My New Bike

I have been contemplating a new bicycle for about 8 months. I really didn't have the money but that is secondary to the fact that I NEEDED a new bike. Well, I didn't exactly "need" one but I was going to have to put some money into my old bike. Its been a great ride and I will continue to keep it, but its 6 year old technology and with Road Bikes, that's almost like driving a 70's car. The frame is still in great shape but the components need replacing since I have put somewhere around 25000 miles on her since 2004. Everything was starting to wear out. So, after all of this justification, I felt like I needed to look some. So in September, I started looking at bikes. I rode some European bikes that I really liked. I rode Pinarello, Eddy Mercyx, and a Bianchi. I liked them all but could not find one that really stood out with ride quality. I have always loved my old Trek 5200. It was never a doubt that I wanted to stay with Carbon frames. The stiffness for power but suppleness for ride comfort is unmatched with any material. So I started looking at Trek Project One. Trek has a deal where you go online and basically customize your bike to be whatever you want it to be from color all the way down to tire color. The first time I went on the site, I built up a $10,000 bike. OK, that may have been just slightly over the top. OK, it was WAY over the top. After I came back to reality, I built a few bikes in my price range and sent the sheet up to Jeff Archer at First Flight in Statesville. Jeff really spends more of his time building great mountain bikes but he carries road stuff too. He is still a small shop with a small town feel. He and Wes spent a lot of time with me working on the set up and build up of this bike. It took a couple weeks for all the stuff to come in and get built. But it was worth the wait. She is a beauty and rides like a dream. Yeah I am not any faster than I was on the 5200, but I am more stylish......So my new ride is a 5.5 Madonne/ Fully Ultegra equipped/Bontrager Race X-Light Wheels/Look Keo Pedals. Almost all of this bike is carbon such as stem, bar etc. Very light at 16.5 pounds w/ pedals.....

Fall Camporee with the Scouts

The weekend of October 16-18, 2009 was a special weekend. Yes, it was fall Camporee for the Scouts but was also Kyle's 16th birthday on Sunday the 18th. Of course it rained the Thursday before and was starting to look like Friday would be a rainy day too. The event was held at Allison's Woods north of Statesville. Its a 200+ acre tract of land owned by a man named Tom Allison. Tom is a true son of the confederacy does 1 large reenactment of Civil War battles each summer as well as 6 skirmishes each year. he has a 3000 foot runway (airstrip) of flat grass that he forbids anyone to drive on for obvious purposes. But the woods are really nice and he has about 12-14 campsites spaced around the property. Since our troop is so large, we are very hard to place. We take up a lot of room. So we were given a pretty nice site right off the airstrip about halfway in the middle. We got there to check in at 6PM. It had started drizzling again as we arrived but not a fill on rain. We rode up to our site and the first thing I noticed was the mud was pretty bad. We couldn't get the trailer up the hill so we parked at the bottom. This meant we had to lug all of the 8 chuck boxes (food preparation) and tents, cooking gear, tables, tarps, gas bottles and personal gear about 100 yards. Not a real problem when you have 65 people doing it. But with a drizzle, it just made it aggravating. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get the site set up. Only a limited number of people really know how to set up the camp. So the ones that did set up the troop gear and the rest set up tents and personal stuff. We were blessed with about 30 Webelos who have to camp with a Mom or Dad all weekend. They (for the most part) haven't done much camping. Some of them had BIG tents, some had small tents and a few actually had "NO" tent. Either forgot to pack them or left them at the church. Finally about 9 PM we had a light cracker barrel and had the troop in bed by 10. Saturday morning I woke at 6 to start helping the cooks. It was not raining but was overcast and colder. The wind started to blow too. But as is always the case at Camporee's, once the events started, everything seemed to be peaceful at the camp. I was letting the new Scoutmaster get his feet wet so I handled things in camp while he worked with the staff on getting boys/leaders situated. The theme for this Camporee was Scouting around the world. Each event had a different country theme. It was actually pretty cool. We finally got a nice fore going and I spent much of the day pulling up old wood for us and helping the staff get wood for the Campfire. Our camp cook really fixed us up nice (Adults and Webelos that is. The Patrols cook them selves) We had dutch oven breakfast casseroles, sloppy joes for lunch and beef loins cooked in a dutch oven for dinner. The food was fantastic. Saturday night we had a great campfire and the boys performed skits and our own Ken R. did a flag retirement ceremony. It was (as always) very moving. Back to the camp for cobblers and hanging around the campfire. Sunday morning was cold but sunny finally. After a great breakfast of pancakes and sausage links, we loaded the trailers back up and headed home. It was probably one of the most fun Camporee's I have been involved in. Maybe becuase I can see my time as Scoutmaster winding down.

