Last April I set out to finally do more than set a good example and leave it better than I found it. I’d been to river and crag cleanups, but I spent most of my time on the trail and wanted to bring more attention to the places I love. I asked around to see if I could get some people to pick up trash with me on a hike. The idea was there, but my efforts were a bit too spur of the moment and I found myself hiking up to Raven Cliffs Falls with only my dog and some trash bags.
First and solo trail cleanup
After 4 hours bending over and picking up trash over 2.5 miles of trail, I was worn out. There had to be a way for me to get other like minded people together to tackle this work.
I decided to seek out a little guidance and inspiration. So I met up with Bryan Schroeder, Director of Stewardship a the Georgia Conservancy, to discuss some of my ideas. Before I knew it, he was sprinkling his special blend of magic and gave me a platform to reach some outdoor enthusiasts like myself.
Bryan Schroeder – Director of Stewardship, Georgia Conservnacy
Through Meetup’sGeorgia Outdoor Stewards, I organized my first stewardship hike in July. Only two people showed up, but they spent hours hiking, enjoying time around a waterfall, and picking up trash with me. Mission accomplished – I didn’t have to pick up and haul all the trash out by myself!
First stewardship hike at Panther Creek Falls
I have now now led 6 stewardship trips which have included hiking, camping, backpacking, and trail maintenance. Each time I am amazed at how total strangers not only let me take them out into the woods, but also pick up trash and do other work while they’re out there! These people are one of a kind and I can’t thank them enough for all the work they do.
We’ve picked up & carried loads of trash for miles,
Second trip out to Panther Creek
Toccoa River
Raven Cliffs Falls
First trip to Panther Creek
Blood Mountain shelter
worked in the rain,
A bit blurry, but shows these ladies smiling while working in the rain
had a little extra help along the way,
Complete strangers on the trail pitched in!
and gone hiking & camping throughout the beautiful north Georgia forest and mountains!
Dodd Creek
Panther Creek Falls
Campsite at Noontootla Creek
Springer Mountain summit
Campsite on Blood Mtn
Long Creek Falls
Blood Mountain Wilderness
It feels great to see the trails taken such good care of and I hope that everyone who’s attended knows how grateful I am for their help. I couldn’t do half as much without them!
ps – Can’t take credit for all the photos this time, especially all the group shots. Thanks goes out to people on the trips and a few unsuspecting bystanders.
Over the past few summers I have taken some amazing desert trips. As I sit in the oppressive humidity of the South, I reminisce of the incredible desert landscapes and dry heat I love. Two years ago I spent one night a The Needles in Canyonlands National Park as I drove through southern Utah. Just enough time to hike around and witness one of my most memorable sunsets to date.
Cave Spring Trail
The Cave Spring Trail takes you through old cowboy camps, but it is the natural landscape and older history that speaks to me.
Cave drawings
Hand prints on the cave wall
They caves provide much needed refuge from the scorching sun.
Animals take refuge from the scorching sun.
And I imagine that the people living here years ago must have climbed onto the rocks as I did to watch the beautiful show of light as the sun drops below the horizon each day.
This week we took a couple of days to scout out some new spots. It’s summer in the southeast which means I put up with gnats making constant attempts to fly into my eyeballs. I travel along poison ivy covered trails looking mad, as I swing trekking poles in a futile attempt to not wear ALL the spider webs. And sometimes I throw caution to the wind to sit with mosquitoes at the banks of a river or stream. More fun than you can handle?
Going through all that lovely summertime fun I still smile knowing the reasons I’ll get out there and do it again…
To explore and find new swimming holes like this…
Helton Creek Falls
For views like this…
from Tray Mountain
And for moments like these…
Hemlock Falls
It’s been some time since I’ve posted, but we’re still out there exploring just the same. I hope everyone’s getting outside as well, enjoying the summer!
This was the first National Park I hit on my epic trip out West in the Summer of 2013. This lesser known and visited park offers such diverse landscapes having grasslands, wetlands, conifer and aspen forests, alpine lakes, and even tundra! The park isn’t that big in terms of development, but there is so much to see and such diverse ecosystems juxtaposed together. I’m surprised more people don’t go, but appreciated having some awesome experiences here with very few and sometimes no people around at all.
