Two Weeks Doesn't Diminish The Memories Of Holston High Knob

Well, it has taken a while to get this blog up (two weeks to be precise) but here it is. I went up on the day after making maple syrup, because what better way to relax than a hike and what better place than Holston Mountain.
This mountain is the Tri-Cites mountain. It sits in proximity to the Tri-Cites, Johnson City, Kingsport and Bristol (also Elizabethton) and because of this, all the local TV antennas stand on the mountain. Lucky for me my hike didn't take past these monstrosities. But my hike did take me by the tallest fire tower in the Blue Ridge, Holston High Knob. Let me go back and say that I had only hiked once on the edge of Holston Mountain coming up from Cross Mountain, on the Appalachian Trail, to Double Springs Shelter which is the start of the East end of the Holston Mountain Trail which I would be using most of the day.

First, let me mention the drive to the trailhead. Forest Service roads can vary in roughness let's just say, so having driven the first short section of FS 56 to the Blue Hole I was expecting the worst. However to my surprise after a not bad gravel section, the road became paved and was this way except near the parking for the trailhead. A gated old Forest Service Road (#56A) serves as the trailhead, but remember don't park in front of the gate. This old road is the unofficial start to the Holston Mountain Trail (#44) and heads uphill for a mile to the Holston High Knob Fire Tower.

This fire tower is one of the tallest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, standing at 100 feet. It is a transplant from Mississippi which accounts for its size. Unfourtly it sits behind a fence (which looks pretty new) so I couldn't climb. The Holston Mountain Trail goes straight at the bend in the road as it heads left.

The theme for the next two miles was down as the trail headed first through Big Creek Gap before slight uphill then back down to Flint Gap. From here is where you leave the blue blazed Holston Mountain Trail for the blue-blazed Flint Mill Trail (yes confusing). Luckily there were signs and I had a map and Johnny Molloy's book Five-Star Trails: Tri-Cites of Tennessee and Virginia. From the trail junction, it was a half-mile to the hike destination...Flint Rock. You know Flint Rock is close when you reach the horse posts.

Once there you find a fantastic vista, including, South Holston Lake, Clinch Mountain, Whitetop Mountain, High Knob, Bristol and the racetrack. After lunch, with a view, it was time to head back.

I knew it would be a tough climb back and I wasn't disappointed. The first, out of Flint Gap was the steepest but was helped ever so slightly by switchbacking near the top. The second out of Big Creek Gap was not as steep but was one of those long uphills. Once at the top the tower came into view from here it was all downhill to the trailhead.

While I beat Molloy's book time by 20 minutes, it still isn't a three-star hike more like a four. I wasn't finished because I stopped on the way back for the short hike and view the four waterfalls of the Blue Hole. It was a nice end to a day on Holston Mountain.

Fourth Annual St. Patty Day Weekend Hike On Chuckey Mountain

Well, my on again off again blogging is on again. I am going to try and do Day Blogs and then do a longer one later. So, here is a Day Blog on my St. Patrick's Weekend Day Hike to Chuckey Mountain. This was a six-mile hike on the Meadow Creek Mountain Trail to the summit of Chuckey Mountain. There were also some nice wildflower...more later.

Maple Syrup Cooking Part Two Was A Success...But It wasn't All I Did

Today, was my second take at Maple Syrup making for 2018 and I will say it was a success. Unlike my first attempt earlier last week I did today's batch the way I had in the past...the old fashion way with a wood fire.
I started the 10 hours it took to cook this year's batch around 9:30 am, Sunday morning I modified my set-up from last year by using cinder blocks like a trench to focus the heat and sitting the grate, for the pot, on top of it. I had to get a grate out of an old portable grill because I took the one I used in the past to the Cabin for the gas grill I took up there in October. It became apparent early on this wasn't gone to work as it was bending from the weight of the pot and heat of the fire. Since I wasn't using the cast-iron wood holder, I just put it into service to hold the other grate and my pot and it worked out well. Since making maple syrup is a long process I decided to do a few other things while I boiled do the maple sap.

The first thing I did was boil some peanuts, which I did on the NuWave Cooktop. I boil peanuts quite often and it takes about three hours to do a pound. It is just salt, peanuts and water...but they are very good.

The other thing I did (besides feed wood into the fire) was cracking black walnuts. If you never have cracked black walnuts it is about as time-consuming as making maple syrup. That is why when you see them at the store they aren't cheap. This year we had a ton of black walnuts, so I finally got around to picking up close to two buckets of nuts. So, I got a cinder block, hammer and I went to work. By the time I quit working on them, I got just under a quart bag.

The reason I stopped was, because, I had to get more hands-on with the maple syrup. Most of the day  I was feeding wood and adding sap to the pot. However, about two o'clock, I stopped adding sap and began really boiling it down. Just after I ate dinner around 6:15 I moved the sap to another pot and onto the NuWave Cooktop to finish up. From here it was about 45 minutes until I got the color, smell, and sheen that signaled it was ready. Like I have said in the past I don't have a fancy hydrometer I do it by feel and once again I was successful. While cooking I wonder sometimes why I do it, but when I get done I know why...the sweet goodness of maple syrup made with my own hands.

Springing Forward With Short Outing At Warriors Path

Over the past several months I have been back and forth on this blog. With the start of spring, I am going to try and do the blog more regularly, starting today with a short outing at Warriors Path State Park. 

The main part of the hike was on the 1.1-mile lollipop loop that is the Overlook Trail. It was not too hard with some decent uphill and a good view. I also hiked over to Duck Island and back. It was a good, quick outing.