Standing Indian Camp Out

(If you want to see pictures of this weekend, click here: Friday and Saturday)

I had an awesome weekend camping with friends in NC. We got to the group site at Standing Indian campground first and set up our tent. Of course I forgot the batteries for the pump to blow up our air mattress so we headed to Franklin for supplies and lunch. When we arrived back at camp, the others had arrived and we did a short hike (4 miles) to Pickens Nose. At the end, we even saw some rock climbers as well as wildflowers. The rhododendron was in full bloom. We saw a junco nest on the trail under a step. It was truly amazing. I never knew birds built nests like that. Of course the views were breath taking!

Then on Saturday we did a killer hike (7 miles with 2000 ft. elevation gain) to Albert Mountain Fire Tower by way of Bear Pen Trail and Appalachian Trail. We met some Univ. of Georgia students who were taking a environmental class and they showed us a vireo nest in a tree and we all thought it was just blown debris. Amazing what I learned about birds this weekend. I thought I would never make it up to the fire tower and the last half mile was straight up hill and was almost rock climbing. I did finally get to the top of the fire tower and had a 360 degree view of the scenery and it made that miserable uphill worth it.

Flora and Fauna include:

1. Rhododendron

2. Junco’s nest with baby bird

3. Indian Cucumber

4. Yellow Star Grass

5. Trillium

6. Clinton’s Lily

7. Jack in the Pulpit

8. Mayapple

9. Ferns

10. Squaw root

11. Toothwort

12. Mushroom

13. Ladybugs

14. Vireo nest with bird in it.

There were 15 of us camping and I enjoyed being with them so much! Some of these friends I only see once a year at this campout so it is wonderful to catch up on news.

(crossposted on Successful Teaching Blog)

Original image: 'Rhododendron’
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23240330@N03/5748081706/in/set-72157626656446919 by: Pat Hensley

Bears and Blue Blazes

We arrived after lunch to Standing Indian Campground just in time to set up our tent and go hiking with the group. We went to Laurel Falls,  Mooney Falls, the AT, and Pickens Nose. It was quite an adventure because we hiked along the AT before we found out that we were not on the trail to Pickens Nose. Along the way, Ron tried to find some geocaches but was unsuccessful at that.

Right before it got dark, Don and Jean found fresh bear scat in front of their car. Then we found out that bears messed up the neighboring campsite because they left their coolers and food out. All this bear talk really creeped me out especially since we set up our tent near older bear scat in a mushy kind of field. There were only two tents in this field and one of them was ours. During the night a car alarm went off forever before stopping at 1:45am. Then at 2:30am, it went off again. I just knew the bears were back but it wasn’t our car alarm so I stayed in the tent. At 4am, it went off again but was shut off quickly. I finally left our tent around 5:30am when I saw that Jeff had gotten a huge fire going and I felt safe. Don apparently wasn’t worried because he slept soundly.

Around 9am, we started our hike to the summit of Standing Indian Mountain. Six of us started up the trail and hoped the others would catch up. After about 20 minutes, I realized that I had forgotten my camera and I was disgusted with myself! After about a mile, Bill said he was going to wait for the others and that we needed to just keep following the blue blazes along the trail so we kept going. We headed down the Park Creek Trail before turning on the Park Ridge Trail which led up the mountain. There was lots of evidence of fresh bear scat and disturbed areas where they hunted for food. At a clearing, Steve, Don, and Jean along  with us met another hiker whole told us that we couldn’t reach Standing Indian along these trails and that ALL of the trails were blue blazed! After waiting about 30 minutes for Bill and the rest of the group, we decided to do a loop back to the campground. After we started again, it began to rain so we decided to shorten the loop and head back to the campground sooner.

Steve was way ahead when he was attacked by bees. He dropped his hiking stick and ran back to us. After applying stingeeze on his stings, we headed back up the trail to get his stick. Right at his stick, he was stung again and we all ran back along the trail. We decided to ford the creeks rather than go through the bees but Don ran through them without being stung. Jean went around the trail and back up the steep bank. Steve, Don, and I chose the water route even though we got our boots and socks wet. Other than that adventure, nothing else happened the rest of the way back. We did stop along the water and ate some snacks which helped give us energy to get back to camp. We hiked about 7-8 miles so it was a good hiking day.

After a shower, we had an early dinner of tacos around 4pm and it tasted so good! Bill finally appeared and told us that he realized that we were on the wrong trail so the rest of them turned around and did another trail which took them to the top of Standing Indian (about 11-12 mile hike) so I’m really glad we did the trails that we were on. Even though we had a wonderful campfire, everyone was happy to turn in early. That night there were no car alarms or bear visits.

On Sunday morning, we took down our tents and packed up. Don moved the car where the sun hit it and we draped our tent and footprint on it so it could dry up. Then we headed up the road to Gatlinburg and a night in a hotel. After checking in Microtel on Historic Nature Trail ($39 for the night), we walked around Gatlinburg in the heat, crowds, and noise. How different this is from a night in the woods!

I Learn Something Every Day

Last week we drove up on the spur of the moment towards the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. We have talked for a few years about going camping and hiking up there and decided that this was the perfect time. We wanted to get up there before the holiday because we thought it would only get more crowded after the holiday. On the way up there, I called the Charit Creek Lodge to see if we could get reservations for the next day and they had openings.

I’ve been a little apprehensive about staying at the lodge because I had never been there before and I knew that we would have to share a cabin with strangers. But my hubby really wanted to do this so I went along with it (the things you do for love!).

