and then caught the snow-shoer (Jeff Waddle). This was the first time that I had ever encountered anyone on snow-shoes on this trail. Because a skier can move a bit faster even up a grade, I passed him. The snow was deep; although I became the first one to travel on this virgin snow, breaking trail is a challenge. At one point, when I was checking a presumed animal track, I pressed my left pole down and it kept on going and going; the result was my first “X-C ski fall down” in I don’t know how many years. It was very difficult to get to a standing position, for as I pushed with my hand the snow went up to my shoulder; eventually I positioned my skis (still firmly attached to my shoes) so that I could push against them. The first picture includes a jet contrail.

Although I had planned to ski to Clingmans Dome, I realized that breaking trail was requiring much more energy than I realized would be necessary. I do not remember having to stop on the way up to rest in previous trips; it seemed that on this trip it was almost necessary for breaking trail was exhausting. I then decided that the Fork Ridge Trailhead (4.2 mi.) was a reasonable goal (the AT closely parallels Clingmans Dome road on the opposite side—Mount Collins shelter is nearby too, it’s on Sugarland Mountain trail). I was thinking my goal was just a short distance past a “spruce nature sign” (forget the exact wording); when I did not reach it shortly I became concerned that it (and the AT sign across the road) might have been covered with snow causing me to bypass them. However, I plodded on and finally reached the Fork Ridge Trail sign and the AT sign across the road. The next picture shows my tracks to get there; the one that follows shows what was in store for me if I went further up the mountain. At this point I decided to go a little further than my goal; I wanted to determine the point that the Road to Clingmans Dome actually descends prior to resuming its trek upward.

On the way up the snow laden trees at the right edge of the road appear to be covering ~half of the road. After I reached this crest (0.25 to 0.5 mi. passed the Fork Ridge Trail sign), there's 0.5 0.75 mi. of downward slope and I strongly considered the pluses and minuses of shooting for the Dome. My late start and the possibility of encountering black ice on U.S. 441 from Newfound Gap to Sugarlands suggested that going to the Dome may not be the best decision. On the way down I met Jeff and talked with him a bit; he is very interesting and has written a book I believe titled “Mayday—Mayday” on airplane crashes. (I’ll have to check this out—perhaps I can trade a copy of my book on exercise and the back for a copy of his.) Of course since I can coast a bit, my speed going down was quite a bit faster. Very soon I met another skier going up; he advised me that I would be meeting his wife shortly. I did meet her but it was not shortly; she had a major equipment problem in that the “membrane” on the bottom of one ski had peeled off this ski. She advised me that I’d meet a group of backpackers; she hoped that they would be walking on Jeff’s snow-shoe trail rather than the skier tracks that I had initiated and that she and her husband had been following. I met them at Indian Gap; they were about to get on the AT at this point. I doubt that they would have had this endeavor if they knew how deep the snow really was.

Almost immediately I found that a few of their group of six had walked in my ski tracks; when you have at least one-foot deep footprints in ski tracks, it’s as easy to blaze a new trail so I did a bit of both. Surprisingly I did not meet a soul on my last 1.7 mi.; however, when I reached my vehicle a few true tourists parked there so that they could look at snow on the up-side of the gait.

Post 900 Hike #98: Maddron Bald, Albright Grove Loop, Madron Bald (~6 mi.)

2010-02-17T22:02:00.013-05:00

Last week Bob Bolinger, BZ Lane, and Richard Ryburn did Ramsey Cascades; because Bob knew that I wished to do more snow and/or ice hikes for Wilderness Wildlife Week pictures, he suggested that he and I do Ramsey Cascades again. In retrospect I should have put out word on this hike to the 227 members of our group; however, after Cecil Rowe contacted me about our planned hike, he recruited four more (John Kennerly, Elke Narten, Cecilia Rowe, & Eva Rather). Meanwhile Bob had gotten Charlie Woodward to join us too. Because Cecil’s home is in essence on my way to the GSMNP for the intended trail, that was our meet-up point. John and Elke left Cecil’s with me; Cecil went with his daughter Cecilia and Eva. At Sevierville I picked up Bob and Charlie; we then proceeded to Green Briar. However, as we entered Green Briar, Cecilia, Cecil, and Eva met us on the way out; the road was closed to Ramsey Cascades trailhead. After a few minutes discussion, Cecil suggested we hike a part of Madron Bald Trail; that sounded OK to me for Cecil has a good perception of most any trail in the Park without even looking at a map. Even though Bob and I had hiked this trail previously (think this was my 3rd time), we commented to each other that we really did not know what exactly we were doing. We shortly realized that Cecil picked a winner; the snow conditions made it one of the pretiest hikes that I had ever done.

