choose your path

Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads you to wisdom. 
--Buddha 

Took advantage of the warm temperatures yesterday by going for a hike along the Appalachian Trail on Unaka Mountain. As the sun was setting I met two south-bound thru-hikers with the trail names of "Tonic"(from Massachusetts) and "Bright Spirit" (from Texas). They both got a bit of a late start on their 2,190 mile trek and hope to avoid heavy snows as they complete the remaining 350 (or so) miles to the southern terminus of the AT on Springer Mountain in Georgia. 

Click here for a helpful Appalachian Trail distance calculator.

vanishing light

Photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth which can make them come back again.
--Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) French photographer.

Above: Sunset at Beauty Spot looking southeast into North Carolina. You know spring has arrived when the Unaka Mountain Road gate is open once again.

dream world

There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other. 
--Douglas H. Everett

At the last minute I thought I'd jump in the car and try to catch the sunset on Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN. Driving up the mountain, the fog was thick and I figured I was wasting my time. But I had come this far, so might was well see it through. I'm glad I did. Soon after I arrived, the fog lifted and the sunset was really spectacular, with rain clouds in the distance.

I met two thru-hikers setting up camp for the night, one from Florida, the other from Maine. Their trail names were NoMo (as in No More) and MoMo.  Although NoMo said that in reality they should both be called NoMo. They were very sweet and said that when people ask why they are walking 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine, it was for nights like this.

Heading back to my car I ran into another couple, they proudly announced they were just engaged on the mountain. So I took Sasha and Heath's photo and enjoyed the opportunity to talk with them and share in their excitement. What a fun, beautiful and dreamy night on the mountain!

love your life

However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as you are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its door as early in the spring. I do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there, and have as cheering thoughts, as in a palace.
--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author and philosopher. 

Above: Sunset with Fog at Beauty Spot. 

never enough nature

We need the tonic of wildness -- to wade sometimes in marshes where the bittern and the meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and the mink crawls with its belly close to the ground. At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be infinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature. 

--Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) American author and philosopher.

Here are two hazy views from Unaka Mountain both looking southeast toward Mt. Mitchell in NC.  The one above was taken from Beauty Spot, the one to the left from Unaka Mountain Overlook.  Spring is coming to the mountains. :)

They've done a great deal of work on the 12 mile road that goes up and over Unaka, digging trenches and installing culverts. I still recommend a higher clearance vehicle. They've also opened up some views at Beauty Spot looking out to the east.  Click here for directions and descriptions of all there is to see and do on Unaka.

forward together

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light. 
--Helen Keller (1880-1968) American Author.

Above: Beauty Spot sunset.

5,000,000 steps

Campfire on a chilly night at the Beauty Spot

The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide you’re not going to stay where you are. 
--John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913) American financier & philanthropist.

Squirrel and her dog, Zima

It's that time of year when Appalachian Trail thru-hikers move through our region on their way from Georgia to Maine. In all, they'll travel nearly 2,200 miles, taking approximately 5,000,000 steps through 14 states. It takes anywhere from 5 to 7 months to complete. Only 25% who start the trail complete it.

I've concluded that thru-hikers are some of the best people you'll ever meet. Most all are easy-going, fun-loving, life-embracing, thankful, helpful, joyful, fascinating people with interesting tales to tell. They all adopt trail names by which they're known on the trail. Yesterday I met Weatherman, Squirrel, Lost Boy, Bones, Lotus and Mogsley. I'm always impressed with the strong sense of community they form as they make their journey together.  Here's a list of the class of 2014.

Weatherman from St. Louis

This group has made it through snow in the Smokies and is looking forward to the Roan Balds and the Grayson Highlands. Happy trails!

For a helpful online guide to hiking the Appalachian Trail, click here.

recollection

We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future. 
--George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) Irish author.  

Above: A photo taken last month at the Beauty Spot. It was underexposed and grainy, so I had to push the editing much more than I usually do. But it's fun to see how an image can be salvaged in the editing process.  Missing all of this color now that we've reached the blahs of November.

lofty

Mountains appear more lofty, the nearer they are approached, but great men resemble them not in this particular. 
--Marguerite Blessington (1789-1849) Irish novelist. 

keep walking

 

 If you would attain to what you are not yet, you must always be displeased by what you are.  For where you are pleased with yourself there you have remained.  Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing.
--Saint Augustine

It's that time of year when Appalachian Trail SOBOs are passing through our region on their way from Maine to Georgia.  SOBOs (or South Bounders) begin their 2,184 mile trek in the late spring or early summer, after the threat of snow has passed in New England.  The hope is to finish before the snows hit the Southern Appalachians in late fall. Unfortunately for these guys, "Johnnie Walker" (above left, from Pennsylvania) and "Sleepwalker" (right, Michigan), snow came early this year. They ran into 18 inches of snow on top of Mount Rogers following Hurricane Sandy. They hurried down to Damascus, VA to wait it out. I met them up on the Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN and enjoyed talking with them about their adventures. And then they headed down the trail with 'only' 350 miles to go...

(I've lately been reading David Miller's excellent account of his AT thru-hike, AWOL on the Appalachian Trail and recommend it for those wanting a glimpse of what life on the AT is like).

first snow

November comes
And November goes,
With the last red berries
And the first white snows.

With night coming early,
And dawn coming late,
And ice in the bucket
And frost by the gate.

The fires burn
And the kettles sing,
And earth sinks to rest
Until next spring.
--Elizabeth Coatsworth

I was surprised to find large patches of snow still remaining atop Unaka Mountain, a week and a half after the remnants of Hurricane Sandy came through the Appalachians. "Blue" was delighted.

fences

Don't ever take a fence down until you know the reason it was put up.
--Gilbert K. Chesterton (1874-1936) English essayist and poet.

