July 20, 2019 Hike Report: Jones Theft on Jones Mountain

Momentously, Carol (nee Jones) Pickard stole a pack today on Jones Mountain. Happily, she returned it to avoid incarceration in the local ladies' correctional institution. More of that, later!

It was a cloudy, soupy morning when several mysteriously optimistic hikers gathered at the Garden Parking Lot: Carol, Atossa, Ursula, Mary Leonard, Suzanne, Ellen, Sydney, Hoyt, Bob, Allan, and Tom.

Our head count showed eleven hikers and only two cars, so one hiker volunteered to fetch her car, and another hiker went with her on the fetch.

The first two cars went off without waiting for the fetcher, which led to a minor confusion about where we were to meet for the hike, with the fetcher and her passenger at a trailhead a mile or so away from the other hikers.

This problem was solved through the miracle of cell phone communication, and we all eventually arrived at the same trailhead and began our ascent of Jones Mountain.

The hike itself was quite uneventful and we encountered just two or three other hikers and their dogs.

We had a rather protracted sojourn at the lovely cabin with the view out toward I40.

This brings us back to the matter of the Jones Mountain Theft. As we prepared to descend for the return to our cars, one hiker was unable to find his daypack which he was sure he had left near the big sitting log near the cabin. None of the present company admitted any complicity whatsoever.

But three of our hikers had already disappeared down the trail, so they immediately became prime suspects. Luckily, one of them had a miraculous cellphone, and we were able to determine that nee Jones had attached herself to a pack that did not belong to her.

She readily acknowledged her guilt, flashed her sweet smile, and begged for mercy, suggesting that she had stolen the pack and lugged it down the mountain just as a favor to whoever owned it, so the owner wouldn't have to lug it down the mountain. But the problem with that excuse was that she had not informed the owner, so it was left hanging as a theft.

Nee Jones was able to avoid incarceration in the local ladies' incarcerator, but she will be on probation for all foreseeable hikes.

For the record, let it be known that the Judge among us was not involved in any of the jurisprudence in this landmark case of Jones' Jones Mountain hiking thievery.

Here are Atossa’s photos:

Now to Sydney’s photos

And a few from our scribe.

July 13, 2019 Hike Report: Chips on Point Lookout

by Allan Brown

We hiked to Point Lookout as scheduled. The hikers included Hoyt, Atossa, Buzz, Bob, David and Doc, Allan, Ursula, Betsy, Carol, Amy, and Elizabeth B. One fun thing that happened was that as we were walking over the point where the railroad goes under the trail, a short train came out of the tunnel that you can see there and went under us while blowing its horn. There were only about 5 railroad cars that had a few wood chips in them.

And now for some nice photos by atossa.

Now for some nice flower shots by Buzz.

And the final photo, Ursula’s pic of Buzz.

July 6, 2019 Hike Report: Arboretum Split

We had an unlucky thirteen hikers today, but David's poochie Doc agreed to be counted among us as number fourteen. Problem solved.

It was an Arboretum hike, and to accommodate various needs of our hiking group we split into two subgroups at the Garden Parking Lot. One group had time constraints: Atossa, Nancy, Suzanne, and Ellen. So they went their separate way, presumably to the Arboretum. Perhaps we will soon have further information about their wanderings.

The other group had time for a longer hike: Buzz, Bob, David, Allan, Tom, Ursula, Mary Leonard, Sydney, and Betsy. So they went to the Arboretum, parked in the little lot just beyond the gate, and hiked Hard Times Road, Owl Ridge Trail, Rocky Cove Road, Bent Creek Trail, Running Cedar Road, and various paths to the Education Center Bistro, where they had lunch. They then hiked down Wesley Branch Trail and on to their cars at the lower parking lot, hiking 4.5 miles with an elevation gain of 500 feet. So it was a good workout.

While we were lunching at the Bistro there were many thunderings and one very close crashing lightning bolt, but there was no rain on us then or during the hike. The rain gods, in their fear of us, stayed just a little way off. We hit a little rain on the drive home and saw more evidence of rain as we arrived back at the farm, around 2:30.

On this hike we saw many people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, some waddling, some walking, some hiking, and some biking. As usual, we can truthfully say it was a nice hike and we enjoyed each others' company.

Next are five photos by Buzz Yoder

June 29, 2019 Hike Report:

Circling the Wolfpit

It is getting close to July Fourth and we are experiencing some warmer weather, although it is cold by current French standards.

So far, though, our Saturday morning weather has been quite tolerable, and today was just fine for hiking Wolfpit Circle in the Blue Ridge Assembly. Wolfpit's thick forests provided us with plenty of shade.

There is a good bit of uphill on the first half of the Wolfpit Circle hike, but our group managed it well. And of course the second half of the hike is on a gradual downhill slope, very easy hiking.

On this trail you are away from civilization. No buildings, no vehicles, not even the sounds of highways and trains. And almost no people. We saw no other hikers except for one couple who said they were heading for High Windy. They were completely unfamiliar with the trail. Let us pray that they made it all the way up to High Windy and back.

We seldom see signs of our ursine friends, but today we saw two separate signs, recorded for posterity in our photo section.

We had two new hikers today: Samantha and Tom Maynard, who live in Meadowmount II. Unfortunately they and Buzz and Nancy escaped our group photography session, but they are good looking hikers, just like all the rest of us.

