Laurel Falls... with snow and ice!

Today our hiking group went up the Laurel Falls Trail, which is actually paved for 1.3 miles.  I've never been up a paved trail before, so this was a new experience.  We set off from the trailhead at 10:00 and were up at the falls pretty fast.  We were having some slippage problems up towards the falls, however.  There was quite a bit of ice up on the trail.  Once we got to the falls, we took a little breather before heading down. 

There weren't too many people up the trail this morning.  It appeared there had been a forest fire up the trail maybe several years before, as some of the trees were still charred on the way up to the falls.  There were also several spur trails leading up and away from the paved area, which looked like fun, but we decided to pass and stick with our group. 

Once at the falls, David and I decided we'd like to do something a little bit tougher and decided to head up the trail to the Little Greenbrier Trailhead, which was at the 3.1 mile marker.  It was nice to finally get off the pavement, which is not a pleasant experience in hiking boots... super uncomfortable!  Once past the falls, the trail got a little steeper and quite rocky.  We got up about 150 feet and there was SNOW on the ground.  As we steadily climbed, the snow got deeper, up to about 4 inches in some places!  The views were amazing and the trail was quiet, a change from the falls, which was full of tourists and inconsiderate people with their children running amuk!  We continued to go up the trail until the powdery snow got slick and we had a hard time getting our footing.  We decided to head back down early. 

On our way back down, the ice had turned into slush and the footing was a little easier.  By the time we got back down to the falls, it was FREAKIN' PACKED!  There were tons of people down there and even more heading up the trail.  The people up there weren't your typical friendly hikers either.  No one would say hello or smile or step out of your way so you didn't slip on the ice.  After the final 1.3 miles down the paved trail, we were ready to get off the trail and back into the car. 

The trailhead was packed and we were both hurting from wearing our heavy boots out on the pavement.  Not the most comfortable surface for a hiking boot!  We were ready to head out and hopped in the car and had a pretty leisurely drive back down to Maryville, where we had some Full Service BBQ and headed off to ETO and RiverSports. 

All in all, I can't say I'd ever want to do this trail again.  Too busy and hard on the legs. 

Here's a photo of David and a tree.... a BIG tree.  One of the biggest we've seen in the park.

Civilization! How I missed you!

This weekend David and I headed up with some people from our hiking group for a 2-night trip to Roan Mountain.  The weather was supposed to be rough and it didn't stop snowing all weekend!  We were planning on doing an 8.5 mile hike on the AT to the Mountaineer shelter, but mother nature had a different plan for us!  We were staying in a hostel in Friday night and going to hike on Saturday, but the snow forced us to reconsider.  We took a day hike out into the woods Saturday afternoon as well.  We hit the AT trailhead about 3/4 of a mile from the state line and headed up a slight incline (about 500 feet/mile) until we got about 1 mile up the trail.  Here was a small, older shelter where we stopped for photo opportunities!  The theromometer in the shelter said we were at 19 degrees, sun shining.  The wind was about 15 miles per hour.  You do the math as to how cold it was out on this one!  We decided to head up the trail another quarter to half mile or so and then split up.  All but two of us decided to go back into town for lunch.  We went into town and had a good lunch with free jukebox music courtesy of the waitress.  We hit the hostel for a nice afternoon nap. 

When we wake up, our two hikers hadn't yet returned.  Some of the group decided to drive up to the trailhead and... low and behold... their car was still there.  It had been snowing since we got off the trail, about 5 hours, and would be getting dark soon.  We called 911 and the sherriff's department.  They were getting the rescue crews together to go in to look for our hikers and we were told we all had to stay put and we were not allowed to head up to the trail to look for them. 

Just before the search party was ready to head out, our hikers showed up!  Unharmed to boot!  They were cold to say the least and came in to warm up.  Three-star chef cooked up some gumbo for us and we ate the entire pot!  We all hit the bed early last night, we the whole day was exhausting. 

Not much hiking this weekend, but it was adventerous to say the least!

The shelter just about 1 mile up the trail.  Photo by Crystal. 