The first picture is of Willis Baxter cabin; this 2-door cabin (with no windows) was built out of chestnut in 1889. It is hard to perceive that Willis, his wife, and 4 sons resided in this one-room cabin.

For the second picture I got ahead of most of our group and waited for the first to appear in what I thought was a very pretty setting; it was Eva.

We had one bridged-stream crossing; this is Bob executing it. Since the log was stacked with snow, it is a crossing that is not to be made nonchalantly.

For the last picture I lagged behind and got another picture of Bob after he had executed a switchback; the fact that he was wearing a red vest made it less likely that shots of him made it to the "cutting room floor."

Although Madron Bald was not the hike that we had planned to do, it is doubtful that I could have gotten any pictures of this quality had we hiked Ramsey Cascades as originally planned. Initially I was going to put six pictures in this blog; however, I decided to stay with my rule of thumb that I never include more than four. It was hard to decide what to include and what to omit for now; however, assuming that I present at the 2011 Wilderness Wildlife, many of the pictures taken today will be used.

After we finished I dropped Charlie off at his vehicle and then we both went to the adjacent McDonalds for take-out lunches (it was ~14:15). The others proceeded in Ciscelia's Highlander to the Arrowmount School to view Bob's photographs; both Charlie and I had seen them previously. You would have really been in for a treat in this blog if I were half as good of a photographer as Bob is.

X-C Ski Sojourn at Roan Mountain State Park

2010-02-11T22:10:00.009-05:00

Had planned to go to Roan Mountain State Park with two others but our schedules did not appear that they would ever jibe so belatedly I went solo today. I had previously gone there to X-C ski in the 1980’s once with my wife Meredith and once with my youngest son Kirk. I used MapQuest to get me to Elizabethton thinking Roan Mountain was quite close; unfortunately it was a bit further and that does not include the 7+ miles to get to the top of Roan Mountain; when I was there in the 80’s I truly did not appreciate the scope of what I missed.

Initially I skied around in the low-lands; it was not that great. After talking to a Park Ranger, I decided to attempt to drive to the top of Roan Mountain. The Ranger thought that there was a good chance that I could make it in my Highlander that has only front wheel drive; because traffic would be so light on it today, he said that I would have no problem turning around if I were having problems. I decided to give it a try; I soon found that the criteria for opening this road is a little different than that used for opening U.S. 441 in the GSMNP. There were not any pull-outs so I did not even think about turning around prior to reaching the top.

Although I took a picture of the markers for the Appalachian Trail (AT also runs across the top of Roan Mtn), it was not worth printing. As most know, much of the AT is on a ridge which is also the border between states; the second sign in the first picture states a welcome to North Carolina. Although I had planned to ski at the top, there were really not any parking spaces that I deemed safe for a non-4WD vehicle; I definitely did not want to end up being stuck on the top of this mountain.

On the way down I quickly stepped out of the car to take a couple of pictures (there was no traffic); it is the last one.

Post 900 Hike #97: Snake Den Ridge—5.3, AT—4.7, & Low Gap—2.5

2010-02-03T21:40:00.019-05:00

Last week after our Mt. Cammerer hike Bob Bolinger suggested to John Hutsenpiller that he contact me after he had figured out a hike that he needed; he subsequently came up with Snake Den Ridge—4.6, Madron Bald—0.7, AT—4.7, and Low Gap—2.5. I put it out as an Alternate Hike and we had four takers: BZ Lane, Debra Barton, Doug Jerger, and myself. I picked up Doug at Lakeside Market and Debra and John at Cracker Barrel; we met BZ at Cosby Campground ~09:25.

