Buffalo Mountain Park

Only four of us headed to Buffalo Mountain Park in Johnson City, Tennessee.  The park is nearly in the city itself which seemed odd.  When we arrived, it was 55 and windy outside.  We had expected a bit nicer of a day, but except for a few very windy spots, it was good hiking weather.  The trail was a 4.5 mile loop around the mountain, which afforded us various views and a variety of habitats.  We experienced rocky, sandy areas, and mossy, wet areas.  I was pleasantly surprised at the variety of wildflowers we saw.  Locust, azalea, mountain laurel, wild geranium, ladyslippers, to name a few.  It was a nice hike with a bit of everything!

Pink Ladyslipper

The Great Channels of Virginia

Headed up 81 this AM to a beautiful farming area north of Abingdon to visit the Great Channels of Virginia.  We had a bit of a drive but we were rewarded with a fantastic day for a hike.  It was perfect!  The trail was one of the better ones we have hiked.  It began as a gravel road and gradually narrowed as we climbed 1200 feet during the 3 mile trek to the Channels.  The still naked trees afforded us views along the way, and the vistas from the top were magnificent.  We could see for miles.  When we reached the top, we had lots to explore.  There was the old firetower and shack, views from a couple of outcroppings, and of course the Channels themselves.  We decided to have lunch in the sun on some huge rocks at the site of the firetower before entering the Channels.  There were several hikers there as well.  We became acquainted with a pair of couples from Wise County, a former UPS delivery man, and several others.  It seemed to be a popular hike today.  After our lunch we headed down into the Channels, which were refreshingly cool with shafts of light entering the maze as if we were in a slot canyon.  There was lots of exploring to do.  Room after room of unusual weathering patterns, variations of colors, etc..  It was pretty large maze and we were advised to mark arrows in the dirt with our hiking sticks to help navigate out.  This hike was quite was quite unique and anyone who gets a chance should go.

View from one of the outcroppings at 4,200 ft.

Abandoned Firetower and Shack Built 1939

The Channels

Tri-State Peak/Cumberland Trail

We hiked almost 5 miles today in Cumberland Gap.  The redbuds were in full bloom and dogwoods were just beginning to open.  The day was nice enough temperature wise, but the wind was fierce!  And I do mean fierce.  It felt like the temperature dropped 10 degrees when we crossed over the ridge on the Northwest (Kentucky) side.  At other times, it felt very nice.  The hike was pretty uneventful.  There were nice views on both sides of the ridge from Cumberland Trail.  Views that won't be nearly so open in just a couple more weeks when the trees leaf out fully.  We also spotted a grouse and a couple of dear on the trail.  Another in the books for the club.

Blanton Forest Loops

Since we had all been to Knobby Rock, we had the bright idea today that we would do the additional loop to the maze and rock shelter.  After all, it was only 1.3 miles additional mileage.  How hard could it be?  Hard!  One of the most difficult hikes we have done.  We had to traverse through the maze which was like navigating a boulder field.  In addition, there were countless ups and downs that required some very calculated stepping, helping hands and sometimes even butt scooting!  Yes, yes, yes, it was quite an adventure.  However, these old goats all made it and we were proud we did.  We just decided that one visit was definitely enough.  The weather was absolutely great, particularly for March, and we have another hike in the books!

Knobby Rock is big!

The maze

Yep, a ladder.

Hole in the Wall- First Day Hike 2016

We did our 3rd consecutive First Day hike.  The weather was a bit chilly comparative to the last few weeks of record setting warmth, however, it was good hiking weather.  Our destination was the Hole in the Wall, near Hubbard Springs.  Now most of us had heard of this place, but none of us knew exactly how to get to it, nor did we know the history behind it.  It turns out that Hubbard Springs was quite the happening place about a century ago.  It had a hotel, train depot, and General store.  The springs were thought to have medicinal properties, which brought guests to the hotel.  The hole in the rock was drilled and blasted to create a wagon road from Cranks, KY to the railway at Hubbard Springs.  Cranks Creek Lake is visible from the tunnel, at least it is when the leaves are off.  The hike is 4 miles round trip on the old wagon road.  There's an elevation gain of a bit over 1, 000 ft.  Permission from the property owner is required to access the trailhead.  It made for an excellent First Day hike to kick off 2016!

View from the Top

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.