MS 150 (Actually 170) Ride

October 3,4 2009 was my annual MS Ride. This was the first year I went to Greenville although MS switched it there last year from Myrtle Beach. In past years, going to MB was a real blast because it was fairly flat from Charlotte to MB. A few small hills on Saturday but pancake flat and smooth from Florence in. NOT GREENVILLE!!! We dropped 3 cars in Greenville Friday Oct.2 so we would have rides back and not have to depend on a bus. We met for dinner at Hickory Tavern on Friday night at 8 and I came back early so I could get a good nights rest. I didnt feel too well Friday night (something I ate) so I didnt really get much rest. Saturday morning I wasnt feeling much better but drank a Coke and ate some bland breakfast which helped. We got to the starting line and pulled off at 7:45 AM. The first 30 miles was really fast and I hung up with the group. I felt like I could have hung in there all day but decided to head wait on the rest of the team as I wanted to ride a little easier and enjoy the company. We rode in to Greenville (102) miles about 2:30 PM. The MS people do a pretty good job with party after the ride so we all had a few beers and hung out to hear the band. Then off to The Hampton for a shower and dinner at a steak House. I fell asleep sometime around 10 PM. Up again at 6AM for another 70 miles around Greenville. Lots of climbing and hills. Both down and up. We finished around 1:30 so another long day in the saddle. Overall I was pretty pleased with how I rode the bike. We all had a great time and it was good to get Roadkill back together. Cant wait until next year!!.\

I am a Gear Freak-There, I said it....

Well, no camping or hiking for me this weekend. Looks like rain all 3 days so maybe a good time to clean up my stuff inside. A post on BP'er magazine forums got me thinking about my gear collection. I admit, I am a gear nut. It only took me 47 years to figure this out but yes, its true. I have too many of everything. Sleeping bags, Backpacks, bikes, tents, stoves, pads, bike wheels. heck I even have too many energy bars. Heck the picture above is just packs and sleeping bags only. One man only needs so much stuff. But I am constantly looking for more stuff. I don't always buy it, but I am sure looking for it. Its an addiction. I need a support group. Maybe something like GA (Gearaholics Anonymous). "Hi, I'm Kevin and I am addicted to outdoor gear". Thing is, I use almost everything I have at least once a month. Well, maybe not my mountain bike but I make up for it with 6500 miles on a road bike this year alone. Yes I could probably sell a tent or 2. Maybe even a sleeping bag (or 2). And all of those bike wheels are just in case I have a failure on my current wheels. But as soon as I sold it, I would probably go out and buy another one. Everything I have purchased has been scrutinized down to the penny. I never pay full retail on anything and I would say I am pretty thrifty on spending. I don't have the absolute best stuff on the market but its all top quality. So why oh why do I have so much stuff? Yes I take care of stuff in an almost anal way so it lasts me a long time. I have had a daypack for 20 years that has many miles on it. But I was thinking the other day I need to get another one. Is the one I have broken or worn out? NO. But I still had that sinking feeling in my mind that it was needing replaced. Would I give the old one to charity or sell it on E-Bay? NO. Just add to the ever increasing pile of pack collection. I have a 5 year old road bike that has over 25,000 miles on it. its a great bike and serves all my purposes. Its a much better bike than I am a rider. But guess what? Its starting to wear out a few components and my firing sensors in my "purchase" section of my brain have started to find 10,000 things wrong with it. I even went on Trek's Project One site last night and built up a $7000 "fix" for myself. I am sick and I know it....There seems to be very little cure for this sickness except revolving credit. Anyway, I have to go. I just realized I have a backpack trip scheduled in October and I need to look at the wings on my canister stove. Last time I was out I bent one of them just ever so slightly and I think I need to look at those new Jetboil things. And I also noticed my boots have a mark on the side that could be the start of some wear and tear....And that sleeping pad seems a little flatter...and....

