An Oldie-- from last year

radio shows do it...

Finally getting myself in regular hiking mode again. For the past several months my schedule has been too erratic for hiking, but now Im waking up like most people, early in the morning. Now that Gary Hilton is behind bars, I guess I can breathe a bit easier during my solo hiking adventures. It does take an individual like him to make you realize just how vulnerable a position you are in while hiking alone, with only a pocket knife or a stray rock as a weapon. Im sure mugging and car theft are the primary human dangers; plus the only good thing (depending on your weltanschuang) about a pyschopathic murderer is that they tend to be highly rare individuals.

Incidently if you are mugged here's a nice site for how to deal with the situation: http://www.ominouscomma.com/archives/best-of-the-comma/not-get-mugged

So, anyway, Im hiking again, and my body feels like it's been run over by a river barge again, which should lend to some possibly interesting, and bloggable stories, who knows. Last Saturday I went to the Savage Gulf Area, usually touted as the mini-Grand Canyon, or the Grand Canyon of the Eastern U.S. It was a beautiful, crisp, sunny day, temperatures ranging from the 40s to the 50s, but felt warm with the bright sunshine and the physical exertion.

I had to take off my jacket, never feeling cold after the first half mile or so.There are five or six entry points to the Savage Gulf, and I chose The Stone Door, having been there one other time many years ago. I remembered to bring everything but the camera. I did remember my dog. The weird thing about the dog is, my grandmother has developed such a sick attachment to her-- it is rightfully my dad's dog first, then the rest of us accordingly-- that she scowled at me for nearlyhalf a minute as I was leaving Saturday morning for my hike. She was pissed I was taking the fucking dog on a hike! She's in her mid- 80s now and getting battier by the day.

She spends her whole days moving piles of junk around the house,old photographs, ancient newspaper, flotsam and jetsam of a long and jobless domestic existence (Im sure Id get some flack for that statement, if I had a readership!). There seems to be no point to the endless reorganization. It's a weird mix of nostalgia, dementia and OCD. She's constantly opening and shutting dresser drawers in her bedroom, the room right above mine. It's driving me mad, and the scary thing is, she knows it. Our relationship has soured dramatically over the years. And now that her mind is going, Im certain our problems will never be resolved, as was the case with me and my mother. It's so much easier to shower unconditional love on a dog, than it is a human.

Hey, did I mention Im hiking again?

No Saturday hike this week... hopefully next week.

Turtletown Falls

Sorry fans (yes Im being ironic, I know Im typing to myself only) for the late entry to my last Saturday hike.

My dad and I went to a place called Turtletown Falls Park. We got too late a start for the longer drive to either Blood Mt or Standing Indian. Hopefully this Saturday we can go to S.I. It is in extreme east Polk county, and had a bit of trouble finding it, because I forgot to bring directions. So I winged it, and after a couple dead ends and double-backs, finally found the entrance road that leads to the creek and trail. I have to say, this part of Polk county, which I havnt been too, on Highway 68 heading north, is absolutely beautiful. With rolling green pastures, some suprisingly nice houses, a couple cool hillside cemeteries, and a nice vista or two of the mountains. And no black flies!

Once on the trail, I was suprised at the beauty of it and the creek. In the Chattanooga Hiking Club write-up, the area was described as a "hidden gem", and Im inclined to agree. The opening stretch is virtually creekside in a lot of places, and you can tell floods easily, and is basically a jeep trail. The one unfortune thing we came across was a couple of 4-wheelers, but they were friendly and passed on and took their noise with them, so I wasnt too bothered by them. Not sure if they're legally allowed to drive them here or not. Also, the presence of horses, in the form of lovely stinking piles of poo and hoofprints, could be found. But we never came across them or their riders.

We didnt complete the entire loop (3.8 miles I believe) nor did we see the falls, but we did go to the top of the bluff that overlooks the Hiwassee. Although this is June, so views were scarce to nonexistent. I started to get stomach cramps and felt sick, so I decided to turn back and head down the bluff, back to the car, and after a few minutes I caught up with my father, who always lingers behind.

Oh, I forgot to mention the old man I first encountered on the trail. He was definitely a local and was your classic caricature of what a mountain man would be. Down to chewing tobacco in his mouth. His first question was, "Are you by yourself?" Odd, but he turned out to be fairly friendly, although I have to admit he gave me some slightly sinister vibes. He gave me a confused, roundabout description of how to do the loop trail, then I moved on.

Ok, picture-time:

Cant decide on whether to go hiking this Saturday at Blood Mountain Ga or Standing Indian, in Tn.. been to the latter but not the former.. but I dont necessarily want to deal with the weekend ATL crowds.

If I decide to go to Standing Indian, I will probably start at Deep Gap and hike the AT to the top of the mountain and back for a shortish round trip. I did this once before a few years ago, but no pics..

Fort Mountain: May 23, 2009

My dad and I headed out to Fort Mountain, Georgia, a little over an hour's drive from the house in Hixson, Tennessee. My dad still claims he's never been here before, but I'm fairly certain we both went to Fort M. about 9-10 years ago. On the way there, we had to dodge a few drivers going 100-m/p/h on I-75-- the Chattanooga to Atlanta stretch easily one of the most dangerous stretches of Interstate I've ever been on. The idiots weaved in and out of traffic without using their blinkers, and tailgaited us in the fast lane while we were at least 10 mph over the speed limit. After that crazy bit, we exited the Interstate and took the Dalton bypass to Chatsworth, the last town before you get to Fort Mountain, reminiscent of a giant sleeping elephant at just under 2900 ft elevation.

A few showers threatened our hike, but when we got to the top, and paid our 5 dollar parking fee ( last time I hiked in a GA state park I recall paying 3 dollars; oh well, still a cheap way to spend a Saturday), there was only a light drizzle. I had only T-shirt and shorts on, having neglected to remember the 3-degree rule per 1000 ft in elevation gain. Usually Im better prepared, but this was only a spur of the moment hike and I knew we wouldnt be doing a very long hike. As it turned out, being so out of shape, I got warmed up quickly (it was a bit cool up there, probly high 60s with mist and wind) and set out to climb the rock steps leading up to the Stone Wall and Tower, leaving as usual my slow-going dad (and Rosie, our dog) behind.

Not sure if I properly identified them, but there were really annoying swarms of black flies on the mountain, pretty much the entire length of the trail, beginning at the parking lot and all the way to the Overlook, which looks west into the valley and north to the Cohuttas... As long as you kept moving at a fast clip they werent a problem, but whenever I stopped to take a breath or take a picture, clouds of them swarmed my face, but they didnt bite. They only attacked my head. Going by a couple internet searches, true Black Flies actually bite, but it's only the females that do so. So, not sure if they were mostly just the males or were an entirely different kind of non-biting, but incredibly annoying fly. I plan to do a lot of hiking this summer in Georgia, Tennesse and North Carolina, at varying elevations, so I can only hope not every hike will be dampered by these things.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from the trip, which was all and all interesting and enjoyable, even with the fly problem: