Little Cedar Mountain 6.1.19

The weather on this day was perfect.  Clear blue skies with warm but comfortable temperatures.  There were seven of us on this easy to moderate 3.5 mile hike.  Little Cedar Mountain has always been one of my favorites.  The trail is very lush and diversified.  We kept up a pretty good pace but everyone still enjoyed the scenery.  This hike lasted lest than 2.5 hours and we had a good maximum speed of 3.5 mph.  Our moving average was 2.1 mph with an overall average of 1.4 mph.  If you would like to see a few pictures of this hike, including maps and an altitude graph, click here.  If you are viewing the pictures through the TTA website and having problems, please go directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.  The preferred browser is Google Chrome.   

Lula Lake 5.28.19

This was another nice visit to Lula Lake.  It was a beautiful clear day and since we were up in the mountains, not too hot!  Even though we had not had much rain lately, the Lula Falls were flowing nicely and everyone had a nice view.  We then hiked up along the Bluff Trail so that we could see the view out over Chattanooga Valley.  You could see several mountain ranges off  to the East.  We sat under some trees for a few minutes and had lunch before proceeding along the trail and then down.  There were 17 hikers on this 3.5 mile hike which took us 2 hrs and 50 minutes.  I would rate this hike as easy and our max hiking speed was 3.4mph, with a moving average of 1.8 mph and an overall average of 1.2mph.  Following the hike my group decided to have lunch at the Restaurant on the Corner on top of Lookout Mountain.  Or review was good food, but a little expensive.  This was a Great Day for the BEST TTA chapter!  If you would like to see some pictures including maps and altitude chart, click here.  If you are trying to view the pictures through the TTA website, and having problems, please go directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com. 

This weeks joke...There were these two guys out hiking when they came upon an old abandoned mine shaft.  Curious about its depth they threw in a pebble and waited for the sound of it striking the bottom, but they heard nothing.  They went and got a bigger rock, threw it in a waited.  Still nothing.  They searched the area for something larger and came upon a railroad tie.  With great difficulty,  the two men carried it to the opening and threw it in.  While waiting for it to hit bottom, a goat suddenly darted between them and leapt into the hole!  The guys were still standing there with astonished looks upon their faces from the actions of the goat when a man walked up to them.  H asked them if they had seen a goat anywhere in the area and they said that one had just jumped into the mine shaft in front of them!  The man replied, "Oh no.  That couldn't be my goat, mine was tied to a railroad tie." 

Sluder Lane to Big Soddy Creek 5.25.19

It was a rather warm and humid day on the mountain.  When the hike was completed the temperature was 88 F.  There were 7 hikers that decided to try this hike on Memorial Day weekend.  I did not descend down to Deep Creek as I had completely run out of energy.  Therefore, my hike covered a distance of 4.8 miles with a time of 4.5 hours.  The rest of the hikers covered approximately 7 miles and it took them about 1.5 hours longer.  The trail was beautiful and we saw some incredible Azaleas and Rhododendron (see photos).  There were trees down that did require some navigation to get around but everybody was successful.  I would rate this hike as moderately strenuous.  At deep creek, everyone admired the new bridge and this is where the group had lunch. 
I had an incorrect setting on my camera so some of my pictures failed miserably.  Thankfully, other members of the hike were not so incompetent.  If you would like to see some beautiful pictures taken by myself and other members of the hike, click here.   If you sent me pictures and they are not shown, please let me know.  If you are trying to view the photos through the TTA website and having trouble, please go directly to the BLOG at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.

Prentice Cooper 5.21.19

Another beautiful day for a 3.5 hour hike.  We started at the Cumberland Trail Parking Lot and ended at the Snooper's Rock parking lot.  Trish arranged a shuttle system so that we didn't have to walk back although a few of the hikers decided to make the journey back to the starting point.  I would rate this 3.8 mile hike as easy.  We finished just as the weather was beginning to get hot!  Perfect timing!  Everyone enjoyed the Indian House and especially the view from Snooper's Rock as this was a very clear day.  Following the hike those of us who decided to have lunch went to the River Drifters restaurant on Suck Creek Road.  Wow, what a delight.  The food was excellent as we sat outdoors and enjoyed the breeze.  Just as we left, those who chose to hike back arrived at the restaurant and I'm sure they had a great lunch also.  If you would like to see a bunch of pictures, including a map and altitude graph, click here.  If you try to view the pictures through the TTA website and have trouble, please go directly to the Blog at www.sdctta.blogspot.com.  The preferred browser is Google Chrome.
This weeks joke...
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip.  As they lay down for the night, the fire dwindling nearby, Holmes said: "Watson, look up and tell me what you see".
Watson said "I see a fantastic panorama of countless stars".
Holmes: "And what does that tell you?"
Watson: "Astronomically, it suggests to me that if there are billions of other galaxies that have roughly similar stellar population densities as represented by my view, that, potentially, trillions of planets may be associated with such a galactic and, therefore, stellar population.  Allowing for similar chemical distribution throughout the cosmos it may be reasonably implied that life-and possibly intelligent life-may well fill the universe.  Also , being a believer, theologically, it tells me that the vastness of space may be yet another suggestion of the greatness of God and that we are small and insignificant.  Meteorologically, the blackness of the sky and the crispness of the stellar images tells me that there is low humidity and stable air and therefore we are most likely to enjoy a beautiful day tomorrow.  By looking up at the stars, what does it tell you, Mr. Holmes? "
"Well, Mr. Watson, it tells me that someone has stolen our tent".

Signal Point to Edward's Point 5.18.19

Today we had a great day for a hike. It turned out that we had seven club members participate in the 5 miles ( or so) hike. The trail was was very busy today as we shared our hike with 20 to 30 other hikers ( and several well behaved pet hounds mostly on leashes).

I would rate this hike as moderate. The temperature started out at close to 70 and made it to about 80 by noon.

We lunched at Edward's Point and enjoyed a pleasant view of the Tennessee River Gorge and a hazy Chattanooga about 5 miles away.

On our hike back to Signal Point we decided to use the alternate route via the 8th hole and a couple of sand traps.

If you'd like to see a "few" pictures please 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.