July 11 Hike Report: Oaks Repeater

Yes, another hike over to Gatchell Street and down to 70 and over to the Health Ridge Corner and then sliding into the brushy corner of The Oaks, and going all the way to the greenway bridge over the Swannanoa River and back.

Making the whole four-miler were Atossa, Ellen, Allan, Mary Leonard, and Mary Kay. Partial participants were Carol and Tom.

Thank you, Atossa, for the lovely photos.

July 4, 2020 Hike Report: Bearly Hiking

This really was a bearly hike.

The first episode occurred as we emerged from the woods on the back side of the neuro center. We were met by a police officer, who informed us that the trail we had just taken through the woods was closed until further notice.

The reason? Bears, one of whom was known to be somewhat aggressive. So, that was that. Another favorite hiker habitat closed to us hapless hikers. Folks, the bears are taking over!

And if you want further proof of the takeover, read on for today's second episode.

We had walked on, staying in the shade as much as possible on this warm and humid morning, and when we emerged at the cemetery to the northeast of the vets chapel, Allan began pointing frantically over toward the chapel, and lo and behold, he was pointing at a large bear galloping toward the chapel.

This episode ended abruptly when the bear disappeared from sight. Thanks to Allan, for the first time we are able to report a live bear sighting on one of our hikes. And whoever would have thunk it would be in the vets cemetery.

So, this was indeed a memorable bearly hike, enjoyed by Mary Kay, Ellen, Carol, Allan and Tom.

Oh, by the way, Mary Kay reports that the dove is happily on nest in her garage, with no sign yet of fledglings.

June 27, 2020 Hike Report: Sprinkling on the Campus

This morning at the Garden Parking Lot we encountered a heavy sky and a light mistification, but not enough to deter our five hikers: Atossa, Carol, Ellen, Mary Kay, and Tom.

Well, that is not quite true, because the weather did deter us from straying off campus with the risk of getting caught in the rain.

Instead, we decided just to hike the campus perimeter, which is one-and-a-half miles.

This really was not a hike, just a lazy stroll around campus, punctuated now and then by a few drops of rain, not enough to get our masks wet!!

A big treat on this hike was seeing the new resident in Mary Kay's garage. It held so still that we thought maybe it was a wooden joke on us, but then it moved its head ever so slightly, assuring us that it was the real thing. You will see it in the photos below.

We also stopped briefly at Ellen's, to view a picture she has just received from a good friend.

All in all, a pleasant hike in an embracing environment.

Now for four nice photos by Atossa. The first photo is of Mary Kay’s new resident. That’s right, it is a dove who has nested in the Sapps’ garage door opener.

June 20, 2020 Hike Report: Familiar Loop

Getting to be pretty familiar, these loops emanating from our home base in Givens Highland Farms.

Somewhat unusual, though, was the spectacular weather we had today, with sunshine and temps around seventy degrees. And of course, the company was affable as usual: Carol, Ellen, Atossa, Allan, Mary Leonard, and Tom.

We did the vets cemetery loop, the one that takes us behind the rehab center, across the bridge, past the new crypts, through the woods, behind the neuro medical center, into Lions center, back over to the grand view from the vets cemetery chapel, and then back home.

Ellen had to leave us a bit early, so we ended up with only five hikers.

All went well on this outing, with nothing spectacular to report except for the green scenery and lovely flowers.

Now for some Atossa photo artistry!

June 13 2020 Hike Report: Gatchell Catchall

On a beautiful sunny morning with moderate temps, the group walked through the woods to Gatchell Street and then down to new 70 and over to the nearby vets woods and on the paths that eventually took us to the paved greenway. At that point we decided to go back the way we came, with nice shade and interesting flora, and with blackberries promising to be ready in a few weeks. This route is a lovely way to extend our carless forays off campus without endangering ourselves walking on narrow roads.

Hiking today were Atossa, Sydney, Carol, Mary Kay, Mary Leonard, Nancy, Betsy, Allan, and Buzz. Scribe Tom was along for just part of the way today.

And now for the camera wizardry of Atossa.

And four nice photos from Buzz, who notes that the sign probably means heros, not herds! Hey, Buzz, Allan seems a little unfocussed. He or you?

And one more photo, from Sydney.

June 6, 2020 HikeReport: Walkin and Talkin up the Hill

Seemed as if we did more talkin than walkin on Tabernacle Hill today!

We did do two and a half miles of walkin, but at a very slow pace, with several nice stops along the way for chatting.

Good thing we were so leisurely because it was t-shirt warm right from the start, with only a slight breeze on old windy hill. We made it around the church and around both cemeteries in their entirety.

What a great piece of land it is! Might be nice if graves could be consolidated to make room for a great park.

Hiking today were Carol, Ellen, Atossa, Mary Kay, Mary Leonard, Allan, and Tom.

It was a nice easy convivial outing, with masks when needed and spacing observed.

And now for some nice shots by Atossa.

May 30,2020 Hike Report: Variegated Corona Circle

Well, well, well, we found a new way to do a carless corona hike, part of which we will add to our repertoire and part of which we will discard.

Meeting at the garden parking lot were Carol, Ellen, Allan, Atossa, Betsy, Mary Kay, and Tom.

We headed down through the local dump, finding all gates open except for the last one by Tabby road, the latter gate being easy to circumvent through the bamboo.

We then walked the ess curve and cut across old 70 and by the big industrial building and on down to new 70. Staring at us there was a very long stretch of sundrenched sidewalk over to Health Ridge Pharmacy. The sidewalk provided us safety but little else. This is the part of the hike that we would be loathe to repeat. The remainder of our route was more to our liking.

At the Health Ridge corner we cut across and entered the pathways into vets park, coming eventually to the junction with the paved greenway. These pathways were well shaded and mostly away from traffic noise. They were just a bit muddy in a few spots.

We returned via vets park entrance, Blue Ridge Road (just a little way, with room to avoid the traffic except for the bridge over the Swannanoa River).

We then cut up through the lady dentist's drive and up Gatchell and through the back way into the Farm. This hike was about 3.5 miles.

Thanks to Mary Kay's husband Frank Sapp for giving one or our hikers a lift home from vets park.

By the way, all hikers had masks, and Betsy kept hers on throughout the whole hike!!

And now for the photo artistry of Atossa Kramer.

May 23, 2020 Hike Report: Two Burial Grounds

Yes, we did both cemeteries, looping around on North Fork Road. Your scribe wrote this up and then somehow it has disappeared from the site, no doubt due to operator error. Or the Russians. But the photos were saved, so we have the general idea.

And now for Atossa’s photo artistry!

May 16, 2020 Hike Report: Carver and Doggies

Well, folks, we had nine masked marauders (most of us masked, anyway) arousing all those dogs along Taylor Street near Gatchell. When we pass those dogs we always think of Howie Boyd, who had a lot of respect (maybe not quite the right word) for those ferocious canines.

We hiked over to the Carver Center corner and back. On the return trip, when we neared the cottages, people dispersed in a rather haphazard fashion. Maybe some hikers are still hiding out somewhere in those cozy little dwellings.

We can report some mysterious work on a lot between the cottages and Gatchell Street, involving several tons of huge boulders. Stay tuned, as we shall probably be passing by that site soon again as we continue our corona-spaced local hiking.

Hiking today were Atossa, Carol, Allan, Stan, Mary Kay, Elllen, Dudley, Betsy, and Tom. We may have encountered one or two walkers, and we certainly encountered a bevy dogs, all well fenced in!!

Remaining photos by Atossa!!!

May 9, 2020 Hike Report: Jingling in the Cemetery

Yes, jingle jangle jingle, baubles, bangles, and beads how they jingle.

That's what you get to see and hear if you journey over to the far lower corner of the NC Veterans Cemetery, to the magic jingle jangle jingle tree. And the magic tree was in full bloom today with an ample supply of baubles, bangles, and beads.

Witnessing this were Carol, Allan, Atossa, Ellen, Stan, Mary Kay, Mary Leonard. (Tom also hiked but pulled out early.)

It was a beautiful clear crisp morning for hiking, and seven of the hikers walked up around the rehab center and into the vets cemetery and up the woods road and past the neuro center and down to the tree and then back home.

Masks were pretty much abandoned on this hike, but distance was kept pretty well.

It was indeed another nice coronavirus caper.

Remaining photos are by Atossa Kramer.