A geek walked into the woods..

LyttleBryan March 8th, 2010

This past week I returned from my first major trekking vacation. My friend Adam and I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro! It was the most amazing expereince ever, and I encourage anyone to try. In the coming days (hopefully) I’ll post my journal entries from the trip as well as pictures. For now here are a few really good ones

Kilimanjaro Favorites

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LyttleBryan January 26th, 2010

It’s been a while since I have posted one of my hiking adventures. Not because I haven’t been hiking, but simply because I haven’t posted them. No particular reason one way or another. Maybe it was just me being selectively lazy. Coming out of the holidays usually puts me in the mood for a certain amount of laziness. The hustle and bustle of the holiday season, driving back and forth to St. Louis, etc, just gets to you after a while. Fortunately the laziness doesn’t extend much past not updating my blog.

In the last few weeks I did quite a bit of hiking (around 32 miles) and learned some interesting things about the park (like Upper Tremont Road is closed during the winter). It’s been quite a fun few weeks, and this past weekend was no exception. I decided to take a little “me time” to put some big numbers on my map and use the time to reflect on everything going on in my life. It was a noble intention, however my relative peace was shattered half way through my hike. More on that later though…

My day started far earlier than I would have liked it to. You see almost every Friday night I go dancing at Academy Ballroom in Knoxville. It’s been a passion of mine for about a year and a half now. It works well with my schedule because people tend to filter out around 10:00 or 10:30. This leaves plenty of time for me to get home, get a good nights sleep, and be up early for long hikes. However this Friday was different. This Friday I stood in the parking lot of Academy Ballroom until 1:00am talking to my friend Julie. This in itself was a lot of fun, however waking up at 6am for a 14 mile hike was NOT FUN! I had reset my alarm in anticipation of doing a shorter hike, but my internal alarm must have missed the memo and I was out of bed as of 6:15am. It definitely was among the more interesting ways to start a long day of hiking.

I started my hike from the top of the Metcalf Bottoms Hill (where you enter from Wears Valley). The plan was to hike from Metcalf Bottoms to the Sugarlands Visitors Center. Great plan right? Well, what do you do once you’re at Sugarlands Visitors Center? Hike back? I like to hike, but 30 miles in a single day isn’t exactly my idea of a good time. Fortunately for me the Great Smokies Hiking and Adventure Group was scheduled to hike the Old Sugarlands Trail that day. I arranged the times to meet up with them and made sure they knew not to leave me behind.

The hike up Little Greenbriar to Cove Mountain was a pretty hefty climb. I spent the first couple hours of my day on an uphill slope. At first there wasn’t much to look at because the previous days rains kept me in a pretty view reducing fog. That all changed however at about the point I crossed 2800′. I turned the corner and there in front of me was an island in the sky. I can’t even begin to tell you how cool it was. I had hiked above the fog, above the clouds, and above everything else except all the other mountains that were higher than 2800′. Unfortunately the lookouts were somewhat restricted by trees, but it was very cool none the less!

I continued my hike until I came to the Laurel Falls Trail intersection. I wasn’t going to be on Laurel Falls Trail very long, around .9 miles as a cut over trail to Cove Mountain. Things were pretty uneventful until I got to Cove Mountain. There’s actually a fire tower at the top of the mountain where Laurel Falls and Cove Mountain intersect. Since it was only a .2 mile round trip I decided to make it up there and see. It’s actually not a fire tower at all. It’s especially not one of those awesome stone ones like you see on Mt. Cammerer. This one is steel, and modern looking. It does serve a pretty good purpose though. It’s an atmosphere monitoring station that is a joint venture between the National Parks Service (NPS) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). If you look in my pictures you’ll see the infographic that is posted on the fire tower. I didn’t stay long at the tower because the modernness and overall feel of the area was a little unsettling. Definitely not something I wanted to hang around. I did have the opportunity to speak with a few people that were also up there. They were the only people I would see on my entire hike. That is to say the only people I’d see up close enough to talk to…

I was very grateful when I got to Cove Mountain Trail. I was tired, and far more sore than usual. I was probably overdoing it for only having gotten 5 hours of sleep and having danced a lot the night before, but c’est la vie. Luckily I had come to the end of my uphill journey. For the last 8 miles of my trip I would be taking a nice downhill stroll to Sugarlands. There I was strolling along happily reflecting on life and all things therein when I suddenly hear a booming voice say “Please stay behind the line. Ready? HERE WE GO!”

