A Night at Kephart Shelter and a Walk Down Kephart Prong Trail Dec 17/08

Yesterday I went to Kephart Shelter with some friends from UT who have never been there before. It may not have seemed like a great day for an overnighter in the Smokies, but I think a rainy day in the mountains beats a dry day down here, so we were off ona rainy adventure. The walk was easy enough in a drizzling rain at about 50 deg. My main worry was a fire. I had the pocket rocket for cooking, but a fire sure picks up your spirits when the rain is coming down. I hadn't been to the shelter since 2004, so this is the first time I have seen the renovated building,. The last time I was there, the mice ran the joint. That was something my friends were not thrilled to hear and I was glad I hadn't mentioned the mice until we arrived.

Fortunately there was big log in the fireplace already and with some dryer lint and a few sticks of fatwood the dead branches , soaked as they were, began to dry and catch. We had our fire the entire time we were there and left that log and some fatwood chips for the next one to sojourn through. We sat around the crackling warmth and talked about past trips in the mountains, the ups and downs of the first semester in college and a little of what life is all about.
I had about the best night's sleep I have had in a shelter, with nary a mouse in sight or sound. Truly not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse trying to eat through my coat pockets. I think we were out from 9 to 9 and then it was breakfast and back down the trail.

I have used the shelter several times but always arrived from Sweat Heifer Trail. This was the first time I had come in through the old CCC camp side. I noted the CCC remains along the way as the "Brown Book" points out. One of a my friends, a college freshman asked about the CCC and it's purpose so I explained the effects of the depression and then the coming war. He was quick to note that current conditions reminded him of that and it was interesting to think about all that had happened through the years as the camp was reduced to foundation stones. I wonder if I would have done better in economics class if my professor had taken us on a field trip to a CCC camp? Well, rain or no rain it was a great time. I can't speak for my friends but I enjoyed the trip through time past chimneys and old railroad ties, and I think they did too.

Playing Hooky With Dad

He thought he was in school for the day but I checked him out an hour after school started and we were off to see snow. We had sort of a rough morning getting out of the house on time for school. Food not eaten fast enough, hair not combed, chasing the cat around instead of putting on shoes, that sort of thing. By the time we got to school we were okay, and he was set for the usual Friday 4th grade routine. The idea to show him snow (we've lived in Florida 12 years and he really hasn't seen it) hit me shortly after I got home.
I like to think that I am one of the cool dads, a good dad, and while I do get some things right, I really blow it much more than I care to admit. But today was a good day. Today I think I got it right. He had that great bewildered look on his face when he came into the office. "Did I do something wrong?" "I don't think I have a doctors appointment today dad." I told him he had an appointment with me and in the parking lot I clued him in on the destination. You would have thought I had given him a trip to Disney World and a free Wii. Maybe they were going to start learning the metric system or study the baroque period later in the day, I don't know, but a trip to see some snow made his day. Mine too

Gas-$10
PB&J sandwiches- $2 (we use Jif)
Ben saying "Dad, I am so excited I am speechless"......priceless

Farewell To A Much beloved Hiking Stick

I hiked up to Alum Cave Bluff today with my friend Thomas. It was about 25 deg. according to my handy keychain thermometer and the snow was beginning to flurry. I haven't been on this trail in 10 years and with the weather being what it is I didn't quite know if the views would be available. Along the way we encountereed a few hikers, a nice couple from Baton Rouge who warned of the ice ahead and the possibility of some hand and knee crawling up the stairs through the arch. But I had my stick, the one my dad made me about 10 years ago, that makes me feel like either Moses or Gandalf as i plod along. It is the modern substitute for the longrifle that my ancestors probabaly leaned on as they took in the views when they walked the trails. At least that what Fess parker always did on Daniel Boone. Anyway, that stick had my initials carved in it and some other talismans my dad thought apprpriate, like UT and West High School, and Young Life, along with the cool medallion of the AT that I had at the top. It was straight and smooth, with my leather cord running through it, and it was just the right thickness to give you confidence when you put your weight on it. It gave that notion of safety as if a stick could deter any rascally encounters with miscreants and varmints. It saw me to the top and I didn't have to resort to hands and knees once. We reached the cave where a few folks were just leaving. After the obligatory PB&J and granola bar, with the wind whipping around and my hands frozen from wet gloves, it was time to take a few snapshots for posterity. We watched the skies clear and the sun break through over the mountains and it was just a great day to be on a mountain. I stood there leaning on my faithful hiking stick and thanked the Good Lord for a great view and a friend to share the journey with. We made it down (don't get ahead of me, I still had my stick) without much trouble, though the ice was a bit trickier down than up. That old stick just took my weight as I crept down the slippery slope and we took in some views that, though hazy on the way up, were clear and breathtaking on the way down. You can see my pictures, I'm speaking gospel here. It was a beautiful day. A couple of times I just the camera on a limb and as it twisted a little it snapped the perfect picture of my buddy Thomas and me with the picture clear as a bell. Yep, it was that kind of a day.