Back to Mt. Rogers for Day Hike w/ Neighbors

Saturday September 5th dawned sunny and warm. My neighbors don't hike much but wanted to go up and see the ponies and maybe pick a few Blueberries. So we headed out after my Saturday morning bike ride for day hike. Jeff, Lori, Redd, Ian, my daughter Hannah and me (Also the lab mix Sierra) all left about 10 AM and arrived at Grayson Highlands about 12:30. As we arrived at the backpacker lot, I noticed 2 things: one, it was getting cloudy and 2, there were a lot of folks there. I figured there would be a few folks since it was labor day but I didn't expect there to be as many cars in the lot as there were. It was almost full. We all hiked up the trail and less than 500 yards later we were looking at 2 ponies. We stopped and watched them and took a few pics. About 3/4 way up the spur trail we started picking blueberries. For the first 2 hours, that's really all we did. Between the 6 people, we probably picked 2 gallons of the sweet berries. We kept going all the way to Wilburn Ridge. We thought we might keep going to Rhododendron Gap but Sierra was beat and lay down on a rock to sleep. The clouds stayed over us all day but no rain. The temperature was almost perfect at 60 degrees and low humidity. We ran into a few folks along the way but it wasn't as many as I expected since the lot was so full. We did notice many folks already starting to set up tents in places we didn't normally see them.

On the way back down, we picked some more blueberries (as if we didnt have enough). It was a beautiful day in the Mountains (they all are), and we got to see a lot of ponies. Even got to see some deer too.

Grayson Highlands Scout BP Trip-August 2009

On Friday August 28, we left the house at 4:30 PM to meet up at the church for a 3 day trip to Grayson for BP'ing. About 4:25 it started raining. I don't mean a sprinkle either: I mean a full on "gully washer". The kind that moves mountains and floods fields. At the church, we had to load up the gear for some folks who were doing a family camp and day hiking. 3 groups of Scouts (2 older and one younger) were BP'ing along different routes on Saturday and all meeting up in the Thomas Knob area Saturday night. 2 groups were exchanging keys and reversing the routes Saturday. As we started towards VA, the skies miraculously began to clear somewhat and by the time we arrived at the Backpacker parking spot at 7:20 PM, the moon was even starting to show. We hiked up the spur trail and set up about a mile in at the intersection of the AT. Sometime after midnight, I awoke to the sound of rain gently falling on the tent. It was much cooler than I expected but the rain sounded sweet tapping on the fly. We all woke at 7 AM and fixed a quick breakfast and packed up the wet gear. Our itinerary called for us to head North on the AT, through Scales and up the Crest Trail. Then intersecting with the AT South and heading to Thomas Knob. We made great time even though I was stopping every 5 minutes and eating a handful or two of the wild blueberries that adorn this place.

We got through the Scales are by 11 AM and decided to head on up the Crest trail to a water refill spot. As we were refilling water and eating our lunch, the rain began to fall again. Not so hard but just enough to be annoying. About 1 PM the sun came back out and we arrived at Rhododendron Gap where the AT intersect 3 different trails. We climbed up on the rocks and looked at views, played with the wild ponies and just sit in the warm sun for a while. We also watched a large bird (either Golden Eagle or large hawk as he would never get close enough) soar in the wind. We started out towards Thomas Knob so we could get dibs on the best site in the area. We hadn't seen a great deal of hikers other than a few solo's and a few couples. Seemed like everyone was day hiking. We hit the campsite around 2 PM and it was vacant. YES!!! We set up the tents and the boys headed out to climb a few more rocks and play in the meadows. About 3, our second group arrived and set up and 30 minutes later, the 3rd groups was there. After all the tents were set-up, we all walked down to the water source and pumped some spring water for the evening. Several of the adults and a couple boys wanted to say they had hiked to the tallest spot in VA. I told them there were no views on Mt. Rogers but it was a pretty trail nonetheless. So we hiked up to the top and took a picture or 2.

Just as we started back down, the rain started again. At first it seemed like another short drizzle. But by the time we had walked back to camp, it was coming down in buckets. Luckily, I had brought my tarp for cooking just in case this happened. We all crammed in under 2 tarps, cooked our meals and waited out the rain. Finally about 7, it stopped and 2 or 3 very enterprising adults even got a fire started. By 10 PM, all were in their tents dry and happy. I always sleep light when Scout camping because I feel responsible for everyone. I got up at 12Am and walked out to see a moon visible in the sky and only a few clouds. The evening was cool, even bordering on cold. Sunday morning dawned bright and clear. Some of the young Scouts had decided to make pancakes with Blueberries. They were very good and the boys did a great job working together to cook. The sun was out, it was warming up to perfect and I hated to leave. But life starts again on Monday and we had to go. So, we packed up wet gear again and headed out to Grindstone about 6 miles away. There we picked up some cars and drove back to the rendezvous point. Life sure is sweet!!!

