A Present to Myself !

Happy Birthday! My present involved an approximate 7.5 mile walk during a break in the rain on Saturday the 5th. Dudes! and Dudettes! It was a beautiful walk which began at the gate along the road going up to the School House Gap trail. On the way up the road I passed one of the owners of this property that borders the park. I had met Jim last fall one of the times when I hiked from this trail head shortly after I moved to Townsend. At that time, as he leaned against his truck, he told me how sorry he was to see the development of the area he grew up in and pointed to a "retreat" being constructed off on a not so distant mountain, noting the noise, erosion, and destruction of trees. The picture of the house with this posting is where Jim was born.

Along the walk I noticed bunches of fat squirrels, some birds and was "flagged" by a deer. "Flagged" is a deer hunters term used to describe the vertical tail of a spooked deer during which all you see is the white tail.

The first 1/4 mile plus of road leads up to the trail head and Schoolhouse Gap. Every time I walk up, or back down, this roadway I'm blown away how beautiful Tuckalechee Cove is.
The School House Gap trail was quiet from the recent moisture and being that this is a dual use trail for horseback riders as well, it is also wide and free of downed trees etc... . These equestrians should police after themselves. Better yet, have no reason to pick up after themselves! I noticed empty cans and bottles, things not likely to be carried by someone on their feet and damn if your going to smoke while you ride or hike carry out your butts people! I used to smoke and backpack and it is not a problem to carry a Ziploc to place your butts in after carefully rolling out the fire and fully extinguishing it. My former hiking partner and I even reused our butt bag on the next trip. I get frustrated by folks seeming mental disconnect. When for example, they say, "Oh, isn't this beautiful", while they peel their candy bar wrapper off and leave it along the trail or throw the plastic bottle out the window! Are my words congruent w/ my actions? Enough.
Turkey Pen Ridge was a really cool trail and I will use it as part of what looks like would be about a 12-14 mile RT loop I'm scouting. More about that later. This route was mostly moderate w/ some difficult spots mainly in a few somewhat extended inclines. W/ patience and fluids this route is very "doable" even for the novice hiker. Peace,

Just The Other Day...3/29

This entry is short due to the nature of where we were walking. This beautiful route is "unmarked" for the most part, though it is chosen by the confused at the trail head. The trail on the maps is not clearly marked in the woods so folks, like the backpackers we ran into just before the second stream crossing; which required some technical rock hopping, choose it until they notice the diminishing trail and lack of similarities w/ their trail map. They told us they could not tell from the trail sign which way to go so chose the route less traveled. I will ask my friends at the Park if anyone has thought of placing a clearer marker for the "proper" trail. Not that I'm trying to keep the other route "less traveled", oh yea right! Enjoy the Peace while you walk.

The Elk River

There are still places in this state which civilization has not ruined even if not protected. In our five mile float down the Elk River in Middle Tennessee we saw only five houses and floated two or three miles only interrupted once by other canoeists.

The Elk has gained some reputation as a trout river and we did catch and release several highly colored rainbows, holdovers from a previous years stocking.

The River is a fairly swift moving river with no rapids above class I, so it is a river to enjoy the scenery on. For a beautiful float through semi wild country at a very reasonable cost contact Elk River Canoes. They will schedule a float of your desired length and time, supply everything in the way of canoes, life jackets, and paddles plus shuttle service to and from your point of entry/take out.

Somewhere in the Smokies

Last time I was here we saw no one, but this time there were several other hikers. Therefore, I will keep it to myself as to exactly where we were. It is a great corundrum, balancing getting people into the wild so that others will be active in protecting our great outdoors and keeping special places, special.

Sunday turned into a wonderful day after some hard rains on Saturday. The creeks had already run clear and were low enough to make rock hopping possible. About a mile into the hike I noticed dafodils in bloom. My Grandfather, a forest ranger before he retired, used to point to them and say, "This was someones homeplace at one time." After a short investigation we did find eveidence of rocks piled by human hands. Probably a collapased chimney.

Further along we stopped by the side of the stream and talked, I noted how I felt that it was deeply ingrained in my physic to meld with the wild places. I always felt peaceful and quite when in them. Near where we stopped were the reminants of a cable and the cable dog that sometime in this centery was used to shuttle logs across the creek as well as the rusting remains of several old barrels.