Hiking today in addition to the Maynards were Ursula (our little she-bear?) Mary Leonard, Suzanne S., Buzz, Nancy, Allan, Bob, Tom, Sandy, Sydney, Liz, Spence, and David and Doc.

June 22, 2019 Hike Report: Craggy Unpinnacled and Jumped

When you go to Craggy, you do the Pinnacle, right? You hike up the rocky trail and sit yourself down on one of the Pinnacle's stone benches and take a chaw on your sandwich and peer around at the distant mountain ranges and then focus in on the steady stream of hikers coming and going on the Pinnacle trail. You marvel at those who choose to be flipflop mountaineers. Are they from Florida? California? Cuba? Arabia? Truth be told, they seem to navigate the roots and stones with their flipflops better than we ancients do with our hiking shoes and glittering poles.

Okay, that's the scene on the Pinnacle, but we did not go there today. Instead, the sixteen of us headed directly to the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area, deposited our cars, and headed up up up the trail going to the big open shelter. We then branched off across the bald to the overlook spot where you can see the Ingles warehouse off in the valley.

Then we headed back down and stopped at the trailside picnic tables and chawed on our sandwiches.

Next was the jumper incident, with Ursula providing juice for Tom's dead battery.

As we left Craggy, we paid homage to the rain gods, who had kept their distance during the entire outing. They gradually took over on our return journey, punctuating their presence with showers and thunderbolts.

On this hike we encountered two pairs of loving soul mates, one wedding party, and many other assorted hikers, some with doggies and some with papooses.

Our sixteen hikers were Ellen, Ellen's daughter Ruthie, Ruthie's friend xxx, Suzanne, Susan Dean, Ursula, Allan, Marian, David (and Doc), Buzz, Hoyt, Sydney, Mary Leonard, Tom, and Atossa and Carol, the latter two joining us for the picnic.

So, it was another great hiker outing. We were very lucky with the weather and with the fine companionship and with the jump.

June 15, 2019 Hike Report: Kitsuma Cumlaude

Graduation time of year, yes, and some of our hikers have been attending ceremonies for their grandchildren.

Today a group of sixteen hikers graduated at the top of our class, Kitsuma Cumlaude.

We had perfect weather, sunny in the sixties, as we made our way up the switchbacks on Kitsuma.

We had a peaceful sojourn at the little rocky-piney outcropping with the nice view of Black Mountain.

We then proceeded to the clearing at the peak, which is spacious but lacking a view.

Then it was back down, on the switchbacks and the straight stretch alongside of I40.

We encountered many bicyclists, all coming in the uphill direction, and all being quite courteous and friendly.

We saw more bikers than hikers! But of course if you count our group, the hikers still outnumbered the bikers.

Here is the who's who of today's Kitsuma Cumlauders:

Allan, Ellen, Bob, Harper Day, Craig, Judith, Margaret F, Nancy, Hoyt, Marian, Betsy, David K, Mary Leonard, Atossa, and Tom. And Doggie Doc.

Our first several photos are by Buzz Yoder.

Our remaining photos from today’s hike are by Atossa Kramer.

Now we will throw in a few pics from your scribe.

June 8, 2019 Hike Report: The Defiants

You wake up and check out the weather report. Prediction: showers all day.

Do you roll over and get some more shuteye? Do you decide to watch the French Open, which did for a time succumb to the rain gods?

Not if you are one of the eleven defiant hikers who braved the elements this morning, some brazenly showing up without any rain gear or umbrellas. These seemingly foolish hikers were Atossa, Mary Leonard, Ellen, Amy, Ursula, Marian, Betsy, Buzz, Tom, Bob, and David. And let us not forget our mascot, Doc.

Perhaps, though, these hikers knew that their collective defiance would be enough to keep the rain gods at bay for as long as the defiants wished to hike. And so it was, as the rain gods were able to muster just a few misty raindrops as we concluded the hike at the parking lot behind the primary school, right near the Flat Creek Greenway's terminus.

We had hiked up the greenway, with David, Bob, Tom, Betsy, Ursula, Mary Leonard, and Ellen choosing to continue by crossing the creek and heading up Flat Creek Road to its terminus,and then heading back mainly on Montreat Road. This subgroup, led by Doc, did take a little circular detour on fourth and third streets, stopping briefly to imbibe a power drink at a lemonade stand business managed by three little grade school ladies.

The remaining hikers, Buzz, Amy, Marian, and Atossa, lagging seriously behind on the greenway (perhaps detained by photography (Buzz and Atossa?)), lost track of the lead group and went straight into the village next to Cotton Avenue, up to the back fence gate, at which point they deemed it wise to phone the other hikers and tell them, “See you back at the parking lot.”

And that is what happened, and even though we had been split into two groups, we still had the collective power to keep the rain gods at bay. After returning home, with our collective power frayed by our dispersion, we all experienced a pretty heavy rainshower, observed from the safety of our GHF residences.

All remaining photos (and captions) are by Atossa Kramer

June 1, 2019 Hike Report: Rainbow but No Rain

Rainbow Road in Montreat offered us no rain, just perfect cool sunny weather, in spite of local gardeners' pleas.

So, it was a perfect morning for our hike and we did Rainbow up and back. It is not a difficult hike but it is quite long and with a fair amount of mostly gentle uphill and downhill.

Enjoying the hike were only eight of us, an unusually small turnout for such a nice day and good trail.

