WildrLog

Bryan January 16th, 2008

Well, I can’t say anything else about my super guides Frank Carter and John Burgess, my guides for this off trail hike through the Ash Hopper Branch and Spring Branch drainages.

I’d been through the first half of this hike before with these guys about 3 years ago. We came running down the Ash Hopper Branch drainage escaping the falling trees from a freak wind storm. That day three years ago, we heard trees snapping off like twigs and actually watched one slide to rest and explode just 100 feet behind us. Who says hiking isn’t exciting?

Distance: posted at 6 miles, but by GPS and pedometer our group figured it at about 3.8 miles
Total Elevation climb: I didn’t record it
Trail Type: single track dirt and manways, but mostly off-trail
Temperature: 30s, cloudy
Time: I didn’t record it
Significant Features: old homesteads and a still standing rock chimney

Started out on the Husky Gap Trail, but quickly left it trudging off trail. I should mention that this is not something I normally do or encourage anyone else to do. Frank and John are very familiar with the area. It would be very easy for me to get lost out here.

We hiked past some old homesteads and some of the park’s hog traps. Russian hogs run around in the park now. Prior to the park’s formation, a portion had been used as a private hunting ground. Once the caretaker stopped getting paid, he left to find the owners and collect his pay. The year was 1929 and when he found the owners, they had no money to pay him. These non-native hogs run lose today in the park and rangers try to trap them. One of the three traps we saw had a small piglet (or hoglet?) dead from being there a long time.

After a LONG ciimb we got to the Ash Hopper Branch drainage where we stopped for lunch at an old homesite. Since it was still chilly, we didn’t tarry long. After another climb we ended up in the Spring Branch drainage where we found a chimney still standing. These are unusual as most in the park have fallen over (or been pushed over) in the 70 years since the park was formed.

Just a little ways (really, it wasn’t a fir piece at all) and we were out on Little River Road. Overall a nice hike and better than any day I’ve spent in the office.

Pictures are HERE

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park , Hike Log , Wilderness Wildlife Week
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Bryan January 15th, 2008

Today, I had the great pleasure of hiking again with Tom Morton. Tom knows these mountains and hollows like the back of his hand. He’s a wonderful story-teller and an all around great human being. Once again, take advantage of hiking with the locals when you get the opportunity.

Distance: about 6 miles
Total Elevation climb: I didn’t record it
Trail Type: single track dirt and manways, but mostly off-trail
Temperature: 30s, cloudy
Time: I didn’t record it
Significant Features: Courthouse Rock and Quilliam’s Cave

It was a chilly morning as we drove up Newfound Gap Road to the trailhead. The wind whipped and I was wondering if I needed another layer. The climb soon put an end to that worry.

I finally made it to Courthouse Rock. Last year, my group aborted our trip there due to transportation issues. The rock itself is huge, probably 50-60 feet high. I walked around it and would have loved to spend a few minutes climbing it, but alas, time to move on.

We took off up an old manway. When it ended, we started scrambling over trees and blowdowns to get up to Quilliams’s Cave. The snow that dusted the area gave it such a great feeling. The ice formations on the cave were a real treat. The picture above is of ice on a gnarled stump just outside the cave. It’s not really a cave though. It’s more of a large outcropping, going back about 20 feet. We stopped and ate lunch there and then headed back.

Both destinations are must sees in the Smokies!

On the way down, I got a nice snapshot of Bullhead Mountain dusted with snow.

Pictures are HERE

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park , Hike Log , Wilderness Wildlife Week
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Bryan January 14th, 2008

I always enjoy hikes with John Burgess and Frank Carter. They both hike regularly with the Retired Citizens of the Smokies and do their research into the areas where they lead. They are a great couple of guys.

Distance: about 5 miles one way
Total Elevation climb: I didn’t record it
Trail Type: single track dirt, but mostly off-trail
Temperature: 40s, cloudy
Time: I didn’t record it
Significant Features: the walk through Meigs Valley and the Old Elkmont settlement

This hike starts on the Sugerland Mountain Trail at the Laurel Falls Parking Lot and ascends for about a mile where it turns down an old manway into Meigs Valley. There were several creek crossings, but no one fell in. The walk through the valley was gorgeous, and an easy walk for off trail.

We stopped for lunch at the Elkmont Campground, then explored the old settlement of Elkmont and the remains of the old Wonderland Hotel. When the park was formed, the residents of Elkmont were allowed lifetime leases to live on their property. The last of those folks he passed away now, and there has been quite a bit of controversy over the fate of the settlement. It appears the Park Service will destroy all but a few of the cabins there. The Wonderland Hotel is already demolished.

Then we took a bit of time in the Old Elkmont Cemetery where the large number of children buried there are an indication of the harshness of mountain life. Several never survived their first day.

The short return to the beginning was a nice stroll. Take the chance to hike with John and Frank if you get it.

