Wednesday, September 30, 2020

2020-09-28 Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area trail maintenance hike

Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area trail maintenance hike
Bill Kimbal trail blaze refresh
Greenville County, SC
Monday, September 28th, 2020


 
 
On Monday I volunteered to freshen up the blazes, and add some additional blazes to several confusing sections) along the Bill Kimbal Trail in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area of South Carolina. (Jones Gap and Caesars Head State Parks)
 
Brenda Wiley joined me for part of the hike to help blaze the way up the Bill Kimbal. 
 
Brenda along the Jones Gap Trail at the base of Toll Road Falls
 
I usually don't bring the camera along on my trail maintenance hikes, but did snap a few cell phone shots along the Jones Gap Trail.
 
Toll Road Falls
(this one could use some deadfall removal)
 
Jones Gap Falls

Dargans Cascade

 

Sunday, September 27, 2020

2020-01-31 Jack and Amys Washington State Trip - Day 6

 
Jack and Amy 's Washington State Trip
Day 6 - Friday, January 31tst, 2020
Cap Sante Morning - Anacortes, WA
plus some back road scenes along our drive to the airport

Somewhere along the back roads of Washington State
photo by Amy Thyen

Way back in January, before the Covid-19 Pandemic and the flooding of our home, Amy and I took a trip out to Washington State.
 
I finally got around to going through the last of the photos. 
 
For our final day in Washington, I got up early to enjoy a rainy morning stroll around Cap Sante Park and the Anacortes Marina near our hotel in Anacortes, WA
 
The Anacortes Marina from Cap Sante Park

View from Cap Sante Park - Anacortes, WA

Cap Sante Park - Anacortes, WA
 
 
After checking out of our hotel, Amy and I decided to mostly stay off the interstate and took a much more scenic (and less traffic!) route back to the SeaTac airport.
 
 
Somewhere along the back roads between Anacortes and Seatac, WA
 




 
 
 
My complete set of photos from our final day in Washington State are posted here:
 
 
 
 
If you missed any my previous Washington State photos, here are the links to the blog posts from the rest of our trip:
 
 

Saturday, September 26, 2020

2020-09-23 DuPont State Forest

DuPont State Forest
Transylvania County, NC
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2020
 
Cedar Rock Mountain Panorama
 
I did a little exploring around DuPont State Forest starting out with one of my favorite spots!
The early morning light was glorious on top of Cedar Rock Mountain! And the early weekday start 
avoided the worst of the DuPont crowds and I had the mountain to all to myself.
 



I didn't take a whole lot of photos during the rest of my 10-mile hike, but I thoroughly enjoyed my stroll around the forest.
 

My complete set of photos which also includes a few roadside stops along the drive to and from the trailhead is posted here:

Thursday, September 24, 2020

2020-09-21 MST Bearpen Gap to Balsam Gap

Mountains to Sea Trail from
Bearpen Gap to Balsam Gap
with Brenda Wiley
Buncombe County, North Carolina
Monday, September 21st, 2020
 
Brenda and Me along the Mountains to Sea

I joined Brenda on a hike along one of her favorite sections of the Mountains to Sea Trail.  At over 5,000 feet in elevation it was a bit chilly at the start with a light frost on the ground and a blustery wind.  
 
I've been looking forward to the cooler weather for months and it felt wonderful!   It was the perfect day to be up in the mountains of North Carolina with my friend Brenda!  

Here are some of the photos from our hike:
 
 











My complete set of photos is posted here:

Tuesday, September 22, 2020

2020-09-19 High Rocks with the Captain and the Professor

High Rocks with Captain and the Professor
Great Smoky Mountain National Park
Swain County, NC
Saturday, September 19th, 2020 
 
Group Photo at High Rocks
 

Professor Scott Burns, Captain John Podlewski, and I have been talking about hiking to High Rocks in the Smokies for several years now! We finally made the 20 mile round trip trek to reach this remote and magical spot in the Smokies! 
 
It was perfect hiking weather, but the Smokies lived up to its name by fogging in any potential views from High Rocks. It was still a wonderful day full of laughter and fun with some great friends. And one heck of a workout!  (20 miles round trip with over 4,000 feet of elevation gain)
 
 
Roadside view from the Road to Nowhere

Three Went In!  The Tunnel to Nowhere!

John and Me at High Rocks

Checking out the remains of the High Rocks Cabin

Some Shenanigans at High Rocks
 
 
The professor Scott Burns reading about High Rocks from George Ellison's "Permanent Camp; Poems, Narratives, and Renderings from the Smokies". The illustration on the left is of High Rocks (back when there was a lookout tower) done by George's wife Elizabeth Ellison.
 
 
 
In this video below the Professor takes seat on the iconic High Rocks stool to read a short excerpt about High Rocks from author and poet George Ellison's "Permanent Camp - Poems, narratives, and renderings from the Smokies"

 
 

The Captain in the High Rocks Cabin

The Professor checking out the High Rocks Cabin


The Captain and the Professor and something about a 12-step program

The Professor and the Captain after a visit to High Rocks

Taking a little break at Campsite #75

Enjoying a fine post hike Pale Ale with my amazing friends!

 
 
 My complete set of Photos is posted here:
 
 

Thursday, September 17, 2020

2020-09-12 Rim of the Gap Trail Maintenance

The Rim of the Gap Trail Maintenance
with Darrin Hamlin
Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area
Greenville County, SC
Saturday, September 12th, 2020

Darrin at the Bear Cave along the Rim of the Gap

Once of the things I have wanted to get more involved with is trail maintenance.  My good friend Darrin has been doing volunteer trail maintenance for years.  I decided to join Darrin on one of his trail maintenance hikes along the Rim of the Gap Trail.

The Rim of the Gap is one of several trails that connect Jones Gap and Caesars Head State Park.  Our main goal was to refresh the blazes and possibly add a few more in certain areas where people have gotten confused.

You end up with paint on your fingers when refreshing blazes, which makes photography difficult.  I did snap a few cell phone shots before the rains arrived.  

 

 

Rim of the Gap Yellow!


Darrin's Sons both have built bridges along the Rim of the Gap Trail

 


 

Cliff Falls


Darrin Blazing the Way


One of the remaining original Trail Markers


Me in the Bear Cave


Darrin at Weight Watchers Rock









Meet Zoey

 Meet Zoey! Amy and I just adopted this beautiful girl!