It is February, while it is still winter, it can one minute be cold and the next more like Spring and that describes my day hike in the Cherokee National Forest (CNF).
The winter I mentioned was there when I left Tuesday morning as the temperature clocked in at 22 degrees. Before I had to worry about the change in them[atures I had to decide where I was going. After deciding on the Margarette Falls Trailhead I still had to pick a route. Margarette Falls was out because I went here a month ago, in the snow. So it was down to Bullen Hollow and Phillips Hollow and I didn't choose the latter trail until I reached the junction at the information kiosk.
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| Snowy January trip |
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| The trailhead for three trails |
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| Trail junction |
Before crossing the creek I had a chat with an old local guy who had hiked all over the trails in "my backyard." Anyway, once across I headed up the Phillips Hollow Trail and it wasn't long before I ran into blowdown. It was here that I made an executive decision which while not popular with Pete was to abandon this hike. You see, at this point in my life when I hit the trail some days, I feel like I'm in my 30s (like my snow hike at Roan Mountain). Then there are the days I feel my age (like recently at Beauty Spot) and then days like today when I just feel...old!
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| Phillips Hollow Trail |
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| Plenty of ice |
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| Had to cut some blowdown |
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| Didn't feel old on these hikes... |
So, I decided to go up the Bullen Hollow Trail and then do an exploratory hike up a manway that is part of a loop of the Bullen Hollow Trail to Kennedy Cabin and down Renyolds Ridge. I saw this hike on the Greeneville Hiking Club site. It is around 10 miles and since it was already noon I was doing the loop, but I wanted to see if this part is still possible. I was right about where it came down I must say it wasn't as steep as I thought but was longer. One other thing the manway is in far better shape than I expected.
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| Bullen Hollow Trail goes right |
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| Start of the manway |
There were a lot of good winter views heading up and on top of Renyolds Ridge. Oh, and while I saw some aspects of snow on earlier in the day I ran into much more on top of the ridge. Most was in the shade hiding from the Sun.
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| Greeneville... |
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| ...Tusculum... |
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| ...Blackstack Cliffs... |
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| ...Jones Meadow... |
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| ...Towers on Camp Creek Bald |
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| Snow on the mountainside... |
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| ...& on Reynolds Ridge |
As always the trip back was quicker than the journey up and eventually, I got back to the trailhead and looked to my right and could see where I had been. While everything didn't go as planned it was a day in the mountains, on the trail which is better than a regular day!
More Photos:
SmugMug &
Google Photos
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