Apr 9, 2012

We had breakfast at the hotel and set out pretty early on our way toward Smoky Mountains National Park. We got there in a few hours and then began to navigate the narrow, winding dirt roads down to the trail.

We filled up our water bottles at a campground and found the Boogerman trail head along the road. It began with a narrow log bridge crossing the water and then a densely wooded trail.

It turned out that the log bridges were quite common along this trail. They were fun to walk across and afforded a nice view up and down the streams.

Much of the hike was relatively flat or gradually graded except for one part that was a bit of a struggle. Not too bad at any point though. We had a few small stream crossings that were fun rock hopping. I also got inside this tree.

This stream crossing was really unavoidable unless we wanted to backtrack the entire trail. The bridge was out and the water was knee-high and moving quickly. I took off my boots and tossed them across to commit myself to the crossing, then I slowly waded across the rocky stream bed as the frigid water curled my toes. I made it with relative ease and then went back to help Kate across.

After another bridge or two and the lead-up section of the trail we were all done. It was a nice hike that ended up being more exciting than expected.

We stopped at a lookout on our way back out of the park. There was no shortage of great views. It was very windy up there.

We went back to Kate's cousin's house, where they graciously invited us in for dinner and offered us their spare bedroom. The meal was quite the proper southern meal also. There was chicken and plenty of sides. It was all delicious.

We spent the evening looking up places to go the next day. We made our list and then retired to bed to read for a while.

Apr 7, 2012

Kate wasn't feeling well when we packed up to leave at midnight so we put off leaving until the morning. We took 95 South the whole way. The drive was pretty enjoyable overall. It's been quite some time since I've been south of D.C. on 95. Kate slept in the back most of the time trying to feel better.

We made one stop at The Mash House in North Carolina for lunch and to sample their beers. I love the presentation and there was no shortage of delicious beers on this flight. The red and brown were my favorites and the peach blonde ale was amazing.

Once we finally reached Charleston we met Kate's dad at the hotel and put our stuff down before heading out to Red Lobster. It was only somewhat uncomfortable with the hungry family that had been waiting for us to arrive and then Kate dropped her phone in water. After dinner, Jocelyn, who I hadn't seen since high school, picked us up and took us out to Charleston Beer Works downtown. We had a fun time as I sampled beers and we caught up.

After a couple of hours out we had to head back to the hotel. It was a good day and nice catching up with an old friend.

May 19, 2011

We followed the highway the rest of the way up through North Carolina to Stone Mountain State Park and prepared for our hike. It was a warm day but I was ready to get on top of it.

After a bit of an uphill hike with some switchbacks and various foliage, we came out to a really nice view and large exposed rock that made up a big ledge atop the mountain.

We continued our hike up, partly on woods trails and other parts walking across the face of the rock. At the top we had an awesome view of the valley and straight down if you looked over the edge. I walked down to the edge as close as I could go relatively safely. I just sat there for a while as Alex lay out on the hot rocks to have a nap.

We had a little snack and then continued the hike down around the other side. This was a less fun experience as there were tons of stairs to walk down. The views were still very nice and it was nice to get a look at where we had come from when we reached the bottom. We had just been straight up there looking down at this spot.

We had to follow the trail back up since we had parked at a middle parking lot on the loop and after much more uphill walking we came to several waterfalls. The first was not noteworthy but this one was really nice. I like that it's not what I pictured. We sat there for a while in the shade enjoying the view before tackling even more stairs upward this time. Not a fan of the ending, but I'd say it was definitely worth it.

With no plans of what to do, Alex suggested we get food and find a nice spot to watch sunset. I thought it was a great idea and we got food from a market and found this golf course to sit under a big tree and watch the sun go down as people teed off and putted right up to our spot. A nice way to end the day.

We spent a few more hours driving into and through Virginia until we found a suitable (ish) campsite. It was actually really creepy and insanely dark. To add to it, none of the sites were flat or relatively suitable for putting up a tent. We finally decided on a small patch of ground held up by wooden beams that was level but lumpy. It beat the alternative and we quickly got the tent up and got to sleep early.

May 18, 2011

After a good sleep and some hearty breakfast, we got back on the road to the next destination. We weren't too far away it seemed, but we went around in circles trying to find the entrance to Smoky Mountain National Park.

We stopped at an observation tower atop a little general store and took in the view of the mountains. And Alex bought some jam.

After getting some recommendations from a ranger at the visitor's center, we chose to visit Chimney Rock. This sign warned us at the beginning of the hike. It looks pretty easy right? We had no idea.

The hike up was beautiful, with fog rolling in all around as we followed the steep grade up along a stream.

We took breaks now and then to have some water and catch our breath as the ascent was all uphill with no flat breaks. No matter, it was great to look around.

We crossed a fast-moving stream coming down the mountain and cooling us off a bit as we rested on the banks.

This is what we encountered at the top. It was very foggy and it' s hard to tell in this photo, but the summit was protected by an extremely steep and precarious bit of climbing. There were narrow ledges that made me question the safety in going up.

Of course I overcame that thought and went for it. It was a fun, yet scary climb up and the view was nothing but fog. I think I preferred that to the 100+ mile view that is normally afforded to those who make the summit. It felt good to be up there.

Next we had to climb down. That was actually a lot of fun for me, but Alex didn't share my enthusiasm and she wisely took her time and great care in making it back down. I was proud of her for getting up as far as she did. She had fun.

We made our way down the mountain and stopped to take some more shots at the stream and in the dense forest. We made it almost all the way back without incident until Alex slipped on a rock at the very end. She's fine, though her camera was bruised. It was good to get back to the car and take off my shoes.

After looking for a few places to eat, we settled on a pizza place where we got a lot of food. Meals always taste better after a long hike.

A few more miles up the road we found our campsite for the night and pitched the tent right near the restrooms since that was the only flat part we could find.

I did a little reading before sleep. The lights of the bathrooms didn't bother me at all after the exercise we got.