The weather was so nice Easter Sunday, we just had to take a short Drive. We decided to take a short walk in the Smoky's. I took a few pics of some wildflowers and things along our way. The video is short just like this post, but I hope you enjoy the pics!
Again, thanks for stopping by my blog...come back and visit again!
What a great day I had hiking in the Smoky's Saturday. I had to go alone...could not find anyone who could or would go with me, ha-ha, your loss! It was a little drizzly throughout the day, but I never really got wet, so that was cool!
Started the hike at Newfound Gap, N.C. You get on the Appalachian trail at that point. It starts out with an uphill climb for quite a while. Why do they never seem to give you a warm up first? The trail was really pretty nice and well kept, of course it was a little rugged, but that is the terrain in that area.
Some really nice views on the way up. I stopped at the Icewater Springs Shelter just to check it out. It was a pretty nice shelter to stay at, Had a privy, hanger for your backpacks and food..to keep the bears from getting away with your goods, lol! and the shelter itself. In the front of the shelter there was a great view of the surrounding mountains. They have a water source there, and of course recommend that you treat or boil the water first.
Forgot to mention, just before the shelter you can cut off to the Jump Off, but I chose to go there after going to Charlies Bunion. And you get the Boulevard Trail to Mt. Leconte there also. From that point I believe it is about 5.3 miles to the Lodge.
So on to Charlies Bunion I went. As you approach the Bunion Trail, they have a sign posted to have control of your Children, highly recommended. The trail is narrow in spots and a pretty much straight drop off. And I would not personally recommend young kids climbing out on the rock outcrop they call Charlies Bunion. The views up there were fantastic, as in most of the Smoky's.
While up at the Bunion, I met a through hiker who started out in Spring Mountain, Ga. in March on his way to the Northern end in Maine, if all goes well he said! Offered him some boiled eggs and a banana knowing how hard it is to pack a lot of stuff for a through hike like that because of weight, and just thought I would be nice...imagine that! And yes he was very appreciative of the offer and took me up on it!
After a bite to eat, I headed back down to the Boulevard Trail to pick up the Jump Off Trail. And don't you know more climbing. I would highly recommend anyone who goes to Charlies Bunion not to miss the Jump Off the view there is just as nice if not nicer than at Charlies Bunion.
From there, it was back down to the car, a Five hour round trip hike for me...I stop and take to many pictures, just can't help it! Below are a few video's of the trip. The first one is a video of pictures I took, the second is a video of video's I took, which I must apologize for, It came out a little shaky from holding my camera and hiking at the same time...I'll get the hang of it next time, I HOPE! Again thanks for checking out the blog, and I hope you well watch the videos anyhow! Remember, on the video click on the gear icon and under quality click for HD and watch in the large screen is probably the best, not full screen on these!
Fun hike to Grotto Falls, Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg, Tn.
Got a late start Saturday morning, waiting on my Daughter, Son-in-Law and two of my Grandchildren. We didn't get to the trail until 11:40 a.m. We got on the trail off of Roaring Fork Motor Trail. http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/roaringfork.htm We got on the trail below the Grotto Falls Parking area, so we added an extra 1 or so miles to the hike. It started out UPHILL if you know what I mean. No gradually getting into the hike, lol!
After catching our breath and hiking uphill for about 30 minutes, it kind of got easier as we went along. There were numerous tree's down across the trail, that's what makes it fun, don't you think? The first mile or so followed the Roaring Fork Rd. till you get to the Grotto Falls parking area. Nice scenic views as we hiked along.
As for the weather, it was a fantastic day. We pretty much had most of the trail to ourselves until we got close to the Falls, then we started running into several groups of people. The Falls were not spectacular, but the trail goes behind them, then starts winding up again, heading to Mt. LeConte Lodge, this is the trail the llama's use to bring the supplies to the Lodge. There are no roads to the lodge, that is why the llama's.
Of course, because of the late start, we could not go to the lodge this trip, so we turned around and headed back, I think the Kids were about done in anyhow, lol, they slept good that night! (Okay, so did I.) On our way back, we ran into a brave deer on the trail, he just moseyed along in front of us, then retreated into the woods, only after a few pics and a video.
We arrived back at the car around 3:45 or so, because we spent some time at the Falls and had a snack- lunch and the kids played in the water for a while, otherwise it would of only been about a 3 hour hike! It was a good hike and I would Definitely do it again!
Here is a video of our trailblazing, lol, hope it inspires you to go take a hike! Watch on full screen, and click on the gear icon, then click on HD resolution for a good picture! Thanks again!
Again, thanks for visiting my page and watching my video, I love to share for those who cannot go, and to inspire those who can get out and go!
