Archive for October, 2015
After being unable to hike for almost 6 weeks since my last hike in August due to back and knee pain, I was finally able to get back to the mountains for some much needed therapy with Mother Nature. Ever since my first trip to the Big Lost Cove Cliffs with my friend Dave Aldridge, I had been wanting to go back as we did not get to spend enough time there on that trip due to a strong thunder and lightning storm that came up just as we got onto the lower part of the cliffs. I knew there was much more to explore and on this trip we would certainly make an all day expedition of doing just that. I would be accompanied by my fellow friends and mountaineers Tommy ‘Bol’Dar’ Warden, John Forbes, and Dan Till. It was a warm September day as we made our way up the first hill from the trail head.
View of Grandfather Mtn. from the upper part of Big Lost Cove Cliffs
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Posted on 21 October '15 by RAT, under RATtreks. 1 Comment.
On the first day of August I decided it would be nice to take a trip to Beauty Spot near the summit of Unaka Mountain to hopefully catch a nice sunset there before work. I stopped on the way to pick up some supper at the ‘Hawg N Dog’ in Erwin which turned out to be some smoked ribs, a hot dog, some bbq beans and some coleslaw. I planned to eat this on the mountain while I waited on the sun to set. As I made my way slowly up the rough gravel road I noticed a red truck behind me but, it was not until I parked and got out at the top that I recognized my good friend and fellow mountaineer Larry Jarrett. He was on his way back from Lower California Creek Falls where he had devised a makeshift ‘Hillbilly Life Vest’ flotation device in order to get across the Nolichucky River which is the shortest way to reach those falls. We had a nice visit there before he continued on his journey home and I towards the summit where I would pick a spot to eat and await the approaching sunset. There were several others already there with the same ideas in mind. I decided to go off the top a ways to get a view towards the South and find a place to myself where I set up my tripod and began to eat the awesome food I had brought along.
Sunset from Unaka
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Posted on 14 October '15 by RAT, under RATtreks. No Comments.
My name is 'RAT' and I love the mountains and waterfalls of the East TN. area where I live and I hope you enjoy this blog about my outdoor adventures.
