RATtreks

Pinnacle Mountain Observation Tower Sunrise – 11-23-2017

A spur of the moment decision to leave before daylight to drive up to the Pinnacle Mountain Observation Tower on Buffalo Mountain to night hike up to catch the sunrise came from out of nowhere but, we acted upon it and did it ! It was a frosty morning and hunting season was now open so when we arrived at the parking area there were two trucks already there with deer hunters in them waiting on the first light. It goes without saying that they were a bit surprised when we parked and donned our packs and noisily hiked off into the pitch black darkness ! I did not feel guilty about it as I was surprised that any deer hunters would be hunting that high on the mountain since any good hunter knows that at that time and in that area they are mostly in the lower elevations due to the current environmental influences. It was colder as we hiked the half mile or so to the tower but, climbing the fairly steep grade kept us warm enough. We got there just before the first light could be seen and as I setup my tripod I was anxiously waiting and hoping it would be a good sunrise as it is such a gamble each and every time. We would end up losing this bet as it was not a phenomenal sunrise so no killer photos would be obtained however, any sunrise is to be considered beautiful as it means another day has been given to us and I can`t think of a better way to spend it than being in nature at the top of a high mountain with my son Tyler, watching the miracles unfold around us.

Sunrise. The sun is coming up on the far left side of Roan Mountain.

Night hiking to the tower we could see the first trace of light as we topped the ridge. The bright red light is one of the towers on the other end of Buffalo mtn.

There was a stiff and very cold breeze blowing once at the top of the tower so we had to add some layers as we waited on the main event to unfold. We could see the lights in the valleys below us and although I could not capture any good images of it, seeing it in person is always nice. Once the sunlight made its appearance we could see frost on the open fields and the smoke from many fireplaces as most of the world was still fast asleep while we were looking down on them from above. We got what pics we could until it got too bright then we packed up and headed back down the mountain.

First light seen once up in the tower (taken with my pocket cam) You can see the tower lights (left) on the end of the Buffalo mtn chain and the lights of Elizabethton just to the right of those with Holston mtn being the high point just above them.

First pic taken with my larger cam of the first light breaking over the horizon

Looking down at the lights of the Unicoi Valley as it stretches out all the way to Erwin.

Valley lights (pocket cam)

Zoomed shot of an odd cloud phenomena over Unaka Mountain. Not sure if this was smoke or clouds.

Zooming closer in on the strange swirling cloud formation as it was very interesting to me !

Unaka Mountain

Looking slightly left of Unaka at the many mountains that await the warmth of the sun

trying to capture the dense mountain fog laying in the valleys

Breathtaking views as we waited on the suns arrival.

I was hoping those clouds would make for a great sunrise.

Sometimes there is more magic happening when you look away from the main sunrise.

Valley lights (pocket cam)

The first pink !! Taken with my pocket cam. (something I was unable to capture at all on my larger cam most likely due to the neutral density and polarizer filters ? )

Decent colors over Holston (pocket cam) Next time I`ll try removing the filters from my larger cam.

Clouds blocking out the sun as it comes up over Roan Mountain

Zooming in. It happens fast then its over !

Finally the main event. I was unable to capture anything better. It was either too dark or too bright !

Roan on the left and Unaka on the right

The sunrise

I wish I had been able to capture it better,,,

Pocket cam

Tyler took this picture of me capturing the main event (Photo by Tyler Tarpley)

The views were actually better when looking just to the right of the sunrise area. As it got lighter we could see more of the valley below.

and then, BAM ! There it was ! Full on sun. My larger camera only has a max F stop of 8 so getting a ‘star’ type image is nearly impossible !

I am sure someone with a nicer camera could have made something much better out of this !

Once the sun was up and it got really bright I took some pics of the amazing sweeping views that can be seen from this vantage point. There were still a few patches of Fall colors that the sun was making pop a little so, it was worth taking a few pics before packing up to leave. My fingers were getting numb being out of the gloves in order to operate the cameras so, I did not take many !

Sunshine on the surrounding mountains

Tower view

View looking off the backside of the tower. (North) You can see Bays Mountain being prominent in the distance.

View looking down the Buffalo Mtn chain with Holston Mtn being in the center

Here you can see more of the other end of Buffalo mtn and a tiny bit of Johnson City on far left.

Zooming in on some red leaves that are being lit up by the bright sun. You can see the frost on the grassy fields as well.

While enjoying this view of Buffalo mountain I could not help but recall many memories of dirt bike riding all over that terrain there when i was growing up !

Opposite view looking Westerly at the other end of the Buffalo chain towards Sams Gap (NC) and Greeneville (TN) .

Killer view over the Unicoi valley. You can see Big and Little Bald and lots of other mountains. The power lines actually look kinda cool for scale in this shot along with the glowing red colors.

The views are great from here !

Strange graffiti on the tower building

More of the odd graffiti on the tower building

Gnome pose silhouette of a fat rat and pack on the right and a skinny Tyler with hiking stick on the left !!!

On the way down we stopped at the memorial site for ‘Ashlie Grace Padgett’ which is on the tree that took her young and beautiful life as she was a passenger in an old Ford pickup truck that hit the tree and overturned trapping her inside. She had just turned 18 and graduated from Unicoi High School so it was a very tragic and sad turn of events. It stands as a strong reminder that the choices we make within a split second can alter so many lives forever. It is very obvious that she was so loved by many and was a very special person. Joy riding on the tower road with a 16 year old driver and another 21 year old passenger where they had gone behind the locked government gates ended with this tragedy on June 10, 2016 just before 5:30 am. She was to start college that very day. It seems they were coming down the steep concrete road from the tower when the brakes failed and the driver could not make the turn going straight instead into the woods and hitting the tree where the truck overturned. Delays in getting help to the remote location did not help an already bad situation. She was helicoptered out but, died a few days later on the same day her grandfather did, both in the same hospital. This was the first time I had been there since this event. We paid our respects before hiking back down to our vehicle.

The memorial tree

With my back to the memorial tree, this is the view of the steep hill they came down and the turn they did not make coming straight to where I am standing to hit the tree 🙁 (it is much steeper than it looks)

It had been only a few hours in the local mountains and the sunrise was nothing to brag about yet, anytime spent enjoying Nature is time well spent. We are already looking forward to the next outing. Until then,,,