Shakerag 4.4.2024

 Wow!  What a hike!  This hike started off as all hike do.  We had eleven hikers all ready to go.  It was a cool day and mostly sunny for this 3.8 mile hike.  The hike lasted for 3 hrs and 49 minutes which is quite a bit of time for slightly less than 4 miles and we only averaged 1.5 mph.  The reason for this was both good and bad.  Our hike leader Delores, took us on a hike on Thursday which had been rescheduled from Tuesday because of weather.  First the good.  Everyone was happy since this hike was wildflower heaven.  After we descended a bit we began to see more and more wildflowers, which of course meant that we had to stop for identification, and picture taking.  Hence the extended time of the trip.  Every time we rounded a corner there was a new flower to look at.  Just wonderful!  Now the bad.  One of the hikers took a nasty fall on the way back due to some dumb rock's decision to protrude in the middle of the trail.  We severely punished the rock with several kicks however, so I don't think it will cause problems in the future.  After some time recuperating from this fall we took our time returning to the car.  Following the hike, most of the group had lunch in Monteagle at Papa Ron's.  I think everyone enjoyed our lunch.  

If you would like to see a bunch of pictures including a couple of maps and an altitude graph, click here.

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Fiery Gizzard 3.30.2024

 Saturday, 5 hikers traversed the first part of the Fiery Gizzard trail to Raven’s Point. We started at Grundy Forest Day Loop, a cool morning walk alongside the Little Fiery Gizzard creek. At 0.25 miles, a hiker tripped over a boulder and fell. A few bruises and scrapes but nothing serious and it was the only accident of the day. Passing by Blue Hole falls, we came to the confluence of the Little and Big Fiery Gizzard creeks, crashing and roaring together down Black Canyon, to eventually form Sycamore falls. The trail flattened along the bottom of the gorge as fields of white trillium bloomed. The trout lilies bowed their yellow heads and purple phacelium crowded between the boulders. We had arrived at the endless boulder fields, one after another. We then ascended, huffing and puffing up the side of the bluff to the rim. The hardest part of the hike was accomplished! Lunch at Raven’s Point overlook was our reward.

Rested & refueled, we returned by way of the Dog Hole trail, largely boulder-free and gentle ups and downs. We passed the coal mining opening which was “so small only a dog could crawl into it,” and descended once more into the gorge to exit by way of the Day loop. A good but exhausting hike at 9.9 miles and an elevation gain of 1188 feet.

If you would like to see some really nice pictures of this hike, click here

Dear optimist, pessimist, and realist. While ya'll were arguing about the glass of water, I drank it.  Sincerely, the opportunist.  

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