building the new

The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. 

--Dan Millman (b.1946) author.

butler bridge

It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time. 
--Winston Churchill (1874-1965) British Prime Minister. 

Above: Butler Memorial Bridge over Watauga Lake (built 1948)

travel light

If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears.
--Glenn Clark (1882-1956) author.

Above: American Wintergreen plant growing on Unaka Mountain.

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.

light and shadows

Never fear shadows. They simply mean there’s a light shining somewhere nearby.
--Ruth E. Renkel

Hiked up to the summit of Unaka Mountain yesterday around sunset. Such an eerily beautiful place. No majestic mountain views, just spruce pines as far as the eye can see. When the fog and mist move through the trees, it's one of my favorite places to visit. The hike back in the dark was a little treacherous but made for a fun adventure. :)  Pictured here is my friend Peter Nelson hard at work -- visit his gallery here.

For directions and a description of the hike, click here.

point of view

 

If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from that person's angle as well as from your own.
--Henry Ford (1863-1947) American industrialist.

Above: Rhododendron Gardens Overlook, Roan Mountain.

tangled

 

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive.

--Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832) Scottish author. 

road to greatness

It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.
--Seneca (c. 4 BC – AD 65) Roman philosopher and statesman.  

The road to the top is narrow and difficult. But worth it. Not having time (or more accurately, energy) to complete the entire 9 to 10 mile Pinnacle Trail (round-trip), I drove to the parking area near the top. The Forest Service road starts out wide and gradual and in pretty good shape, but it gets narrower, steeper and increasingly pot-hole ladened. The good news was that from the parking area, it's a much shorter hike -- 3/4 of a mile walking up the rest of the road from the gate (steep!), or 1.5 miles via the upper section of the Pinnacle Mountain Trail (gradual). We took the trail up and the road coming back down. For a full discussion (with directions) of the Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower and Trail, click here.

aim high

If you set your goals ridiculously high and it's a failure, you will fail above everyone else's success.
--James Cameron (b.1954) Canadian filmmaker and explorer.

Above: Appalachian Trail on Round Bald in the Roan Highlands

sidekick

Success and failure. We think of them as opposites, but they're really not. They're companions - the hero and the sidekick. 
--Laurence Shames (b.1951) author.

Above: Blue and my shadow on the Appalachian Trail. This is the view from Round Bald looking out on Jane Bald and Grassy Ridge.

renew

Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. 
--Gautama Siddharta (563-483 B.C.) Founder of Buddhism.

Above: Roaring Fork Falls.  Click here to learn more about this beautiful cascading waterfall found near the Blue Ridge Parkway (Mile #344) in the Mount Mitchell area of North Carolina.

Happy New Year!

don't wait

In life, one has a choice to take one of two paths: to wait for some special day -- or to celebrate each special day. 
--Rasheed Ogunlaru

Above: Late afternoon walk at Carden's Bluff (Watauga Lake).

twin tunnels

 

Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make themselves superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by measuring themselves against a comparative standard. Their joy is being who they are, not in being better than someone else. 
--Nathaniel Branden (1930-2014) Psychotherapist and author. 

Above: Twin Tunnels, Blue Ridge Parkway, Mile 344.5 (between Crabtree Falls and Mt. Mitchell).

Of the 26 tunnels found along the parkway, 25 are found in North Carolina. Most of the decorative stone portal-facings were not part of the original construction, but added later in the 1950s and 60s. Tunnels were used to prevent large scale cutting and scarring of the mountains and also to ensure the most desirable routes were achieved. 

december swim

All men should strive
 to learn before they die

what they are running from, and to, and why.


--James Thurber (1894-1961) American author--

With temperatures reaching above seventy degrees, Blue was happy to go for a December swim in Watauga Lake.

risky business

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket -- safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.
--C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) British Scholar and Novelist.

Above: Sunset at Watauga Lake

keep moving

Better to start up a thousand wrong roads than to spend your life going nowhere because you know the way. 

--Robert Brault

Above: Late autumn road on a dreary day.

life's essentials

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.  

--Joseph Addison (1672-1719) English Author and Statesman.   

Carden's Bluff Campground is open from mid-April till the beginning of November. But while you can't camp there now, you can park at the main gate and walk in and explore. It's a perfect place to walk the dog and take in some wonderful views of Watauga Lake.  For more pics and info, click here. 

when all else has fallen

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen. 
--1 Cor. 13:7-10 (JB Phillips Translation). 

Above: Fallen leaves blanket the waterfall at Rocky Fork State Park. 

Directions: Take the Flag Pond exit off of I-26 (exit #50), at the stop sign turn left onto Upper Higgins Creek Road. Drive ½ mile, till you reach Rt. 23, turn right and travel 2 ¼ mi. through Flag Pond, then turn left on Rocky Fork Road. Enjoy the views of the tumbling creek. After ¾ mile, you will see a gravel pull-off to the left. Park here (out of the way of the gate) to continue exploring the 10,000 acre Rocky Fork on foot. Trail map here.

smile

Smile though your heart is aching 
Smile even though it's breaking
When there are clouds in the sky, you'll get by
If you smile through your fear and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through for you.
--Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) actor, filmmaker, and composer.

More shots taken on my misty day at Crabtree Falls. 

happiness

Happiness begins where selfishness ends. 
―John Wooden (1910-2010) basketball coach.