We were Carol, Sandy, Ellen, Marian, David K, Bob, Buzz, and Tom. Oh, and also doc, David's affable canine companion.

Although this was an uneventful hike, it was a delightful one. We saw a smattering of other hikers along the trail, and one mountain biker.

May 25, 2019 Hike Report: Bull Dam Dodge

Pretty warm out today, but luckily our hike was 98 percent in the cool shade of the dam pasture woods, with much of it along the cool babbling Bull Creek.

We had fourteen hardy hikers: Margaret F, Ursula, Carol, Ellen, Mary Leonard, Allan, James, Bill, Craig, Hoyt, Bob, Buzz, Tom, and Tom's daughter-in-law, the unofficial Buddhist Pope of Dallas, Evie Jerdee.

We motored to the Berea Baptist Church, and thereupon we encountered our first decisional challenge: should we hike the Bull Creek Dam loop clockwise or counterclockwise? This was decided in a benevolently autocratic manner by our wise and fearless and venerable leader Carol, who, without consulting the multitudes, simply headed out in her usual clockwise fashion.

After proceeding about a third of a mile on the Big Berea trail, we made a false start off to the right on a trail that quickly petered out. Going a little farther on, we encountered the real Bull Creek Trail, and we proceeded down the hill to the river and then along the river until we reached the dam site.

We have often speculated about the true history of the dam. This time we were treated to a brief authoritative history, along with a few related family incidents, by Craig. This little sojourn added considerably to our delightful experience this morning.

The remainder of our hike on the Bull Creek Trail and the Dodge Lake Trail was peaceful and uneventful except for our encounter with a log jam on the trail, depicted below.

It was another enjoyable hike with good companions, for sure.

PS Today we had two trail-clippers: Buzz and the Pope.

Remaining photos by Evie Jerdee

May 18, 2019 Hike Report: Shuttling on Lower Piney

Okay, let's be honest. The outstanding feature of this hike was our great confusion in regard to shuttle arrangements.

There is no way to recount in detail our confusion or to overstate it. Rather, let us make a note here of some basic principles of shuttling that may serve us well on future hikes.

These principles apply when you want to hike between point A and point B and do not want to do it as an out and back round trip.

THE CRISSCROSS HIKE

In such a case, with the goal of hiking just one way between point A and Point B, the simplest solution is to do a crisscross hike, with half the cars starting at point A and half starting at point B, and with the drivers exchanging keys when they meet on the trail.

Very simple, if you have two, four, six, or some other even number of cars loaded with hikers.

But if you have an odd number of cars, you cannot divide them equally, as you cannot split the odd car in half. So, you must then have a shuttle.

THE SHUTTLE HIKE

First, let us tackle a B-A shuttle.

In a B-A shuttle, you drop off all passengers at the starting point, point A, and park all cars at point A.

Then driver number one and driver number two drive to point B and driver number one leaves his or her car there at point B, and driver number two picks up driver number one and the two return to the starting point A and join in the hike to point B. After hiking with the group to point B, driver number one, whose car is the lone car there at point B, takes all drivers back to point A to retrieve their cars. Then all cars go to point B to pick up all the hikers.

An alternative is to do an A-B shuttle.

In an A-B shuttle, all passengers are dropped off at the starting point, point A. Then all drivers take their cars to point B and park them there. Then driver number one takes all drivers back to point A and leaves his or her car there, and all drivers join in the hike to point B, where all cars are parked except for driver number one’s car. Driver number two then takes driver number one back to point A to fetch his or her car, and then drivers one and two go to point B to pick up their hiker passengers.

The choice between A-B and B-A depends on which end offers more convenient parking.

Now that we have cleared up shuttling procedures, let us get back to today’s hike. Hiking were Atossa, Nancy, Ursula, Carol, Amy, Ellen, Marian, Bob, Bill, David, Buzz, and Tom.

The weather was perfect and the trail was good as always. We saw about a half dozen hikers on the trail and a big family reunion group just getting ready to hike, at the water tank end.

We spread out widely on the trail, even though we do like each other. Doc and David were far in the lead, and our great photographer was last to come in. Everyone seemed happy with the hike, and we are now blessed with some very nice photographs.

May 11, 2019 Hike Report: Strategic Retreat

Oh, you rain gods, this is not a capitulation. It is a strategic retreat, just for one Saturday.

Our scribe did appear at the Garden Parking Lot but no other insane hikers came forth.

But hold on! Doc was sighted in the company of his compliant master and two other persons, presumably family members, all carrying umbrellas and making the rounds of the farm.

So, thanks to Doc, we can report a hike today.

May 4, 2019 Hike Report: Pisgah Prepour

A baker's dozen appeared at the foggy Garden Parking Lot this morning. They were Betsy, Carol, Ellen, Hoyt, Judith, Margaret S, Marian, Mary Leonard, Nancy, Ran, Sandy, Tom, and Ursula.

There was some talk of forsaking the Pisgah Inn trip because of the cloudy and potentially rainy weather, but that talk was quickly squelched.

So, off we went in three cars, one of which was Margaret's beautiful new Tesla, a gift from her Californian son!

The clouds slowly dissipated and then parted completely for us as we arrived at the Pisgah Inn Parking Lot, where our hike began. The temperature was about 70 and the sun was shining upon us as we headed up the steps on the Buck Spring Trail, which turned out to be a little hillier than we had expected. This lovely trail provided us with a wonderful opportunity to see a variety of mountain flora and several long-range viewscapes.