Today was a nice day! We picked up one of our Grandchildren and drove to Hilham, Tn to go to the Park. We got a late start for us, but it was a last minute decision to go...so off we went. Got to the Park around 2 ish and started our hike.
The very beginning of the hike was a little tiring for me, a pretty steep climb..but low and behold they read my mind...and had a bench at the top. Took a quick breather, then continued our hike. The rest of the hike was up and down...some parts being very narrow and a little slick from the rain the day before but not to bad. The trail was kind of easy after the initial climb, like I said ups and downs and a little narrow in spots, but a pretty easy hike on out!
Me and the Grandson did the hike while my wife drove the car to where we were to finish. While waiting for us, she decided to walk around by the river...started to go down an embankment full of pine needles and slipped and down she went, hurting her ankle, leg and arm. Now that doesn't sound to bad, but my wife had a car accident years ago and had rods and pins and wires installed, so when she falls like that, she gets a tremendous amount of pain. She will be sore for weeks...hopefully she will be able to walk tomorrow, we will have to see! She sucked it up...but I could tell she was and still is in a lot of pain.
Anyway, she will kill me for posting that...so....if you don't here from me anymore, you know what happened! Here are some pictures from the hike! I hope you enjoy them and have a great day! And I hope I inspired you to "go take a hike"
Our little over 11 mile round trip Hike up Alum Cave Trail to Mt. LeConte!
We got to the parking lot right about 9:20 am, both parking area's were full already. But we found a spot along the road for overflow. We started our hike about 9:30, stopping along the way in the very beginning to take pictures here and there. We continued to the area they call the Arch Rock where they have stone stairs that continue on up the trail. The next point of interest would be Inspiration Point, a nice view as your climbing. Continuing on you then come to The Alum Cave Bluffs, this marks about the halfway point. It is also a good spot to stop and have a snack or a meal and water before continuing along. It is 2.3 miles from the parking lot. It is still another 2.7 miles up to the lodge. And to us it also marks the spot where the trail becomes much steeper and harder to navigate. As you get about a mile or so from the bluffs the trail becomes steep in many different spots with many narrow rocky spots that have a cable for stability and to help you get along safely. It is highly recommended you bring plenty of water for drinking.
Personally I would bring a minimum of 3 (16.9) oz. bottles of water per person. And as when anywhere in natural surroundings, pack out your garbage so future generations can enjoy the beauty of our recreational area's, and leave nothing to harm the environment or animals of the wild, including any food.
As you reach the Lodge, there is another trail on your right that goes to Myrtle Point and the Cliffs. That is a nice place to sit and relax, have some more food and drinks (packing out your trash), and taking pictures before making your descend back down to the parking lots. (You may also want to bring veggie sticks or trail mix to snack on in between stops to keep you going)! They have some rest rooms at the Lodge area around the cabins if you need to use the facilities before making your way down. And during there open hours, the Lodge sells Packed lunches if you don't bring your own.
Below is a video I made of the pictures we took along our way. I hope you will take the time to watch it and enjoy the scenery, and I hope it inspires you to (Go take a Hike)!
And just to give you a time frame of the hike, with our stopping and taking pictures and eating or resting here and there it took us almost 8 hours to complete. We did spend about an hour or so at the top though!
Well, it's Friday, yeah! My friend is coming tonight and we are going to hike the Alum Cave trail to Mt. LeConte tomorrow morning. Baked another crock pot cheesecake, blueberry topping this time, packed snacks and food for the day long hike, got sauce and dough made and ready for Pizza tonight, we are on a roll! I have been wanting to hike Mt. LeConte for about two years now, never had anyone to go with me. I don't want to hike alone, it is always better to have another person with you, you never know what can or will happen.
If you are interested in checking out Mt. LeConte:
I will up date you all with a new post as soon as I have a chance, with pictures or a video for sure, lol! Stay tuned and thanks for checking in on me!
Today I'm making pizza for my grandson and daughter!
I decided to blog my pizza making process for today's story. I will be showing it step by step.
I stopped eating Gluten a couple of years ago, and I will tell you, it is tempting every time I make pizza to have a slice...but then it would not end up being just a slice if you know what I mean! Now, I have an electric oven and cook the pizza on the second shelf setting on 475 for about 6 minutes, then I switch to broil to cook the top till done to your liking, usually 3-5 minutes. You have to keep an eye on it when it is on broil until you see how it cooks in your oven. On a Gas oven, I find you need to cook on lowest shelf for 7 minutes or so then put on broil. You need to experiment a little, every oven is different! If you have a stone, I would cook on 475 after the stone is at temp. for about 10-15 minutes!
So much for the chit chat, you are probably here for the recipe and process, lol!
Music is sung and written by My good Friend, Bronze James with Chance James and Legend Reborn!
Thanks for visiting my page today! I hope it was helpful!
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