Hidden Springs

Well it's happening! The prese-rvation for some of Hector and Susie's property is becoming a reality. The protection of the cascading falls which drop a couple of hundred feet from the plateau on H&S's were one of the topics addressed in a meeting held at their place on Tuesday(23rd). Several members of the Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation came over to provide information regarding conservation easements, the benefits, and answer any questions or concerns folks may have had. This was also an opportunity for the foundation to encourage H&S's neighbors; who were invited, to investigate the option and join the effort to preserve this fabulous section of an awesome geologic formation, the Cumberland Plateau.
Another gathering will be held in which more folks from the surrounding area will be invited in order for them to learn the benefits about preserving their lands through conservation easement.
This is a file photo from 12/19/08, showing the top part of one of these gifts.

A Weekend Walk

Hello, This excursion encompassed 3 days, 2 nights out, w/ lots of rain on the second day as I climbed the Swallow Fork Trail to Mount Sterling.
The walk began out of the Big Creek area w/ the first 2 miles a steep climb up Chestnut Branch Trail to the AT. A great "cardio" workout, if one so chooses.
I'd met a couple from Maryland leaving the parking area just before me, who were going to be walking the same route over the next few days as I was and we met again at the top of this 2 ml. "startup trail". We all agreed on it's challenging incline.
Now on the AT I continued to gain elevation at a lessor rate until reaching the Mt. Cammerer spur at which point I chose the .6 ml spur and to go sit on "White Rock" for lunch and lunch. Once finished here I put my boots on; after noticing the beginnings of a blister, and moved back to the AT and the almost 3 mls to Cosby Knob shelter where I'd be staying as campsite #37, was booked, on the computer at least. When the heavy storms woke me later that night I was glad to add the 1.6 mls RT spur to my trip.
The next morning I awoke, had coffee and oatmeal, w/ the one other man who was up and chain smoking cigarettes, and climbed back on top of my sleeping bag as the intermittent but often heavy rain continued. I thought I'd wait and see what developed w/ the weather as I would have at least partial light until near 9pm and would be walking about 9 mls to #38 on Mt Sterling. So I was in no hurry. The rest of the groups which filled the shelter that night began to stir over the next few hours until restlessness seized the group of men from Sevierville and vicinity and they began to put on their packs w/ differing levels of eagerness to set out. (It was interesting how one was wearing a bush-cheney '04 shirt, made me wonder how he can endorse a cause which opposes those things he talked so highly of,??, the outdoors)
This group set out after putting up there cell phones, no really, and were followed soon after by a small group who were hiking the AT section through the GSMNP, 75+ mls. They were from somewhere near Charlotte I believe and I invited them to view and contribute their experience on WMBB, if they'd like. The rain seemed to be stopping for a while anyway and so I finished my packing and said goodbye to Jessie who was hiking sections of the AT and would be completing the current section soon.
I hope she'll contact Meg the Hiker for future excursions.
As I walked the days route I stopped and appreciated several times the beautiful shades of green in different shapes and the full streams flowing along much of the Low Gap Trail and the Swallow Bottom trail which become Big Creek. Dude! That's a big creek! Down around #37 where I first saw Big Creek it looked as big as the Little River and the Swallow Fork was big for a while as I walked along the trail which paralleled this fork for almost all of the 4 mls which this trail extended.
About a mile from #37 it began to rain again and did so for most of the next 3 mls+.
The trail at times would be acting as a channel, or in many cases a pond, for the soaking rainfall.
As I trudged through this portion of my excursion I reviewed my preparedness, paid attention to physical challenges such as hypothermia and exhaustion,(and blisters), and kept a positive attitude about my learning through this experience.
I arrived at campsite #38, w/ the clouds shrouding the 5842' peak of Mt. Sterling, and wondered around the site area trying to determine where I wanted to set up my tent. Once done I set up and got to cooking some dinner, oatmeal and beef jerky, w/ an energy bar for desert. It happens that I grabbed something off my shelves at home that was not necessarily camper friendly so if I wanted something hot I'd have to have half of my breakfast, Ala, oatmeal.
The water for this site is about a half mile from the tent area down Baxter Creek Trail. While here I met up w/ my friends from Maryland again who had arrived already and were relaxing in there tent when I got there, and an avid hiker from Memphis who when he completed his excursion in a few days would have been BP'g in the GSMNP for around 3 weeks. Rock on! He said when he comes over from Memphis he likes to make the best of it.
The next day was a beautiful walk back down approx. 7 mls to the car.
Some notes here. The evergreens atop Mt Sterling and the vicinity were awesome as were the decaying remnants of the Hemlock's. Much of this walk was covered under the canopy of the forest, often open underneath for views in the "mid-day darkness" aided by the clouds. At one point (see picture) there was a bright hole in the flora which caused me to squint my eyes as I appreciated the open vista allowed by the break in the foliage and realized how much of a different world exist in these forest. As vast as my little world was as I walked under the trees this small bright opening put in perspective how small I really am and how important it is for me to take action to protect the wild life. Peace