Pictures are HERE

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park , Hike Log , Wilderness Wildlife Week
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Bryan January 13th, 2008

I decided for my first full day to test out my new boots and do something on my own. I flipped through my day hikes book and found this one, an eight mile round trip from the Sugarlands Visitor’s Center.

Distance: about 8 miles round trip
Total Elevation climb: about 1200 feet
Trail Type: sections of single track dirt and gravel horse trail
Temperature: 40s, cloudy
Time: 1:30 moving uphill, 1:00 moving downhill
Significant Features: the crick

I chose this hike because it was threatening rain for the afternoon. I had intended to turn around after about 2 miles, but found out the rain was holding off. I hiked the whole thing, all the way up to the Rainbow Falls Trailhead. I ate lunch there and then headed back. The trail is a steady climb up from Sugarlands, so be ready. A little rain did start to fall and I was a bit concerned about getting caught in a downpour, so I didn’t find the old school, CCC camp or cemetery along the trail.

Overall a nice warm up hike that is easily accessible.

Pictures are HERE

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park , Hike Log , Wilderness Wildlife Week
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Bryan August 2nd, 2007

Welp, it’s that time of year again. Every year on my birthday, I venture down to Stone Door for a day of solitude. It’s usually quiet and on the bluffs I can read and think clearly. While not a difficult trail at all, it’s one that will always gratify me.

Distance: 1 mile
Max Elevation: 1888 ft
Total Elevation climb: didn’t measure
Trail Type: single track dirt, rocky
Temperature: 90s, sunny and hot
Time: 0:30 moving
Significant Features: the gulf overlooks and the door!

If you’re just starting out hiking or not sure you want to do some serious hiking, this is the trail for you….short walk, big payoff. The door is a break in the rock cliff that is one of the few ways in and out of the valley. A tree, supposedly, forms the handle and that’s how it got its name.

The views from the overlooks are nothing short of spectacular. Once you see it, you’ll know why I spend my special day each year there.

Links:
South Cumberland State Park
Stone Door State Natural Area
Friends of South Cumberland
My Pictures

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Bryan July 14th, 2007

I had the pleasure of taking 54 wonderful people from my church to an 8 mile canoe float down the Buffalo River near Waynesboro, Tennessee. The Buffalo River is the longest unimposed (undamed) river in Tennessee.

We couldn’t have asked for a better day, as the temperatures were moderate for July and no rain was in sight. We used an outfitter called Crazy Horse Canoes to handle logistics for us. Believe me that was a feat as we packed out an old Blue Bird schoolbus with gear, food, and people. Crazy Horse handled our group with ease.

Once we launched, I had to get my steering and paddling back (its been a while since I’ve been in a canoe). For as dry as its been, I was pleased there was as little portage to do as we had to do. The float took us about 5 hours. We stopped and had lunch together on the banks and took off again. I didn’t see a lot of wildlife and my camera was in the dry bag for most of the trip, but I did manage to get a few shots.

Links:
Crazy Horse Canoe
Buffalo River
My Pictures

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Bryan July 2nd, 2007

I’ve been way behind on blogging my hikes.  These are my recently completed entries:

• Barfield Crescent Park
• Savage Gulf, Big Creek Gulf Trail

Happy Hiking!

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Bryan June 17th, 2007

Wow, I can’t believe I’m just now writing this (despite the log date, I’m writing this on August 18).

Joey and I attended a friend’s wedding in Orlando and afterward wanted to take some time to enjoy the wild. We settled on the Canaveral National Seashore.

Yes, its that Canaveral. At the southern end is the Kennedy Space Center and you can see the shuttle’s launch pads from there. The property was set aside by the U.S. Government in the 1950’s as a buffer zone for the space center. Today, it is the longest stretch of undeveloped coastline on the Atlantic Coast of Florida.

I’ve got no GPS track or other stats on the trip unfortunately.

First of all, the park is contiguous along the coast, but you can’t drive the length of the park. The visitor’s center is located in New Smyrna Beach. The southern end is near Titusville. I wanted to visit the visitor’s center and ended up driving 50 miles from Titusville to get there. Once I got there, there wasn’t much to it. If you’re in Titusville, plan your trip using the links below or check out the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge.

We spoke with a ranger who warned us of mosquitoes at Castle Windy. Being from Tennessee, most people say the mosquitoes are bad if you see two in an hour. Turns out the mosquitoes really were bad …everywhere.

We visited the Eldora State House, which is located on Mosquito Lagoon. As we returned from the house through the woods, we realized they don’t call it Mosquito Lagoon for nothing. Joey had about 30 swarming around him.

We then drove to a beach parking lot. Joey visited the beach while I went to check out Castle Windy. With no mosquito repellent, I made it about 1/4 mile in before they starting flying up my nose. I looked down at my arm and saw my own blood running down it. At this point, I decided it wasn’t worth getting West Nile and joined Joey at the beach. With little vegetation and the coastal breeze, no mosquitoes bothered us here.

Next time I’m here, I want to camp at one of the backcountry camp sites that are accessible by canoe. Of course, I’ll be bring plenty of mosquito repellent.