We encountered perhaps a dozen other hikers along the way.

This was an out-and-back hike for eleven of our hikers, with the other two avoiding the hilliness on the return trip by hiking back along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

We had very good luck at the Pisgah Inn dining room, getting two nice tables without any wait. This may have been because Mary Leonard had softened up the management with a recent phone call.

After our luncheon, we advised the rain gods that we were done with our prepour hike and we released them from further obligations. Perhaps to underline how good they had been to us, they presented us with a deluge of major proportions, punctuated by rolling thunder and sharp lightning cracks on the entire return trip in our autos on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was the kind of pourdown that normally lasts for only five minutes or so.

The fog, the clouds, and the heavy rain impeded us very little, and we arrived back at the farm around three p m. We were pleased with these wonderful six hours together.

The next four photos are by Betsy Atkinson.

All of the following photos are by Ran Shaffner.

April 27, 2019 Hike Report: Hikers and Doc at the Vets and Oaks

by Allan Brown; photos by Atossa Kramer

We went to the Vets Park and The Oaks as scheduled. There were 7 of us – actually 8 if you count David’s 4-legged buddy Doc who seemed to be leading the group and knowing exactly where to go. Present on the hike were Carol, Amy, Atossa, David, Doc, Ellen, Nancy, and Allan. It was a beautiful day for a hike – not too cold, not too warm, and no rain. Next Saturday we are thinking of going to Mt. Pisgah, hiking a couple miles, then having lunch in the restaurant there.

April 20 Hike Report: Bakery and Bush Spy

Meet at the garden parking lot. Walk into town past the four menacing dogs. (They were not out in their yard today!!!)

Sprint past Tomahawk and then trudge up the hill and take a circuitous route to the Four Sisters Bakery, via Connally, Ridge, Border, Orchard, and Dougherty Streets.

Enjoy coffee and chatting with your fellow hikers and then head back toward Tomahawk via Connally Street.

Does this sound like a little outing that would make you a suspicious character?

You wouldn't think so, would you?

But lo and behold, there today behind a bush on Connally Street was a spy training his binocs on the whole gaggle of hikers.

What had we done on this little Saturday campaign? Were we colluding or conspiring or whatever with the Russkies?

All of us, up to and including our wise and fearless leader Carol, are pristinely and cleanly innocent of any wrongdoing.

The ten innocents today were Carol, Dudley, Bob, David K (and Doc), Ellen, Allan, Marian, Tom, Sandy, and Elizabeth with a z. Never do any of these fine folks commit any suspicious acts or say any naughty words. What a pleasure it is to be in such fine company!!!!!

This being an off-schedule in-town hike due to recent heavy rains, we saw no other hikers, just a jogger or dog-walker or two. But we did enjoy the central Black Mountain neighborhood with some lovely houses and yards in their spring robes.

April 13, 2019 Hike Report: Creaking Along Flat Creek

This morning nine sets of human and artificial bones, plus one set of dog bones, creaked a long way up Flat Creek, all the way from the Town Square Parking Lot, up Midland Avenue, Charlotte Street, Flat Creek Greenway, Cotton Avenue, Flat Creek Road , Montreat Road, and back down through Montreat Road, Kessler Avenue, Enthoffer Road, Portman Villa Road, Third Street, Montreat Road (again), Second Street, Louisa Street, Charlotte Street, First Street, and Midland Avenue, and back to the Town Square Parking Lot.

The human and artificial bones belonged to Carol, Bob, Ellen, Dudley, Elizabeth with a z, Marian, Tom, David K, and Judi McLeod, a resident of Meadowmount III. Welcome, Judi.

The dog bones belonged to David's friend Doc.

This hike was notable for the spring blooms, for the interesting variety of houses and yards and woodpiles, and for some friendly porch-sitters, yard workers (including David K's daughter Marilyn), and gardeners all along the way. Also, there were perhaps a dozen or so fenced-in doggies.

The hike was flatter than most of our hikes, but it was at least three miles long and gave us a good workout and a pleasant time together.

April 6, 2019 Hike Report: Old Dawg Grinds Away on the Trail

We were greeted this morning by ominous clouds, but they quickly gave way to fine hiking weather with cool temps and intermittent sunshine.

Our trail today was pretty familiar to most of us.

We started out at Owen Park, took the short but perilous river path over to the Warren Wilson Farm, and then headed to the right on the uphill trail through the woods and through the rows of pine trees, then past the vacant brick house and the decaying outbuildings, down behind the Warren Wilson Dorms, past a new-to-us skeletal doggie working at the grindstone, then up the little side trail for a session in the grotto, then on down past the empty swimming pool and past some of the farm buildings and along the farm road past the sap collectors and open fields, and back to Owen Park.

We encountered just a handful of people here and there along the way. Oh, also, several fisherpeople along the river.

This hike was pleasant and without incident. Our congenial group consisted of Bob, Carol, Margaret, Craig, Betsy, David (and Doc), Buzz, Hoyt, Atossa, Ellen, Marian, and Tom.

All remaining photos are by ArtisicAtossa Kramer.

March 30 Addendum: The Stairs of Death

Thanks to Ran Shaffner, we have some nice additional photos of this hike, including The Stairs of Death.

March 30, 2019 Hike Report: Death on the 59 Steps

Is that title dramatic enough for you?