The Wild Life at Work

Whoa! Work for me the last ten days included flying to NYC. Driving back which was OK when coming through southern VA where the mountains were close and I met some AT through hikers hanging out in the shade of some trees in front of a market we stopped at about 52 miles north of Bristol. They had covered over 500 mls from 'Springer' and were enjoying the break from the rain; which one of them mentioned had been happening pretty consistently since they began, and the increase in daily mileage covered since it had let up over the last few days. The Market at which they had stopped provided computer, printer, and fax access to through hikers! Pretty Cool!
After getting to Nashville, my work took me to Bonnaroo where I spent the next 5 days working and watching, experiencing and learning more about the human species need for food, recognition, and entertainment. Maybe some of y'all were there or have been, it was my first time. Didn't see many animals though saw lots of wild life and some of the unfortunate tolls paid by those who chose to participate at higher levels.

Most folks I'm sure had fun as I did with working and plannning the solitude I'll find this weekend backpacking. Peace

Cloudland Canyon

Since I have not had the opportunity to walk much in the last month and still have four boxes to unpack at the cabin, I decided to take a much needed rest and picked the hardest, longest trail at Cloudland Canyon State Park in Northwest Georgia for my maiden voyage. Those of you who know me will understand the logic, those who don't... just smile.

Sitton's Gulch Trail is a new and very welcome addition to the network. A strenuous 6.5 mile hike that includes several hundred steps it descends from the bluff into the the gorge approximately 1800 feet. Along the way there are numerous waterfalls and benches for letting the knees rest. The lower portion of the trail is a boulevard of sorts and the only fault I found was the gravel bed that made hills somewhat slippery at times.

The highlight of my walk was a conversation with John and Peggy V. from Savannah, GA. Who, along with their dogs, Barkus and Journey, were on the first night of a cross country trip to the Pacific Northwest. A delightful couple whose experiences include living on a sailboat and walking a portion of the Trail of Tears my only regret was not being able to spend more time in their company. It struck me as we talked, as many times as I have complained about lack of privacy on the trail, it is often the people I meet along the way that makes the experience so interesting. I hope to hear from them about their adventure west in the near future.

My First Time....Monday the First

The first time I saw a bear this year, that is. Really cool experience. We, the bear and I, were traveling different directions on the same trail (West Prong), and as I looked up the trail which was curving around the front of a small ridge I saw the bear already turning around and looking over it's shoulder to keep an eye on me.
"Whoa!, we damn near collided there Mr. or Mrs. bear" I said as I stopped in the next step. Dude it was only say like 50' up the trail! When I said my greetings it stopped and perched up on it's hind quarters to have a closer look see at which point I continued to talk calmly and assess the situation (i.e. my physical location, it's position and current direction of travel, and a quick scan for any others).
This done it began to move off the trail into the "median" of the trail. As I noted the trail was bending around the knob on this ridge so either direction I went the bear would be just above me as it had now stopped up in the woods and was keeping me located. Much as I was him/her. After a few minutes of "conversation" w/ the bear and losing the visual I had on it as it moved further up the knob staying in the bush I chose my original route and continued. I finished this short loop paying closer attention as I enjoyed the cooler late afternoon temperatures, the shade provided by the trees and all the little things to appreciate.