I know I keep saying this, but it was another perfect day for a hike. I guess that's why we live where we do. After about an hour drive, we arrived at Foster Falls. There were 23 hikers on todays outing. This hike was to be an out and back trip, with the option of going down to the falls for those who wished. Just about everyone except me opted for the falls, but a couple of us stayed on the upper trail. The trail was absolutely beautiful. There were several beautiful overlooks along the way. I would rate this 4.6 mile hike as easy except for a moderate section where it was optional to go down to the falls. When we have a group this large, it is important that everyone try to stay together. Obviously there are some that want to move faster and some slower, but it is extremely hard for the hike leader to keep track of everyone if the group gets spread out or is some go on a slightly different trail.
Unfortunately, we had an injury on this hike when a hiker fell on some sharp rocks cutting her knee. As you can see from the pictures, there were hikers there to help her, and I am sure she will be alright. If you would like to see a whole bunch of pictures from this hike, including maps and an altitude graph, click here. If you are trying to view the pictures through the TTA website and having trouble, please go directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com. Google Chrome is the preferred browser.
This weeks joke...While hiking through the woods, Nate and Sam found this huge rock which had an old iron lever attached to it. Etched into the rock was the following inscription. "If this lever is pulled, the world will come to an end". Nate wanted to pull the lever and see what would happen, but Sam, being a paranoid pessimist, greatly feared this! He said to Nate that if he tried to pull the lever, he'd shoot him. In a daring attempt, Nate lunged for the lever and sure enough, Sam shot him. What is the moral of this story? Better Nate than lever!
Weekly Trials and Tribulations of the Scenic City Chapter of the TTA
Weekly Trials. Tribulations and Photos experienced while hiking
Piney Falls 5.4.19
Piney Falls Hike May 4, 2019
The hike scheduled for this Saturday actually turned out to be the hike scheduled for next Saturday the 11th. It got serendipitously changed when John and I missed the turnoff at Shut-In Gap road and drove further on route 68 to the turnoff to Piney Falls. We decided to chech out the Falls trail, which was slightly over 2 miles and then return to the Piney River Trail at the base of the mountain. As it turned out, a storm struck as we exited the Falls trail and prevented our return to the River Trail. It was a much better arrangement because if we had gotten on the River Trail first, we would have been caught 3 miles into the River trail and most surely been drenched. The hike was as follows: We left the Soddy Daisy parking lot at 8:30. Several other hikers who were going to make the hike cancelled out. So it was just John and myself making the hike. We arrived at the Falls trailhead around 9:30 and set out. The weather was overcast and in the low 60's. Shortly after departing the trailhead, the sun broke out and it was an extremely pleasant hike. The trail was in pretty good condition and we took the trail to the top of the upper falls. We made our decent to the bottom of the falls via a steep decline down the bluff. There was a steel cable along the trail that aided in the decent. It was a good thing because the trail at this point is very narrow and rocky. Any slip on the trail here would have meant a speedy but painful arrival at the bottom. The recent rains rendered the falls spectacular. We hiked behind the falls and headed for Lower Piney Falls. On the way to the lower falls. I got a weather warning on my cell phone indicating severe weather approaching. We picked up the pace and finished the hike just as the storm arrived. It was a short but very enjoyable hike. If anyone wants to do this same hike, I am returning next week to do the river hike and we can easily add the falls to it. There were a couple of spots on the trail that were a challenge, but all in all I would rate this 2 mile hike as an easy to moderate hike.
If you would like to see some picture, click here. If you are trying to view the pictures through the TTA website, and having trouble, try going directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com. Google Chrome is the preferred browser.
The hike scheduled for this Saturday actually turned out to be the hike scheduled for next Saturday the 11th. It got serendipitously changed when John and I missed the turnoff at Shut-In Gap road and drove further on route 68 to the turnoff to Piney Falls. We decided to chech out the Falls trail, which was slightly over 2 miles and then return to the Piney River Trail at the base of the mountain. As it turned out, a storm struck as we exited the Falls trail and prevented our return to the River Trail. It was a much better arrangement because if we had gotten on the River Trail first, we would have been caught 3 miles into the River trail and most surely been drenched. The hike was as follows: We left the Soddy Daisy parking lot at 8:30. Several other hikers who were going to make the hike cancelled out. So it was just John and myself making the hike. We arrived at the Falls trailhead around 9:30 and set out. The weather was overcast and in the low 60's. Shortly after departing the trailhead, the sun broke out and it was an extremely pleasant hike. The trail was in pretty good condition and we took the trail to the top of the upper falls. We made our decent to the bottom of the falls via a steep decline down the bluff. There was a steel cable along the trail that aided in the decent. It was a good thing because the trail at this point is very narrow and rocky. Any slip on the trail here would have meant a speedy but painful arrival at the bottom. The recent rains rendered the falls spectacular. We hiked behind the falls and headed for Lower Piney Falls. On the way to the lower falls. I got a weather warning on my cell phone indicating severe weather approaching. We picked up the pace and finished the hike just as the storm arrived. It was a short but very enjoyable hike. If anyone wants to do this same hike, I am returning next week to do the river hike and we can easily add the falls to it. There were a couple of spots on the trail that were a challenge, but all in all I would rate this 2 mile hike as an easy to moderate hike.
If you would like to see some picture, click here. If you are trying to view the pictures through the TTA website, and having trouble, try going directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com. Google Chrome is the preferred browser.
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