When we hit the bottom the sun was shining and we thought we may as well see the view from Newfound Gap, so I laid my stick against the rear of the van and set down my pack and changed my boots for driving. I grabbed my backpack and we headed off (you saw it right there didn't you? If only I had) The views from Newfound Gap were awesome, and after my camera battery died we decided it was time to head back to Knoxville. My kids would be anxious to see the pictures of the snow (they were raised in Florida), and Thomas was going to get to rub it in on his roomates that while they were trapped in a classroom, he'd spent the day in the high country. We drove past where we had parked at Alum Bluff Trail without a thought, my wife called to ask how the day had been and oblivious to the actual state of things, I said "fine". It was when we hit Chapman Highway I suddenly felt the pang of loss. I knew my stick was gone before I asked Thomas to take a look, but i asked anyway. Sure enough she was left behind. It probably laid there helpless as we whistled on past heading home with the bluegrass playing. Like that person in the TV commercials who has fallen, but she can't get up, it laid there on the frozen pavement, forgotten.

I know it's a just a stick, and my dad lives to make stuff like that, so I'll have another, but I'd be lying to you if I said it didn't discombobulate me all way back. You're reading this thinking,"why wouldn't anyone foolish enough to come home and write this story before he uses the Granpa's Pine Tar Soap, just turn around and go get his dang hiking stick? I'll grant you that I thought about it, and with gas prices dropping the temptation was powerful, but I had hit the coming home traffic, Thomas was ready to get home, and so there you have it, I consigned it to the Park, where perhaps I can pay it forward. Perhaps some UT, West High grad who went to Young Life will see it there and know that it was providence. Or, maybe some stranded visitor whose car battery fails will find it to be the piece of dry wood they are desperate for to start a life-giving blaze.
I'll say this, and then leave you to ponder your own losses, or perhaps go to the corner and check on the safety of your own trusty companion, it would take more than a lost piece of wood to take anything of real value away from todays journey up to Alum Bluff Cave with a good friend. (but if you happen to run across her, just shoot me a post on GoSmokies)

A Night @ Spence Field

Just got back from an overnight at Spence Field shelter. There were bear warnings and closing of shelters and campsites all around, but no bears crossed our path. The coyotes howled through the night though. The temp was very warm during the night, not freezing as I had expected. I was with 4 UT students who had never been to Spence Field before and we all enjoyed the hike. It was a tail kicker for me though being a good bit older than my friends. Actually I think it kicked them a little too. It took us about 4 hours to get from Cades Cove parking lot to the shelter an about 3 to get down on Sunday. The highlight was a brief communion service in the field using a grove of trees for our gathering and a large rock for the table.

We had the shelter to ourselves which surprised me given the great weather. There were two female hikers getting water and eating but they were passing through. The last time I was on this trail was 10 years ago to the day. It all came back to me as I limped along and I remembered swearing never again to undertake this hike. I was new to backpacking then and my pack was probably 50 lbs with every stitch of warm clothing I thought I might need and a big belt knife that weighed about 2lbs. I took it in case we had to fight off ninjas or if I started to freeze and caught pneumonia I could reenact Bowie's death scene at the Alamo. I recall geting so frustrated that my legs were like rubber that I chucked it off into the woods. Then embarassed that I had to retrieve it because I have had it for twenty years. That hike the weather had been clear at Cades Cove, turning to sleet and snow as we made our way from Russel to Spence field. This trip was nothing like that. I learned a few things over the years and they all had to do with weight.
I wish I had learned something about conditioning. While the hike was strenuous I made it without praying for God to strike me dead as I had 10 years ago and had a blast. It is tonight at home that my legs are like rubber and my back is sending me signals, telling me that if I try that again without some exercise it is going to teach me a lesson I won't forget.