The Sand Cave 2

The hiking club returned to the Sand Cave yesterday.  It was as awesome as I remembered it the first time.  We went in November of 2013 and we were lucky to have some fall color left.  This time, the leaves were pretty much at peak and the color was outstanding.  Some of the oranges glowed as if they were fluorescent!  We headed out early, about 8:40, and took our time.  We arrived at the Cave in time for lunch.  We always walk to the top rear of the cave for lunch.  Getting to the top of the cave in the deep, extremely fine sand is one of the hardest parts of the hike.  But all five of us made it.  We hiked back down on a different part of the loop, and it turned out that the heavy rain that washed out the road to Hensley Settlement during the summer also did a number on this section of the trail.  It was like walking down a creekbed ditch.  But we were soon on better trail and returned to the trailhead about 3:20.  Another fine day of hiking!

Magnificent color on the way up!

The cave is so large you have to hike up through the sand to the rear of the cave and have a camera with a wide angle lens to capture it.

Note the people at the bottom near the opening.  The size of the cave can be appreciated by comparison.

Laurel Run Park Hike

We had an absolutely stupendous day for hiking today.  It was a bit chilly this AM in the shaded coves of Laurel Run trail, but it warmed nicely and was perfect for hiking.  This hike was a bit different in that there were old homesteads on the trail, which peaked our interest of why and how people lived up that little hollow.  The waterfalls were pretty, but there wasn't much volume on this fall day.  We did however, cross the creeks and navigate the typically muddy areas without much difficulty.  I suppose that is the trade off.

Carvers Gap to Grassy Ridge

We had an absolutely astounding hike today as we trekked across 3 balds in the Roan Highlands.  Several of us have declared it our favorite hike thus far.  We headed out to Carvers Gap at the TN/NC border at 7 AM because I had heard the parking area fills up quickly on the weekends.  We arrived 2 hours later and I took the last marked parking spot.  Everyone else had to park alongside the parking area or road.  We threw our packs on our backs, walked across the road and hit the Appalachian Trail.  The hike was everything it was touted to be.  Just breathtaking.  All the way.  As one member said, "It lifted our spirits and restored our souls" :)

Ridge and Gibson Gap Trails

Oh my, what a hike!  We expected sort of level to downhill and figured we could handle the 11.2 miles total.  Wrong!  Ridge trail was up and down and Gibson Gap is a lengthy downhill trail which took its toll on our feet. Well I guess we did handle it as we all finished the hike.  The Ridge trail was quite nice with a bright green carpet of ferns, accented with large clumps of fully blooming rhododendron.  We even had some refreshing breezes and a couple of peeks out for some nice views. Also, I believe I spotted the rare and endangered Gray's Lily. After about 4 hours on Ridge trail, we arrived at Gibson Gap camp and had some lunch.  After that it was all downhill in more ways than one.  No more breezes, a rocky, muddy downhill path with few switchbacks for relief on the feet.  It was a very tough hike, but we all lived to hike another day!

A peek out from among rhododendrons from Ridge trail

I am nearly certain this is the rare Gray's Lily

Lots of ferns and rhododendrons along Ridge trail.

Bark Camp Lake

Today's hike was one of the easier ones we have completed.  The trail was a nearly level, clear path through the woods around the lake.  The mountain laurel blooms were past prime but still hanging on and they bordered the lake in many places.  The forest was lush green with ferns lining our path, and the sky was deep blue.  We saw evidence of beavers and saw their dam right before we got to the earthen dam.  The heat and humidity wasn't nearly as bad as we had anticipated and the predicted rain held off until we finished our hike and had our picnic lunch.   A good hike!

Pine Mountain State Park

We hiked at Pine Mountain State Park on May 30th.  I had forgotten to post about this hike.  The park has a nice lodge, and we took advantage of their restroom facilities before we headed out.  We also got some trail maps and a little firsthand information about the trails.  This park has several trails, but none are very lengthy.  Our group decided to hike the Honeymoon Falls trail, and then hike the Chained Rock trail.  The Honeymoon Falls trail wasn't too difficult.  The falls were not much more than a trickle due to the recent dry weather, but we enjoyed the mountain laurel which was in full bloom.  We got back to our vehicles and drove to the top of the mountain and headed down the Chained Rock trail.  Yes, down the trail....down many steps out to the rock.  The whole time I was thinking that I had to walk all those steps back up to the parking area.  Thankfully, it was only a short distance.  We explored the rock for a while taking in the views and taking photos, and headed back up.  The nice thing about parks are the availability of picnic spots.  We drove to a roadside, shaded picnic area and ate our lunch before we headed home.  I feel certain we will return at some point.  Next time I will remember that with short trails, I don't need to carry my hydration pack.  A cooler in the car would have been much more practical.

Honeymoon Falls

Atop Chained Rock

Damascus South on AT to TN LIne

We got up bright and early and headed to Damascus to hike the always nicely maintained Appalachian Trail.  We chose to hike south as we would meet through hikers coming into town, which was bustling with activity when we arrived.  We found the trailhead and began to hike up, and up, and up to the TN line.  Fortunately, the unusually hot weather we had this week wasn't quite as bad today, and the humidity was lower as well, so we trudged on.  We did our usual thing, which is to take frequent breaks and take lots of pictures.  We found a patch of pink lady slippers and the flame azalea was blooming.  And of course, we saw through hikers.  Some from New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Arkansas.  We didn't have spectacular views, but we enjoyed the wildflowers, meeting some hikers, and of course our company.

Lunch Spot

Pink Lady Slipper

Flame Azalea

Lake Keokee Loop

We hiked the Lake Keokee Loop today in some beautiful sunshine.  This 3.7 mile loop was one of the first hikes our club completed when we organized in 2013.  The first time, it was early June, and the ferns were waist high.  This time, in early May, the ferns were just beginning to unfurl, but the spring wildflowers were plentiful.  Painted trillium, which can be pretty difficult to find, were spectacular.  We also spotted a lady slipper, another hard to find wildflower.  We had a great day and were grateful for the volunteers who had recently cleared the trail of blow downs.

Painted Trillium

Lady Slipper

Guest River Gorge Hike

Ahhh!  We were like birds out of a cage after enduring the worst snowy weather I've ever experienced!  The weather was darn near perfect.  Plenty of sunshine and warm enough to shed our jackets in the afternoon.  This nearly 12 mile out and back hike along a rails to trails path is easy walking, but the length of it is a little tough.  Our aches and pains began to emerge on the last few miles!  But we enjoyed it nonetheless.  The river was rushing and echoing off the huge cliffs.  We spotted the eagle's nest resting on a ledge.  Several waterfalls were flowing out of the mountain and down to the Guest River.  We saw quite of bit of erosion from the recent heavy snow and rain, but none that caused any difficulty navigating the trail.  We walked all the way into the gorge where the Guest River flows into the mighty Clinch.  Another hike on the books for the hiking club....fun, friends, fresh air....:)

Old Rail Tunnel

Bob poses at the 5.8 marker.

Eagle's nest 

Old retaining wall built where the river turns to prevent railway washout.

Purchase Ridge First Day Hike

Our second annual First Day Hike!  We chose to do our own hike rather than a park sponsored one. We hiked Purchase Ridge at Natural Tunnel.  It was cold, and the predicted sunshine, as usual, never materialized.  The trail however, had enough of an elevation change to keep us warm.  Only four of us made the 3.3 mile trek, but hopefully we can get more hikes scheduled and increase our participation in 2015!

A view of the tunnel from Purchase Ridge Overlook