Posts Tagged ‘Hiking’

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Hiking in the Rain

May 30, 2012

Little River near Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. May 22, 2012.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

We had to take our car into Knoxville for servicing in late May, so we made an early morning appointment so we would have most of the day for a visit to the Smokies.  We decided to hike to the Little River Trail from the Elkmont Campground.  The trail follows the river and leads to Husky Branch Falls.

The day started well, and we enjoyed the drive to Elkmont as we always do.  We often left the trail to get pictures of the river, which was beautiful (above).

George in the rain on our hike along Little River. May 22, 2012.  (Photo by Betsy)

And then the rains came.  Fortunately we had rain jackets with us.  The jackets helped us, and our cameras, keep dry.  We kept going, even though it was raining hard at times.

Husky Branch Falls, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee. May 22, 2012.

The rain started to let up when we got to Husky Branch Falls, so we were able to enjoy this pretty waterfall.

Betsy taking pictures along Little River in the Smokies. May 22, 2012.

It was still raining as we headed back to the car.  At times it was only drizzling, so we continued to shoot the river as we walked back.

Our hike that day was about 4.3 miles, and it was raining for only four of those miles!  But it was a great day.

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Posted in Hiking | 17 Comments »

Waterfall on Little Fall Branch

May 2, 2012

Waterfall on Little Fall Branch, Harmon Den, North Carolina. April 3, 2012.

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Betsy and I like to break up trips, whenever possible, by working in a hike, preferably to a waterfall.  We went to Asheville, North Carolina, in early April and decided to visit Waterfall on Little Branch along the way.

We had planned to visit that waterfall on our way home from Asheville back in January, but a rockslide in the mountains blocked our access to that area.  The interstate has since been reopened, so we decided to try again.  We took the interstate to an exit just over the North Carolina line, where we accessed a Forest Service road into the Harmon Den Wilderness Area.  The gravel road followed a creek for about three miles before turning off.

We found the trailhead and hiked for about half a mile until we came to the beautiful waterfall above.  We stayed for some time to enjoy the waterfall, but then we had to hike back to the car to continue our journey.

But what a great way to break up a trip.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 14 Comments »

My Big Day

March 12, 2012

Betsy got this cake and candles so we could celebrate my birthday in our room at Blackwater State Park Lodge. March 9, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).

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Last Friday was my 70th birthday.  I remember thinking that my Dad was old when he turned 70, but I really don’t feel that way about 70 anymore.

Betsy, however, managed to find a subtle way to remind me of my advancing years.

Blowing out the candles on my birthday cake. March 9, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).

The advantage of her subtleness was that it made it easier to blow out all the candles!

Cascade on Falls Run, Blackwater State Park, West Virginia. March 9, 2012. (Photo by Betsy).

But I’m happy to report that earlier in the day I still felt young enough to do some bushwhacking in  Blackwater Falls State Park in West Virginia.  Betsy went with me to this pretty cascade on Falls Run, and then she sat guard on a ‘sitting rock’ while I bushwhacked to two waterfalls further down the run.  Both were very pretty.

Upper Waterfall on Falls Run, Blackwater State Park, West Virginia. March 9, 2012.

Since there was no trail I had to work my way around and over rocks, boulders, fallen trees and rhododendron.  I was able to get fairly close to the Upper Waterfall on Falls Run, and captured this picture.  This waterfall is about 17 feet tall.

Lower Waterfall on Falls Run, Blackwater State Park, West Virginia. March 9, 2012.

It was harder to get to the Lower Waterfall on Falls Run.  This waterfall is about 30 feet high, but I could never get a clear view of either the very top or the very bottom.  This was the best I could do by shooting through a narrow space between two boulders.

Well, that was my big day.  We saw more waterfalls that day and I did more bushwhacking, but those pictures and adventures will have to wait for another day.  Now I think I could use a nap!

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Posted in American Life | 26 Comments »

Our World: Natural Bridge at Yahoo Falls

January 24, 2012

The natural bridge at Yahoo Falls, Boone National Forest, Kentucky. September 30, 2006.

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This is my post for the Our World meme.  This meme is a second generation of My World Tuesday created by Klaus Peter and is hosted by five wonderful ladies.  To learn more about our world or to join and share your part of the world, click HERE.

Betsy and I plan most of our hikes to visit waterfalls, but we occasionally find a bonus attraction.  This was the case in September, 2006, when we hiked to Yahoo Falls in Kentucky.  We were hiking a loop trail, and after seeing the falls we came to a junction with a trail leading to a natural bridge.

It was a pretty day, so we hiked the extra mile to see the natural bridge.  It was low, but it definitely was a bridge.  It was also fairly wide.

Under the natural bridge at Yahoo Falls. September 30, 2006.

I scrambled under the bridge and got this picture of of the underside.  I had to use a flash to get any thing at all.

Looking through the natural bridge at Yahoo Falls, Kentucky. September 30, 2006.

I went through the smaller (upper) opening and then shot through the bridge to get this picture.  You can see the trail leading to the bridge.  This was a nice bonus to our waterfall visit.

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Posted in Our World | 18 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Bald River Hike (Part II)

January 18, 2012

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

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This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

As I mentioned in last week’s Watery Wednesday post, while Betsy, who was recovering from knee surgery, enjoyed Bald River Falls, I hiked along the river above the falls and found three other waterfalls and a cascade.  I told about the first waterfall and the cascade in that previous post.

