Heiss Mtn. Flower Walk 5.12.18

Another beautiful day for a walk in the woods.  Although there were only four of us today, it was a very nice time on this 2.7 mile walk.  I would rate the difficulty as moderate.  Our purpose was to see the Rhododendron in full blume.  Unfortunately, while they were certainly blooming, it was just the start of their bloom.  Give it another week or so and it will be much better.  If you would like to see a few pictures, click here.

Reflection Riding 5.11.18

This was a new adventure for us.  Previously we had made an arrangement with Reflections Riding Arboretum and Nature Center that would allow the club to hike the trails on the facilities property without having to pay admission each time.  It was now time for the group to fulfill its part of the agreement.  Therefore, we we agreed to spend some time at Reflection doing some work of their choice.  There choice was privet removal.  As you can see from the photos, we did a bang up good job in the over two hours we spent pulling.  I would rate this as severe.  Now for those of you who didn't make it, the great trail hiking spirit in the sky is not happy.  The next time it rains or you fall on the trail, remember this occasion.  Following our job, most of us went to the Mojo Burrito and had a nice lunch.  If you would like to see some pictures of the work we did, click here. 

Ritchie Hollow 5.8.18

What a hike!  We started on an absolutely beautiful day.  The temperature was perfect and not a cloud in the sky.  Today we had 14 hikers on what has been a confusingly rated trail.  This trail has be rated from easy to severe.  I'm now going to set the record straight.  Although it is a short hike of only about four miles in and out, I will rate it as moderately severe.  It is a constant up hill climb after a short flat start.  About 3/4 of the way up, there is a turn off to the falls.  Today the falls were absolutely beautiful.  After waiting a short time for the stragglers, we decided on on Chinese Buffet near Walmart at Signal Mountain.  If you would like to see some pictures, click here. 

Savage Falls 5.5.18

  We (George, John, Don and Tom – here after known as the geezer hikers) met at the Durham St. parking lot at 8am and departed for the ranger station at Savage Gulf.  The weather was great for hiking – upper 60's with rain threatening but never appearing.  We departed on the trail at 8:40 on what was booked as a 10 mile south rim hike.  We settled on labeling it a 12 mile hike after we compared fit bit, GPS and park map write up of the hike.  Although it was a long hike, the elevation transition was minimal along the ridge trail.  The falls were all running at full splendor (they rivaled the falls along the Zambezi).  We visited several lookouts along the trail.  One lookout I labled the Mountain Goat lookout.  This lookout required some cautious traversing down a rocky decent to the lookout.  We continued to the lookout at the 5.8 mile mark and had lunch.  We then proceeded to exit the trail.  Along the exit, John, who was in the sweep position (unusual for John who normally occupies the lead position) calls out 'snake on the trail'.  I (Tom) dropped back and observed an 11 to 12 inch viper headed snake lying in the leaves along the trail.  John nor I being combat photographers, failed to take a picture of the critter.  We discussed the genus of the snake and decided it most likely was a copperhead.  After the deadly viper slowly slithered off, we continued on our perilous but rewarding hike.  We exited the trail at 2pm, tired but mentally refreshed.  Don said this would probably be his last hike of the season.   He is devoting his energies to bike riding during the warm summer months.  He already had an encounter with the pesky tick during his last hike on Tuesday.  If you would like to see some beautiful pictures including some short videos, click here.