Cherokee Rec. Area 2.5.19

What a delightful hike Trish chose for us this time.  While the hike was longer than usual, 6.9 miles, it was very flat as it ran right next to the Hiwassee River.  I would rate this hike as easy even though it was a little long and did contain a couple areas where some finesse was necessary to cross some rocks without crashing into the river.  The weather was a little overcast as we started out, but we ended with sun and a temperature of 68 F. in February!  We started at the Childer's Creek Parking Area and went a little beyond the Big Bend Parking area.  The time there took us 2.0 hours, but the return took us only 1.25 hours as some insane person decided we need further exercise and sped everyone up.  Our max speed was therefore a quite fast 4.5 MPH, with an overall average of 2.5 MPH.  This was a great hike and I look forward to continuing this trail in the future.  If you would like to see a bunch of pictures, including maps and altitude graph,  click here.   If you are trying to view these pictures through the TTA website, and having problems, please go directly to the blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.  The preferred browser for this blog is Google Chrome.

Retro Hughs to Rock Creek 2.2.19

This was a great day for a hike.  The weather was perfect, the trail in good shape and six hearty hikers showed up to enjoy the trek.  We departed the Retro Hughes trailhead of the Rock Creek Gorge Section of the Cumberland Trail at approximately 9am.  Like I said the weather was perfect – in the low 40's with the sun shining.  We shared the trail with a group of trail runners, who were holding a run on the trail.  The first part of the trail is a gentle decline that passes through a pine forest and crosses several creek crossings.  There was evidence of the cold weather we had just passed through as evidenced by the icicle lined bluffs and water falls.  About 2 miles into the hike, we began the steep decent to the Rock Creek bridge.  The decent, though steep, was tempered by numerous switchbacks.  We had our snacks at the bridge and then departed for our cardio workout on the accent out of the gorge.  We finished the hike a little past 12 and left to enjoy the rest of the day.  It was a 5+ mile moderate hike.
If you would like to see some really interesting pictures, click here.  If you are viewing the pictures through the TTA website and having trouble, please go directly to the blogsite at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.  Google Chrome is the prefered browser.