Retirement Hiking Trips.

Now that I'm retired I work my part-time job anywhere from zero days to four days per week. It is weird not having to go and punch a clock every day, (sometimes six days a week when I was a letter carrier, and seven days a week when I was self-employed). I sit there and realize that I don't have to rise before the sun to go to a drudge labor job. Yes, I sometimes still get up before the dawn, but that's only because sometimes I want to hit the road early to go hiking or kayaking. Big difference.

I'm still having a hard time dealing with that.

Saturday I drove up to the mountains and did a little bit of hiking before the rainstorms scoured the peaks. I had two hikes planned but only did one, down into Linville Gorge to see the base of Linville Falls which I had not visited in many, many years. The hike was a whole lot easier than I recalled. But after I climbed out of the gorge the rains hit.

At any rate, here are some photos and a video of the hike.

Old Photos

One thing I love about digital technology has been the ability to take tremendous numbers of photographs that I can conveniently save on external hard drives to retrieve at some future date. This means that I can take thousands of photos that, when I used 35mm film, I had to be very careful about the shots I chose and took.

Today I was going through the files and stumbled upon a brief mountain trip Carole and I took that I had almost forgotten about. We went up to Lake Lure and Hickorty Nut Gorge to visit a friend of Carole's who lived there (at that time--she has since moved). We spent the night in their cabin and then drove up to Mount Mitchell and North Carolina's true high country. Then we made a leisurely drive back home.

I've actually been having a good time digging through old photo files. I'm sure I'll find other stuff of interest as I excavate the memories.

Taken from the summit of Mount Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern USA. View looking toward Mount Craig, the second highest summit in the eastern US (and a mountain I prefer as it's undeveloped and I don't bump into many people over there. Also, it has a natural cliff face with phenomenal views.)

Craggy Dome. We missed the rhododendron display.

Some non-native Tiger lillies on Craggy Dome.

It was getting late as I descended Craggy Dome.

Down in Hickory Nut Gorge. If you've seen the Michael Mann film LAST OF THE MOHICANS then you have seen these cliffs. In the center of the photo is Hickory Nut Falls which is where Magua (Wes Studi) and Chingachook (Russell Means) fight to the death.

Down in the bottom of the gorge where the little town sits. I like it there, but it has become popular with the motorcycle crowd, so if you go at the wrong time you will be surrounded by bikes and their overbearing noise.

Art Loeb Trail

I've been trying to plan out a multi-day backpacking trip so that I can get away from the city for a little while. When you're living in an urban environment, you forget what it's like to have some real peace and quiet. I sometimes find myself with the need to get away from the noises of Mankind--music, voices, engines. There are nearby city and county parks where you can see trees and go walking, but you are never free of the sounds of traffic and gasoline engines.

Next month I have a three-day break. If I can keep my plans afoot I hope to tackle the Art Loeb Trail. I first heard about this footpath when I was a very young man and it has remained a possible goal for years. At a bit over 30 miles in length, it can be tackled as a two-night, three-day backpacking trip. My problem is to arrange to be dropped off at one end and picked up on the other. I'm not sure I can arrange that, but I'm going to try to figure it out.

The trail does pass through some genuinely wild areas so I hope that I can find myself away from the noise of so-called civilization for a little while every day. It's what I need and hope to find.

In past years I have actually walked on sections of the Art Loeb Trail, but never have had the time or opportunity to tackle the entire route. Here's hoping...

A few years back, near the Art Loeb Trail (but not on it).

Just short of the Art Loeb Trail on Sam Knob.

The famous Cold Mountain, which the Art Loeb Trial summits.

Solo Backpacking Trips

I haven't taken a solo backpacking trip in a while. I'm beginning to plan for a multi-day backpacking excursion. To the extent that I'm not even sure when I'm going to take it. Likely it will be in the Fall. I doubt that I'll do any part of the Appalachian Trail because that place has become just way the heck too crowded for my tastes. There are some trail loops in the Great Smoky Mountains back country that I've wanted to traverse for some time, but again I'll have to make sure I won't be dealing with lots of people. I want some solitude, not bumping into big groups of people as I hike.

There are a couple of lesser used longer distance trails that I am also considering. The Art Loeb Trail has long been on my radar, and I'll check out doing a piece of that one. It's very high on my list of considerations. And there's the one that many people take when they don't want to deal with the AT crowds but want to hike for a number of miles without crossing over one road after another: Benton MacKaye Trail. And there's also the Bartram Trail.

I'm leaning toward the Art Loeb Trail because I could do the entire length of it in three days of moderate hiking. It would be easy for my wife to drop me off in the high country and pick me up where the other terminus lies at Davidson River.

We'll see. I just need to get out and find some solitude in the high country.

Middle Prong Wilderness.

With the exception of the cascade, all of these other photos were taken in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness on the NC/GA border. I'm not quite sure I recall where the photo of the small waterfall was taken.

Let's Go Trippin'!

Between the day job, trying to work on my novels, and planning our next vacation I remain worn completely out. We have to get a new tire for the Casita, but that's about all that has to be done before we can hook her up and get on our way. We plan on doing a fair amount of kayaking while we're down in the low country, so I have to search for a new kayak. I think I have one picked out, but I still have time to think about it before we head east.

I'm hoping to be able to go hiking in the mountains at least once in the next few weeks, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to get in a trip to the high country. We'll see.

Hanging Rock State Park, NC.

On The Cascades Trail, Virginia.

On the flanks of Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina.

Homesick

I'm getting homesick for the high country. It has been a long time since I've been able to get up there to go hiking. Currently, it looks as if my next opportunity to hit the mountains will be on my scheduled backpacking trip in late May. Until then, all I can do is dream about the peaks and falls.

Waterfall, Black Mountain Recreation Area.

The Blacks, highest mountains in the eastern USA.

Planning

I have several days free coming up in December. So I've been planning what to do with them. Hikes. Camping. Backpacking, maybe.

But whatever it is, it will be in the high country.

Yep. It has to be in the mountains.

Working Vacation

I'm vanishing for three days on a working vacation to the mountains. I promised my agent I'd work for a bit with no interruptions on the new novel. I hope to finish it while sitting in the high country beside a mountain stream.

We'll see.