The 10th Annual SSPBDT Vacation

The 10th Annual SSPBDT Mancation

Camp Buff

Rutherford County, NC

Friday October 16th, 2015 through Sunday, October 18th, 2015

The SSPBDT hanging out around the campfire at Camp Buff

Since 2006, the SSPBDT (Spartanburg Steel Products Beer Drinking Team) has gotten together somewhere in Carolina Mountains for a weekend of Camping, Drinking, Eating and all around good times!  We call this our annual SSPBDT Mancation.

This years event was held at Camp Buff, a redneck haven located in the Bills Creek area of Lake Lure, NC.

While I prefer a more traditional campground, Camp Buff does have it's advantages.
1.  We don't have to worry about reserving campsites and/or making sure we snag enough sites for our group.
2.  We don't have to worry about our disturbing other campers
3.  There are no campground hosts with direct access to the Federal to worry about
4.  Plenty of Far Wood for some very impressive Jack Fires
5.  It is Free

 

Joe (the owner of Camp Buff) cutting up some Far Wood

Most of the group rolled in on Friday sometime between morning twilight and late afternoon and proceeded to set up camp.

Steve-O's Tent at the Camp Buff Entrance

My Tent at Camp Buff

Jeff's Camping Emporium

 Scott's Tent

There is a network of trails withing walking distance of Camp Buff which provided a good little workout, but nothing camera worthy.  There is a decent view from Camp Buff Road.

View from Camp Buff Road

The rest of the evening was spent drinking, eating, star gazing, and hanging around the campfire.

The Campfire in from of Joe's Trailer at Camp Buff

 Star Trails

Saturday Morning I got up early to meet up with some of my hiking buddies up at Linville Gorge.  I will do the trip report from that hike in a separate blog post, but here is one photo from that hike.

view of Lake James from Shortoff Mountain - Linville Gorge Wilderness, NC

While I was out hiking, Steve-O and Jeff from the legendary Piglet Enemy BBQ team had been slaving over the smoker all day preparing our evening meal.

Piglet Enemy!  The worlds greatest BBQ Team!

 Steve-O tending to his award winning Brisket

I arrived back at Camp Buff just in time to join in on an awesome meal!


Here are a few more photos from the 10th Annual SSPBDT Mancation Camping Weekend!

 Joe watches Jeff prepare some grub while Steve-O lines up his Pellet Gun

Scott taking aim at the target with Steve-O's Pellet Gun

Joe, Scott, and Steve around the Campfire

Jim takes aim with the sling shot

Joe, Me, Jim, Steve, and Jeff around the Campfire

 Joe and Jim

 
The complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157660004081686

2015-10-14 Upper Whitewater River

Return to the Upper Whitewater River

with Brenda and Mark

Transylvania and Jackson County, NC

Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

 Brenda, Mark, and Me at Exit Falls

My company's Fiscal and Vacation year runs from November 1st through October 31st.  Since they do not allow us to carry over any vacation days, I had a few left to use up before the end of October.  Therefore, I decided to use one to join Brenda and Mark for a rare mid-week adventure.

Even though I made my first visit to the Upper Whitewater River only about a month ago, it was such an awesome experience that I had no problems going back again so soon.

We started from where NC281 crosses over the Whitewater River and explored upstream for about (5) miles.  On a trail, it would only take us less than (2) hours to hike the distance we traveled today.  However, since this adventure is almost entirely creek-walking and off trail bushwhacking this adventure took all day!

Here are the highlights we saw along the way starting at NC281 and heading upstream.

Portage Left Falls

Wheelchair Accessible Falls

 Big Ledge Falls

 55mph Falls

 Mark, Brenda, and Me at 55mph Falls

 Merge Lane Falls

 Me, Brenda, and Mark at Bedrock Betty Falls

 Exit Falls

 Whitewater River Slot Canyon from the Top of Exit Falls

 Mark descending down through the cave alongside Exit Falls

An old School Bus in the woods

 An old School Bus in the Woods

Sculpted Falls

Brenda at the Andy Kunkle Puckering Perch

 Mark and Brenda by standing alongside Entrance Falls

The Whitewater River Slot Canyon downstream from Entrance Falls

Another Awesome Adventure!
Much better than being at work!

The complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157659866361582

2015-10-11 Little Bradley Falls with Amy and Brenda

Little Bradley Falls

Green River Gamelands

Polk County, NC

Sunday, October 11th, 2015

 Brenda, Amy, and Me at Little Bradley Falls

On Sunday, Amy and I met up with Brenda for some Easy Hiking, Beer Drinking, and Vegan Eating!

We started off with Little Bradley Falls, one of my favorite North Carolina Waterfalls.  The hike is about a mile (2 miles total out and back) an fairly easy.  The are a few moderate ups and downs, but overall it only gains about 150-feet of elevation.

There are a couple of creek crossings which most of the time can be easily rock hopped.  However if the water is up a bit like it was today, you should plan on getting your feet wet.

 Amy Crossing Cove Creek

Brenda Crossing Cove Creek

In addition to the creek crossing, there are a few other tricky areas along the trail, but for the most part this is a hike that just about anyone should be able to handle.

Amy and Brenda navigating through one of the rocky sections of trail

At a very leisurely pace, including a stop to de-boot and re-boot at the creek crossing it took us about 45 minutes to get to Little Bradley Falls.  Photo conditions were just about perfect so Brenda and I took some photography time while Amy used the time to study for an exam.