I arrived in the late afternoon and then spent two fulls days here. I didn’t explore all it had to offer, but I did get to climb and play on the largest dunes in North America.
Campsite with the little ground squirrels
My campsite
First ground squirrels of the trip
First ground squirrels of the trip
Hike out on the dunes
Looking out to the dunes from camp
(From the dunes) Looking back at camp nestled at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains
Hiking on the dunes
Cone in the dessert
Clouds bringing an afternoon shower
After spending about half a day on the dunes, I went on a short hike towards Mosca Pass. I didn’t make it up to the pass, but I did get my first glimpse at the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. I was so taken by the beautiful Aspens and the incredible colors I saw in the crumbled rocks on the trail.
Beginning of the trail
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness: Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
Looking back at the dunes from up high
Aspens
Back at camp to watch a gorgeous sunset over the dunes
Sunset over the dunes
Sunset over the dunes
The next day I went up South Zapata Trail. About a mile in you come to Zapata Falls. This is a popular spot and several people were here enjoying the falls and like me, getting their feet wet in the icy cold water.
Looking back towards the dunes
Zapata Falls
Sunning myself on a rock
The trail went on about 4 miles to the small alpine lake. From the waterfall I began to climb up away from the aspens and wildflowers toward the conifer forests of higher elevation.
Looking back towards the park
Old miner’s cabin
Old miner’s cabin
Sangre de Cristo Wilderness: Rio Grande National Forest
Mertensia (bluebells)
Colorado Columbine
South Zapata Creek
Finally I reached the treeline and saw a bit of grassy tundra. The only noise up there was the chirping of marmots and the wind rushing through the trees below.
Top of the treeline
First marmot sighting
South Zapata Lake (just left of my bag)
The total distance was just under 10 miles round trip. I had never seen this type of landscape before and I will forever remember this hike with fond memories.
I always find the drive itself to be part of the adventure. If I have the time on the way home I’m always looking to scout out a new destination, find a place to put up my hammock, enjoy a view, or continue exploring. Here are a few photos from the drive home from my most recent trip to Virginia. Much of the time we followed the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The first stop we made was at Linville Falls. I had been to the Linville Gorge Wilderness area, but had never stopped at the top to see the falls….until this trip.
Here are some shots from the parkway where the beautiful fall colors had just started coming out. The clouds were constantly rolling through, covering and then exposing the amazing views.
We stopped for one night and camped at Mt. Pisgah campground. It was a beautifully clear night and I laid down by the fire and stared off into the Milky Way for a long time. What’s even better is I got to snuggle up with this guy…
The last day of our drive home we caught some more views.
And then stopped by the Chattooga River to stretch our legs a bit.
Until now, we had been limited to overnight trips since I was neither willing nor able to carry the extra weight of my pup’s food and water for multiple days. Doctor’s orders – he wasn’t allowed to carry weight until he was a year old. On September 17th, my pup finally reached his first birthday. A few days later we set off for Damascus, Virginia.
Early last spring, I had spent a night at Grayson Highlands State Park and driven through Damascus. I thought this would be a great spot for the pup’s first backpacking trip. I had met Steve at Mt. Roger’s Outfitters my first time through and called him up to arrange a shuttle. My plan was to get dropped off north of Damascus and do a 40+ mile trek back into town…
Day 1: After spending our first night at a campsite in Cherokee National Forest, we headed to MRO to catch our shuttle. I enjoyed the 45 minute drive chatting with Dave as he drove us up to Fox Creek. He made sure to point us south as he sent us on our way.
Entering Lewis Fork Wilderness
We got on the trail around 11am and hiked a little over 10 miles, making for a fairly easy and short first day. Our first major stop was at Scales – A large grassy meadow where people gathered in the past to sell their horses. The Forest Service uses controlled burns and cattle and horse grazing to keep the area bald. At 4,650 feet with flat open spaces, it gave us our first incredible view of the trip. As usual, I think it’s hard for photos to really capture what I saw, but I’m sharing a few to give you an idea of what it was like.
There are many horse trails in the area.
Leaves had already turned beautiful colors up this high.