PhilmontTrip

I could start this entry with the words "highlight of My Life". Philmont may have just been that. Our group of 14 Scouts and 5 adults departed CLT at 6:45 AM on July 7th. We met at the Church at 4:30 AM so we could carpool down. Tom Bruce had worked around so he could fly our AA aircraft to Dallas and then on to Colo. Springs. As it worked out, he flew to Colo. Springs but we were not on that flight. We flew a later flight which was kind of stupid since the same airplane we had been on from CLT to DFW was going on to Colo. Springs. Anyway, at least he got to fly us to DFW. We landed in Colo. Springs and had to wait about 45 minutes for our charter bus to take us to Pikes Peak and to our hotel for the night. The trip up Pikes was pretty cool since we were in a Cog Railway car.

After dinner and a trip back to Pikes Peak to retrieve a lost pack, we headed to the Hotel for our trip down to Cimarron. Early on the 8th, we climbed back in the charter bus and off to Philmont. The first day in Philmont is always a pain. The base camp is hot and dusty and the tents are even hotter. We checked in, went to lunch then met our Ranger who was to be with us for the next 3 days. We collected our pots, food, bear rope and bear bags: met with the logistics crew and then got our gear lockers and signed all of the documentation stuff. We also got checked out by the medical staff as well. Thursday would be another day of checking out gear and getting acquainted with the "Philmont Way". The bus picked us up at 1 Pm for the 10 minute ride to 6 mile gate where we were released to the wild for 11 days. Our first order of business was to go over the lightning position. Philmont is known for fast changing weather and lightning storms. They teach you what to do if you are caught in the open in lightning. Hopefully we wont need to practice this on our Journey. We had a very short hike to our first camp. We learned how to pitch bear rope and hang bear bags. We learned about the fire techniques and water conservation. Water is a precious resource at Philmont and they make sure you understand conservation. Day 2 was pretty much spent at Indian Writings. We had a blast there doing our conservation project and throwing Atlatyls. We also spent 3 hours digging in an archaeological dig where we found quite a few interesting things.

Hillary, who was our guide, was really cool and showed a lot of enthusiasm. It was contagious for the boys. The next day, Rob our guide was supposed to leave us. So he took us all to the top of a small mountain to let us meditate on the 10 days ahead and also to make us sign a pledge that we would take care of this great place. He had a special surprise for us and took out a pound cake and chocolate icing. Everyone had a piece and it was great. We hiked back down and headed for Ponil. Rob was going to Ponil too and he hiked a short way with us. then, like a Ninja, he was gone. We saw him later at Ponil drinking Root Beer.

After 1 day at Ponil, a chuckwagon Dinner and breakfast, lots of Root Beer and horseshoes, we took off for Pueblano. It was supposed to be about a 2 hour hike up a trail. But somewhere along the way we missed the trail and ended up "off the reservation". We hiked up and over a pretty steep mountain pass which was burned in the fire of 2002. It was very hot and dry but it was worth it because we saw a really nice Mesa with a lake on top. The hike in to Pueblano was all downhill but we were all still very tired. We only spent the night at Pueblano and were out of there the next AM to head to Miranda. We saw a small Black bear on our way out to Head Of Dean. For most of the Scouts, it was the first encounter with a wild bear. Actually, the bear was pretty tame. Not always the best thing for bear or Campers.

We spent a lot of the day at Head Of Dean doing a team building activity. We really learned a lot about ourselves AND about each other. It may have been the most fun I had on the trip. We got into Miranda late that evening and it was a really long walk up to the check in. They gave us a really nice campsite which we had for 2 nights. We all ate and turned in early for tomorrow is BALDY. Baldy is a 11,441 ft. peak that you can see from almost any spot on the Philmont property. It is very menacing and tough. We arose at 4:30 and were ready to start hiking at 5:15 AM. The first 4 miles don't seem to bad but the mountain turns upward at about 10,000 feet and the last 1400 ft are really tough. The last 500 feet is almost straight up. But we all made it and we crossed together in a long row. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen boys do together.

