This is not how I planned it, but the 6th Annual Halloween Week hikes took place the last weekend in October at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park and Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area (BSFNRA).
As I had mentioned, I got sick on returning from the Tennessee State Chapter Meeting and that coupled with heavy rains on Wednesday and Halloween prevented me from going out. So, since these two hikes were technical during Halloween Week I am going to count them as time served. I will also squeeze in my First Aid certification class to update my Hike Leader 101 and 202 requirements.
The first hike was one I hadn't done before...well I had been to Natural Bridge before, but not on the trail (for the very short walk from the parking lot). We started from the Picnic area at the Swinging Bridge. The original hike would have taken us to the natural bridge that gives Arch Lake its name. I went here two years ago. But Ranger Randy was worried about high water since it rained hard overnight.
From here it was about a mile to the Natural Bridge. This is really an 85-foot long and 35-foot high arch that is really impressive. Like I said above you don't have to hike far to enjoy it. Since I didn't do a blog on the 2018 Chapter meeting, that means this is the first time talking about Natural Bridge. After enjoying the bridge we headed to Hazzard Cave. This is technically not a cave, but a large Rockhouse, but every bit as cool. While I didn't see any in the cave, it is home to glowworms. I did see of the endangered Cumberland Sandwort, Hazzard Cave is a habit protection area. That was the highlights of the first hike.
In the afternoon instead of a hike, I attended the Sierra Club First Aid Course as my certification was running out soon. Since I had just recently gotten my 201 leader certification (which means I can lead backpacks) I thought it was a good idea to go ahead. Oh, and the best part it was free. My neighbor Rocky was the instructor and it was a good class. Now I am "official" again.
Because of this and since I was able to hike Sunday morning I was asked to co-lead the outing so two people could get the 101 leader certification. This hike was to the Twin Arches in the BSFNRA. So, Ron leads one group, with Jessica as the leader and I the other with Charlie as my appetence. Since it was a loop I took my group left while Ron went right. I actually swept (which means I was in the back) while Charlie led. When needed I would relay all the knowledge I learned from "The Hike Leader." I had done this hike a few times, but the Twin Arches never get old. We met Ron's group under the North Arch, the larger of the two.
I then led the group through the Crack, a fat man squeeze to the right of the arch. Once through, Charlie took back over the lead. Once up top we then headed to an outcrop which I had never been too. Because of this and our group being bigger than Ron's somehow his group finished first. But the leaders got their certification. I can't think of two better hikes to make up this year's annual Halloween outing.
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