Snake Den Ridge has ~3,400 ft. of gain; it is not easy. Shortly after we started I realized that John was having a tough time; I dropped back with him and it was then that I learned that he had pneumonia in the fall. I knew nothing bout this and had assumed that his not hiking related to a low back problem that he had. Except for cruising ahead to tell the others at Madron Bald what his condition was (got my HR up to 153 for this), for the rest of the hike I stayed with him; he was having one tough time particularly on the ups. As one might expect, the amount of snow on the trail was proportional to our elevation. The 0.7 mi section remaining after Madron Bald was particularly difficult; here the snow was at least one foot deep. (Deep snow means short steps; about this time my pedometer indicated that I had gone ~one more mile than I had actually covered.)

The next three pictures were taken between Inadu Knob and Camel Gap on the AT. The first one is a "Rhododendrun Tunnel. On the next one the AT is on the North side of the ridge so it gets plenty of sun; in the background is some "smoke" in a distant valley in NC. We saw some very unique displays of rime frost; it is particularly seen on ridges where wind dictates how the water vapor from a low-lying cloud can form when it freezes.

The next section of the AT from Camel Gap to Low Gap became progressively easier and was mostly down; Low Gap Trail was also down. We arrived at my vehicle at 16:55.

Post 900 Hike #96: Cove Mountain Trail

2010-02-01T22:39:00.010-05:00

Because we were not sure that U.S. 441 would be open to enable Doug Jerger and I to X-C on the road to Clingmans Dome, we decided to hike up Cove Mtn Trail in hopes of finding enough snow at altitude to X-C ski. Much of this trail is adjacent to private property since it runs along the Park's Northern edge. Doug had not yet done it; thus whatever done today might help him in his trek for completing all trails. Although I had originally planned to start from the West, any route taken would necessitate hiking 4-5 mi. prior to reaching Cove Mtn trail; if we started from the East, we would be on it immediately and thus know its status much sooner. Doug parked his SUV in the Park Headquarters parking lot and we attached our skis to our backpacks (see pic Doug took of me) and headed up Cove Mtn. Trail ~09:30. The next picture shows the peaks of LeConte.

The branches overhanging the trail were overloaded with snow; this frequently resulted in "snow showers" down my neck as I did not always allow for the height of my ski-tips. (Because Doug carried his skis obliquely, he did not get "snowed upon" as much.) The third picture captures a short-lived winter moment on our trip up Cove Mtn.

Although the amount of snow on the trail increased, it was not that deep and somewhat crystalline; thus on downhill sections it could be most difficult to control speed and make turns. Nevertheless, we decided to hike on in hopes that we would come to a spot that we would recognize should we attempt to finish this trail by starting from the West-end or, assuming we could find an accessible spot from an "out of the Park" road, starting where we stopped. Had it been cloudy today and Sunday, conditions probably would have been much better because much of the trail was on the N-side of Cove Mtn and was getting a bit of sun.

When we came to the third "housing area" adjacent to the trail (~1700' of the trail's 2500' of gain), we ate lunch and then retraced our steps. The last picture is of Clingmans Dome; because this mountain is so big, it seemed as though it was always present for much of our downward trek.

Post 900 Hike #95: Low Gap II, AT, Mt. Cammerer, and return

2010-01-27T20:24:00.011-05:00

The Mount Cammerer hike has been on the agenda for some time. On 1/6 we planned to do it but the Cosby road was closed this date as well as 1/13. Last week rain canceled our plans. Today we did it! Originally it was just Bob Bolanger and BZ Lane and I that were going to do it; however, last evening Cecil Rowe and John Hutsenspiller indicated that they wished to make this hike too. I picked up John and Cecil at the latter’s house and we proceeded to Sevierville. From there we proceeded in Bob’s SUV to Greenbrier and picked up BZ Lane; it was then on to the Cosby Campground to begin our hike on Low Gap II.