After a trip through Baldy Town to pick up food, we headed back to Miranda for some rest and reflection. We made dinner and the boys played frisbee and cards. The adults sat, relaxed and talked about how cool it was to walk up a big ole mountain. The next day we said goodbye to Miranda and headed back through Head of Dean. We filled up our water there and made sure we were ready for a dry camp. Philmont has several camps that have no potable water and you have to prepare. We found a water buffalo (basically a large storage area that is filled by a solar pump). We made our dinner there even though it was early afternoon. That way we knew we had our hot meal covered. We then headed to Black Jack's Camp which turned into one of my favorite camps. Even though it was unstaffed and dry, it was quiet and we walked up a small hill to a great overlook. We could see Baldy and Tooth Of Time clearly. We also spent some time talking to our sister trek and this lead to a closer friendship.

We left Black Jack and headed for Harlan. WE got to shoot shotguns at skeet and race burros at Harlan. We also really got to know our sister trek well at Harlan. We played Ultimate Frisbee and went to their campfire. I was also finally able to get a cell signal and could call home and talk to Laura and Hannah. So it was a swell camp. From Harlan, we left and headed to Cimarroncito by way of the Ute Gulch Commissary. The dude at Ute Gulch was great. We could have all of the fresh fruit we wanted and we got a chance to load up on Gatorade. I also got some well needed Dark Chocolate too. Cimarroncito was a cool place to play around but not too great for Ultimate Frisbee. We did go rock climbing and rappelling which was way to cool.

When we were packing up to leave Cimmaroncito, I started to get kind of sad because I knew our time was short at this great place. But I was also ready to see my wife and daughter and I knew it could not last forever. The trail from Cimmaroncito to Ponderosa was a nice pretty walk. WE got to see window rock and we made a picture at Cathedral Rock with our sister trek.

Ponderosa Park was a pretty place (at least I think it was). We got there about 5 PM after we ate another dinner for lunch as it was a dry camp. As soon as we sit up camp, it started to thunder. About 6PM its started to hail and really rain hard. We all stayed in our tents and read or slept. It made getting up at 2:45 AM easier. We wanted to see the Tooth Of Time for Sunrise. It was at least a 7 mile hike there up hills and on rocky trails. We almost made it but we did get some cool views over the mountains. WE summited the Tooth around 7 AM and it was almost breathtaking.

From the base of Tooth to base camp was about 2 hours of steady walking downhill and with little shade. So even though it was downhill, it was hot. We were all looking forward to Pizza and ice cream so it made the long walk tolerable for us all. Base camp was about the same as we had left it, hot, dusty and boring. We cleaned up, went to Cimarron for Pizza and ice cream. Then we attended the closing ceremonies and headed to bed. The bus picked us all up at 8 AM the following day for the trip back to Colo. Springs and the flight home.

All in All, I cannot say enough about the 12 days I spent in God's Country. I will forever be smitten by this place and I cannot wait to go back. I was able to spend time with my son which is priceless. I spent time with scouts who I got to know much better as men. And I made many new friends along the way. Sitting on the Tooth Of Time with my son Kyle on July19th 2009, will quite likely be one of the greatest moments of my life. I thank God I was able to do this with Kyle. I hope we can do it again one day...........soon...

Day hike to Grayson to see the PONIES

On Friday July 3rd, the family decided to take a day hike to Grayson Highlands to see the poines. Several ponies have given birth the last few months and there were some real small ones. Could not have asked for a better day. It was 90 at home but high 60's/low 70's there.

Hannah loved the ponies every time she has gone. I knew they were there so I had to take her there since I will be leaving on the 7th for 2 weeks in Philmont. We had lunch on top of the rocks just short of Rhododendren Gap. It was probably only a 5 or 6 mile hike roundtrip but was well worth it. The ponies are always cool to watch. Lots of other folks were there too. It was also a chance for me to look at water sources for the big trip with the Scouts in late August. Looks like the water sources will be good for that trip.

On my way to Philmont tomorrow

Well: Tomorrow is the big day. My contingent leaves for Philmont at 4:30 tomorrow morning. We will head to Colorado Springs for a trip up to Pikes Peak. Then we head out on a bus Wednesday morning to Philmont for 12 days of backpacking and fun in the Mountains. Its been a dream that we have all been waiting for since last July. I have been planning this since 2006 when I first started thinking about Scoutmaster. My son and I atre both really excited. Just finished doing an inventory of the pack. I am at 25 pounds without water. I could probably do less than that but I want a few things that add some weight just for the comfort. Hopefully in about 2 weeks I can post some sweet pictures of the group and some views. Wish me luck.......