I stumbled over my trekking poles.

There I stood in the middle of the trail approximately 6 miles from the nearest trail head, and I kept hearing a booming female voice say “Please stay behind the line. Ready? HERE WE GO!” I wasn’t really sure what to think. I’ll admit I questioned whether I had finally tumbled off the edge of sanity. Eventually I gave up on trying to find/see the source of the sound and continued hiking. A very short while later I turned a bend, and there in front of me, in all it’s hideousness, was Ober Gatlinburg.

For those that aren’t familiar with Ober Gatlinburg, it’s skiing in the Smokies. Fake, hideous, low elevation skiing. Am I not being contemptuous enough of it? I try not to be an elitist or anything. In fact most of the time I wouldn’t even have something bad to say about Ober Gatlinburg. I mean, sometimes you take what you can get, right? Well on this particular day I was rather upset about the whole endeavor. I knew the trail I was on skirted the Northern boundary of the park, but I wasn’t aware that there we so much right on the edge of the park. I felt like Bill Bryson as he and Katz emerge from the woods to be confronted by a strip mall. Only instead of having become accustomed to the peace of nature over many days, I had just had my one day of the week in which I would be at relative peace in the mountains robbed from me. I’ll admit, at that very moment I wanted nothing more than to be off that trail.

Fortunately my mood quickly recovered and I found my stride again. It was a pretty uneventful trip for the remainder, and not long after the Ober Gatlinburg adventure I found myself among many people at Sugarlands Vistors Center. I took a little bit of time to rest, use the restroom, and people watch. I noticed that my friends cars were in the parking lot so I knew my ride was still around. Unfortunately I grew impatient after a few minutes of waiting and decided to setup off down the trail to intersect them on their way back. In hindsight I was tired, sore, and had already hiked over 14 miles. I probably should have stayed put. I didn’t. Luckily, I quickly found them and only tacked on a couple more miles to my trip. All told I probably covered around 16 miles that day. It was a good day.

I got some descent photos out of all of it. This was probably the last hiking I’ll do before my trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro in 15 days. 15 DAYS! WOOOOOOO! Okay, got that out of my system. Look for a lot of photographs and a lot of stories from that particular trip!

Cove Mountain Trail 1-23-10

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LyttleBryan January 25th, 2010

The weather this weekend has been pretty brutal in Eastern TN and the Smokies. Unfortunately it took the ultimate toll yesterday when a driver was crushed to death after a tree fell on his car. The heavy rains resulted in wet ground which, combined with heavy winds, resulted in the falling tree. US 441 from Gatlinburg to Cherokee remains closed because of downed trees, limbs, and power lines.

Be careful out there folks. No matter how careful or good you may be, some things are just out of your control.

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LyttleBryan December 29th, 2009

This is a little different than my usual postings, but I figured no one would mind since it’s for a good cause and Polartec makes some awesome outdoor fabric. This season Polartec is going to donate a warm fleece blanket for every 10 fans they get on Facebook. If you’re on facebook, please take the time to help a good cause. All you have to do is go to http://www.facebook.com/Polartec?v=app_4949752878 and click the “Become A Fan” button.

For those not familiar with Polartec, they make various cloth materials that are used by outdoor clothing manufacturers like Mountain Hardwear, Marmot, and Outdoor Research. In fact many of you may have something made of their material and not even realize it.

