Carolina Mountain Club: A Story 100 Years In The Making

There never is a better time to celebrate than turning 100 years old. It was for this reason that we traveled to Asheville Sunday for the Centennial Anniversary of the Carolina Mountain Club (CMC). 

This 100-year bash was held at the North Carolina Arboretum. In the history of the Club, I have only been a member for a very short time. The CMC is the oldest hiking organization in the Southern United States and has a long storied history beginning in 1923. Two years before it started the Southern Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) formed in 1921. This lasted for two years before the Club reformed, with the blessing of the AMC, on July 16, 1923, as the CMC. With the idea of the Appalachian Trail (AT) being birthed around this time, the CMC would become officially involved with the AT when it absorbed the Carolina Appalachian Trail Club, which had formed in January of 1931, in December of the same year. Besides building a good bit of the AT in the south it also is involved with the starting (and maintaining) trails like the Art Loeb and Mountain-to-Sea. If you want more on the history of the CMC check out Danny Bernstein's book Carolina Mountain Club: One Hundred Years. 

At the event, there were hikes, vendor booths, a pizza truck, free ice cream, and cupcakes. We also got to walk around the gardens and to Pete's getting to hike on a trail. I even got time to talk "shop" with Paul and others in the CMC.

A couple of other things I did in Asheville were going to REI and visiting a new donut place...Vortex Doughnuts. I had read this place was good and it lived up to the hype. Finally, I want to give a shout-out to Jemima at Laurel River Store (near Hot Springs) who made me a coffee after the official closing...thank you!

Not Camping Trip To Elkmont In The Smokies

As I mentioned in the previous blog, the planned camping trip to Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) had to be cancelled by unforeseen circumstances. However, it didn't stop a trip to look at the fall colors in the Smokies, specifically, Elkmont. One of the reasons the middle of the week was chosen is because it is crowded this time of the year and getting a weekend spot in Elkmont Campground is impossible. Still, while I missed camping it was still fun to hike around Daisy Town and the old cabins. However, a hike on the Gatlinburg Trail was postponed because it took an hour to get from Laurel Falls to Sugarlands...it was Friday.

Sunrise.

Entering the GSMNP...

...& Elkmont.

Beauty of Little River.

Jakes Creek Trail...

...Cabins on the trail were removed...

...& refurbished.

Heading to...

///Levi-Trentham-Cemetery.

Cabin #10.

Daisy Town

Cabin #7-A

Appalachian Club House

Turkeys!

I missed these steps last year...

...but not the main chimney of the Wonderland Hotel.

Traffic to Sugarlands.

SmugMug Photos: Not Camping Trip To Elkmont In The Smokies

Atlanta: Exit Stage Left

As I posted in my previous two blogs (here & here) I spent Labor Day Weekend  (& two extra days) in Georgia. I thought about doing a blog each day, but that just didn't work. So, I decided to do the blog in just one go. My reasons for being in Georgia were two fold. The first was to do with Fantasy Football as I had the Thunderdome Draft in Macon. As for the second it was to closeout our storage unit in Roswell. So, we left Friday afternoon for Georgia via I-75. We were taking two cars, so we could bring back the stuff we wanted to keep. Well, around 5:45 we hit traffic in Knoxville and a trip though the city that should have taken 30 minutes took about an hour more than that. Oh, it was hot and the fan in my car is broke, so let's just say it got warm. We stopped in Athens and ate somewhere I hadn't in a while Cracker Barrel Old Country Store. Deb and I got our old favorites. Deb's is Chicken Dumplings and mine is Grilled Trout. It was good but the best part was the desert, Pumpkin Custard. On Saturday, before heading to Macon, we went shopping and I also wanted to get my growlers filled. However, I discovered that where I normally went in Alpharetta, the Beer Growler, had closed. From what I read it shuttered its doors in mid-August, and to think my punch card was almost filled. Where one door closes another opens and I found a new store in Kennesaw, Wise Owl Growlers. They had a excellent selection and helpful staff which was nice. When we arrived in Macon we were staying at Extended Stay America which was within walking distance of where we were eating, Cheddar's. We went there for Clint's sister's birthday. Sunday was Thunderdome Draft Day at Heath's (one of our league members) south of Macon.  We had plenty to eat and lots of fun, but it did take a while (over five hours) still not old-time TFL long. With the fun part of the visit over it was "business time." Before going to our storage unit we stopped for breakfast at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House. They were having a breakfast buffet which while good Deb wasn't happy with the service (or with this old lady there). Once at our storage unit I loaded Deb up, because she had to head back to Tennessee, leaving me to closeout our unit. Since I was doing that on Tuesday that left the rest of the day to kill so Marty and I headed out to some old spots. First we went to the HMart off I-285 before heading over to the Buford Highway Farmers Market. It is less farmers market and more international bazaar. I have always loved coming here and still do. After eating at Chef Liu's it was on to World Market and REI. Tuesday was the day to clean out my storage unit. In case we had to go back to Georgia Deb and I had rented a unit at Metro Self Storage where we left the our large items we would need. However, we never planned to bring them home, so how to get rid of them? We didn't have a truck so enter the Salvation Army. They had free pickup of items, including our bed. So, we scheduled them to come by and the time was from 9:30am to 12:30pm. Let's just say they didn't come on time. Around 12:45pm I got a call saying that the driver had two more stops and would be there about two o'clock. Well two o'clock came around and no one was there. It was about this time I thought I might have to rent a truck on Wednesday  (which means I would have to stay an extra day). Anyway, around 2:30 I got a call saying the truck was 20 minutes away. So, I thought I would run out for a minute but as I was leaving the Salvation Army truck was pulling in. I let them through the gate and they took my stuff. One of the guys said that the dispatch had added three runs to their route. All-in-all it took over five hours, but it was done. That means I got to leave on Wednesday. I left Clint and Cindy's around 9am (they hosted us for the five days so a big thanks) and I went by the storage unit to close it out and get the things I want to take back. I then ate at Ming's before heading up toward North Carolina and Tennessee. On the way I stopped at Jaemor Farms and the Smoky Mountain Host of NC. My last stop was at Outdoor 76 in Franklin, where I had a beer at the Rock House Lodge where I was a guest. Oh, I also got my AT Passport stamped. So, that is about it that chronicles my last days as a resident of the Peach State.