After hanging out at Scales for a while, we went back into the trees, through Rhododendron Gap, and eventually to our first campsite near Thomas Knob Shelter. A large part of this first day was spent on bald grassy highlands with breathtaking views. Camping near Thomas Knob was no exception. We had clear skies to watch a sliver of the moon rise and the stars come out.
5,367 feet
Colors in the highlands
Campsite near Thomas Knob
Sunset/Moonrise
Day 2: We spent the morning watching the clouds roll through as we broke camp and collected water at the nearby spring.
Clouds rolling through
Chewing up sticks
Our next destination was Mt. Rogers, where a short walk off trail took us to the highest point in Virginia. The climb up top takes you into a spruce-fir forest, one of only six in the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Top of Mt. Rogers
Back on the trail, we hiked through our last stretch of grassy fields and saw the wild ponies for which these highlands are famous. We made a couple of stops to rest and get more water, which were some of the last times I took photos on the trail.
Resting at a road crossing
Collecting water at a spring
Last view from up top
As the evening drew near, I decided we would camp near the next road crossing. We reached the road and found ourselves looking directly into a cow pasture. The trail appeared to go straight through, but it was hard to see where it picked back up again. While the sun set, I went on a short adventure into the pasture with a growling and barking dog at my side. I was too busy trying to avoid the cows trotting towards us while controlling my dog and I wound up losing the trail. I decided it was best to go back and camp on the north side of the road. I was able to push my pup under the barbed wire and find a gate I could climb over. We had passed an established campsite before reaching the road and we backtracked to spend the night there.
Day 3: At first light, we woke up and broke camp. I fed the pup, had a small snack and we were off to face the cows. We had better luck this morning and after entering their territory we met another group hiking with a small dog. Directions to pick up the trial at each end of the pasture were exchanged and off we went.
After hiking a couple more miles we came to Lost Mountain Shelter. We filled up with water and I got my proper breakfast of oatmeal and coffee. By this point, the pup was taking full advantage of every stop I made. He was no longer whining to keep going like he did on day one, but instead would plop right down as soon as he realized we were stopping.
Lost Mountain Shelter
Dozing off
He wasn’t the only one that was tiring. I had started having knee pain half way through day one, and by day three it was severe. We wound up covering 21 miles this last day. It was a tough day to say the least. I rationed the last of my acetaminophen and took breaks when I couldn’t take the pain. We walked through the forested mountains, going through rhododendron tunnels, walking along flowing water, and hiking up peaks and down scree covered switchbacks. As I limped along, my faithful companion stayed by my side, clipped to my pack. Never pulling, always following my lead.
At sunset we reached a point where the Virginia Creeper Trail (a bike trail) met the AT. There were great campsites here, but I made the decision to carry on. There would be rain the next morning and after such a tough day I just wanted off the trail. We jumped on the Virginia Creeper and walked an easier flat four miles, in the dark, back into Damascus. At a National Forest campground, I took one of the best showers I’ve ever had and snuggled up with my pup in the tent until 10am when the rain stopped. It was perfect.
At four months of age, small enough to stuff into my sleeping bag, I took this little guy on his first camping trip. I stopped going on longer hikes so I could get him used to the trails. He saw his first snow, learned how to cross water, and got used to a small pack. Then at seven months, we went on our first overnight with his Auntie. He got used to longer car rides and learned how to swim. For nine months I focused on teaching him what I thought he should know and bit by bit I’ve been showing him everything I love to do. Now he’s all grown up and has proved himself capable of going on any of my adventures. He’s ready to take on the world with me and you better believe I am going to take full advantage of every day I get with this guy.
This past weekend I was fortunate enough to spend two days running the Ocoee in a Shredder. Look it up, it’s one hell of a ride! Afterwards I had a day to get back home and I wanted to get a short hike in. I stopped by the Cherokee National Forest Ranger Station and met a super cool lady at the desk. She shared great stories of her time around the Ocoee River and recommended a hike nearby that was just under 4 miles with two beautiful waterfalls.
It was perfect for what I wanted to do, in the short time I had. I got to run, hike, scramble, and play in the water at the falls. Bonus – I had it all to myself! So for just a couple hours I had a piece of the forest, a little piece of paradise, all to myself.
