Well, another year has gone by really fast so I thought I would write a review of all the hikes that I got to take during this year. It seems like before you know it at the blink of a eye it is gone. Many times life gets in the way and there was many weekends that we all wanted to get in to the woods and do some backpacking but for one reason or another didn’t get to go. The first hike of this year we got to go on was what we call our Ol’ Faithful and that is Laurel Falls that is in Dayton,Tn. We usually go to do this hike because it is relatively close and the hike in is not real bad. We done this overnight hike on 1/20/12 and I will post a pic or two from each trip. On this trip Darrin and I went in with a very good chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms but if you wait on the weather all the time would we even really ever get of the house? It seems every time we have been on this hike it is always different sometimes the creeks are overflowing and sometimes it has been dry as a bone, however on this one it was the heaviest I had ever seen it flowing and I have been around 10 times the last 2 years. The morning we were to leave I was awoken by some mighty claps of thunder and lots of lightning so once we were up and got our breakfast in us we headed out in a mild rain but by the time we got about half way out it was mostly just sprinkling on us but the views we had on the way out were some like I had ever seen.
Our next hike took us to Big South Fork Country where we done the Honey Creek Loop trail. We went on a day hike here on 1/27/12 to scout it out for a overnight trip. So it was Jason, Darrin, myself, and my 2 sons Levi and Jesse. This was a pretty cool trail that had plenty to see and one that I would like to do again.
Now onto the coldest overnighter that any of us had ever attempted and let me tell you it was cold. So we had this planned for a while to go on this hike that is why we went and scouted a few weeks prior to be a little familiar with the area. It got down into the single digits that night but we did survive and live to tell about it anyways. Honey Creek Loop 2/11/12.
Good thing we had a great fire!
Now it is time for one of our trips to another of our favorite areas and that is the Great Smoky Mountains. This is a trip we had never done before so we was all excited on what it would bring and the trail and the payoff did not disappoint in the least. This trail is Ramsay’s Cascades and it is one of the longest flowing waterfalls in the GSM. This was on 3/10/12.
Beautiful Waterfall!
Pictures here does not even come close to how huge this tree and many others in this area really were.
Now to one of my all time favorite hikes thus far in my young hiking career and this one too is in the Great Smoky Mountains and it is none other than Mount LeConte, the third highest mountain in the Smokies. This was my brother’s first trek up this magical and mystical mountain. This one was on 4/21/12.
I could sit here for a very long time and soak all this in!
Well, it is now June the 1st, 2012 and we go back to Ol’ Faithful Laurel Falls again and it is unseasonably cold for this time of year and the water was one of the lowest that I had seen on this trip but none the less a great time was had by us all as usual.
On July the 27th, 2012 once again it is Laurel Falls and it was a very hot hike in and there was yellow jackets and hornets a plenty but the falls was still flowing very nicely and we still had a great trip!
Now you can see how it is by the sweat on my shirt in this one!
Last but certainly not least is another hike that I had never done and it was a close drive on top of that. On 10/19/12 it was Virgin Falls Natural Area’s turn. It is located just outside of Crossville,Tn. I didn’t ever get a chance to blog on this one so I may say a little more on this section of the blog.
Martha’s Pretty Point Overlook
Virgin Falls
On top of the falls!
This was a very nice hike with a lot to see that is mostly down all the way to the Virgin Falls but on the way out, now that is a whole different story. We did the overlook on the way in which had some up to it and I am really glad that we did that because I sure didn’t feel like doing it on the way out do to all the uphill coming out.
Well, I guess that will do it for now I hope everyone has had a great year and may next year be better than this one for you. I only got to go on 8 hikes this year so hopefully this next year I can do more so until next time I will see you on the trail!!!! Tommy
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