We began on Low Gap II at 09:20; this 2.5 mi. trail has ~2000 ft. of gain. BZ and I led this segment; we waited for our cohorts at the AT. Then either Bob or I took up the rear as we proceeded on a 2.1 mi. section of the AT; my goal was to take more pictures that might be used in a Wilderness Wildlife Week presentation should I make one again. In the first picture Bob is on the AT; both rime and snow are evident.

The next segment was the 0.6 mi. trail to Mount Camerer (~750 ft. gain). This hike was the No. 1 rated hike in Southern U.S. by National Geographic Magazine. Because of the many pictures that I took, Bob and I arrived at the Lookout Tower ~12:15; BZ, Cecil, and John had almost finished lunch. The Mount Cammerer Lookout Tower is perhaps pictured more on brochures than any other picture from the GSMNP; on this venture I did not take its picture but I did take pictures from it. In the first one looking E., the bald with snow is Max Patch; in the second one looking N., I-40 can be seen.

Bob and I decided to put on our STABILICERS Ice Cleats before heading down and took them off while on Low Gap. On the way down I again shot pictures; however, a camera-setting dial changed unbeknownst to me and I lost a few pictures.

Post 900 Hike #94: Twin Creeks, Bull Head, & Horse trail

2010-01-13T20:14:00.007-05:00

Bob Bolinger, BZ Lane, and I decided to hike Bull Head Trail rather than today’s group hike. I went via John Sevier, Chapman Hwy., Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, and arrived at Mynat Park in Gatlinburg ~08:10 (often times I travel through the GSMNP to get to same destination); Bob (from Sevierville) and BZ (from Gatlinburg) arrived shortly. We had planned to drive to the Rainbow Falls Trail parking lot; however, since the road was closed due to snow, BZ had to park his SUV ~2 miles from the Bull Head trailhead; our start time was ~08:45 on the Twin Forks Trail. In our little 2-mi. jaunt we decided to don our crampons; all of us were using STABILicers Ice Cleats. Somewhat to my surprise, although my little finger of each hand was cold (undoubtedly due to the fact that each had been broken), after removing my jogging glove/X-C ski-mitten combo, my little fingers warmed up (possibly the tight gloves reduce circulation to each?).

Believe that we reached the Bull Head Trailhead ~09:30. Overall this trail has ~3,000 ft. gain prior to LeConte; however, because of our late start and the fact that there were many blow-downs (or snow-downs) on the trail, we only reached “The Pulpit” at ~12:00. That's BZ and Bob at The Pulpit.

After lunch we went a bit further but then once we realized that reaching LeConte was out of the question, we turned around and retraced our steps. In the second picture BZ and Bob had just passed a rock wall that had icicles hanging on it.

The last two pictures present an example of the blow-downs (because of the heavy snow last month, maybe they were snow-downs). In the first of the two BZ had just navigated through the first part of this obstacle course; in the second picture Bob has arrived ~where BZ was in the prior one, and BZ can be seen to Bob's left.

When we reached the Bull Head trail head, we decided to take a horse trail that eventually would take us to Mynatt Park where Bob’s and my SUV’s were located rather than the less then fun route taken in the morning. We arrived at 15:15 and our mileage (by my pedometer) was only 11.5 mi. Bob then took BZ to his SUV and I headed home; ironically, BZ's home was within two blocks of Bob's and my vehicles.

After stopping for a cup of coffee, I arrived home ~16:50; my Airedale Terrier Winston of course expected me to play frisby with him in the yard (in one of his catches he went high in full stride—he looked like a great end).

Post 900 #93: Old Sugarlands and Twin Creeks +

2010-01-06T22:20:00.008-05:00

The hike that Bob Bolinger, BZ Lane, Charlie Woodrick I were planning to take to Mt. Cammerer had to be canceled because the road leading to Cosby Campground was closed due to weather. Bob who lives in Sevierville (very close to the Park) and BZ who lives in Gatlinburg (immediately adjacent to the Park) came up with an alternate hike that included Old Sugarlands Trail (3.9), a tad on Cherokee Orchard Rd & a Manway, Twin Creeks Trail (1.9), a walk into Gatlinburg to Calhouns for lunch, a short walk through part of Gatlinburg, and then the Gatlinburg Trail (~2.0).