Lookout for what....March 27th

Today I joined Meg the Hiker for walk along some trails on Lookout Mtn. The weather was fabulous, low 70's, PC, light wind under the trees.
We began this from a parking area on the left side of the street, just above St Elmo, on Hwy #58. From this trailhead parking we crossed the busy road very carefully, as the auto traffic from both directions was dealing w/ turns and restricted vision. Once across we walked along a service road which 1 mile later brought us to Ruby Falls, and another busy road crossing. This put us in the lower part of the parking lot described by 'forest case' in his entry "Ruby Falls", 3/11/08 From here we navigated are way to another service road in the back of the lot and began to slowly distance ourselves from the "busy-ness" of Ruby Falls parking. While walking under, and just past the rails for the Incline Railway a train passed, we turned to watch and wave to the folks as they climbed upward. Along here we had views of the Tennessee River and downtown Chattanooga. We continued along what I believe was the Upper Truck trail and noticed a transition from healthy hardwoods into an area of mixed hardwood and pines, noted by the pines mostly destroyed and decaying because of the Pine Beetle.
I encourage you to learn more about this. You can find further information at the Chattanooga Nature Center, located here on Lookout Mtn. (423-821-1160).
When we reached the intersection for the Gum Spring trail going to Sunset Rock, (we've walked this trail numerous times) we chose follow it and hiked up for a 1/4 mile or so and then sat on some rocks to rest and talk for a while. "The Hiker" then suggested we return to the intersection and continue on the Upper Truck trail, which we did. This portion of the trail reminded us of recent hikes on Pigeon Mtn., w/ both the terrain and open areas beneath the Big trees. Absolutely a beautiful walking trail.
All of the trails mentioned here were easy to moderate, except the Gum Spring trail which would be considered difficult. From the Upper Truck trail there were views of the cliffs and overlooks above and a view into the valleys below w/ Raccoon, Hicks, and Elder Mountains; others as well, visible in the distance. We walked at least 6 and a 1/2 miles of wide and enjoyable trails. Peace!

The Twins on LeConte March 22nd, 23rd

Wow! They did really well, as far as they could. Being that the twins are not peaks, rather 2 seven year old males, who are also my nephews.
They pretty much kicked butt as we (the twins and their father, "Brother Francis") climbed Alum Cave Trail. Standard BS as they climbed like, " when are we going to get to the mountain", just before Arch Rock, and just before reaching the top, "when are we going to be at the top?". How many times have I asked the same thing to myself as I explored a new trial? Their physical ability was challenged; so was my patience, as the 5 mile climb was ending, yet you couldn't tell this by the way they played on the ice near the shelter. We started encountering patches of ice just before Alum Cave, and several places up and beyond there were very "slickery", w/ ice and snow pack on the narrow trails. Thanks for the wire "hand Rails".
The night was shared at the shelter w/ new friends from St. Louis, who were backpacking novices just learning on the trail, and some folks w/ vast experience from NW Alabama, forget the town, though they have been provided w/ this blog 'dress and hopefully will become regular contributors. Soon after sunset the melted ice was refreezing. Overnight temperatures were probably in the mid 20's, w/ a wind chill in the teens making it very slick in spots along the mid-morning descent. "Bros. Francis" made a great save on an icy narrow spot in the trail which was bordered on one side by only "vertical and views". As soon as they send the photos I'll post some great pictures!
Peace,

Ruby Falls

Yes that is right, Ruby Falls one of the top tourist attractions in the Southeast has a back door. The trail head begins at the back of the parking lot and is a park service fire road for two miles. My first trip on this trail was in the fall of the year when the leaves make that comforting rustling sound as you walk. At approximately one mile on the left is the ruins of a CCC camp. I read recently the CCC workers planted more than 3 billion trees. I wonder as I walk and look around me if any of the trees that supply the canopy were planted by the CCC.

At 1.5 miles the road ends and you can walk straight ahead around Lookout Mountain for several miles, or turn left and trace the rifle pits of Civil War soldiers which are still very evident on the side of the mountain. This area is just a small part of the land set aside around Chattanooga as a memorial to the Civil War.

This whole area has been logged, but it has been such a long time the forest gives the appearance of old growth. The canopy is a hundred feet overhead and thick so that in most places the undergrowth is limited.