Of course we had no deaths today, but those 59 steps on the trail to the Visitor Center from the Folk Art Center certainly had us thinking about the possibility.

And after we conquered the steps there were plenty of additional ups and downs to induce thoughts of morbidity.

Why is it that these trails seem to be getting longer and hillier every time we hike them? Perhaps it has something to do with global warming or underground nuclear testing. Perhaps we should check with our favorite dozen or so presidential candidates for an informed opinion on this matter.

On this hike we drove five cars to the Folk Art Center and then deposited one shuttle car at the Visitor Center, to haul all drivers back to the Folk Art Center to get their cars and return to the Visitor Center to pick up tired hikers and take them to the farm.

During the hike we encountered perhaps a dozen other hikers. Our group became quite spread out on the trail, but no matter!

Hiking today were Bill, Paulette, Sandy, Ellen, Carol, Amy (Carol's daughter), Mary Leonard,Bob, Hoyt, Margaret F, Harper Day, Ran, Margaret S, Marian, Liz Bryan, Elizabeth with a z, Dudley, Tom, David K, and Doc (David K's very nice doggie). A splendid group! And by the way, the weather was perfect for hiking: between 50 and 70 and no wind and partly sunny.

March 23, 2019 Hike Report: Hellacious Helipad Hike

Hellacious may not be the right word to describe our hike today. It was, after all, a very pleasant outing in perfect hiking weather.

But it was, and always has been, a very good workout, perhaps the most strenuous hike in our repertoire.

The weather for this hike does merit special favorable comment, because it was perfect for the up and down hiking, perhaps around forty degrees when we started and with a brilliant sun and virtually no breeze. Most of us did have to peel off a layer or two to be comfortable.

That uphill stretch between the Buck Flats Shelter and the Helipad just goes on and on. When we finally made it to the Helipad most of us were ready to use it as a resting pad, as our photo will show. We took a nice fifteen or twenty minute rest at the pad and again at the Royal Gorge Overlook.

Hiking today were Spence, Liz, Craig, Margaret F, Bill, Bob, Marian, Carol, Sandy, Mary Leonard, Tom, Nancy, Hoyt, and Allan. That should add up to fourteen.

We saw just three or four other hikers on this hike.

Spence and Liz took the Rhododendron trail back down. They reported that it is unforgivingly steep and rutty and not suitable for our hifarmhikers group.

To bring our cars into Ridgecrest Conference Center today we had to register. Four of our drivers are now registered, good through May 30. They are Margaret F, Bill, Liz and Tom. Locals like us are not allowed to bring cars in during June, July, and August, but we can do so again starting in September, with a new registration.

We emerged today with a good sense of accomplishment and with stronger friendship ties.

March 16 Hike Report: On The VC Loop

A chilly but sunny morning greeted fifteen hikers bound for the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center Loop: Carol, Atossa, Buzz, Bob, Craig, Margaret, Marian, Ellen, Nancy, Elizabeth with a z, Hoyt, Allan, Tom, Bill, and Bill's wife and first-time hiker Paulette Heck. Welcome, Paulette, it was good to have you with us and we do hope to see you and Bill on more hikes!!

Only one of our drivers got lost this time, and it was a short lostness that did not delay the hike.

In view of certain “confusions” on one of our recent hikes, we made a special effort to get organized. We had a designated “sweep” and a designated “plow” or “cowcatcher”.

Soon, however, we found ourselves in our usual “thither and yon” condition, with our glistening poles scattering glints in all directions, and with the cowcatcher off perhaps behind a bush somewhere about half of the time.

We were, however, reasonably careful about taking hiker head counts at trail choice points, so we all arrived back at the Visitor Center at approximately the same time, all in a happy state.

On this hike we may have seen a squirrel or two, but nobody reported seeing any wildflowers or deer or bear or any other creature, except for the occasional jogger or hiking couple or dog walker.

Only four of us ancients stayed to watch the fine Visitor Center movie. Yes, maybe we had seen it before, but it put us in a fine mood for the drive home.

All remaining photos are courtesy of artist Atossa Kramer.

March 9, 2019 Hike Report: Countin' on the Mountain

We were countin' on Jones Mountain to give us a good workout, and it never lets us down.

It is a pretty steady uphill workout on Davidson road to reach the viewspot by the big log looking out toward I-40.

The weather today, in spite of a rather dismal forecast and a little dripiness, was good cool hiking weather, with even a little sliver of sunshine at one point.

Countin' the hikers? The following list should add up to fourteen:

Elizabeth with a z, Allan, Buzz, Mary Leonard, Bob, Ellen, Ursula, Atossa, Margaret, Craig, Spence, Liz, and their soooo charming grandson Simon, who is three and a half years old and did the whole hike. Oh, and one more hiker, Tom, who is a mere eighty-eight years older than Simon.

The group, except for Tom, who peeled off early, made it to the top and back without any special adventures or misadventures.

Near the start of the hike, by the old apple orchard, the trail was quite muddy but navigable. And there was a new four-strand electric fence surrounding a small area behind the apple orchard. One guess is that there will soon spring up some beehives, protected from bearly intrusions by the fence.

A big highlight on this hike was Simon, who is exceptionally smiley and friendly and pleasant and competent. He already has one scribe's vote for President of the UNV (U NI VERSE). While holding hands with Atossa on the way up, he did express mild “frustration” at his grandmother's disappearance so far ahead on the trail, but all ended on a very happy note.