Charlie rode with me from Food Lion in Maryville and we met Bob and BZ at SVC at 09:00; I think temperature was ~25 degrees. Old Sugarlands Trail is rather scenic and has a bit of rise towards its conclusion. The first picture is of BZ; the second picture taken a few minutes later is of Bob and Charlie. It was still brisk and at this juncture the snow was at its deepest.

Shortly after this we were on a short segment of Cherokee Orchard Road and then by Bud Ogles 19th Century home we reached Twin Creeks Trail. After we completed this trail we walked into Gatlinburg for lunch at Calhouns. Since it was not very crowded, we were able to use one booth for packs, sticks, and extra clothes.

After a nice lunch we walked ~0.3 mi. to the trail head for the Gatlinburg Trail. The last picture is of the West Prong of Little Pigeon River; you'll note that the white "lumps" are snow intermingled with the rock.

When we arrived at our vehicles at SVC, we had walked 11+ mi. (my pedometer reading). Bob and BZ headed for their relatively close homes; Charlie and I headed for Maryville. I dropped him off in the Food Lion parking lot (he had ~25 mi. to go to his home in Vonore) and I headed for my home in Lousville; I arrived there ~16:00.

Post 900 Hike #92: Alum Cave to Mount LeConte (in/out 10.2)

2009-12-30T20:37:00.013-05:00

This is a hike that Bob Bolinger and I planned to do on 12/23; however, that was also the first day U.S. 441 was open and thus X-C skiing took precedence (i.e., when there is good snow one should use it). Thus Bob’s and my hike to LeConte was rescheduled to 12/30.

We met at SVC at 09:00; we decided to hike to LeConte in and out on Alum Cave Trail rather than move one vehicle to Rainbow Falls parking lot. Because there were just two of us (ideally we hike with 3 or more), we knew that Alum Cave Trail would also have more hikers; however, if we went down Bullhead or Rainbow Falls Trail, we might have not seen anyone. We started ~09:30 after putting on our STABILicers (a brand of crampons for walking on ice & snow) in the parking lot; we knew that we would have ice and at least some snow.

I was really looking forward to this hike because I wanted to get more “hiking in the snow pictures” for my presentation at Wilderness Wildlife Week (WWW) on January 11th; because LeConte had ~30” snow 1.5 weeks ago, it should be a good day for pictures. Bob and I had hiked to LeConte ~3 years ago with icy conditions; I had also done this hike ~one year ago but ice was nominal. I assumed that there would be better pictures available today; I was not disappointed.

I was able to get many "ice pictures" for my WWW presentation but will share only three here. The first presented shows some of thick ice that we encountered. You'll note that the cable hand-hold is obviously not made for winter hikers, for it is present for only a fraction of the length of trail depicted.

In the second picture you'll note several reluctant and unprepared hikers that I had just passed; I noted one in particular who appeared to be quite scared. It was this young woman or one of her cohorts who asked a cohort if it was worth going on if one of them could be killed? I was glad to note that they discontinued their trek to LeConte and began retracing their steps; the state of the trail today was such that only experienced hikers with good equipment (i.e., top-notch crampons--I found hiking sticks to be particularly helpful too) should make this hike.

As we gained altitude, snow replaced ice on the trail. I was leading when Bob asked me to turn around and then step around a bend so that I was in full view; I was somewhat astonished when he sent this picture to me for I never realized how close I was to a rather steep drop-off. (Note: This picture was not added until 1/30/10.)

The last picture was made after Bob and I reached LeConte. To our surprise there was a group of teens eating at one of the picnic tables there; we chose to eat out of the wind on a porch of a cabin. Also to our surprise a few who we had passed arrived while we were eating lunch (although Bob and I never fell, some of these did--one said he walked on his knees when no guy-wires were available). While we were eating the group of teens passed below us; because their equipment suggested that they were novices, I assumed that they had come to LeConte via the Boulevard trail and I hoped that they would go down Bullhead or Rainbow Falls so we would not see them again (i.e., they appeared to be an accident about to happen).

