Day Hike In The GSMNP To Mt. Sterling

Today I did a hike just inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) to the Mount Sterling Fire Tower and I will go more in depth soon, but here are some pictures.

Wood Booger Top 5: Best Hikes Of The 2015 Fall Outdoor Series

Well, with like the autumn leaves the 2015 Fall Outdoor Series has also passed, but there were plenty of memorable hikes over the three months and here is the Wood Booger Top 5. Like I said there were so many great outings it was hard to whittle this list down. A number of hikes that would have easily made the Top 5 most seasons didn’t make the cut. Hikes to Margaretta Falls, Devil's Bathtub, Waterrock Knob and Rich Mountain Fire Tower would easily make the list most seasons, but not this autumn.  So, the ones that made the list were special in their own right. So, with that said here are the Top 5 Hikes of the 2015 Fall Outdoor Series.

Honorable Mention 1:  Hikes in Southwest Virginia with My Dad – Hiking & Driving Over High Knob (Sept.13, 2015) & Three Days Off The Grid In Ft. Blackmore, Bear Rock & TheFalls Of Little Stoney (Sept. 24, 2015) – One of the reason I wanted to move back to Tennessee was to spend more time with my Dad, so that is why these hikes are the first Honorable Mention. The first outing was with the Clinch Coalition on a trail being reestablished by the organization. This trail was to a rock outcrop, the Viewing Rock of Chimney Rocks. After this short hike we drove up to the new High Knob Tower and then headed down to the High Knob Recreation Area. Here we hiked around the lake at the recreation area. Our next outing was after being at the Cabin for a few days. Dad had told me about this place called Bear Rock and I found it, so we decided to head out to it. Then we drove the short distance down and visited the Falls of Little Stoney. While not the longest hikes, they were memorable.

Honorable Mention 2:  Hikes on the Beach At Emerald Isle – Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5 (Oct. 6 to 9, 2015) – When I was at Emerald Isle and since we were staying right on the beach, I took advantage of this and hiked it daily, with Deb. While I did four miles a day on average it might not have been the toughest path, but it was sure beautiful and more than deserving of a place on this list.

Number 5:  Fall Loop Hiking At Max Patch (Sept. 19, 2015) – There are not many places in the southern Appalachian Mountains I like better than Max Patch. This was my third trip to this wonderful bald, but Deb’s first. While Deb didn’t care much for the drive up (& we went up the easier North Carolina side) once there she understood why this is a special place. On this trip I finally did the loop of the mountain. We also got to see some early fall colors which was a bonus.

Number 4:  Blue Skies & Hiking Trails Equal A Trip To The Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower (Nov. 14,2015) – This hike has been on my To-Do List for quite some time. So, when a clear, but cold day came along I knew it was time to head up to this refurbished fire tower. While the hike is over nine miles (9.6 to be exact) the grade is not too steep, so it is a nice hike. Yeoman’s work was done on this old fire tower, which is great, because the view from it is spectacular. Pinnacle Mountain definitely lived up to the hype.

Number 3:  By Coalition Hiking On Clinch Mountain To The Great Channels (Nov. 21, 2015) – This was a hike that I happened across on the Clinch Coalition Facebook page. I take it that this one was original scheduled for early November, but was moved because of weather which was a win for me. I had read about this hike and it was on my To-Do List so that made it an easy sell. I met the group at Hayters Gap before heading out. I will say it was a little tougher than advertised, but the payoff was worth it. The view from the top is wonderful, but traversing the maze of the Channels is just as awe inspiring. This is a hike I recommend to anyone and I will be doing again.

Number 2:  WonderfulFall Detour To Camp Creek Bald & Big Firescald Knob (Oct. 15, 2015) – When I went out on this day I was originally going to hike up to the Rich Mountain Fire Tower. However, traffic was stopped right across the North Carolina line at Allen Gap, so I decided to take a detour up to the Camp Creek Bald area on the state-line. Since this hike came in at number two it is obvious that this was a good choice. The first part of this hike, to Big Firescald Knob, I had done last April as an out-and-back. This time I did the loop starting at Jones Meadow and taking the Bad Weather Trail back to the Appalachian Trail (AT) and back over Big Firescald Knob, which has one of the most underrated views on the southern half of the AT. On the way up I did a detour to White Rocks Cliffs and on the way back I also hit Blackstack Cliffs. After all of these wonderful spots I decided to head up to the summit of Camp Creek Bald, which I hadn’t visited since April 2013. In a lot of season this would have been the Number One, but this time it wasn't close.

Number 1:  Everything I Love About Autumn Was On Display On The Way To Mt. Cammerer (Oct. 24, 2015) – I spoke, above, of my Hiking To-Do List and there was not many outings higher on it than one to the Mount Cammerer Fire Lookout. After my summer trips to the Jumpoff, Charlie’s Bunion and Mount LeConte no hike ranked higher in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). So, when I downloaded the hikes for the Johnson City Hiking Club this one was on it, but I had a decision to make. The Mid-Appalachian Club had scheduled one up to the Humps (Hump & Little Hump Mountains) which I also want to do, but in the end Mount Cammerer won out. Let me say while this was a great hike it was also challenging. It is at 11 miles, but the first part, which is over two miles, is a steep and I mean steep climb from the Cosby Campground to connect with the AT at Low Gap. This next part, which went north on the AT, while not as challenging as the Low Gap Trail was still mostly uphill before one finds themselves at the intersection with the spur trail that heads on to the fire lookout. Once there it easy to see why this is such an iconic spot. The old fire lookout is one of the coolest and I am glad that the Friends of the Smokies refurbished the tower. Oh, then there is the view…it is one of the best in the GSMNP, bar none and it was enhanced by the fall colors in the valley below. The hike back (like the hike up) passed right through the amazing autumn colors that I had gazed at from the tower. This hike more than lived up to the hype and easily took the top spot from the 2015 Fall Outdoor Series.

Hiking, Grilling & Moving Bridge Beams...Just Another Weekend In Southwest Virginia

I spent this past weekend at the Cabin near Fort Blackmore in Southwest Virginia. While most of this blog will be pictures I have decided to add a few words. While up there I grilled, built me a fire and did some bushwhack hiking. The morning I went out hiking it was in the low 20's. I hiked across some spots I had already been (Russell & Robert Knobs), but I followed the a stream bed to a meadow below what we call the Saddle. I then hiked up the Saddle (it was steep at least 70% grade and a leaf covered stream bed for a trail) to what I call Turkey Gap and then hiked up the tallest knob near the Cabin. I decided to call it Bear Knob, because they are around. After returning from the hike Dad and I then went down to the old house to collect some bridge beams. These were left over from where the State of Virginia replaced the bridge over the branch (which flows into Stoney Creek). We got eight and let me just say they were heavy. On our final day we put in gutters on the back of the Cabin, which was a learning experience. Oh, and I even had time to put up a Yule (or Christmas) Tree. Anyway, it was a good weekend all-in-all and below are the photos.