Another Day Hike to Linville Gorge East

Well, its about 7 weeks until Philmont so Saturday May 23 rd was a training day for Kyle and me.  We had scrapped our idea of going up Friday night and doing an over night trip.  We got up early Saturday morning and drove up to the Wolfpit Road trailhead for the ascent to Shortoff.  Our original intentions were to get at least to the gap before the climb to the Chimneys.  If he felt good in the gap, then we "might" try to get to the chimneys.  The first climb to Shortoff was pretty nasty.  It was humid (overcast and cool but very humid).  I have to admit I don't enjoy spring hiking as much as fall but I still sweat either way.  Once we got to Shortoff, the clouds dispersed and the sun came out.  That burned off some humidity but added some heat.  Still we had a nice breeze on the ridge.  Its a pretty walk from Shortoff over the gap and back down.  We stopped in the gap and talked about whether to go all the way to the chimneys.  Kyle said he wanted to go so we started the mile up.  We ran into a couple of people with some dogs who told us that a woman was missing since Friday afternoon.  They said she went out for a day hike from the parking lot at Table Rock and never returned.  (That explained the helicopters we heard rumbling all morning)

We were pretty good most of the way up.  We did stop to ponder why someone left a really nice military style rucksack in the middle of a trail fully loaded with gear for a week.  Most people drop packs in the woods fully covered; this pack was in full view in the middle of the trail at an overlook.  Kyle and I both looked over the edge and could not see anyone below.  Still, it was a little weird.  Anyway, we climbed the gap out and got to the flats on the ridge before the chimneys.  I enjoy this area as I really think the chimneys are cool.  We made it to a nice overlook and fixed a hot lunch of Ramen Noodles before heading back.

The ride back to Mooresville was nice and easy.  Kyle was pretty stoked that he made it so well.  We never heard if they found the woman or who that pack in the trail belonged to.  Very Weird!!  Well, 7 more weeks until we go to Philmont.  I think it may very well be the highlight of my year.  

My Review of Mountain Hardwear Wicked Lite T-Shirt - Men's

REI

Weighing in at a mere 4 oz. this shirt stays true to its name, the Mountain Hardwear Wicked Lite T-shirt.

Mountain Hardwear Wicked Lite T-Shirt - Men's

Great Shirt for Active People

Trail_Hound Southeast USA 5/22/2009

 

5 5

Gift: No

Chest Size: Feels true to size

Sleeve Length: Feels true to length

Pros: Breathable, Comfortable, Lightweight

Best Uses: Travel, Hiking, Outdoor Activities, Camping

Describe Yourself: Avid Adventurer

I just ordered another one of these shirts. These are the best active wear shirts I have found. MH Has a winner with this T. It weighs next to nothing, wicks super and dries blazingly fast. I cant say enough about these shirts. Dont let the price scare you off as the durability makes up for the few extra $$ over some of the competition.

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Day Hike to Linville Gorge East-Training for Philmont

Well, yesterday was a training hike (finally) for Philmont.  With the economy being so banged up lately, I have been traveling so much its been hard to find a week I can go backpacking.  But with Philmont coming up in 3 months, we have to get going.  SO, Kyle and I had planned to head up to Linville with another leader from Scouts and do a 10 mile or so out and back trip.  Since there was no tour permit, we made sure the parents knew we could not hold the Scouts responsible.  This was just a trip period.  When the other Scout leader showed up without his son, we were left with one adult.  Not a serious problem considering it was 2 15 year olds with a lot of outdoor skills.  So I took 2 boys and off we went.  It was overcast and cool, but not cold.  We saw a few sprinkles along the way but nothing to stop us.  We got on the trail at about 9:30 and made it to the top of Shortoff Mtn by around 10:15.  We looked at a few views and then proceeded to head towards the north part of the gorge and the chimneys.  Kyle hasn't been doing much lately and was really just getting back in shape after some damage to his foot and shoulder this winter.  Wrestling injuries.  So as we started up the climb towards the chimneys, he was having a hard time.  We tried to switch him to a lighter pack but I could tell we were killing him.  So we turned back knowing we still had a couple climbs.  About the time we stopped for lunch at 12:30, it started to rain steady.  Not heavy, just steady.  Neither Kyle nor Colt wanted to put on a rain jacket but the old man (me) did.  I really was pretty comfortable but it did get a bit cold the wetter I got.  We made it back down to the car about 4:00 PM.  I estimate we did a round trip of 10 miles.  Not bad at all.  It really is a pretty place.  Maybe the next post wont be so dang long in coming.....

