The day started with Matt waking me up AGAIN, this time to stumble outside and push his car out of the mud. I logged onto messenger to yet another hiking cancellation, I flubbed my morning workout because I hurt my stupid knee the day before slipping off a granny ladder (a low stepladder with a HUGE HANDLE TO HOLD ON TO, though pushing a tiny car while half asleep likely did not help things either) and the finale was yelling, "Well fuck you too!" at the scale.
The kids were off with friends, Jake had work, there was no reason to be home. So, I ran away. Well, no, I got my hiking stuff and drove off to Tennessee determined to hike even if I had to hike alone.
I stopped for gas and set the GPS for Franklin State Forest. I arrived with no drama, turned on the road the GPS said to and headed down an increasingly tighter road. It was like hiking but in a minivan. The only mud had been at the start, I was feeling fine. I parked at the end of that road and headed out hiking on the blazed trail that went along the bluff. I walked about a mile before deciding to head back and find what I had come there for, Tom Pack Falls.
I plugged it into the GPS and it had me turn onto another dirt road instead of going back to the paved road. So I turned and headed off into the trees.
90 minutes later, after being wenched out of the mud by an unnamed state employee, I was back out on the main road, slinging muddy rocks out of my tire tread and listening to my mud flaps banging around. I had managed to tear both of them loose in my efforts to get out of the quagmire I ended up accidentally parking in. There was no steady cell signal, I managed to get a call into AAA, but the woman who answered was NOT listening and kept 'splaining to me where I was. NO, I knew where I was and I was telling her how to direct the tow truck. Finally, the connection gave up and I walked to the road to see if it was better there and that is when state employee drove by, turned around and drove back and asked if I was okay. He thought I was geocaching but didn't see a car. I told him I left it in the mud a ways back!
That went as well as could ever have been hoped for, he pushed the van out to the road, clipped in, backed me up about 10 feet and I was able to drive out on my own.
From there, I went to the Sherwood Forest area of South Cumberland. They sneaked a new trail in after my glorious triumph last summer of completing every trail in the park. Well, I still have not done the stretch from Horsepound Falls to Ranger Falls. But I did finish up that other 11 miles I was missing.
The trailhead is at the end of CCC road off of 56. It's only finished to the overlook, roughly half a mile one way. It is still WELL worth the hike.
The road I drove/hiked until it all went wrong
View from the trail. I had no map and no idea the trail name.
Even the forestry guy did not have a map.
He did say there are bears, though.
I approve
The Sherwood Forest Trail is a VERY easy walk:
And it's ridiculously well blazed considering the trail bed is 4 feet wide and VERY obvious.
Ice still along the cliffs!
As close as this is to Chattanooga, I foresee having to make hammock tree reservations 3 weekends ahead to soak in that view.
I was surprised by this little natural bridge!
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| Jason is pretty awesome. |
Next, I went to the Tom Pack Falls trailhead. It's another mile round trip hike, but the terrain was a little tougher.
The trailhead is at a primitive campground, no privies, but there are trash cans!
It was about here that I remembered I had left my phone charger plugged in, draining my battery. I have a jump box (thanks, Jeff and Gina!) AND a brand new 6-year battery, but I still had a few moments of self-berating. I know solo hiking is a learning process. I just didn't want to learn so much in one day.
I am excited to go back and explore more, especially if I can find a blasted trail map!
Friday, I went back over and hiked the 8-10 mile Honeycomb Trail at Guntersville. I hiked it the previous week from the dam to the campground, this time I did it from the campground to the dam.
It's easier to get off the trail going campground-to-dam.
I went with Sue the second time, she's an avid geocacher and tracked us with her Garmin to keep us on the trail. We still got off on a side trail and added over a mile to the day. It was fine hiking weather, we were not bothered with the addition though until this hike (9.4 on my tracker 9.9 on hers) her longest hike ever was 7.2 miles.
The trail has several long climbs that get the heart pumping, loads of views (in winter anyway) and skirts the lake nearly the whole way either at the water level or along the cliff line above. It swings widely back into the woods twice to go around steep coves and is mostly blazed with white blotches except where it isn't. You can't get too lost, just keep the lake to the right if going from the dam and to the left if going from the campground. Both parking areas are in sight of the lake.
If you geocache, this is a power trail, meaning it is LOADED with caches. I got a new Batman!
I'm stoked about the find, it's less than an hour from me to the trailhead, I can knock it out once every week or two and if I can't find someone to go with me, Matt can get me after work until it gets ticky or snakey.
