Pickett State Park

11/21 - 11/24/18
Thanksgiving Weekend

We rented a cabin at Pickett State Park in TN for the Thanksgiving weekend. A couple hours drive and getting set up left a little bit of time for a short hike near the lake and then back for dinner.

Thanksgiving morning we woke up slow and then loaded up the car for a little bit of driving exploration and some hiking. I had never been on this side of Big South Fork so I was happy to drive and check out some of the stuff that appears on the map.

First stop was Buffalo Arch. A nice ~1 mile hike to the arch with very little change in elevation.

This cell phone photo gives an idea of the scale, this is a big arch.

And then a some driving to check out a couple small campgrounds in the area and then we went to find a waterfall I had seen online.

About a mile on the Sheltowee Trace got us to Mark Branch Falls

After that, it was time to head home for dinner.

The next day I got to do a longer hike on the Hidden Door Trail in the actual State Park. In an 8 mile loop, the trail has some great views from high up and passes a couple nice waterfalls.

Crystal Falls

Double Falls

Small falls/drops along Thompson Creek

Pickett State Park was a great place to spend a weekend and we will definitely be back.

Red River Gorge Fall

Dayhike in Red River Gorge
10/29/18
Grays Arch Trailhead

I returned to the gorge for another day hike hoping to see a little more fall color. The month of October has been really warm, so the leaves have not been turning.

The weather was perfect so I aimed for a part of the gorge with lots of overlooks. I started at the Grays Arch Trailhead and checked out the views along the way to the actual arch.

Looking across the valley to the other side of Nada Tunnel Road.

No photos of Grays Arch, but I always like the large rock with tree roots wrapped around it, lots of neat patterns in the sandstone.

Then on to the Veranda and then Hansons Point.

And then back to my car and home. A great way to spend the day. I'll hopefully get back once more time before the leaves are gone.

Auxier Ridge with kids

Auxier Ridge in Red River Gorge
11/11/17

Mom was out of town and my kids drive me nuts at home, so thankfully the weather was nice. We loaded up and headed to the Gorge. I wanted a reasonably easy hike and some views, so we went to the end of Tunnel Ridge Road for a hike out towards Courthouse Rock. I knew it was going to be busy but I wasn't looking for solitude since I had three kids with me.

It was about 50 degrees so we all started out with jackets and hats.

I did not take too many photos because I was occupied with herding cats, I mean keeping my kids from killing each other. But, I made them sit down at one point so I could take a couple photos of Raven Rock and the fall leaves.

Nobody fell off a cliff, we mostly had a good time and I finally made it to the Gorge to see the fall colors. A good way to spend the day with my kids.

Raven Run photo day

I took a "personal day" and went to Raven Run with my camera. I told myself to pretend that I only had black and white film in my camera to force myself to look for patterns and "small" views. I ended up finding a couple spots that made me glad to not be limited to B&W. A good way to spend a couple of hours on a nice fall day.

I found a pool of water with great reflections of fall colors, doesn't look as nice in B&W

Looking up instead of down

Another part of the creek had some neat ripples and sunlight. If I was sticking with the spirit of the exercise, I would just have the B&W, but I like the color ones as well.

And some B&W ones

This moth demanded color

Mt Rogers

Grayson Highlands VA
10/6 - 10/8/17 (2 nights)
2017 bag nights: 28
Miles hiked: ~25

I parked at the Grindstone Campground and hiked a couple miles to the Appalachian Trail and then headed north on the AT towards Mt Rogers. Based on some readings and helpful people on hammockforums.net, I was pretty sure I could find a campsite along the AT below Mt Rogers. The only real question would be the number of people in the area and would I be able to be near a good view. After a couple hours hiking, I came across the perfect spot overlooking Brier Ridge about a mile from the Thomas Knob shelter on the AT. I headed in that direction to get water for the night, but found a solid trickle about 10 minutes down the trail. I filled up for the night and morning and headed back to set up camp and catch the sunset.

I walked onto Brier Ridge and there was a small herd of ponies. I took a couple photos and enjoyed the view and then headed back to cook dinner and wait for the sunset and hopefully stars.

My campsite was close enough to the open ridge that I carried stove, food, water and bourbon and camera/tripod back to the ridge. I cooked dinner and enjoyed the amazing sunset.

  

 

And then a little bourbon while I waited for the stars to come out and hoped that the clouds would not be too bad.
Looking almost due south at Sagittarius and Scorpius and some sky glow from the sun.

As the full moon rose behind the trees it was obvious that the clouds were going to catch a lot of the moon light and it was not going to be a good night for astrophotography. So, off to the hammock to read for a bit.

I woke up to clouds all around, no view at all.

I had a leasurily breakfast and a second cup of coffee hoping it would burn off as the sun rose, but by 9 o'clock it was still foggy/cloudy and time to get moving.

I took the AT north towards Thomas Knob and then along Wilburn Ridge. Supposedly there are great views along the ridge, but the top of the ridge was covered in clouds. The ridge was also covered in dayhikers coming from Massie Gap in the state park. I found this part of the day to be really frustrating, there were no views and no solitude.

As I got closer to the border of the state park the clouds began to break a little and I was still on an open ridge so there were views. The leaves were starting to turn and at times were very striking.

I had lunch on a rock outcrop just off the AT ...

...and then continued into the forest towards the Wise shelter. It was very nice hiking with no one around, but nothing special. I filtered water near the shelter and looked at the map a little more. I was heading towards the Scales area and could take the direct route on the Scales Trail or continue on the AT. Since I was going slower than I had expected, I decided to take the Scales Trail. It was nice, but from what I later read, I probably would have liked the AT better.

After Scales, I took the Crest Trail back towards Rhododendron Gap. The views were very good in parts.

I took the Crest Trail past Wilburn Ridge until in intersected with the VA Highlands Trail which I followed back to Brier Ridge and camp. When I got to the ridge it looked like I was in for another great sunset. I talked to a couple young women from App State in Boone and then went to get water for the night. When I got back after about 1/2 hour the clouds had settled on top of the ridge and there were no views to be seen.

I cooked dinner and sipped some bourbon while I watched the mist swirl around for a bit. This girl was not afraid at all, I assume there is no hunting in the area.

Woke up in the morning to more fog/clouds, no point in lingering. I had a quick breakfast and then took the VA Highlands Trail towards Deep Gap and the AT. After a couple hours of hiking I was back at my car.

I was hoping for more views and more stars, but overall it was a good trip. Next time I think I will avoid the AT near the state park just to avoid some of the dayhikers.