Above: The view from The Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN.

Footwork

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. --Ralph Waldo Emerson  

Over the years I've encountered lots of thru-hikers up on Unaka Mountain, but Mike Ryan (trailname 'Footwork') was the first SOBO I've met. SOBO is trail talk for 'South-bounders', which means Mike began his trek up on Mt. Katahdin in Maine on June 22nd and now, 1,840 miles later, he's on the home stretch of his 2,180 miles march to Springer Mountain in Georgia, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. Most of the thru-hikers are NOBOs, beginning their trek in early spring with the hope of completing their hikes before the early winter of northern New England. But because Mike didn't graduate from Appalachian State until late May, his only real option, was to ride a bus to Maine (not a pleasant experience) and head south. He had lots of great stories to share of his adventures (and the characters he's met along the way) -- and is definitely looking forward to completing his journey. It really is an amazing accomplishment.  Only 1 in 4 of those who attempt a thru-hike actually complete the entire trail, most leaving the trail within the first two weeks.

heartwarmer

This is my wish for you:
Comfort on difficult days,
smiles when sadness intrudes,
rainbows to follow the clouds,
laughter to kiss your lips,
sunsets to warm your heart,
hugs when spirits sag,
beauty for your eyes to see,
friendships to brighten your being,
faith so that you can believe,
confidence for when you doubt,
courage to know yourself,
patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.
--Theodore Roethke (1908–1963) American poet.

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somewhere out there

Somewhere there is someone that dreams of your smile, and finds in your presence that life is worthwhile, so when you are lonely remember it’s true, someone somewhere is thinking of you.
--unknown

Stepping Out

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
--Lao Tzu (6th century BC) philosopher of ancient China  

Actually Randy and Ivana (trail names Kwai Chang Caine and Kaboose) expect their journey to be 2,180 miles -- or about 5 million footsteps. I met them on the 20th day of their Appalachian Trail thru-hike on Unaka Mountain.  They said they had spent the previous day resting at Uncle Johnny's Hostel along the Nolichucky River in Erwin, TN. According to the AT distance calculator, it's 340 miles from Springer Mountain, GA to Uncle Johnny's, which they did in 18 days -- an average of nearly 19 miles a day -- which is really pushing it! Randy, who's from Indiana, and his wife, Ivana, from France -- both love the Appalachians. I have no doubt they'll complete the entire AT.  They emailed yesterday from Damascus, VA after completing a 38 mile day.  I think they've earned another day off!

Completing the AT is really an amazing feat when you consider that only 1 in 4 hikers who start a thru-hike actually finish it -- only about 300 hardy souls per year.  Since its completion in 1937, only about 11,000 have hiked the entire length. Even if you don't ever plan on being a thru-hiker, you might find this website interesting.  It describes the AT and all the planning that goes into making the 5-7 month hike from Georgia to Maine. The Appalachian Conservancy website has some interesting statistics here and here, such as the oldest thru-hiker was Lee Barry, who in 2004 completed the trail at age 81.

Great videos put together by AT Thru-Hikers -- here and here.

distant friends

Sweet is the memory of distant friends! Like the mellow rays of the departing sun, it falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart.
--Washington Irving (1783-1859) American Writer 

Above: Sunset from The Beauty Spot on Unaka Mountain, Unicoi County, TN

knockin' on heaven's door

Sunsets are so beautiful that they almost seem as if we were looking through the gates of Heaven. 
--Sir John Lubbock (1834-1913) English banker, biologist, archaeologist and politician

Open wide, you gates. Open up, you age-old doors. Then the King of glory will come in. Who is the King of glory? The Lord, who is strong and mighty. The Lord, who is mighty in battle. Open wide, you gates. Open wide, you age-old doors. Then the King of glory will come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD who rules over all. He is the King of glory.

--Psalm 24:7-10 (NIRV)

Sunset from Beauty Spot on Unaka Mountain outside of Erwin, TN [click photo to enlarge].

the pursuit of beauty

There is certainly no absolute standard of beauty. That precisely is what makes its pursuit so interesting.
--John Kenneth Galbraith (1908-2006) economist

A photo taken from the Beauty Spot on Unaka Mountain earlier this year.

drawn to the high altars

The disciples are drawn to the high altars with magnetic certainty, knowing that a great Presence hovers over the ranges ... You were within the portals of the temple ... to enter the wilderness and seek, in the primal patterns of nature, a magical union with beauty.
--Ansel Adams (1902-1984) American photographer

This is Hayes Crowley (trail name 'Opie'), who I met last night at the Beauty Spot outside of Erwin, TN. Very laid back and friendly, it was fun talking to Opie and hearing about his life and his experiences out on the trail. It's my experience that thru-hikers are some of the most interesting people on the planet. It's a long standing tradition that AT thru-hikers adopt a trail name by which they're known to one another -- it becomes their trail persona. I suppose it's just another way for the hikers to leave the world behind. Some choose their own names while others wait and let other hikers assign a name based on experiences out on the trail. For instance, one was named "Silver Foot" because of all the duct tape used to prevent blisters. Another named "Stitches" after she fell and, well, you already know the rest. One was named "Librarian" because of the number of AT guidebooks in her pack. Opie simply said it was a name he'd been called. He's originally from Atlanta, and attends Appalachian State where he majors in English (at least for now). Opie got a late start on the AT, so he doubts he'll get the entire trail conquered this year, but that seemed to be okay with him. If I were a thru-hiker, I'd have given him the trail name "No worries." More on trail names here and here.