Happy Holidays
Lyttle Bryan

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LyttleBryan December 29th, 2009

I’ll never forget the night I first heard about Virgin Falls. You can probably relate to the situation. A bunch of friends sitting around a campfire swapping stories, talking about the places they’ve been and the places they want to go. It was then that my friend Nick first mentioned Virgin Falls. A relatively unknown (compared to the Smokies) waterfall on the Bridgestone/Firestone Centennial Wilderness. At the time I was more or less a complete newbie to both the area, and to outdoor adventure in general. Well, a lot has changed since I first heard of Virgin Falls over a year ago. Things change. It’s what they do, right?

I won’t go into a great deal of depth about each of my adventures to Virgin Falls. If you’d like, you can read about them throughout my blog where I’ve chronicled most of my adventures. When I first traveled to Virgin Falls in March of this year, I never imagined that I would return there 3 more times throughout the year. Well I did, and as it worked out, it was for each of the seasons. I decided to write this post when I noticed the way the falls changed throughout the seasons. I’ll not do it any justice describing it with words, no matter how long winded I am. Instead I’ll let this picture speak for itself…

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LyttleBryan December 26th, 2009

It’s been over a week since this post, but I’ve been busy with work and traveling for Christmas, so I put it off. This was the fourth and final trip of what I have begun to call “4 Seasons at Virgin Falls.” It got this name in the Fall when I realized I’d been to Virgin Falls 3 times this year, and each one corresponded to a different season. I’m going to put together a different post to talk about that, because the differences in the seasons is actually an interesting topic unto itself. So for this post I’ll keep the information limited to the backpack last weekend.

Unlike the three previous trips to Virgin Falls I decided to post this backpack for the Great Smokies Hiking and Adventure Group. When people first started RSVPing for it, they indicated they were really only interested in a hike and not an overnight. I decided that since so many people wanted to hike, that I’d have it be both a hike AND a backpack! I was planning to hike out with the group after I dropped my backpack off, but fortunately the group named a new Assistant Organizer, Denita, and she volunteered to lead the day hike portion of the trip. Unfortunately a slight typo on my part resulted in much confusion for those that didn’t actually read my emails. Fortunately I can blame them entirely since they didn’t read the emails! Plausible deniability, Aint it grand? I’ll spare the details but in one place I listed the leave time for carpooling as 9am. Everywhere else I’d listed it as 7:30am and so some people weren’t there at 7:30. Fortunately everyone got to the trail head. We just had to hike in at different times.

So aside from everyone showing up at different times, everyone got their without a problem. The trails were muddy and cold from long weeks of rains, freezes, thaws, and everything else Mother Nature tends to throw you during the winter. That’s okay though, because it’s all part of the fun. What wasn’t part of the fun though was the insanity that was the Laurel Creek crossing! In the other time’s I’d been to Virgin Falls I’ve never seen that crossing so complicated. The flow and power made it so difficult to cross that most people opted for simply taking off their shows to cross. I knew at that point that the falls were going to be something remarkable that day.

We continued on the trail stopping occasionally to take in the marvels that were Laurel Creek and allowing people to catch their breath. Originally we had planned to stay at the Overlook for the night, but due to imminent freezing we decided climbing frozen ladders was a safety hazard I wasn’t willing to put the group through. I’m always more willing to do things when I’m not responsible for multiple people. Well that and the thought of having to carry someone out is not my idea of a good time! So instead of staying at the overlook we decided to setup basecamp at Big Laurel Falls, an area we have never stayed at before. And after staying there for the night, I can say I don’t want to do it again outside of the hottest of Summers! More on that later though.

One we got to Big Laurel Falls we stopped to have a break. Everyone from the day hiking group ate lunch while the backpackers staked out their claim for sleeping spots. Since I was hanging, I staked out trees. Fortunately there are quite a few REALLY nice trees in that area. Once we got everyone setup we continued on to the hikes namesake, Virgin Falls. I can honestly say that in all of my years hiking I have never seen anything like Virgin Falls on that day. The raw strength, power, and volume of the falls were amazing. I actually couldn’t even get a clean shot from the “usual lookout” because the spray from the falls was that powerful. Man just thinking about it right now gives me chills.

