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

Devil's Bathtub

Our second trip to Devil's Bathtub was on the first chilly day of fall this year.  We headed out in low 40 degree temps and some brisk winds, but just as I suspected, there was little wind in the Devil's Fork hollow.  The weather was near perfect for hiking and the creek was low, making it easier to navigate than on our first trip last year.  We all managed to stay dry and didn't even need the gaiters we were sporting; they were just a fashion accessory.  The leaves had begun to turn and some had fallen to sprinkle the shale creek bed with gold.  It's a very beautiful area and I can imagine it would be quite refreshing to take a dip on a summer day.  On the return trip we stopped in Ft. Blackmore at Mann's Farm to purchase some apples and other goodies.  Ah..fall has arrived.

High Knob Recreation Area

The hiking club got back on the trail again after about a 6 week hiatus.  The humid, stormy weather that continued throughout August kept us waiting for a nice weekend.  Yesterday was perfect.  We had most of the gang out and a couple grandsons too.  We visited the newly reconstructed observation tower first.  It was very nice and offered some great 360 degree views.  From there, we hiked down Chief Benge trail for a 2 mile round trip and then headed down to the lake area.  At the lake, we were pleased to find restrooms and picnic tables.  After a picnic lunch, we headed out on lakeside trail.  We found it interesting that the area was well kept, with some nice touches, like fairly new cedar benches, and a trail bridge for viewing the spillway at the dam, but there is so little information on the trails.  There are many miles of trails connecting the recreation areas in the national forest between Wise and Scott counties.  It would be great to have a good map with accurate mileages.  We only logged 3 miles on the trail, but we were happy to be in the woods again!  And those kiddos sure seemed to enjoy their hike too!

AT to Watauga Dam

We finally got our crew together for a hike!  Vacations, reunions and sickness had kept this group of regulars from hiking together for quite some time.  So we didn't lack enthusiasm as we headed out and caught up with each other.  Even the the "bears are active in this area" warning signs did not deter us.  This was a nice, not too difficult hike along the AT to Watauga Dam, an earthen TVA dam.  The weather, though hot, wasn't terribly humid except for a couple of times when we were deep in the thickets of rhododendron.  There were nice scenes and it was interesting to see glimpses along the way of the many ways people enjoy the lakes in our region.  We saw stand up paddleboarders, jet skiers, pontoon fishermen, kayakers, mattress loungers, trail runners, backpackers, and of course, the common bass boat fishermen.  I think several of us were wishing we could frolic in the lake after being on the trail a few hours!

Shillalah Creek Road

The club had only one member willing and able to attempt this 10 miler!  The trail is actually the route that Cumberland Gap National Park staff uses when they take people up the mountain to tour Hensley's Settlement.  Bob said he made it despite the straight up hike without switchbacks to relieve the climb.  He also got wet, as we have had several days of storms in the area.  Bob returned with lots of good information though, because he got the opportunity to hike with the new Cumberland Gap Park ranger, and also because Bob doesn't mind asking questions. LOL!

Tri-State Peak/Cumberland Trail

The hiking club put together a hike to nearby Tri-State Peak after having to scratch the trip to devils bathtub due to it being fully booked.  Tri-State peak is always a popular hike, as it is fairly short, 1.4 miles on way, and takes you to the marker where Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia meet.  The Cumberland Trail, which is part of a trail system being developed all the way to Chattanooga, can also be accessed from Tri-State Peak trail.

Little Stony Falls / Bark Camp Lake

Headed out on Memorial Day to enjoy a short but scenic hike to see the falls of Little Stony.  There are three falls, each unique in their own way.  The laurels were beginning to bloom, and the wild magnolias were blooming.  The forest was cool and it was even cooler when we were in close proximity to the falls.  Fortunately, the rocks weren't slick this year and we had no mishaps as we walked out near the smaller of the three falls and did a little exploring and picture taking.  We decided to do the hike around Bark Camp Lake another time, although some of us ate lunch there and had a look at the trail.  We will be back to do that one. It would be gorgeous in the fall.