And now, on a non-hike related note...

I've been started on levothyroxine for subclinical hypoparathyroidism.  I'm hoping this is going to be a way to help me lose this weight.  I know my thyroid level has been normal for years, although it has been on the very lowest end of normal, which puts me in the "subclinical" category. 

Think of it as a bell curve, where 2.5% of people fail and 2.5% of people get an A.  The rest of the people are in the normal range.  I'm in that 2.5% at the bottom of the curve. 

Let's cross our fingers and hope this strange weight comes off!

Worley's Cave - Bluff City, TN

Saturday morning I awoke a 7:30 a.m. to meet up with our hiking group to head off to a cave adventure.  This whole trip was one giant disaster, but it was an incredible one at that.  I've never done ANYTHING like this before, and I think I may have a new hobby!

We were planning on "car camping" in the cave, told to be a short 5-minute walk from our cars.  When we got to the cave, it was quite different than the picture that was painted for us.  The entrance to the cave was down a steep, muddy embankment, which ran along a creek, which was VERY high due to the large volume of rain/snow melting we've had this winter.  We got down the embankment, ready to get inside this cave, as it was a "toasty" 58 degrees, unlike the weather outside, which was about 30 degrees.  We were all ready to get moving, since we had already gotten down into our lighter clothing!  We took our group photo and off we went!

We start the cave expedition and immediately begin to see hibernating bats hanging from the ceiling, a very cool site.  As we get about 10 minutes in, the fun begins!  Due to the aforementioned rain/snow, the mud starts to get thick, and the water gets high.  About 20 minutes in, we're in water up to our knees.  Remember that camp site I told you about?  We reach it in close to the 45 minute mark.  Incredible huge room with some neat little cavern rooms in it.  Some of the smaller, thinner people in the group went through the holes and into the little caverns and we all played around a bit.  Then we moved onward up some rocky hills and through some more knee-deep water.  About 1 hour in, we reach a wall where we all need a bit of boost to get up.  We get up this and head up a REALLY STEEP rocky embankment where we all need a little extra bit of help.  This is where I fall into a crevice, elbowing a guide in the head on my way down.  Since I was the third person in the line at this point, Dawn behind me shoves me up as I boost off a guide and grab a hold of another one.  This was WORK!  I drag myself up the slippery slope and make it to the rocks to rest :)

Here, some of our group went up to an "overlook" of sorts and slide down the mud like a slide.  There were some really incredible wipe outs here!  A great time.  While we were all in this big room, the guide told us that scientists believe that if you're submersed in total darkness for 2 weeks, your retinas will actually burn themselves out trying to find light.  We all turned off our headlamps to experience absolute darkness.  Insane!  My eyes didn't adjust to the darkness one bit, and I could suddenly understand the theory.  We trudged onward for a little while, coming to a room where they used to cut tombstones.  Why in the world anyone would cut a slab of rock and drag it out through the cave the way we just came was beyond me!  They must have got the new guy to do it ;)

We moved on through about 100 yards of knee-deep water to another resting spot, about 3 hours in.  From here, our group split into two, one that would go back the way we came and another that would follow the creek out.  We opted for the creek group, but as we went on, the assumed water level got higher and higher. Being only 5"1', I decided maybe I would drown in this water and went back with the first group.  Turns out, we beat them by about 30 minutes out of the cave, and this was a much better option.  On the way out, we were a little more prepared for some of the land marks and we made it out in about 1.5 hours. 

When we got out of the cave, it was still daylight and there was no snow accumulation (thank God!)  We marched up the muddy embankment and immediately changed clothes.  About 30 minutes after we got to the cars, the other group came charging up the hill, soaked up to their chests from the water, which apparently got quite high after all. 

We all decided there was no way in hell we'd stay there, and went back to the group organizers house for our cook out.  Hamburgers were enjoyed and we even evented a new snack - Smoreos!  Delicious!

An excellent trip, and possibly a new hobby!!

A photo of a bat we found in the cave... possibly white nose disease?

Photo by Sean D.