I took only two pictures on the way down. Bob spent a bit of time helping a couple; the wife who had fallen a bit was most appreciative (husband did not communicate much). We tried to discourage several groups of hikers by warning them that the ice conditions were extremely severe without STABILicers or something comparable. Our advice appeared to bounce off one father with a teenage daughter and a son of ~8 years; however, I think his wife understood me. Again, although Bob and I had a very enjoyable hike, we had appropriate equipment and were experienced hikers. Unfortunately some folks do not understand that an element of danger can exist on this hike when it is icy, and particularly when they do not have good equipment. We hope that there will not be any report of 12/30 hiking accidents on the Alum Cave Trail; I would like to see some warning posted at trail head about how dangerous this trail can be in the winter if one does not have appropriate equipment.

Shortly before we finished our hike, we passed the group of teens that we had seen at LeConte; two young men were supporting a young woman who had sustained a knee injury. To our surprise they had gotten to LeConte via Alum Cave Trail; I am certain that members of that group sustained a number of falls prior to the one resulting in injury.

We arrived at my SUV ~17:00. With all the stops for pictures, helping and warning others, we did not break any speed records. In the parking lot there were two church vans; they were apparently waiting for the teens who were moving quite slowly with their injured cohort. I still worry about the family with the teen-age daughter and young son; the father in this family was truly devoid of common sense.

X-C Ski Interlude 12-23-09

2009-12-23T20:30:00.011-05:00

This past weekend the GSMNP received quite a bit of snow. At Newfound Gap the depth was 20” and at LeConte it was more than 30”. Although no one reports from Clingmans Dome, the highest peak in the GSMNP, we assumed it was close to that received at LeConte since their elevations are comparable.

Because X-C skiing typically takes precedence for me since one should use the snow when it is there, on Monday instead of running on campus I went to the Park; although I knew that U.S. 441 was closed when I left my house, I assumed that if the road did not open, I could find somewhere else to ski. To make a long story short, U.S. 441 never opened and my forays at finding ski-able snow at lower elevations failed. I then decided to go on Tuesday after I heard that U.S. 441 opened; however, it did not open until afternoon and driving to the Park then was not feasible. (Because of black ice, U.S. 441 closed later on Tuesday afternoon too.) Although I had planned to hike to LeConte on Wed. with Bob Bolinger to repeat our “ice hike” of a couple of years ago, he agreed to postpone it a week in order that I might give X-S one more try today. (Ice is usually present on this hike; however, when it snows one must make use of it. I am wanting to get more X-C ski pictures and snow-ice pictures for my presentation at Wilderness Wildlife Week on 1-11-09.)

Doug and I decided to delay until 09:00 our departure to increase the possibility that U.S. 441 would be open when we got to it. I picked him up at Food Lion at 09:00; although our Wed. hiking group was there, we alone set out to ski. When we arrived at U.S. 441 ~10:10, somewhat to my surprise it was open and we proceeded to Newfound Gap. When we arrived at the barricaded road to Clingmans Dome ~10:40, no one else had parked there yet. In our first couple of hundred yards of the road we saw remnants of the activity there on Tues. afternoon; there were even some X-C ski tracks but these ended prior to Indian Gap. (Doug is standing by its placard; this ~1.5 mi. from our start.)

The next two pictures, although not great, give a little idea of the scenery (including our ski tracks).

My new skis were working fine; unfortunately Doug found that his older skis were experiencing a similar fate as my old ones did on 03/05/09 (i.e., not gliding very well). Because Doug was going to the Vol BB game, our goal was to reach Fork Ridge trailhead before we turned around. The snow was deep (probably the deepest that I had ever encountered on Clingmans Dome Road) and since we were breaking trail, our velocity was not that great. I suggested that after reaching the next big R-curve that we should have a snack and turn around even if we had not reached Fork Ridge trailhead. On the way down I did quite a bit of gliding; however, Doug really had to work much harder than I.