The trail (Bald River Trail #88) got more difficult once I got above Bald River Cascades.  I did find two more waterfalls, but was not able to get real good views of either.

Suislide Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

I could only view Suislide Falls from the top of the falls.  Suislide (I have no idea how it got that name) Falls drops approximately 30 feet.  If I get back there I would like to see if I can bushwhack to the base of the falls, but I didn’t have time to try anything like that on this visit.

Shallow Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2011.

Shallow Falls is immediately upstream from Suislide Falls.  It drops from 15 to 20 feet, and I was able to get a pretty good shot of it with my telephoto lens.  I would like to do some bushwhacking around this waterfall as well, but that, too, will have to wait for another time.

I was a little over half a mile from Bald River Falls when I spotted Shallow Falls, and it was time to head back to my Beautiful Bride.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 25 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Bald River Hike

January 11, 2012

Bald River Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2010.

(Note:  All pictures may be enlarged by clicking on them once or twice.)

This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

Betsy and I have been to Bald River Falls, near Tellico Plains, Tennessee, several times.  The waterfall is pretty and can be seen from the road.  We went to see Bald River Falls in June, 2010, while Betsy was recovering from knee surgery since she could enjoy the waterfall without doing much walking.

We had known that there was a hiking trail (Bald River Trail #88) along the river above the falls, but we had never hiked it.  So while Betsy was enjoying Bald River Falls, I took a quick hike along the trail to see what I could find.

Kahuna Falls, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2011.

What I found was three additional waterfalls and a cascade along Bald River above the main falls.  The first new water fall I came upon was Kahuna Falls, which is just a short distance above Bald River Falls.  Kahuna Falls is 10 – 15 feet high.

Bald River Cascades, Tellico Plains, Tennessee. June 18, 2011.

Continuing upstream, I came upon Bald River Cascades.  The river tumbles down a series of steps, with a total drop about equal to the drop of Kahuna Falls.

I’ll share the last two waterfalls in a later post.

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Posted in Waterfalls | 29 Comments »

Watery Wednesday: Upper Linville Falls

December 7, 2011

Upper Linville Falls, Linville Gorge, North Carolina. November 20, 2011.

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This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

On our Thanksgiving Week getaway Betsy and I drove part of the way on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  We were near Linville Falls about the time we needed to stop and stretch our legs.  We had visited Linville Falls back in 2004, but haven’t been back since then.

My sweet bride couldn’t do any hiking, but she said she would remain in the car while I took a quick hike to Erwin’s View. which was a trail we didn’t hike when we were there before.  The overlook was half a mile from the parking area and offered the wonderful view of Upper Linville Falls shown above.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 17 Comments »

Watery Wednesday #158: Riverside Walk

September 28, 2011

The Virgin River near the beginning of Riverside Walk. June 18, 2011.

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This is my post for Watery Wednesday.  To see more of our beautiful watery world, or to join and post your own pictures to share, click HERE.

During the summer visitors to Zion National Park have to take a shuttle to visit the places along Zion Canyon Scenic Drive.  The last shuttle stop, Temple of Sinawava, is also the trailhead for Riverside Walk.

Riverside Walk follows the Virgin River along a canyon which gets more and more narrow as we hike up stream.

The river became much narrower and dropped over rocks and ledges as we hiked up stream. June 18, 2011.

As we move up the canyon, we start seeing more cascades and drops along the narrowing canyon.  It’s hard to remember that this pretty little stream actually carved the canyon we were walking through.

The Virgin River near The Narrows. High water prevented us from going any further up the canyon. Zion National Park, Utah. June 18, 2011.

The trail was closed because of high water before we got to the narrowest part of the canyon, but we still got to enjoy the beauty all around us.

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Posted in Watery Wednesday | 20 Comments »

Close Enough

May 12, 2011

Black bear seen along Skyline Drive in Virginia. August 6, 2010.

As most of you know, Betsy and I do a fair amount of hiking in our search for waterfalls.  Many of the trails are in remote areas, but we’ve always enjoyed them.  We’re often the only people on a trail, and that’s fine with us.

We have a friend who is scared to death of bears.  Just the mention of the word can upset her.  Betsy and I have encountered bears on the trail only once.  We were hiking near the entrance to Cade’s Cove in the Smokies and saw a Mama Bear and two cubs cross the trail quite a way ahead of us.  We stopped and watched the three of scamper up the side of  the hill.

The picture above was taken at an overlook on Skyline Drive in Virginia back in 2010.  The bear was close enough to be easily seen, but this picture was taken with my long lens, so he really wasn’t that close.  But just between us, I’m glad he didn’t come any closer.

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Posted in Hiking | 20 Comments »

Skywatch Friday: Tennessee Skies

July 30, 2010

Skies above Clear Creek, Tennessee. July 25, 2010.

This is my post for Skywatch Friday, a meme for sharing views of the sky from all over the world.  To see more, or to join and share your own photos of the sky, click HERE.

This past Sunday Betsy and I went to the Obed Wild and Scenic River northeast of the Glade,  It was a beautiful day with blue skies and white clouds  skimming the mountain tops.

At times it appeared that the valley on the other side of the ridge was under cloudy skies, but we never lost all that beautiful blue.

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Posted in SkyWatch Friday | 21 Comments »

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