More Hiking (Pisgah Forest, NC)

We worked Wednesday and Thursday.  Friday we drove to Hendersonville, NC about 25 miles away.  Our purpose was to attend the Apple Festival.  It was nice.  Not wildly nice, but nice.
I did have a great apple fritter and, imagine, we bought apples.  The big hit was the Mast General Store.  For those not familiar with a Mast General, it's like an old timey general store, only huge.  On the second floor they have an outfitters section.  And because of the Apple Festival, they were having a massive sale that included lots of 50 % off. Debbie and I had just recently spoken of a need for her to have high top hiking boots rather than oxfords.  Mast had Merrill shoes (an excellent brand) on sale at 50% off.  Big score.  $60 rather than $120.  We also got a few other outdoor do dads.  We had an OK dinner out.  On our way home we stopped at Looking Glass Falls.  This is a beautiful sight right on the highway 276 that we travel every time we go up or down the mountain.  All you have to do is pull over and you're there.  You can walk down some easy steps to the bottom of the falls.  It's a glorious water fall but we've never stopped because the area has always been ridiculously crowded.  Not tonight.  There was almost no one there.  So we stopped, walked down the steps and enjoyed the serenity. 

Looking Glass Falls

Saturday Debbie and I branched out on our own to do a 5 mile hike that included part of the Art Loeb trail.  This is more of the alpine style hiking we recently did with the Hackers.  By alpine I mean the trail is at a relatively high elevation, largely out in the open and following a ridge or going from peak to peak.  We enjoyed what could be the best views ever while hiking.  We often could see for miles! 

We had lunch (ham sandwiches etc) at the top of Tennent Mountain, elevation 6000 feet.

We sat on a rock that appeared to be designed as the perfect bench.  Flat, level and at a nice ergonomic height.  We were nearly on the edge of the mountain.  Not fall to your death edge, just nothing in front of you other than a SPECTACULAR view!!!!!!!!  I'm going to have to say breathtaking. 

Lunch View

Beyond our lunch spot we enjoyed  multiple beautiful spots.  We spent about 5 hours on the trail.

Sunday we hiked again.  We wanted an outing for the dogs.  Something easy.  We drove down the mountain a few miles to the CoonTree trail.  The hike was to be about 4 miles. A nice distance for the dogs.  Plus the map listed its level of difficulty as moderate.   I....remember it was I, did no research on the hike.  I simply said "this looks like a good one."  Well, it was a great work out.  But it was a great work out because the trail can best be described in one word, STEEP.  I mean it was way steep on the way up and way steep on the way down.  It was steep all the way to the top of the mountain!  Really it was more than steep, it was steep and narrow with multiple log bridges.  We were dragging when we were finished but we remained in good spirits.  The boys were pooped. And now for the rest of the story.  The next day, Monday, Debbie did some research on the trail.  The point of the trail going to the top of the mountain was for great views.  To get to the views you had to leave the trail for a short distance.  But because "we" didn't do any research prior to the hike, "we" didn't know the views were there.  I don't imagine we do the hike again for the views.

We're working Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  Monday was Debbie's birthday.  We don't celebrate any occasions and this one was no different.  I did mention Debbie's birthday at our morning meeting with our volunteer group and we sang Happy Birthday.  Debbie has been talking about knitting some pot holders.  I'm thinking we could buy a couple but apparently Debbie is wanting to return to her pioneer roots.  Plus Sue, our fashionable grandmother type here, is an excellent needle person of all descriptions.  Debbie knows that she will give her any needed guidance.  So Monday night was the night to start.   Debbie trucked over to Sue's place, got some guidance as well as needles and came home full of enthusiasm.   Now understand I'm amused.  To me it's a unique sight to see Debbie just "gettin it" with sparks flying from her knitting needles.

Debbie with her knitting and new Slippers from Sue

She is mostly done now with the first pot holder.  I think there are more to come.  The icing on the cake of this story is that the wonderful Sue gave Debbie a pair of freshly knitted slippers for her birthday.  Sue is the best!

Thursday we're hiking with a crowd of our fellow volunteers. About 5 miles from the Pisgah Inn to the Cradle.

Duane