We arrive at the Big South Fork Bandy Visitor Center. W  e met the nicest guys there at the visitor center who told us about the park and also about the animals there. They had a great educational display with skulls and pelts of different animals. We ended up spending the night at the Bandy Creek Campground (site 13A) which was up on a hill overlooking a nice field. We had hoped to see some deer but we never saw any. But, we did get to see a bear on the road as we returned to the campground after dinner. Thankfully we had our new tent because a thunderstorm arrived and we were able to sit in our tent with a glass of wine as the thunderstorm passed by.

The next day we packed up the tent and headed to the lo dge. Since we were early, we hiked in Pickett State Park to the natural bridge and Hazard cave. Then we had to drive along a gravel road to the trailhead and then hike 2 miles in to the lodge. When we arrived, we were told that we had the cabin all to ourselves for the night which was a relief. We ate some lunch and then hiked around the area before returning to our cabin. The mosquitoes were really bad and kept attacking Don so we spent time out on the screened in porch until dinner.

At dinner we met 2 other couples from southern Indian a and so there were just six of us for dinner. It was really cozy and we enjoyed visiting with these people and exchanging stories. They had the cabin next to us. After dinner we returned to our cabin and enjoyed our bottle of wine before heading to bed. During the night Don got cold and had to get another blanket but I didn’t.

The next morning, I was up early and got to watch the sun rise. Then we had breakfast at 8am with the other two couples. It was really nice meeting them and hope our paths cross again someday. After breakfast we headed back to our car and drove around but then headed towards Blue Heron Mining Community. There was a nice mining museum and hike in that area. After leaving there, we headed towards Cumberland Gap and hoped that we could hike there the next day but the road was closed. So, we decided to head for home.

As every day turns out, this whole trip was a wonderful learning experience. Here are some things that I learned:

1. Not everything has to be planned.

2. People like to tell the good things about where they live.

3. Wild animals may be all around us and we just have to stop and take time to look.

4. Thunderstorms can be scary and exciting.

5. Sometimes we dread things because we worry that it will be a bad experience and then it turns out alright.

6. Worrying about what might happen can sometimes be a waste of time.

7. It is fun to meet new people.

8. Plans need to be flexible in case things don’t go the way you expect.

What have you learned today?

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Pisgah Forest Camping 5/5-5/6

We got up to Davidson River campground and set up our tent before meeting up with our hiking group. There were 7 of us and we hiked the Caney Bottom Loop Trail that started at the Cove Creek Group Campground. Seeing all of the pink lady slippers was a highlight to start off the hike. We had a few creek crossings and two of the ladies turned back at the first crossing but the rest of us went on. It took us about 3 hours and afterwards we went to Dolly’s for ice cream. After eating ice cream, the others drove back home and we went geocaching. We found all three that we were looking for which gave me lots more confidence to try more. We drove up to Pisgah Inn for dinner and then returned back to our campsite to enjoy a wonderful campfire.

Today we got up early and went for breakfast in Brevard. Then we hiked up to Looking Glass Rock which whipped my butt today. First of all, I tried a new water bladder in my pack and it had a disgusting taste and I wouldn’t drink any water from it, which left me only a small bottle of water. It was almost 4 miles straight up to the rock face and I was afraid I wouldn’t make it. I really struggled today but when we got to the top and ate a good lunch (peanut butter and jelly sandwich, apple, and some candy) I felt much better. Coming down the mountain was much easier for me. After the hike, we went to Sycamore Flats picnic area and waded in the river. Boy, did that make my feet feel so good! Then we went to the Cardinal Drive In for an early dinner but it was not good at all. Next we went back to look at the pink lady slippers and drove up a dirt road and explored. All in all, it was a good day!

Joyce Kilmer Camping Weekend

We had a fun weekend. We left Friday morning for Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest which was about a 4 hour drive. On the way up we stopped at the visitor center and the lady told us that Saturday night they were expecting hail and tornado warnings. We were the first ones to get to the campsite at Rattler Ford Campground so we set up our little orange backpacking tent . That afternoon, others began to arrive and we helped them set up their tents.

Then we went geocaching for a little while. The weathermen said it would rain Friday night but we didn’t get any that evening. We had happy hour with lots of food shared by all and then Don and I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. When it got dark Diane started a fire so all ten of us sat around the campfire until about 11pm. It was so much fun sharing stories. Don and I got the giggles when he poked me in the ribs as he turned over in the sleeping bag. We could hear Tom and Bev talking next door in their three room tent! About 4am it began to rain and the wind was strong but we stayed dry in our tent.

When I got up at 6am, it had stopped raining. In fact it looked like it would be a pretty day so all of us planned got ready to go hiking. Don  and I hiked to Falls Branch Falls where we met up with Diane and Gail. About the time we hiked out and reached our cars, it began to rain. Don and I went into Tellico Plains for lunch at the Tellicafe and we had pizza burgers. By the time we finished, it had stopped raining so we went to Bald River Falls before heading back to camp. We arrived back at camp about 5pm and it was a torrential downpour so we decided to pack up and head for home. It is a good thing we did since I found a huge puddle inside my tent and our pillows were soaked. We would have had to sleep in puddles all night long not to mention worrying about hail and tornadoes. We arrived home about 10pm and there were heavy rains which made driving pretty scary at times. I’m just glad we got home safely and woke up in our own dry bed!

You can see more pictures here: Joyce Kilmer Camping Trip