We played around the falls and explored the area for quite a bit before I decided it was time to head out. I was a little concerned about the day hikers having enough daylight to get back to their cars. Fortunately enough people had lights that I wasn’t too concerned about them. Once back to Big Laurel we bid farewell to the hikers and began preparations for an evening of fun. Actually there wasn’t much preparation to make because everyone had carried in firelogs and I’d already setup my hammock! it was nice. So instead of doing any work I got out a flask of Crown Royal I’d packed in and ate some dinner. Over all it was an uneventful and enjoyable evening. The only downside was the falls we were staying next to. Just like Virgin Falls, Big Laurel was in rare form. The spray from the falls was hitting us a hundred yards away. Additionally the only place to get water was next to the falls themselves! This was quite unpleasant because it was a rocky climb down and the spray was ice cold. Definitely not something I want to deal with again in the Winter time. Fortunately I’d switched to chemical treatment so i just had to fill up a Platypus instead of standing there pumping. Definitely points for the chemical treatment department.

After dinner, drinks, and general campfire fun, we all retired to our sleep areas. And sleep we did! I slept for almost 14 hours. it was glorious, especially considering that it was in the 20s out! I don’t sleep that well in my bed in my apartment! I fully give credit to the new Warbonnet Blackbird and Warbonnet Winter Yeti. I have a review written up and will be posting it soon. Brand, at Warbonnet, is definitely a homegrown shop, and he’s doing amazing things!

Below are some pictures from the trip, enjoy!

Virgin Falls December 2009

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LyttleBryan December 9th, 2009

A few weeks ago my friend Chuck asked me to put together a hike for the group that he runs. He’s an organizer for a facebook group called KAPS, Knoxville Area Professional Singles. I’m always eager to get people outdoors, so I gladly agreed. Knowing people the way that I do, there are two things to get the most casual people out of the house. First, don’t make the hike very difficult. Second, make sure there’s something cool to see at the end, like a waterfall. So with those two things in mind I set about finding a good trail.

I thought about it for a couple of days before deciding on Big Creek Trail to Mouse Creek Falls. I decided that the ever so slight incline of the trail was easy enough that anyone could go. I really like that side of the park as well. I’d done the Big Creek->Low Gap->AT->Chestnut Branch loop once when I was by myself and feeling completely nuts. I figured this would be a good opportunity to get out and really enjoy a stroll and maybe meet some new people. Unfortunately mother nature had other plans for the trip!

The general plan was pretty typical, meet about 8:30 or so to carpool down to the trail head, hang out there to wait for late folks, and then hit the trail. I wasn’t really concerned with the times or anything since it was only a 4 mile round trip hike. It’s funny, I can remember a time when 4 miles was about the max I’d do. The 4 quickly became 7 which not so quickly became 11 which has somehow grown to 15 and then 20. Life is good! Anyway, when I woke up I walked to my kitchen and was greeted with about half an inch of snow. Now, I grew up in St. Louis. Unless that half an inch of snow is accompanied with ice, it doesn’t mean much. Well, I’m not in St. Louis anymore, and in Knoxville, snow means just about everything and everyone shuts down. I knew immediately the hike was going to be much smaller than I anticipated. I’d checked with Chuck before and made sure he was in come rain or shine. Fortunately the rain part extends to snow! He and I met to carpool, and as it would turn out, he and I were the only ones. Since it was just he and I we decided to extend the hike a little further than originally anticipated.