Hike from Carvers Gap TN-19E-Roan Mountain

WOW!!.  All I can say about this past weekend is WOW.  I have been backpacking for 25+ years.  The weekend of January 9,10,11 was probably one for the ages.  I personally cant remember having such a diverse weather weekend than this one.  All week I was looking at weather reports for Roan TN.  But as we all know, weather is reported from towns "approximate" to where the trails actually  are.  Anyone who has ever hiked this route knows it has so many variations in altitude you cannot really get a handle.  Roan Mountain TN is the easiest town to get weather from.  But its altitude is ~2500 ft.  The actual Roan Mountain is ~6200 ft.  Big difference!  It can be sunny and warm in the town and snowing and cold on the mountain..  Weather forecast all week said 60% chance of showers Saturday with temps in the mid 40's.  So I took off 10 degrees and using my brilliant sense of deduction figured we were safe.  Mid 30's and rain.  Cold, wet, but not too bad and not an all day thing.  Plus, it looked like it would be over by Saturday afternoon in time for a nice cool evening.  HA...  Let me also mention that my Carolina Panthers were playing in an NFC playoff game Saturday night at 8:30 PM.  To me, being in the outdoors trumps a game (even of playoff implications).  But I still figured we might be miserable for a while.  All good backpacking trips must have at least some time for misery.  It is what makes most men come back.  Its also what makes many men sell everything on E-Bay at half its original price and swear off backpacking and ever being cold again.  To each his own.  Anyway, 5 of us (and one really tough Golden Retriever) drove up Friday starting at 1 PM.  We met at the hostel off of 19E.  We dropped my car there and piled into Robert's Forrester (2 packs strapped loosely on top) for the ride up to Carvers Gap.  Highway 143 is a twisty/windy long incline of about 10 miles that takes you to Carvers.  This is the summit of the road but in the summer you can go up another 1000 feet to the Old Cloudlands resort and another 200 feet to the highest shelter on the AT (Roan Mountain High Shelter).  We were going the northern route so we parked and got out.  On the way up, I started noticing snow on the roadside and in some wooded areas it looked quite deep.  I never noticed any reports of snow.  Hmmmm, maybe I should have packed my gaiters?  Well, too late now for that.  We started up the AT and passed a couple folks who were coming back down from a day hike.  I asked them how deep the snow was and they said "not too bad, maybe mid calf in a few places".  Mid calf???  Actually in several places we had to forge drifts that were knee high post holes.  But really it was about ankle high..  And it was not a slush so I only got a little ice in my boots.  Our intention was to camp on Grassy Ridge.  But when we got to the split in the AT where the site to Grassy goes right, Robert and I talked and decided the wind was really picking up (25-30 gusts).  Probably going to Grassy Ridge would be a crap shoot since its not much cover.  We were also not 100% sure where the water source was there so we decided to go about 1.5 miles to the Stan Murry shelter.  I knew that the shelter had a water source (even though I could not remember where), and it was flatter.  We had about 45 minutes of daylight left so that would be enough to get us close.  Luckily someone had come up from the 19E side since it had snowed and that helped us to follow the trail. Nothing like the blind leading the blind huh? Also, the white blazes are easy to follow with a good light.  We had some more post holes of snow but made it to Stan Murry by 6PM.  No one else was out there (imagine that) so 3 guys decided to sleep in the shelter.  I really don't like AT shelters so I decided to clean off some snow and set up my tent.  I like the 4 sides closed as opposed to an open shelter.  Jason is like me and set up his tent too.  There was no wind when we got there (more on that later) but if it started to blow east to west, it would blow right in the open side.  Not my idea of fun but to each his own.  Plus I am not scared to see Coyote's, bear, cat, snakes, skunks or other wild animals. But I hate mice.  Might have something to do with one of them crawling in the sleeping bag with me in a shelter I stayed in back in the 80's, but in any event I hate them.  After we tuned in around 10 (we spent about an hour trying to start a fire with wet wood), the wind started to pick up.  First it was a light breeze, then a steady breeze, then gusts in the 30's. Then a constant 30 MPH and 50+ gusts.  Luckily my new REI tent can really handle some wind.  I didn't do the greatest job setting it up but it only flapped a little.  