Day after New Years Hike-Linville Gorge

I really meant to update this a week ago but got busy.  On Friday Jan. 2, the family went on a day hike up the East side of Linville Gorge.  We were planning to go up the Shortoff Trail to the overlook into the Gorge from Shortoff Mtn.  Then maybe a short hike to the Chimneys and possibly even to the parking lot at Table Rock.  When we got up Friday morning it was raining and cool in Mooresville.  Looking at the radar, it appeared there was some rain over the Gorge area but was quickly moving east.  After some deliberation, we decided to head up and take our chances.  We left about 9:00 AM and stopped for a few items.  We got to Wolf Pit Road about 11:00 Am and saddled up for the hike up the trail.  The trail is pretty steep but it has lots of switchbacks that help to make it a little less painful.  It took us about 1.5 hours to walk the 2 miles but we stopped often to gaze at the scenery overlooking Lake James.  A few years ago, a wildfire destroyed almost 60% of this area so the trail is almost completely uncovered.  The vegetation is slowly coming back in abundance but the views are fantastic since there is no cover.  I actually walked this with Scouts back in November at night and you could see Morganton and Hickory lights from up on the ridge.  Very cool.  When we got to the summit, I noticed the wind had picked up considerably.  Looking towards the west side of the Gorge, I could see dark clouds brewing.  I decided rather than take the chance, we could start heading back down.  We let the kids get a good look over the edge of Shortoff into  the valley, then turned back down the trail.  The wind was really howling up on top and the clouds (even though they were staying over the west) were looking worse.  We were just starting down a switchback when I noticed the wind had changed direction and was blowing east to west.  The clouds were heading up the west ridge in a northerly direction so we were safe.  But we looked at our time and decided to head back down and go home.  It had been a long holiday and the kids had a lot going on.  Kyle was wrestling the next day and didn't want to tire out his legs.   We stopped at a nice view of the lake and had a lunch.  We saw a black dot way out on lake James that we thought might be a boat.  Turns out after watching it for 15 minutes, it was a big log floating.  I need to invest in binoculars and actually take them on day hikes. It would probably stop a lot of arguing about what something is.  So back to the car and a drive back to the house.  Both kids voted to do this hike again and extend to do the east trail towards the chimneys.

2009 is here....2008 wasn't that bad.

Well its officially 2009.  I certainly hope it is a better year than 2008 for everyone.  I guess from my standpoint I should consider myself lucky.  I have a job, my family is pretty healthy, I got to do a lot of outdoors stuff this year and will be doing even more in 2009 with my trip to Philmont in July.  But I know a lot of folks who have been affected by the economy.  My company has been too but when I was up in December, they said things were going to be OK.  Sure would like to see people start building more though.  Anyway, we hoped to do a day hike over the Christmas break but since my son is wrestling each day, its been really hard to get away.  WE planned to go tomorrow for a quick day hike but the weather geeks say we may get ice.  BUMMER!!  But if we get up in the morning and it looks OK we might try anyway.  I will be heading out on the 9th with 8 guys to Roan Mountain area.  Its a group from my church plus a few others mixed in. We try to do a trip about every 3-4 months.  I haven't been on as many as I like due to other obligations. I really hope I can get rid of this cold that's been hanging around.  I feel pretty good but am still coughing up stuff each day.  Hasn't been pleasant the last 3 weeks.  So here's to 2009........

Linville Gorge Trip-Scouts

We went to Linville Gorge Nov. 7-9 for a 3 day hiking/backpack trip. You always worry about Linville this time of year because the weather can be unpredictable at best. We hiked in the East side on Friday night to Shortoff mountain. We had some minor rain after we got in the tents but woke to cool temps and clear skies on Saturday. We hiked up to Table Rock and had lunch on the summit in bright Sunshine and a cool breeze. Lots of other folks were up there too. That's the trouble with the drive up areas, its a lot of visitors. But after lunch we descended into the Gorge and away from the constant day hikers. We crossed the bridge that was constructed across the Linville River a few years back. We stopped for a while and the entertainment for the day were 2 college age kids jumping into a swimming hole with icy water. Brrrrr. We hiked up the Linville Gorge Trail which parallels the River. As we neared where we had wanted to camp, we noticed a lot of campsites were taken. But we finally got to our site below the Pinch in Trail just before dark. We figured between 16-20 miles. Quite a day in the Gorge. Sunday was supposed to be an easy hike out with a river crossing. We ran into 2 fellows who we thought to be expert trailsmen in the Gorge. Apprently they were not true experts because they pretty well had us lost on a "new" trail. Once we figured out this new trail we got a little "misplaced" on what we thought was the Mountains to Sea Trail. We ended up on private land that borders the Southern end of the Gorge. (The theme of Deliverance is playing in the background). But after an almost vertical climb down a "trail" and a walk out on a road, we were very grateful that one of the guys had his truck nearby. He took two adults with him and picked up our cars. It was a great weekend. Just like they all are in the woods.

