Two Obsessions.

I have two obsessions in my life. One of them is writing, and the other is my pursuit of outdoor activities. The workday world has always pulled me in the opposite direction of both of these interests. One has to earn a living, in my case as a laborer, and that often makes it difficult to find the time to create or to retreat to a wild area where I can find solitude and peace.

Since I mainly write in seclusion, I find a similar peace when I create stories as I do when I hike or kayak to a far, isolated place to be surrounded by nature. And the journey to find quiet and to listen to the sounds of the wind in the trees or the calls of birds, absent of the growl of machinery helps to spur my imagination which, in turn, spins the wheels that grind the fiction.

I hope to always be an outdoorsman. If I could not walk into a deep forest or hike to the top of a peak separated from the cityscape, I would be lost. Similarly, if I was robbed of the pleasure to write stories and novels I would find myself in a great deal of pain.

So if you don't see me for a while or hear from me, be assured that I'm either creating a new story, or sitting quietly in a forest somewhere, observing the movements of Mother Nature.

Heart Rock at Pinnacle Park in Sylva, NC.

Climbing to the Pinnacle in Sylva, NC.

A CONFEDERACY OF HORRORS By James Robert Smith.

The Sylva Pinnacle

For many years I have been meaning to hike to the summit of "The Pinnacle" above the town of Sylva. I think I have covered such place names in the past. There are literally hundreds of mountains in the eastern USA called "The Pinnacle". When it comes to mountains, the locals seem to run out of options really fast and start repeating themselves. For instance, there are two mountains called "Green Knob" within a few miles of one another here in North Carolina. It's ridiculous!

So, I decided to call this particular "The Pinnacle", Sylva Pinnacle, so that we'd all know which one I'm talking about.

This summit is a tad over 5,000 feet in elevation,which sounds really high by eastern standards, until you add in the fact that it stands around a number of really high mountain peaks that scrape, or exceed 6,000 feet in elevation. Also, the Great Smoky Mountains are nearby, and they are nearly the kings of eastern mountain ranges (second only to the Black Mountains).

This peak is protected within a city park called, appropriately, Pinnacle Park. It is well over 1,000 acres in size and was once the watershed for the city of Sylva. These days it's a wonderful public park with tons of great hiking opportunities. They even allow back country camping in the park. For free.

One thing that had initially attracted me to wanting to climb Sylva Pinnacle is that I'd heard that it was a scramble to reach the top. That is, you had to use all four limbs to attain the summit. Such peaks are very rare in the east, so it was high on my to-bag list. Alas, once I got to the top, I realized that all of those stories were just hot air. It's a rocky hike, for sure, but it's not a scramble.

I highly recommend a trip to the top, or just a visit to Pinnacle Park if you're in the vicinity of Sylva. It's a great place, and I'm glad the city was able to protect this spot.

Blackrock Mountain and Waterrock Knob.

Perry Top.

Self-portrait.

Very nice trail system!

Looking down toward Sylva from the cliff top.

Nice signage!

Some people mistakenly turn around here, thinking this is the end of the trail to the Pinnacle. In fact, the trail continues past these two campsites, just to the left of the second one.

This is called "Split Rock" and is a popular bouldering destination.

Split Rock as seen from the main trail.

Reminder that this park was once the town's official watershed.

Bagged!

I bagged a peak that has been on my list for about two decades. There was always something coming up to get in the way. I'll post details tomorrow. We had a hard time getting home today (blown tires on the travel trailer).

View to my right.

Standing on the summit at the edge of a cliff.

The peak I was on is a tad over 5K feet. But nearby are summits at, or above, 6K feet.