Saturday morning the wind had died down some but was still pretty stiff.  We started out about 8:30 and it was warmer than we expected by 10 AM.  We stopped off at the Over mountain Shelter and pumped some water from the spring.  I was down to a long sleeve shirt and my capilene base.  I knew the hike up the Humps would be a sweat maker so I had shed the jacket.  As we started down Yellow Mountain Gap I looked back and saw clouds moving fast.  Back over my shoulder, Roan Mountain was covered in a cloud mass and it looked pretty nasty.  Starting up Little Hump, the clouds turned to a misty cold rain (back in that jacket).  But by the time we summited Little Hump it had turned sunny and warmed back up (off with the jacket).  We stopped down in the gap between the 2 humps and had lunch out of the wind.  Just as we were finishing the temps dropped and the clouds  rolled back in (where's my damn jacket).  We started up the summit to Big Hump and the wind was picking up and the clouds were racing by to our west.  By the time I reached the summit, it was blowing at least 50 MPH with some gusts higher than that.  I have never been on the Humps when the wind was not blowing, but i have never seen anything like this.  I probably should not have sat there but I finally found a small rock that gave me some protection and waited for the others.  The sun was out again by now which made it more bearable, but it was still pretty raw up there.  The walk down was very tough because the wind was coming from our right sides and it would almost blow you off the mountain.  Finally we tuned north again and had the wind at our back( off with the jacket again) .  The walk to Doll Flats was pretty nice as the sun stayed out most of the walk.  We set up at doll flats and began our search for dry firewood.  Just as we were getting enough together to start a fire, the rains came (Jacket).  This time there was no stopping.  We gathered in the 3 man tent and cooked in the vestibule.  After eating we sat around and talked for an hour or so.  At 7:30 the rain let up so I scurried back to my own tent.  My feet were a little cold so I changed to my sleep gear and settled in planning to read.  The wind had settled when the rain started but now it was picking back up.  The only good thing was the rain was making it warmer outside.  I must have fallen off because my "pee" alarm went off about 2:30.  I decided I wasn't going to hold this one until daylight so I grunted through the pants on/jacket on/zipping the tent door/zipping the fly open- dance and walked into pea soup.  Fog so thick you could literally not see your hand in front of your face.  I didn't venture too far off for fear I would never find my tent again.  As soon as i got back in the tent, the rain started falling again heavily.  But it was till warm.  AND the wind was picking back up as a nice bonus.  Sometime around 5:30 I woke up cold, really cold (can I wear my jacket in my bag?).  So I cinched up the bag, put on my gloves and hat and tried to sleep some more.  The rain had stopped so I had hopes that the weather events were over.  Finally about 7 I decided to stop the tossing and get up.  When I unzipped the fly, I knew something was going on.  The fly had ice all over it and the mist that I had seen at 2:30 was freezing all over everything.  It must have dropped 20 degrees since 2:30.  According to my Suunto Watch it was 28.  So I packed up all my stuff inside the tent and decided some nice hot oatmeal would be good.  Let me add a little information here:  I use alcohol stoves (Pepsi style) exclusively for cooking.  I dehydrate my own food and all I do is basically heat water.  I have never had a problem getting it to light in all kinds of conditions.  My Iso-Pro stove has had issues many times in cold weather.  I have used both HEET and Denatured alcohol but I prefer HEET.  I was short on HEET at home so I made a side trip Friday to Wal-Mart to get some.  They had a 4 pack on sale so I figured buy it and that would last all spring and summer.  Did you know there are 2 kinds of HEET?  I didn't realize it and grabbed the first 4 pack I saw.  Red is Iso-Heet (Meaning it uses isopropyl alcohol).  hard to light and burns horribly.  So after 20 minutes of trying to light it I gave up and ate a cold hard Clif-Bar.  Figured I was going to be at the car in 2 hours and could get something hot for lunch.  Anyway, we packed up the stuff (tent fly still had some ice) and headed to the car.  The walk down from Doll Flats to 19E is great.  I really had a great weekend but I am glad we got as lucky with the weather as we did.  It could have been much worse.  the jacket was glad to be back in its closet too.....

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........