Keown Falls & John's Mtn.

Another great hike.  There were 15 of us stout would-be mountain climbers on this day.  The day started out kind of gloomy.  It was an hour drive to the parking lot at Keown Falls.  Of course there was a little mixup between drivers, but everyone arrived safely.  As it was kind of cool at the start, everyone was pretty well bundled up.  This soon changed as the first half of this 5.1 mile hike was a steady gentle uphill climb as can be seen on the altitude graph.  At each resting point hikers were seen removing their packs, then their coats and jackets, then putting the packs back on minus the warmed layers.  This hike lasted 4 1/2 hours, but 2 1/2 hours were spent stopped as we took multiple breaks on the way up and at the overlooks.  The overlooks on John's mountain were breathtaking as can be seen in the photographs.  The hike took us around the mountain and then a different trail back to the parking area.  There were many many things to look at along the way with water falls and incredible rock formations. 
If you would like to see some great photos from world renowned photographers, including maps and altitude graph, click here.  If you are trying to view the photos using 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...Bumper Sticker...Just because I'm doing 80 in a 35 mph zone doesn't mean you have to tailgate me.  And those silly flashing blue lights on you car look silly. 

Brady Mountain

    Saturday's 8 mile hike on the Brady Mountain Trail was another primo hike.  Weather conditions were perfect. The temperature was in the upper 30's at the start and the sky was clear.  We (4 hikers) departed the Brady Mountain Trailhead on Rte 68 at 9:50am.  We began our ascent to Brady Bluff Overlook.  The ascent was a strenuous 2.3 mile climb with a 900' elevation gain.  The trail was well blazed and covered with freshly dropped leaves, so we proceeded cautiously.  We arrived at the spur to the bluff and decided to proceed to the 4 mile inward point of our trek and return to the bluff for our lunch break.  From this point to the conclusion of our inward portion of our hike, the trail along the crest of the mountain was poorly blazed.  Also, the trail was not traveled as heavily as the trail from the trailhead to Brady Bluff and was therefore hard to make out.  We never-the-less were able, we think able, to find the Lost Overlook which was at the 4 mile inward mark.  The overlook is listed as having an obscured view of Grassy Cove and it lived up to it's description.  We then returned to Brady Bluff for our lunch break.
    We arrived at the bluff around 1:15pm and met up with I believe was the Plateau Chapter of the TTA. They were hiking this same trail, but departed an hour after we did and were going to do the entire trail to the Jewett Road Trailhead and return. The Brady Bluff Overlook is rated as one of the best overlooks on the Cumberland Trail.  I believe this to be the case.  As I stated earlier, the weather was perfect and we could see across the Tennessee Valley all the way eastward to the Tellico Plains.
   We finished our break and began our exit of the trail.  This part of the hike is where we exercised the most caution due to the leaf covered trail's steep descent.  We arrived at the trailhead around 3:15 tired, but well rewarded for our efforts.
This hike is rated strenuous and I would agree.  This is one of the best times of the year to hike this trail because of the temperature and increased visibility afforded by the thinned out foliage.
  If you would like to see some pictures of this hike including maps and a video, click here.  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.  Google Chrome is the preferred browser.

Bald River Falls 11.9.19

We found another great place to hike this Saturday. We had nine hikers join to hike the Bald River Trail where it feeds into the Tellico River (at Bald River Falls). The Bald River Falls is about 90 feet in height and was really running well yesterday      (see photos).

After lunching stream side about three miles into our jaunt, we continued hiking upstream ( a gorgeous trail alongside the crystal clear Bald River) to another waterfall at about the 4.5 mile point.

We looked around this area, took a few more snapshots, and began our enjoyable stroll back to the trailhead at Bald River Falls.

If you would like to see some great pictures of this hike, including a trail map, 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 provider.

Fall Getaway 77.5-7.19

2019 Fall Away Hike at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park November 5 thru 7 2019

 Our fall get away hike to Pickett CCC Memorial State Park was a great success. The weather for Tuesday and Wednesday was perfect and even though we had to cancel Thursday's hike due to rain, I think everyone left feeling we were well rewarded. We arrived at the park around noon-e.s.t. and had lunch near the visitor's center under clear but cool conditions. We weren't able to check into our cabins until 4 pm (cabins is a misnomer, it should have been houses) so we departed on our Twin Arches Trail. At this point it was a typical Tuesday hike with everyone immersed in deep discussions as to what we were going to have for dinner. However, when we got to the arches, we returned to hiking mode and were awed by the beauty of the arches. You would definitely have to travel to Utah to find natural arches to rival the arhes we saw in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area. The two arches span 135 and 93 feet respectively. We continued the loop trail and were rewarded with a great overlook and several spectacular rock houses. It was an easy to moderate hike with a steep stair climb up and out of the lower portion of the hike. Kudos to Sarah and Phil for making and completing the hike. At the conclusion of the hike, we checked into our cabins and prepared for the event we all planned this trip for – happy hour and dinner! We returned to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area on Wednesday to hike the Grand Gap Loop trail – a 6.8 mile moderate hike. The weather was even better than what we experienced on Tuesday's hike. This hike was not quite as spectacular as Tuesday's, but just as enjoyable do to the trail conditions and weather. This trail was mainly along the rim of the Big South Fork River Gorge. This trail had minimal elevation changes and was rated moderate mainly because of the distance. There were several excellent overlooks. Again, at the conclusion of this hike, we returned to our cabins for happy hour and dinner. This time, Roy made a great fire in the fire-pit outside in the central parking area where we elevated our blood sugar with toasted marshmallows and other liquid refreshments. We then had dinner, good conversation and then retired for the evening. Our hike for Thursday was canceled due to rain. It's not that we don't hike in the rain, but we felt because we were not as familiar with the trail as we were of our local trails, it would be better to opt for safety over pleasure. So we packed up and departed for home – a bit tired, but happy with our outing. Thanks to Donna for handling the arrangements for our accommodations, and Roy, Marty, and Joan our hike leaders. Sorry Trish was unable to attend, I know she would have much rather been with us than sitting home recovering from her knee surgery.

If you would like to see some pictures taken from the Bluff Trail, click here.  From the Twin Arches Trail, click here.  And a bunch of miscl. pictures, 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.

Piney River 11.2.19

The great adventure of the Piney River hike began in the chilly 34 degree weather but warmed to the 50s. We set out from the Newby Branch trailhead, a washed out, rutted gravel road. The trail entered the forest following the Duskin Creek for about 1/2 the trail, until it flowed into the broad Piney River. The cascades and multiple waterfalls were enhanced by the recent rains. Six bridges spanned the waters. We hiked down the Spider Den Bluff spur to the river’s edge. On the opposite bank the bluff soared to the blue sky. Unknowingly we walked on the Rockhouse spur. When the trail ended creekside, we looked around for the path. After some searching and backtracking, we found blazes where the main trail had turned and we hadn’t. Therefore the 8.5 mile trek was closer to 12 miles, as we finished at the Shut In Gap trailhead.

We hiked 6:42 hours, ascended 968 feet, descended 2021 feet.

If you would like to see some nice pictures of this hike, 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.  The preferred browser is Google Chrome.