Hiking & Camping Weekend Cut Short At Old Forge Campground

Since Pete is too angry to do this blog I guess it is down to me. Anyway, the reason is he expected to wake up today at Old Forge Campground, but instead, we are at home and he wasn't happy because I came down with an ear issue.

Before we get to that let's rewind. My plan was to go hiking from the Old Forge Campground and then camp here later. It was going to be the home base for the weekend. However, the first sign that things weren't going as planned is I went to bed Friday with a sore right ear. It had happened before and when I woke Saturday morning it was feeling better, so we headed out. I mean I was serious about camping. I stopped for wood and tea for the evening. Once at Old Forge (they took out the old sign & moved the one from the road) I picked out my spot, number eight, and paid.

Besides camping the other part of the plan was hiking from Old Forge up to Coldsprings Mountain. I could have done it from Horse Creek, but this way was just a bit longer, so since I was going to camp at Old Forge why not? Well, it turned out to be a bad choice. The hike called for going left on to the Jennings Creek Trail for a mile to the Poplar Cove Trail which was another mile to the Sarvis Cove Trail. From here it is 2.3 miles up to Coldsprings Mountain and the Appalachian Trail close to where I camped in September. 

I have been wanting to do this for a while, but the hike up the Poplar Cove Trail was pretty steep, but where I thought the junction would be (at the high point of the path) it wasn't. No, it was on down a steep slope and my ear had started to really bother me. So, not feeling great and still with two-thirds of the hike to go I decided to cut it way short. I also realized it is going to be easier to come up from Horse Creek, so I decided to finish it later.

I then planned to just do the Old Forge Loop, but my ear was hurting even more. So, when I got back to the Jennings Creek Trail I decided that I was throwing in the towel for both the hike and the camping. Pete being disappointed was an understatement. But I have until the Winter Solstice to camp at Old Forge.

Oh, there was one bright spot in this fiasco. There was plenty of nice fall colors, which was a pleasant surprise.

Pete's Branch Falls Sees The Return Of The Halloween Hike...The 6th Edition

Halloween means many things to me, sitting by the fire, horror movies, and hiking. Last year because of weather and being under it I didn't get out, but this year the tradition returned with the sixth annual edition. So, where to go? I thought about Margarette Falls which had been three of the previous five, but I was there back in August. So, I decided to throw Pete a carrot and go to a favorite of his... Pete's Branch Falls.

This 45-foot cascade is reached from the Horse Creek Recreation Area Trailhead. I had done this four-mile hike on three occasions with the last almost a year ago in November (in the snow). 

One thing I noticed when I arrived at Horse Creek was there was new signage had been installed since my last visit in July. Now on the trail much had not changed, until you reach the Pete's Branch Falls Trail. It had received new blue blazes, like the ones at Margarette Falls. Even though past peak there were still some lingering fall colors to enjoy.

One more point of interest on the way back I met a group of people and llamas. They were on a hike with the Wandering Llamas out of Greeneville. They had an eclectic group...of llamas. Some were even from LeConte Lodge llamas, it looks like their life is much easier now. Once past them, it was one last creek crossing and I was back at the trailhead  Well, it was good to get the tradition of the Haloween Hike at Pete's Branch Falls.

A Barn Rescue, Not In Realtime

Usually, the first day of November means putting up Halloween decorations or going out to buy some. Well, with the COVID Pandameic getting worse by the day I didn't think that was a great plan. Oh, it all didn't matter anyway as I found myself at the Cabin for an overnight.

The reason my Dad got information that the second barn had collapsed. While I was confident that it hadn't my Dad still wanted to check. It turns out it was still standing, like the last time I had visited in early October, which was a good thing. Anyway, the moral of the story, Google Earth is not in realtime.

Well at the barn Dad had driven the tractor over while I hiked. Anyway, to make a long story short he cut it off and it would start back up. So, we had to hike back. On the way a chainsawed a tree that fell over, but not on the road. When I cut it I didn't see the dead limb in another tree and while I was lucky it didn't hit me in the head it did do a number on my arm. 

Today, after a 25-degree morning, we let it warm up and then headed over to the other barn up the other road I have hiked it, but it is rougher when you drive it. But we got there, then cut our way to the second barn (which was STILL standing) and jumped off the tractor. So, we headed back to the Cabin and soon home...