I’ve been overwhelmingly vague at best about the location of this hike. One of the reason’s this hike was so great was that the only plan I had was to go somewhere I had never been. So get out there and explore a piece of the forest you don’t know and create your own adventure. That, in and of itself is half the fun.
After stopping in Nashville to have coffee with a friend and spending one night somewhere in Illinois, I made it to my first destination on a two month trip out West. I don’t recall what initially made me consider stopping in St. Louis. I had already taken Interstate 40 on a desert trip before and I wanted to take a different route this time. Knowing my first “real” stop was Colorado, I guess St. Louis seemed a natural stopping point…plus, I’d get to see the Arch. I didn’t know much about the Arch, but it looked like a cool bucket list thing to do. In fact, it was only days before my trip, while talking with my parents, that I learned you could actually go up the Arch. My Dad had been stationed at Fort Leonard Wood when my parents were first married and they had spent time in St. Louis.
I pried my Dad with questions about the Arch and why it wouldn’t just fall over. Only because he worked in the design/build field all his life did I give credit to his answers and finally trust that it was safe to go up. So the decision was made. Going up the Arch was to be my first adventure of the trip.
I didn’t know the Arch was a symbol for America’s expansion into the West. Turns out, this was a most fitting start to my trip. I passed through the Gateway as I embarked on a self-expanding adventure. This entry you’re reading marks the start of a most incredible trip and experience I lived last summer. It’s the real reason I started this blog. For a year now I’ve thought of sharing my hundreds of photos and now I begin.
This past weekend I ventured out to Obed. It’s a Wild and Scenic River, part of the National Park System, just south of Big South Fork. Both are part of the Cumberland Plateau and all my climbing friends were in disbelief I was going and not climbing. Definitely saw more people climbing than anything else while I was there.
I met up with a river guide friend of mine and although we had hoped to take his shredder down one of the creeks leading into the gorge, water levels turned this into a hike and swim trip. We camped at a primitive campsite where we only had to walk a few yards to be on the river bank. It was such a gorgeous scene each morning, watching the light dance on the water.
River’s edge by camp
I guess I should say a little something about my pup, since you’re getting to see him for the first time in this post. He’s almost a year old now and we have been camping and hiking since I first got him. We’re gearing up for a great fall backpacking trip once he turns a year and is ready to carry enough weight.
He’s still building his confidence swimming and we did make a little progress this trip….never would’ve thought it would be work to get a lab to love the water! You’ll start seeing more of him as I continue posting current trips.
Lilly Bluff
All three of us went to Lilly Bluff for a bit of hiking and playing in the water. We did a short 4 mile hike to get some great views up on the rim. Looks like a great spot to see the fall color change and even from up top the water was so clear you could see the riverbed.
After we finished getting hot and sweaty hiking, we got to play in the water. There are some pretty cool swimming holes just near Lilly bluff if you don’t mind getting past some algae covered rocks.
As I said before, the water was crystal clear and this made for great fish watching. Wish we had brought goggles….or a fly rod! We saw such beautiful fish in the shallow parts. I can only imagine what we might have found in the deeper pools.
This is definitely a trip worth taking. Would love to go back to fish, climb, and float down the river.
My first trip to Linville Gorge Wilderness, one of two wilderness gorges in the Southern US, was at the absolute perfect time. I’ve never seen a greater show of changing leaves to date. We started at the rim and hiked in a couple miles or so to reach Babel Tower. There wasn’t much trail going up to the tower on the way down to the gorge and I would never have known to climb had I not been with a friend who knew the gorge.
Looking up at Babel Tower
Camping on top of Babel Tower was quite memorable. I pitched my tent a mere foot or so from the edge and woke up to the most amazing site. Before unzipping my tent door, I was already staring down the gorge at Table Rock as the sun rose, giving light to the beautiful fall colors.
Standing behind my tent looking down the gorge at sunriseShot of the river from Babel Tower
We didn’t do any extensive hiking on this trip, but we did spend some time down at the river and hanging out with friends another night at Babel Tower. The section of the river we saw was swift, with currents and rapids twisting every which way.
Linville RiverLinville River
So far I’ve been back to Linville Gorge to do some climbing at the Chimneys and I can’t wait to backpack down into it again. It’s truly my favorite place, favorite wilderness in the Southeast.
Aspen's Adventures 