Links:
National Park Service: Canaveral National Seashore
Park Map
Wikipedia: Canaveral National Seashore
Pictures
GORP

Tags: canaveral national seashore

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Bryan May 27th, 2007

This is my favorite park in Middle Tennessee, but I had never hiked this trail. I attempted it a few years ago on my birthday camping trip. It was hot. Of course it was hot, it was August. I stopped to give my black lab Hannibal some water. It was then I discovered that I left the extra water for him in the car. I tore my backpack inside out. I knew there would be no water for at least another mile and in that searing heat, he would be near heat exhaustion. He was already panting hard. I aborted the hike. I would discover when I arrived home (90 miles away), that I was missing my glasses. I returned 2 days later, and, sure enough found my glasses. Laying in the middle of the trail, right where I tore open my backpack. Lesson learned.

No, that’s not me. That’s Harold, my hiking partner for the day, at Stone Door.

Stone Door parking lot (near Beersheba Springs) to Greeter Falls (near Altamont) parking lot

Distance: 7.5 miles
Max Elevation: 1888 ft
Total Elevation climb: 1547 ft
Trail Type: single track dirt, rocky
Temperature: 80s, sunny and hot
Time: 3:11 moving, 2:33 resting
Significant Features: the gulf, a few overlooks and more trees!

The total climb number below doesn’t do this hike justice. Most of that 1,500 feet of elevation climb occurs in just 1 mile. It’s a haul.

The hike starts out on the easy 1 mile long Stone Door Trail. Oddly enough, it leads you to Stone Door, a 10 foot wide crack in the cliff. A tree grows in the crack and somebody thought it looked like a door knob. Whatever. This is an easy hike and I would encourage ANYONE to hike this trail to the door and the overlooks. The views are simply breathtaking and are the most accessible in the park. A friend of mine proposed to his now wife here. It’s that good.

I then veered off down through the door on the Big Creek Gulf trail. And descend I did. For a while. A long while. Get the picture? The trail is extremely rocky down here. It’s not bouldering, but I did have to watch my step. And when we arrived at Big Creek, guess what? No water. That’s right, Big Creek runs into a sink a few miles upstream. According to my friend, Ranger Bill, he’s surprised this section shows up as a blue line on a map. This is bad news because at this time of year, I figured there would be SOME water here for Hannibal to drink. A couple of miles up, I found a seep and got a nice cool shower and water for Hannibal.

I start heading on, and start a gentle climb up and out of the gulf. Just when I can’t get to the dry creek easily anymore, guess what? That’s right, the creek was a torrent. I don’t know how long it took to get back up onto the plateau. Let’s just say, I didn’t set any land speed records. But I made it, back to Alum Gap (a great place to overnight, I might add).

I should tell you that the Greeter Trail, which we are hiking back to the car we dropped, isn’t marked very well from this direction. I even had to ask directions! It’s just a few mile hike over to Greeter Falls. This falls is also more accessible than most in the park, so its worth the trip. Today I can tell we’re in a drought. A lot of water, but not near what it should be for springtime. There’s plenty for Hannibal though!

It’s about 3/4 of a mile back to the parking lot where we dropped Harold’s car. Nice to ride for a little while. Harold dropped me off at Stone Door, where I camped for the night. He returned to the city for an evening with friends.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. My camera battery died on the trail.

Links:
Pictures are HERE
Park website is HERE
Park friends website is HERE

Download the Google Earth track

Tags: greeter falls, south cumberland, stone door

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Bryan May 20th, 2007

Headed in a little different direction today for a local hike. Barfield Cresent Park is located in southwestern Murfreesboro (not so far from Casa de Bryan). I went to check it out and I was thoroughly impressed. Most of the city park trails of significant length (save Nashville) have been paved over. Barfield Crescent has its share of paved trails, but there’s a wilderness loop that actually a very nice hike. Of course I realized it would be when I saw the sign thanking the Tennessee Trails Association for its construction.

Wilderness Station Parking Lot
Distance: 3.8 miles
Max Elevation: 813 ft
Total Elevation climb: 412 ft
Trail Type: single track dirt, rocky
Temperature: 70s, sunny and warm, not a cloud in the sky
Time: 1:33 moving, 0:20 resting
Significant Features: birds and trees!

One of the things I liked best about this trail was the ability to add to the distance easily. In for a quick walk, no problem… hike the 2.5 mile inner loop. Up for a longer jaunt in the woods… add any of four approximately 1 mile loops for a longer hike.

One thing to note in my track is there is a nice little side trip over to the top of the cut for U.S. 431. If watching the traffic in Murfreesboro is your thing, this is your trail. I took it by mistake as the trail isn’t well blazed here and I missed a turn.

As typical for the Nashville basin, the views are more of forest and fields then falls and overlooks. Still, a bad day out here beats most days at the office.

Links:
Pictures are HERE
Directions are HERE
Trail Map is HERE
Park website is HERE

Download the Google Earth track

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