When I go out to
eat, I hate to visit restaurants at which I’ve recently eaten – I try to
maintain a rotation that keeps repeat visits far apart. There are some
exceptions to this (having a girlfriend certainly makes restaurant-selection a
complicated affair), but a list of restaurants at which I would regularly eat
is another blog altogether.
I take a similar
approach to my selection for hiking destinations. Our region has so many
beautiful places to visit – waterfalls, scenic views, etc. – but there’s a
limit to its splendor. While I certainly haven’t seen all there is to see in
the area (not by a long shot), there are plenty of factors which limit my
hiking selections: time, daylight, hunting seasons, how spry I’m feeling, etc. But perhaps the greatest limitation is those hiking with me. I’m
perfectly happy to dive into briar-thickets and laurel-hells, climb treacherous
cliffs and lose myself in a trail-less wilderness on my own; but I’m not
comfortable with such recklessness when friends or a girlfriend are in tow (except
for Micah, he doesn’t care).
So a few weeks
ago, I set out on a hike about which I’ve previously blogged (http://faroutsidethewire.blogspot.com/2012/10/bald-mountains-tnnc.html) with Diana,
Micah, and our friend Josh. While our time-limitations and the size of our
party restricted our destinations to only a few hikes, this hike along a
remarkable stretch of the Appalachian Trail was perfect. My previous hike had
been last fall, during peak foliage, and was absolutely gorgeous; being in the
middle of summer, this hike was quite different. Everything was so lush and
green, albeit the views were slightly more hazy.
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| Josh dangling his feet into TN |
I’ll spare you
most of the gory technical details of the hike, but it’s about 4 miles
out-and-back with very little elevation change. We began in the shadow of Camp
Creek Bald and followed the white blazes of the AT past the spur trails for Blackstaff and
Whiterock Cliffs. From here, we continued to wind over the ridgeline of the
Bald Mountains until we reached the portion of the trail which climbs from
beneath the canopy onto the appropriately-named Firescald Ridge. The exposed,
narrow, rugged ridgeline is surrounded by laurel and offers sweeping views into
both Tennessee and North Carolina.
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| Diana, leading us onto Firescald Ridge |
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| Micah's just happy to be out of the house |
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| Diana, adorably enjoying her lunch |
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| Why would you bring honey? |
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| Look at her! |
From this
section of ridgeline, the AT continues north for quite a distance toward its
Unicoi County portion where it actually turns south (despite still being
north-bound) to reach Sam’s Gap. But on this hike, we turned around at this
point and made our way back to the 4Runner. It was a beautiful day for a hike, and given the heat and humidity that day, I think we all welcomed the hike's brevity.
I’ve never been
a very decisive person (with restaurants or with hikes), so it’s often nice to
have certain factors which serve to narrow the options (right, Tolliver?). And
when all the options are so wonderful, especially this hike, I don’t have much
reason to complain. Too many options is certainly a good problem to have.
Thanks for reading!