20 Mile Hike with Scouts

On Labor Day Weekend, I and 4 other adults went on a 20 mile hike with Scouts who were attempting to earn their hiking merit badge. We picked an area we thought would be "easy" for a hike. We stayed at Mt. Rogers area on Friday night then hiked towards Damascus on Saturday for 20+ miles. Easy is relative as we thought we were going to be downhill all day. But we realized we had to go up before we went down. AND: down wasnt down all day. It was "rolling". All in all the boys had a great day and we got them all back to the camp area (after a little mis-communication on where to pick us up) tired, safe, but satisfied. We had great food that night but most of us were asleep by 9.

Grand Canyon Trip

Wow I need to update this thing more often. Since I last reported, I have been to the Flagstaff area twice. As a family we spent a week in Flagstaff with a sidetrip (twice) to the Grand Canyon. Once we were there with my parents and did the tourist thing. Then we went back as a foursome: Laura, Hannah, Kyle and me. We hiked a little over halfway to Indian Gardens on the Bright Angel Trail. Since it was June it was brutally hot. We decided that a mile and a half up hill in 90+ heat would be tough enough. There was no reason to add to that. We were very glad we did that. On Friday before we came back, Kyle and I hiked to the top of Mt. Humphries. It is a 5 mile almost straight up ascent of a ~13,000 ft peak. It was definitely one of the highlights of my life. Then in late October I had to go back to Phoenix for business. I went out early and did a hike to the river on the Bright Angel. I also did Mt. Humphries again just because it was so cool the first time.  The picture above is Kyle at Mt. Humphries.  It appears to be a lunar scene but that kind of what Humphries looks like.  My 2 trips there were almost identical weather wise.  Funny considering one was in June and the other was almost November.

Scout Trip to Roan Mountain Area

A group of Scouts went to Roan Mountain over the weekend of April 25, 26 and 27, 2008. A group started at 19E near the Apple House Shelter. We spent the night about 3 miles up in Doll Flats. On Saturday we hiked across Big Hump, Little Hump and over to Carvers Gap. We spent Saturday night at the Roan Mountain Shelter (which is the highest Shelter on the AT). On Sunday we hiked up to Cloudland and had a great view from the deck up there. We hiked back down and picked up the cars at Carvers Gap and met the other group which had traversed the same area in the opposite direction. Our group spent most of Saturday hiking up and the other group spent most of the day going down. The Roan area is a really nice area and the views up on Big Hump and Cloudland are awesome. The total hiking for the weekend was about 20 miles. Most of the miles were done Saturday and everyone was pretty tired.
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Day Hike to Charlies Bunion

On Wednesday May 7, 2008, I took some time during the day to make a great hike up to Charlies Bunion. I started at Newfound Gap which can be accessed off of State Road 441 through Cherokee. There was quite a crowd at Newfound Gap but as I have always heard and witnessed, most of the millions that go through the Smokies never get out of their car and really explore. I hiked up the AT to Icewater Shelter. Then on up the trail to Charlies Bunion. The Bunion has some really great views. It is at about 5800 feet and looks down into the valley below which settles in at under 4000 feet. The sign at the Bunion says to make sure you have control of children. I think this is excellent advice. I spent about 45 minutes talking to a few folks (there was agroup of students from Indiana university up there exploring plants in the Smokies). I hiked back down pretty quickly so I can get to TN by dinner. The entire trip was about 8 miles an took me a little less than 3 hours. Its a great hike for a day hike and can be made into an overnighter but the camping up there is limited.