All remaining photos are by our photoartist Atossa Kramer.

Thank you so much, Atossa, for your wonderful photos!

March 2, 2019 Hike Report: Gate Treat

That lovely trail from the Montreat Gate along Flat Creek up to Lake Susan is indeed a treat.

The Montreat folks have been working on it, with some new bridges and new railings. We appreciate very much their good work on this and other trails in Montreat.

Hiking today were Carol, Mary Leonard, Atossa, Marian, Margaret S, Ran, Allan, Bill Heck, Bob Castellani, David K and his new doggie Doc, Dudley, Margaret F, Nancy, Harper Day, and Tom.

That is fifteen, not counting Doc. But perhaps we should count Doc, as he or she was a most agreeable doggie, gentle and unassuming, not jumping, not licking, not whining or barking, not peeing on anyone's pack. Indeed a perfect match for his or her affable master David.

We had a beautiful cool and sunny morning for this hike. We went up the trail and then walked counterclockwise around the lake and back down on the paths along Montreat road.

Nothing spectacular happened. We did encounter maybe two dozen other hikers, well spread out, most of them on the paths along Montreat road.

We had a designated sweep and a designated plow, but nobody seemed to pay much attention to them. Although we were thither and yon during the hike, we had the same headcount at the end as at the beginning, so it appears that we may have been sufficiently organized.

Photos? Let us begin with the artistry of Atossa Kramer.

And following are Ran Shaffner’s photos of the hikers.

And here are three more photos. Surely our great photographers Atossa and Ran merit their own pics; and Allan, well, he is just so Hollywood photogenic, even when his beautiful hair is covered up.

February 23, 2019 Hike Report: Seven Cope on Shope

What is a little mist, slightly oversized mist, on the windshield? And what do we make of those dark clouds looming from all directions?

Seven of our undaunted hikers had an answer to that this morning: ignore it all.

Those ignoring it all were Buzz, Ursula, Mary Leonard, Margaret, Harper Day, Marian and Tom.

And they were feeling a bit smug about their ignorance when the misting stopped on their drive to Shopes Creek.

And they felt even better when their two autos successfully forded the raging creek up near the parking lot.

But then the rain gods decided it was time to give our hikers a little comeuppance. They began pelting our cars with silvery cold genuine raindrops.

As we prepared to turn around in the parking area and head back to shelter at the farm, two of our hikers seemed oblivious to the whirring windshield wipers and jumped out of the cars, ready to make war with the rain gods. The other five hikers sheepishly followed suit, and up the trail we went.

Immediately the rain gods staged a strategic retreat and we found ourselves hiking in rather pleasant cool cloudy weather.

We hiked up the main trail and turned off at the upper waterfall trail, but when we got to the creek crossing we discovered that the rain gods had set a trap for us. The creek was impassable to most of us shoed critters, although it was obvious that Harper Day could have easily and happily hopped across.

So we went back to the main trail and on up to the cleared area that has a bonfire circle. Harper Day rubbed two sticks together and we immediately a had a beautiful blazing fire. In our imaginations. Reality, however, was an impenetrable sogginess of all kindling material.

Then the rain gods added a punctuation mark, beginning to pelt us in dead earnest.

It was time to execute a strategic retreat down the one-mile trail to the parking lot. The rain was steady but mercifully not of downpour proportions, and we made it back in pretty good shape.

So that was the end of it for today, but fear not. Better days are ahead and we will hike on and on and vanquish those rain gods for good and forever.

We all felt good about having gotten out and held our own against the rain gods.

February 16, 2019 Hike Report: Excitement in the Rhodo

Yes, we had a little more excitement than we had bargained for this morning on the Rhododendron Trail up at the Blue Ridge Assembly.

All started out well with our seventeen hikers. The weather was a little cloudy, but at around fifty degrees Fahrenheit it was nearly perfect for hiking.

We got ourselves into cars with a minimum amount of difficulty, and we successfully caravaned to the parking area by the little lake, and we made our way up to the rhododendron trail without a hitch.

But after a couple of little stream crossings, in the midst of the thick rhodo, a little excitement erupted.

First, one of our thirty-four shins received a little scrape and also a puncture wound that seemed to have a pretty direct connection to the arterial plumbing. Fortunately, very fortunately, Ran and his first aid kit were right there with excellent aid and the hike returned to forward march.

And here is Ran's account of this excitement:

Fording creeks was no challenge for Saturday's trekkers, except for one hiker whose Super-lock Teton-soft Antishock hiking pole collapsed and dumped the hiker into Oliver falls. Aside from a repairable puncture wound, scrapes and abrasions, and late-blooming bruises that complained loudly after the hiker's return home, the hiker found no evidence of gangrene, still has full use of both legs, and is seriously considering returning that pole as either defective or no friend of mine! Luck has always been the hiker's companion, and Saturday was no exception.

The next excitement, which might more properly be called confusion, occurred at the same location, when one hiker mistakenly announced that one of our hikers had been left behind. Two of our sweeps immediately took off backtracking to find the missing person, who actually had gone ahead of the pack with two or three other hikers.

So the sweeps swept to no avail and even went back to Highland Farms in search of the missing hiker, while others went on up the trail and another subgroup headed back down to the parking by the lake.

So, we had scattered cars and scattered people, and a good deal of confusion and difficulty with cell phone communication.