We reached my SUV ~14:20; by this time there were ~6 vehicles parked there. The trip back was fairly uneventful; unfortunately the snow hanging on trees over U.S. 441 on our trip up was not there on our trip down. Some day I'll learn to take the picture when you have it.

POst 900 Hike #91: AT, Dry Sluice, Grassy Branch, Sweat Heifer, & AT (13.6 mi.)

2009-12-16T21:17:00.011-05:00

Today’s hike was the AT East from Newfound Gap (1.7, 1.0, 1.7), Dry Sluice 1.3, Grassy Branch 2.5, Sweat Heifer 3.7, and AT 1.7. This is a hike that Doug Jerger had requested; my e-mail announcement of this Alternate Hike drew Debra Barton, David Smith, and Cecil Rowe.

In two vehicles we left Food Lion at 07;50, David Smith (I just added him to our hiker e-mail list ~one month ago) wanted to drive since he was not sure that he was returning to Food Lion; Cecil road with him. Doug drove with Debra and me as passengers.

We arrived at Newfound Gap at 09:15; at 09:18 we were on the AT. We completed the 1.7 mi. section at 09:48; in the 1.0 mi. section we took a few pictures and completed it at 10:24 (pic #1: NC with US 441 visible).

The 1.7 mi. section began shortly after the Icewater Springs shelter; it was here that we were expecting, and we found, considerable ice on the trail. (In the pic the "white stuff" is thick ice; with the slope I doubt that even Stabilicers would have been too helpful and we did a few detours).

Because David had never been to Charie’s Bunyon, we took a sojourn there. In front of the "buyon" from left to right are Doug, David, Cecil, and Debra.

We then did Dry Sluice followed by lunch. Grassy Branch was the next trail; it, like Dry Sluice, had a short section that totally slid down the slope. On Sweat Heifer I pushed in the first couple of miles of a 3.7 mi. trail (with 2700’ gain); however, I only got my HR to 144. Although the remainder of the trail was basically up, it was interspersed with level areas so I decided that I had had my aerobic workout. (Debra, and Doug joined me in this endeavor.)

We met numerous young people (e.g., in their 20’s) working on Sweat Heiffer trail (they were paid from the stimulus funds). We marveled at the exceptional work that they were doing; these steps just represent a fraction of what they had done. In talking with them we learned that locust is the wood of choice for steps; however, if it is not available, they use spruce.

After hunkering down we waited for the rest of our group. The temperature had dropped ~20 degrees. After getting back on the AT I stopped to dig out my heavier gloves from my daypack, when I caught up with my group I evidently was a little careless in stepping down and slipped on ice and did a quick tumble. I was extremely lucky that breaking one hiking stick was the only penalty (fortunately I had no residuals the next morning).

Believe we arrived at vehicles at Newfound Gap ~16:30; I arrived home at 18:15. I was most pleased with today's hike for I added several new pictures on "trail ice" and and one on rime frost for my presentation at Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge on January 11 (title of latter is X-C Skiing and Hiking in Snow in the GSMNP.

Post 900 Hike #90: Fork Ridge in and out (10.2 mi.)

2009-11-18T21:07:00.005-05:00

Our hike today was Fork Ridge Trail (10.2 mi. in and out). Judy Gross from Ashville had requested this hike; perhaps in part because this is the trail that Ellie Doughty did with me when I was pursuing the 900 3-years ago this very same month, I told Judy that I would go with her. Because this trail is off Clingmans Dome Rd. that will close Dec. 1st, I assumed that there might be other takers too. However, when I arrived at Food Lion at 0745, only Theresa Yu of the 15-20 hikers there wanted to do it.

Theresa and I arrived at SVC at 0850; after ascertaining that there were no takers there, we proceeded to the Fork Ridge trailhead ~4 mi. above Newfound Gap on Clingmans Dome Rd. Judy was there when we arrived at 0930; it was spitting a little rain and it was foggy, the temp was ~44. When we began our hike at 0938 I chose to be last for I did not want to set the pace. We soon had to remove our rain gear for the temp had increased ~10 degrees as we moved from our start at 5800 ft. (at our finish at Deep Creek Trail we’d be ~3100 ft.). We saw some rather unique views but the clouds and fog discouraged picture taking.