The hike itself was absolutely gorgeous, unfortunately I managed to forget my camera at home. I sat down with my cat in the recliner for a bit before leaving and it slid out of my pocket and into the chair. I didn’t realize it was missing until I got to the trail head. Fortunately Chuck had a spare camera, so if the pictures below are terrible, blame him. The snow fell pretty steadily the entire trip up. The midnight hole was rushing so much that you couldn’t see the portion for which it earns it’s namesake! Mouse Creek Falls were absolutely amazing. It was almost more of a falls than the usual cascade. All told we wound up hiking around 11 miles total. We stopped at campsite 37 for lunch. I was really hoping we could do a longer loop, but unfortunately Chuck had to be back by 6pm for a friends birthday. It was probably for the best, Chuck has complained about his knee hurting for a couple of days now. Sorry man! Anyway this weekend I’m returning to the first trail I hiked in the Smokie Mountains. Actually, it’s not a hike a trail at all. How funny is that?

Big Creek Trail In The Snow

Went for a hike in the snow with my friend Chuck

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LyttleBryan November 4th, 2009

A hiker in the area has gone missing, more details at http://hikinginthesmokys.blogspot.com/2009/11/missing-hiker-in-smokies-area.html Let’s hope he’s found and in good health.

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LyttleBryan October 30th, 2009

The work we did with the Friends of the Smokies and the Trails Forever program was put in the paper! Pretty cool!

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LyttleBryan October 27th, 2009

This Saturday was a verrrry long day. Probably one of the longest I’ve had in a while, if not ever. It started at about 6:15am which is a horrible way to start a Saturday. It was worth it though because myself, Gabe, Emilie, and Tim were setting out for Old Settler’s Trail and a wonderful day of hiking. Unfortunately mother nature tried to dampen our enjoyment, but, thankfully, didn’t.

Old Settler’s Trail is a roughly 16 mile trail stretching from the Greenbriar area to Maddron Bald Trail. To do a successful thru hike you either hike 32 miles in and out (not happening) or you shuttle. In this case, we shuttled. We started at the Maddron Bald trail head in Cosby. From there we took Maddron Bald up about a mile and a half until it intersected with Old Settler’s and Gabe’s Mountain. I was especially excited for this as I needed that little offshoot of Maddron Bald for my trail completion. It was a big day for marking numbers off my map. The Maddron Bald trail up to that point was kind of, well, boring. It was a graveled path that reminded me more of a road than anything. There wasn’t much to see either. I’m glad the rest of Maddron Bald is better than that one small area.

Once we got to the Old Settler’s Intersection things got really interesting. The insane amount of rain we’ve had here lately kept the ground nice and wet. It wasn’t muddy, but it was just wet enough that you could actually slide a little bit. Combine that with the fact that leaves are starting to come down and it was a day of slips, slids, near misses, crash and burns, and other fun things that are usually reserved for skiing. It’s all part of the fun though. Actually, you know what else is part of the fun? Doing around 1356901751313351 water crossings without poles. That’s part of the fun! Seriously, I had no idea Old Settler’s had that many water crossings. There were multiple places that you crossed the water and then 30 yards down crossed it again and another 30 yards crossed it back again. If I had known that I would have just followed the river bank up! Not to mention that the rain kept the creeks and rivers much higher than usual so it was near impossible to stay dry. It was one of the few times I wish I had three or pair of socks!

Okay I really shouldn’t complain so much, but it was a wild day. The area did have a lot of neat redeeming qualities. The signs of settlement from the trails namesake were quite evident. it’s fun walking through an area where people lived and thinking about what they had while they were doing it. These days we get out and stay on a marked trail with a days worth of supplies and someone waiting at home that knows to call the rescue squad if we’re not back by a certain time. We have it so much easier than back then. Is it strange to be jealous of the way life was then? Simpler times, simpler lives, but yet so much more complicated seeming. The trail is in desperate need of maintenance though. There’s down trees everywhere, and not the small limb variety either. Maybe a target for future work!

About 4-5 miles to the end we ran into Carrie who had hiked in from the opposite direction to meet us. It was good to see her especially since she brought cookies! I’ll admit by the time we hit ~2 miles to go I was begging to be done. I’m not usually that way, but the hike really took it out of me. I think it was all the slipping and sliding, but I could have just been off that day.

Overall it was a really awesome day on the trails. That night we got to go see Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Tennessee theater and it was AWESOME! I love this time of year!

until next time!

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