The Adventures of Bushwhack Jack: August 2019

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

2019-08-24 Mountain Bridge Wilderness Bushwhack

Mountain Bridge Wilderness Bushwhack

Greenville County, SC

With Kyle, Angelina, Chrissy, and Ziggy

Saturday, August 24th, 2019

My original plan for the weekend was to head up to Williamsport, PA for the finals of the Little League World Series. However, after a very strong start, my nephews team lost on Thursday evening eliminating them form the competition. I am so proud of Liam and his team for making it this far (5th best Little League Team in the World!)!

Since I now had the weekend free, I joined up with Kyle, Angelina, Chrissy, and Ziggy for some off trail exploration into the Mountain Bridge Wilderness of South Carolina.

We did a shuttle hike/bushwhack starting near Caesars Head and ending at Oil Camp Creek. Here is the GPS Track from our adventure

GPS Track from our Adventure

(Click here for Interactive Link)

Due to the rain, fog, and lower than optimal water flow in the unnammed tributary streams, I did not take a whole lot of photos. However, it was still a very enjoyable hike with some great friends. And it was a pleasure to get to meet Chrissy for the first time!

Here are some of my photos:

There is supposed to be a view here!

Hiking through the fog

Kyle at an un-nammed waterfall

Ziggy, Angelina, and Chrissy taking a break

Nice view once the fog cleared a bit

Kyle, Angelina, and Chrissy at the most significant waterfall of the day

On an unnamed tributary of Oil Camp Creek

Waterfall on an unnamed tributary of Oil Camp Creek

Ziggy cooling off in Oil Camp Creek

My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157710569164596

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

2019-08-17 The Waterfalls of Tough Hill Branch

The Waterfalls of Tough Hill Branch

Caldwell County, NC

Saturday, August 17th, 2019

Group photo by a nice waterfall on Tough Hill Branch

I manged to squeeze in a little Team Waterfall Adventure between Little League World Series Games!

Our plan was to explore the waterfalls of Tough Hill Branch. As usual I was running ahead of schedule and when I saw a message that Andy was running late, I decided to make a few stops along the way.

First up was Woodruff Branch Falls (page 62 of Kevin Adam's NC Waterfalls 3rd Edition). Jennifer had the same idea as she showed up just a few minutes ahead of me. The waterfall is visible from the road, but Jennifer and I safely found a route for a closer view!

Jennifer and Me at Woodruff Branch Falls

Woodruff Branch Falls

We continued approximately 1.3 miles further up Anthony Creek Road to check out Walker Hollow Falls (page 61 of Kevin Adam's NC Waterfalls 3rd Edition).

Walker Hollow Falls

Continuing on Anthony Creek Road, we made a sharp right on Racket Branch Road. Since Jennifer only has a 2WD vehicle we found a large pulloff on National Forest property to leave her car and we combined into the my wife's Subaru Outback for the final drive to the "trailhead".

The last section of road is in very rough shape and I would not attempt the drive without AWD and adequate ground clearance! This is the approximate location where we parked (36.0876, -81.7477) to begin our hike.

Nobody else from the group had arrived, so Jennifer and I decided to begin our hike to the campsite!

Parts of this area are a maze of overgrown logging roads, many of which either don't show up at all, or do not exactly follow the way they are shown on the maps. We definitely did not take the most direct route to the "campsite".

Andy had given us the GPS point for the spot that he intended to camp which we eventually got to. However, this was definitely not a good place to pitch a tent!

Eventually Thomas and Kitty arrived followed soon after by Andy, Christy, Zack, Boone, and Kona. Together, we found a much more suitable location downstream to set up camp.

Our campsite along Tough Hill Branch

As we were setting up our tents, the rain started falling which further delayed the start of our adventure!

Eventually the rain let up and we continued our hike down to the confluence of Tough Hill Branch and Racket Creek (note: some maps show this as Gragg Prong, but I am going with Racket Creek).

We explored a short distance up Racket Creek to check out some swimming holes and small waterfalls that Andy found on a previous adventure.

Waterfall and Swimming Hole on Racket Creek

The Badger (Thomas) behind a Waterfall on Racket Creek

Andy had pulled his groin and Christy's knees were acting up so they elected to take it easy and hang back with the dogs, while Jennifer, Thomas, Kitty, Zack, and I continued on with our planned adventure up Tough Hill Branch.

It was pretty much one waterfall after another! I didn't name any of them, but I numbered them from #1 to #8 (starting from the confluence of Racket Creek and ending at our campsite). There are also additional waterfalls upstream from our campsite which I did not get to.

Here is what we saw!

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #1

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #2

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #3

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #4

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #5

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #6

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #7

Tough Hill Branch Waterfall #8

GPS Tracks from this Weekend

Here are the interactive links to the GPS tracks:

This was the shortest and most direct route we found from the end of the "drivable" portion of the road to our Campsite

GPS Track from Saturday's adventure (starting and ending from our campsite)

After our hike we had a very enjoyable evening around the campfire!
Props to Jennifer for getting the fire going under some very wet conditions!

Andy Slow Roasting some Marshmallows around the Campfire

I had to break camp early on Sunday Morning to get back in time for my nephew's Little League World Series Game on Sunday!

This was another amazing weekend with awesome friends! And watching my nephew Liam play so well on Sunday made it even more rewarding!

My complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157710470289157

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Some Little League World Series Highlights

The 2019 Little League World Series

Featuring my Nephew Liam Thyen

I have never been so excited about a sporting event in my entire life!

Here are some clips from this amazing experience!

Liam's Little League World Series pitching debut (Friday, August 16th, 2019)

I loved this segment when Liam's showed the world his "Birdie Finger"

Liam didn't get a chance to pitch in the Sunday's (August 18th, 2019) game, but he did have a great day at bat including a bases loaded double to drive in (3) runs. He ended the day with (5) RBIs

Liam also had a great day in Center Field helping to preserve Justin Lee's No Hitter with this sliding catch! Not the cleanest catch, but I did love Liam's smile afterwards!

This segment was on ESPN Sportscenter immediately before Monday Night Football (Monday, August 19th, 2019). Guess what Liam's favorite part of the Little League World Series is? Watch the video to find out!

Here are some more highlights and articles!

Official Little Leage Game Highlights

The Sun-Gazette listed Liam Thyen the "Player of the Game"

Great Article from NOVA baseball Magazine about the Team

This is an amazing experience and I am so proud of how Liam is handling all the pressure and attention he is getting. Just a few of the MLB pros that Liam got the opportunity to meet!

Liam with John Bell from the Pittsburgh Pirates

Liam with Javier Baez from the Chicago Cubs

Liam with Kris Bryant from the Chicago Cubs

Next Game is this Wednesday (August 21st, 2019) @ 7:30pm on ESPN!

Thursday, August 15, 2019

The 2019 Thyen Family Beach Vacation

The 2019 Thyen Family Beach Vacation

August 3rd, 2019 through August 9th, 2019

Kitty Hawk, NC

The biggest excitement of this year's family beach vacation was watching my nephew Liam and his team win the South East Regional Little League Baseball Tournament to earn a spot in the Little League World Series! Click here for my previous blog post which includes some of the highlights.

The only downside was that Liam, my brother Bill, and sister-in-law Michelle missed most of our family vacation this year.

Here are some non baseball related photos from our 2019 Thyen Family Beach Vacation!