We arrived at Deep Creek ~1200. The picture of Judy and Theresa was taken just after we had finished lunch. As we gained altitude on our trek back up we once again donned our rain gear. During the last two miles of our trek I decided to go ahead in order that I could (1) get an aerobic workout (got my HR to 151, ~3 x's my resting HR) and (2) ice my knee at our hike’s terminus. Judy and then Theresa arrived shortly after me.

After I had iced my knee a bit and Theresa was ready for our return trip, Judy pulled up adjacent to us and for a moment I thought that she was going the wrong way on US 441; however, Theresa reminded me that we were on Clingmans Dome Rd. and not on US 441. With the 3-4 month closure of I-40 because of the rockslide, Judy would return South through Cherokee and then head East to NC. A lot of her remaining hike needs are in the Cataloochee area of the GSMNP; although she can get there from Ashville relatively easy, for those of us from the West-side of the rockslide on I-40, our trip there is no longer feasible. To me the Cataloochee area is the most scenic area of the Park: I would really like to take some of my friends not in our hiking group there.

Post 900 Hike #89: Aborted Cades Cove Hike, Middle Prong & Indian Flat Falls +

2009-11-11T21:53:00.017-05:00

Today’s hike appeared doable even though it looked as though we would have a little rain; when we left Food Lion at 0800 we did not realize that we would be in light rain for most of the day. My passengers were Ellie Doughty, Theresa Wu, Rita Haynes, and Charlie Bean. In a separate car Richard Ryburn and Dick Ledyard would pick up Jerry Roddy in Townsend. The eight of us planned to do Abrams Creek, Hatcher Mtn, Cooper Rd, and Wet Bottoms trails. In another vehicle Jane Calfee, with John Kennerly and Cecil Rowe, planned to do Rich Mtn Loop. When we arrived at Cades Cove we found that the loop road was closed because of high water and thus we could not get to the Abrams Falls parking lot; we then proceeded to do Jane et als. hike but shortly found an impassable stream (we never like the idea of putting on water shoes in the first mile of a hike). We then went across what in essence was a deer pasture (unfortunately my picture taken there was not clear); when we got to the loop road we realized one of the reasons for its closure was ~2 ft. of water standing on it. We walked back to our vehicles and all three proceeded to nearby Tremont; our new plan was to hike Middle Prong (Middle Prong Little River should present some neat pictures because of high water) with a sojourn to Indian Flat Falls (I did this hike ~one month ago, also in the rain).

I did not keep good time-mileage figures on the way up; the above picture is of Cecil and John standing by Panther Creek; fortunately we did not have to cross it in today’s plan. The Indian Flat Falls picture is of Theresa and Rita. After a quick bite, those in my vehicle decided to make it a longer hike by continuing on Middle Prong 1.5 mi. to Lynn Camp Prong Trail; when we got there we decided to go on to Campsite 28 (~1.5 mi.). In this sojourn we had crossed several streams which do not exist under normal conditions; however, the rains of late have made many stream crossings daunting—the one ~50 yds. below Campsite 28 would have required water shoes so we turned around there.

On the way back I decided to push it since I needed to ice my knee before I drove back to Maryville. At 13:35 I reached Lynn Camp Prong Tr; a 0.25 mi. later I reached the junction of Indian Flat Falls Trail (Note: latter is an unmarked trail—it is about 1.2 mi. above Panther Creek--the wide switchback where it starts was purportedly used as a turn-around for engines in logging days). At 14:06 I reached the Panther Creek Trail junction; at 14:51 I reached my vehicle. I covered the last 2.3 mi. of this flat and easy train in 45 min., despite going off trail in an aborted picture attempt and while stopping to respond to “tourist-hiker” questions. My pedometer mileage was 10.7 mi. for today's amalgam of adventures. I iced my knee, and then while talking to two of the tourist hikers that I had previously talked to on trail, my cohorts arrived.

We then proceeded to Tremont (I got out of my vehicle to take the final picture). We arrived at Food Lion ~16:30.