 Little Bradley Falls

 Amy studying for an exam at Little Bradley Falls

Little Bradley Falls

Amy and Me at Little Bradley Falls

Brenda at Little Bradley Falls  (look for the orange shirt)

After Little Bradley Falls, we decided to hike to the Big Bradley Falls cliff overlook area.
This is another short and easy hike of about a half mile (one mile out and back).

There is another creek crossing which involves a difficult rock hop or a much easier wet feet crossing which is what we went with. 

A small tributary stream just upstream from the crossing offers up a nice little wet weather waterfall.

Small Waterfalls upstream from Big Bradley Falls

The cliff overlook area is pretty neat, but the view of Big Bradley Falls is not that great. 

 Big Bradley Falls from the cliff overlook area

You really need to get to the base for a good view of Big Bradley Falls.  Both Brenda and I have recently been to the base of Big Bradley, and the scramble down from the cliffs is definitely not "Amy Approved", so we decided to pass on the base of Big Bradley.


After our hike, it was time to move on to the next item on our agenda.  The Sanctuary Brewing Company in Hendersonville, NC.

 Amy and Me at the Sanctuary Brewing Company

Brenda is a dedicated Vegan and the Sanctuary Brewing Company is a 100% Vegan Establishment.  While I have no intentions of becoming a Vegan myself, I was definitely open to trying the Sunday Vegan Brunch at The Sanctuary Brewing Company.  I have to say that the Tofu Taco I had was quite tasty!

Eventually the Sanctuary Brewing Company will be brewing their own beer, but currently they just offer a large variety of other local brews.  It is a cool atmosphere and very pet friendly!  There is even a pig named Ollie that wanders around the Brewery greeting guests!

 Brenda with Ollie and friend

Brenda gets Licked

I also wanted to visited the other Hendersonville Brewery (Southern Appalachian Brewery).  Since Brenda still had to drive home, she limited herself to one beer and decided not to come along to the second brewery with Amy and Me.

Amy and I decided to walk from Sanctuary Brewing to the Southern Appalachian Brewery.  I think this was the first time I ever walked through downtown Hendersonville and it is definitely a more enjoyable way to experience they city than via car (I have always hated driving through Hendersonville). 

We stopped off to get Amy some frozen yogurt and strolled through the Mast General Store before making our way to the next brewery.

I really enjoyed the Southern Appalachian Brewery.  Great Atmosphere and the band that was playing was excellent!  I don't consider myself a fan of Gospel Music, but this group was great!  It was a bit too loud inside the brewery, but there is plenty of outdoor seating to enjoy the experience without bursting your eardrums!

 Redneck Mimosa with Asheville Second Line at the Southern Appalachian Brewery

Another Awesome Day!  Thanks Amy and Brenda for sharing it with me!


The complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157659765040245

2015-10-10 A Web of Raindrops

A Web of Raindrops

Saturday, October 10th, 2015

Rutherfordton, NC

On Saturday, Amy and I went to visit her 95-year old Grandma. I am not exaggerating when I say that Grandma had the heat cranked up to about 100-degree inside which was unbearable to me! So I went for a walk in the rain. I didn't have my camera with me, but when I saw this giant spider with a pristine web of raindrops, I just had to pull out the cell phone to capture the scene!

2015-09-27 Harpers Ferry, WV

Harpers Ferry, WV

Sunday, September 27, 2015 

With Amy, My Sister Mary, and My Brother-in-Law Scott

Harpers Ferry, WV from Maryland Heights

Last weekend, Amy and I drove up to Virginia for an extended weekend visit with my family.  We spent most of the weekend at my brother Bill's house, but for some reason, despite how cute my niece and nephew are, my camera did not make it out of the bag while we were there.

On Sunday Amy and I decided to pass on the marathon day of kids sporting events and instead met up with my sister Mary and her husband Scott for a visit to Harpers Ferry, WV.

 Amy, Mary, and Scott walking through downtown Harpers Ferry

Harpers Ferry is a historical little town located at the point where the Shenandoah River joins the Potomac.  Much of the town and the surrounding area has been turned into a National Park.  It is also home to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters and is considered to be the half-way point along the Appalachian Trail.

We hiked a very short section of the AT through downtown Harpers Ferry, and up to Jefferson Rock.

 Amy and Mary by St. Peter's Church

Mary at Jefferson Rock

 

 Mary at Jefferson Rock

From there we meandered through the Harper Cemetery and worked our way back downtown.

 The Harper Cemetery

I managed to convince Amy and my sister Mary to hike the Maryland Heights Trail, which is about a 5-mile round trip hike from downtown Harpers Ferry and back.  Scott decided to skip the hike and instead found a bar downtown to enjoy some football and FABs, while Amy, Mary, and I crossed over into Maryland and hiked up Maryland Heights!

The Appalachian Trail crossing over from WV to MD

The Potomac River

Entering Maryland

 Looking Up at Maryland Heights Cliffs

The climb was steep enough that it turned out to be not quite Amy approved, but she pushed through and we all enjoyed the spectacular view of downtown Harpers Ferry from Maryland Heights!

Me on Maryland Heights Cliffs overlooking Harpers Ferry, WV

Mary on Maryland Heights Cliffs overlooking the Potomac River

 Amy on Maryland Heights Cliffs

After completing our hike, we met back up with Scott, treated ourselves to some Ice Cream before heading on back into Virginia.  It was a very enjoyable day, and I would definitely be up for another visit to Harpers Ferry, WV.

The complete set of photos is posted here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/8146392@N05/albums/72157657150254673