But we had a happy ending. All of us ended up back at the farm in one piece, and the injured hiker has self-treated the wound and reports that “amputation is not necessary and I am doing well.”

At the time there was reason to think that we were woefully disorganized. In reality, we had excellent first aid administration by Ran, and we had good sweeps. The weak link this time was that we had nobody taking proper care of the front of the pack, and no communication with a few hikers who had gone on ahead of the pack.

Why yes, we can do better than we did today. Hopefully, with a little better organization and communication we should not have to rope ourselves together on these hikes.

Our seventeen hikers today were Allan, Ellen, Marian, Carol, Suzanne, Amy, Tom, Buzz, Craig, Margaret F, David, Hoyt, Elizabeth with a Z, Margaret S, Atossa, and Susan, and Ran.

Here are Ran’s nice photos of the hike, followed by Atossa’s nature art photos.

And now for some nature art photos by Atossa.

And now for one last photo, of Ran, who takes nice photos for us but seldom appears in our hike report photos.

February 9, 2019 Hike Report: Montreat Gate to Susan and Back

The essentials from Hoyt Oliver:

Five hearty souls set off into the cold. Bob, Hoyt, Sharon, Susan and Ursula. Hiked the creek from the bottom parking lot up to the dam. Returned on sidewalk west of Montreat Rd. Happy time no mishaps and weather held without rain. Sorry you missed it.

A little embellishment from Bob Castellani:

Here is an attempt at reporting the hike. Please understand I had never been to Montreat, so I'm not sure of the proper names for the trail we took, etc.  But I'll give it a try.

When we gathered, none of the 5 hikers present felt comfortable leading the group on the designated hike.  After some discussion, Ursula mentioned one of her favorite hikes which she hadn't done in some time.  It was the hike from the bottom of the Montreat parking area along the beautiful stream up to Lake Susan.

Hikers present were Ursula, Suzanne, Sharon, Hoyt and Bob.  The day was overcast, but not so cold as to prevent our enjoyment of this delightful walk.  The various cottages and homeplaces along the walk sparkled with their various unique colors, the city's obvious attempts to maintain the trail and surrounding area presented a few detours, but led to appreciation for their efforts to keep the trail in good shape.

The hikers we met along the way were friendly, the shop owners at the end of the trail inviting us in for warm drinks and enticing arrays of goodies, merchandise and novelties.

To vary the return, we trod the alternate route along the road, sufficiently close to the homes to enjoy how well kept they were, and enough away from the traffic not to pose a safety problem.

In sum, a fun trek. Alas, no one took pictures.  We were all too busy talking and looking.

And another account, thanks to Suzanne Sutherland:

Sharon, Hoyt, Bob, and Suzanne put ourselves in Ursula's hands. She elected to drive us to Montreat, where we parked at the lowest parking lot and walked/climbed up the path along the stream to the lake, avoiding the bits of dangerous new construction work where they are rerouting the path. We noted that there were no children in the playground, and we saw only a few other hikers, all coming at us from above.

It was a crisp, chilly morning and we were bedraggled enough to elicit some sympathy and free hot coffee from the proprietor at the Thousand Villages shop. After a long, relaxing stop, we walked back using the path along the road, to the chagrin of at least one of our hikers who wanted to do the climb back through the woods.

We had no photographers to document our journey, so you may get a totally different story from the others.
Suzanne

February 9, 2019 Adjunct Hike Report: Three to MLK

Although around a dozen hifarmhikers attended the MLK breakfast, only three got there on foot. Atossa, Marian and Tom met at the GHF post office and walked up through the cemetery and over to North Fork Road and on to Dorothy Walls for the breakfast. They were less than hiking heroes, though, as they hitched a ride home with David Kaylor.

February 2, 2019 Hike Report: Lookout for Hifarmers

Yes, lots of hifarmers and some guests to boot.

Let us begin with the participants. We had Carol, Atossa, Sharon, Sandy, Mary Leonard, Rich, Elizabeth with a z, Ran, Margaret S, Betsy, Bob, Margaret F, Mary Kay, Craig, Tom, Susan, Ellen, Dudley, Dudley's son Russell, Mary Leonard's grandson John Ponder White, Mary Leonard’s daughter-in-law Nancy Branberg, and new hifarmhikers Bill Heck and Hoyt Oliver. Welcome to our new compatriots Bill and Hoyt and to the guest hikers.

That is a total of twenty-three hikers strung out along the Lookout Point Trail. It did not pose a traffic problem because there were very few other hikers (fewer than a half dozen) and only one biker.

It was a perfect day for hiking, cool, sunny, and still. We did the Point and the tunnels, all without incident.

Come to think of it, there was one minor incident. Near the start of the hike, the outsole of a shoe of one of our hikers started coming loose. The hiker tried taping it with band-aids, to no avail. So, the hiker had to rip off the entire outsole and complete almost the entire hike with one foot in a moccasin-style shoe with a thin innersole separating the hiker from the terrain. Fortunately, the terrain was beneficent, the pavement of old Highway 70 which is now Lookout Point Trail.

These minor incidents are a boon to your scribe, and it is so good that they are always minor.

Now to the photos. First, the artistry of Atossa Kramer.

And next the photo wizardry of Ran Shaffner.

January 26, 2019 Hike Report: 21 in 21 = 1

Yes indeed, 21 hikers in 21 degree weather equaled one – one helluva hike.

