Roan High Knob

The last time I went to the Roan High Knob Shelter the snow was several inches deep (see photos and my short write-up of the history of the shelter here), so I thought I'd venture back to see what it looked like in the summer. To be honest, it looked a lot better covered with snow! The old fire warden's cabin is in pretty rough shape, but not bad considering it was originally built back in 1933 (renovated in 1980). Below is a handheld panorama of five photos stitched together in Photoshop of the steep and winding side trail leading off the Appalachian Trail to the shelter (click to enlarge).  While I was there I noticed that there's a very nice spruce forest behind the shelter, and as I explored that I came across the 1934 survey marker (on the top of the boulders you see below) marking the highest point on Roan Mountain at 6,285 feet. 

Directions: Take Route 19E to the town of Roan Mountain, turn onto Route 143 and travel 12.8 miles to the TN/NC state line (Carver's Gap). On your way up the mountain, you'll pass through the Roan Mountain State Park. Eventually, you leave the state park and enter the national forest. Option 1: Park at Carver's Gap and take the AT approx. 1.5 miles up (heading south on the AT, away from the Balds). I really like this section of the AT. It's beautiful and, while a steady climb, not as steep as you might think. -- Option 2: Turn right at Carver's Gap and continue driving up the mountain to the Old Cloudland Hotel Site (this road is closed during the winter months). Pay the entrance fee ($3) and park at the end of the lot nearest the bathrooms, look for and climb a short flight of stairs and venture to your left.  You'll soon run into the AT.  Turn right to hike north on the AT (toward the balds) for a short distance (approx. 1/2 mile) -- on the way you'll pass by an old chimney. The shelter is located one tenth of a mile off the AT on well-marked, blue-blazed trail. Click here for the Google map of the Roan Mountain area.

In winter months, when the road to the top is closed, I hike a loop -- taking the AT up to the Cloudland site and then walking the road back down to Carvers Gap.

forgotten

May you never forget what is worth remembering, nor ever remember what is best forgotten.
--Irish Blessing

I don't know the history behind this old chimney found along the Appalachian Trail between the High Knob Shelter and the Old Cloudland Hotel site on top of Roan Mountain.  Can anyone fill in this bit of lost history for us?

ch-ch-changes

Born often under another sky, placed in the middle of an always moving scene, himself driven by the irresistible torrent which draws all about him, the American has no time to tie himself to anything, he grows accustomed only to change, and ends by regarding it as the natural state of man. He feels the need of it, more he loves it; for the instability; instead of meaning disaster to him, seems to give birth only to miracles all about him. 
--Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French Historian and Political scientist. 

Here it is the start of fall and I still have photos from summer that didn't get posted.  This is a shot of the bloom of a "great rhododendron" -- a common sight during the summer months in the Appalachians.

resilience

Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind. 
--Bruce Lee (1940-1973) American Actor and martial arts expert

Allandale Mansion

When Harvey and Ruth Brooks met with their architect in 1949, their vision for their new house was a quaint cottage with a white picket fence.  What they ended up building was a sprawling, ornate house, "a modern adaptation of an antebellum mansion… a classic example of Georgian Architecture." Upon his death in 1969, the mansion was left to the city of Kingsport along with many of its furnishings, twenty-five acres and numerous outbuildings.  Two conditions were placed on the gift, that the city maintain the property as it was during their lives and that it be used for public benefit. Today, the property is used for a variety of public events and is available for private weddings.

Click on the thumbnail photos to enlarge. The first is of the entryway, the impressive staircase (the second image) and the exterior columns and portico were bought by Mr. and Mrs. Brooks in Knoxville and shipped to the building site.  The third image is of the pink room (Bride's Bedroom) on the second floor. 

Click here to visit the official website which contains more of the history of the mansion, photo galleries, and directions.  Here's a video tour of the mansion:

antiques

Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends. 
--H. Jackson Brown, Jr., American author.  

More than 400 classic cars were on display yesterday at the Allandale Mansion in Kingsport, TN during the Daniel Boone Region AACA Car Show. Lots of fun!

a perfect gentleman

To call him a dog hardly seems to do him justice, though inasmuch as he had four legs, a tail, and barked, I admit he was, to all outward appearances. But to those who knew him well, he was a perfect gentleman.
--Hermione Gingold

My heart goes out to my wonderful neighbors who lost their beloved Gatsby last night at the age of 16. He was such a big part of their lives. He was such a good dog -- and they were so very good to him. (another photo here)

balance

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.
--Albert Einstein (1879-1955) German-born American Physicist

Above: Milligan College sophomore Branden Jones (Valley, AL) during a recent Mountain Biking meet at ETSU.

For information on mountain bike trails in the area, click here.

solitude

It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American philosopher and writer.

Picnic tables at the Watauga Point Recreation Area on Watauga Lake.

take rest

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. 
--Ovid (43 BC - 17/18 AD) Roman poet. 

Above: Tomato farm in Washington Co., TN

Linville Gorge Wilderness

This rustic cabin serves as the information center for visitors to the Linville Gorge Wilderness. The gentleman behind the counter said it was built by college students back in 1983 using primitive tools. It's a good place to stop and pick up maps of the area in order to learn more about the numerous trails located in the gorge.  There are two main attractions which draw visitors to this side of the Gorge: Wiseman's Overlook and Linville Falls.  While there's direct access to Linville Falls from the Blue Ridge Parkway, there is an alternate, 'back' entrance and parking lot located not far from the cabin above on what is known as Kistler Memorial Highway (NC 1238).  To call this a highway is a stretch, it's all gravel and pretty rough in places. While you're in the area, be sure to check out Chestoa View, an easily accessible overlook just a short distance south on the Parkway. On the other side of the Gorge is the magnificent Table Rock - the trail and views from there are unforgettable.

More information on Linville Gorge and Wiseman's Overlook click here and here.

Directions: Click here.

No man is an island

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. 
--John Dunne (1572-1631) English poet.