The 21 hikers were Carol, Sandy, Sharon, Mary Leonard, David K, Buzz, Ellen, Marian, Craig, Atossa, Ran, Margaret S, Margaret F, Ursula, Tom, Margaret S's three grandaughters Harper Day, Virginia, and Isadora, Dudley, and new hiker from Meadomount III, Mary Kay Sapp. Welcome, Mary Kay. We promise you considerably easier hikes ahead..

The other 21 was the temperature when we started out. Maybe a bit chilly, but sunny and crisp with no wind. Okay, maybe a little breeze picked up toward the end of the hike, but we were pretty well warmed up by then.

What made this a helluva hike was the terrain. We did the Sanctuary – Elizabeth Woodard – Harry Bryan – Graybeard loop, which is described by Montreat trail people as an easy hike, but we found it to be about the most difficult hike we have undertaken.

The first two trails are almost all uphill, and in spots they are quite treacherous, requiring leaping up and down among the rocks. And Harry Bryan and Greybeard are also very rocky in places.

We had a few minor falls and probably 42 pretty tired legs by the end of the hike, but we all survived in very good spirits, ready for a relaxing hike next week on the scheduled Lookout Point hike, which is on a paved trail on a gentle incline. It's the one with the railroad tunnels and the big views out toward Old Fort.

On today's hike we saw a lot of pretty streams and waterfalls. We saw no other hikers on Sanctuary and Elizabeth Woodward, and only a lady hiker and her dog on Harry Bryan. On Greybeard we encountered about five or six couples, most with dogs and one couple with a papoose.

Wow, aren't we quite a bunch of oldfolks, hiking about three miles up and down and around in the rugged Montreat mountains in below freezing weather. Heroes we are, we are, we are. And we are for the most part sane.

Let’s start the photos with four nice nature pics by Atossa Kramer.

Next we have Ran Shaffner’s fine photos of the hike.

The last three photos are by your scribe.

January 19, 2019 Hike Report: Kit Fog

Text and photos by Ran Shaffner

Everyone who defied the forecast this morning woke up, peered out the window, and weighed staying in bed or enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee against climbing a mountain in a downpour.

Eight hikers - Buzz, Allan, Bob, Betsy, Ursula, Elizabeth with a z, Atossa, and Ran - plunged blindly behind our fearful leader Buzz into a dense fog at the base of Kitsuma Mountain. Scaling fourteen switchbacks that hammered the thighs against background music of Interstate 40, the troop conquered the steep ascent through the misty forest to a rocky outcrop for a group photo with no view.

Slowed only by photo shots of rusty galax, white oak burls, variegated rocks, gnome-like stumps, and ancient tree hollows, they continued the climb to a campsite at the peak encased in fog. They then descended without a single view other than three lung-busting mountain bikers, who paused to let them past.

It was decided that this was a hike intended for the spring but a pleasure in retrospect to have completed successfully.

January 12, 2019 Hike Report: Sleet Sixteen at Owen and Warren Wilson

Wrong, wrong, no sleet at all! Just cloudy and around freezing! This is good weather for hiking!

Admittedly among the 160 fingers a few may have gotten a little chilled, and maybe a few toes, too, but everyone appeared to be warm and snug in their winter hiking outfits.

No sleet, but we almost had sweet sixteen, with twelve lovelies and only four boys, Ran, Bob, Buzz and Tom.

The sweeties were Nancy, Ursala, Atossa, Shron, Mary Leonard, Carol, Marian, Sandy, Ellen, Elizabeth with a z, and Susan Dean, a resident of Meadowmount III who hiked with our group for the first time. Welcome Susan!

Three noteworthy rememberables occurred on this hike.

First was the successful negotiation, coming and going, of two precarious washouts along the riverside trail between Owen and Warren. We traversed these without incident,thanks to our poles and thanks to help for some of us from three of the four boys on this hike!

Next was the lostness of two of our lovely hikers who apparently were somehow led astray by some big boars at the hog enclosure. This incident required some phoning and retrieval but turned out to be fun with no harm done.

The other incident involved jumping! And car batteries! Again, it had a happy electrical ending. Or, more literally, four good electrical endings.

With the preceding three spice-ups added, another great and memorable hike!!

Our photos begin with two shots by Atossa of her new friends.

Next, one photo by Tom of his new friend.

Next, we turn Ran Loose with his camera for all remaining photos.

January 5, 2019 Hike Report: Blown Away on Suicide

It was a dark and stormy night last night, and the wind had its way with the power company around six this morning and again around eight, the latter outage for one or two hours.

So, given the power outage and the cloudy, windy weather, who would show up at the Garden Parking Lot to go hiking?

Allan, Bob, Margaret F, Harper Day, Craig, Ellen, Suzanne, Liz, Spence, Marian, Sharon, Buzz, David K, Carol, Amy, Ursula, Tom, and, lo and behold after healing up her busted bones, our great long-time hiking friend Elizabeth with a z Bruce.

That adds up to eighteen courageous hikers who bucked the Suicide Ridge winds to negotiate the ups and downs and slippery spots of Cold Spring, Suicide, and Soccer Field trails.

This was one of our more strenuous and challenging outings, and the large group survived in good spirits and condition.

The more athletic hikers among us were very good about helping some of us ancients over the rough spots.

We do have consensus that most of us can benefit on rough terrain by using two good hiking poles.