Posts

Posted on

Ramsey Cascade in September

Last weekend I decided to run/hike to Ramsey Cascade in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I needed more than 8 miles for my training plan so I parked at the bridge that crosses Middle Prong at the intersection of Greenbrier Road. The total miles for the day: 11.2 miles and 2,680 feet of elevation gain. 

Parking remotely turned out to be the best idea because trailhead parking for Ramsey Cascade fills up quickly, and when I ran through the parking area on the way back there were many strange parking jobs where multiple cars looked stuck. And so many people by noon. 

I started early as always and only passed four hikers going up on this Sunday in September.

Trail maintenance has been ongoing during the week. Rock steps and ladders are this hiker’s dream. The closer to the end of the trail, the more ladders are present.  This construction does close this trail right now Monday through Thursday. 

The Ramsey Cascade trail is about 60% runnable. There are rocky parts and steep parts, and various flats and straight up parts; it’s a trail runner’s dream. When I cross streams or get close enough to the rushing water, I am able to throw water over my head and splash my face with the cool water to stay cool.

My favorite part of this trail is looking for the huge Tulip Poplar tree. I’ve seen so many old time photos of people holding hands around this tree for perspective. One day I will do the same if I hike it with a group of people. 

The closer I get to the waterfall the louder the water becomes and it’s thrilling to see the white cascades through the trees on approach. The waterfall is spectacular as always and I could stare at it for hours. This was my second time on this trail and first time trying to run it as much as I could. 

As I headed down I talked to another solo hiker and she told the story of how she comes to Gatlinburg every year and likes to hike this trail. Before all the new trail construction the boulders were so big that an older man got stuck and search and rescue had to get him. I told her how thankful I was for the trail maintenance done on this trail. It such a popular, it really is needed. I passed about 30 people going up. 

The leaves aren’t changing yet but I can’t wait to get back there for another run and see the fall colors. 

This week I finished reading Strangers in High Places; The Story of the Great Smoky Mountains by Michael Frome. The book is so good, so compelling, so well written, that I read it in a week. I like how Frome starts with the Eastern Cherokee history, and sad removal, and then moves to the mountain people and lumbermen. He writes about the moonshiners and revenuers (IRS), bears and all about the park’s boars/pigs.

The longest section is about the legislation surrounding the Smokies becoming a protected national park. He writes about land transactions surrounding the creation of the park and all of the ongoing personal interests that are threats to it. He wrote about Horace Kephart, and how Kephart left his family and moved to the North Carolina woods to start over. He later became a folk hero to many mountain people. I had to learn more about him so I’m now reading Our Southern Highlanders. The full text is here courtesy of The Project Gutenberg.

I would argue that these two books should be required reading for anyone who loves the Great Smokies and wants to understand its history. 

Posted on

Colorado trip: Keystone, Leadville, Granby, Steamboat

First stop in Colorado after arriving in Denver was to drive through Rocky Mountain National Park. I followed the rules and bought a timed entry. Based on flight arrival and drive time I purchased 12-2 entry time. Little did I know that after 2:00 you don’t need a timed entry and we got to the entrance at 1:50pm. Cars were waiting on the side of the road for 2:00.

We began the beautiful drive on a perfect blue bird sky day.

I was reading Following Isabella Travels in Colorado Then and Now on the plane and how she climbed Longs Peak. All the years I’ve lived in Colorado I never hiked the big mountains. After reading about Isabella and seeing the peak from the road, the next time I come back I want to climb it. The picture above features Longs Peak in the distance.

We drove through Grand Lake and Granby to arrive at Winter Park for dinner with George and Shawn. We ate at Randy’s which happens to have the best Shepards Pie. It was great catching up with them and seeing pictures of their grandchildren.

The next morning I drove back to Granby to revisit a place I lived for five years. The above picture was my view from the house – looking west to the sunset and these sage covered hills. I was a bit sentimental and sad, and missed living here. I saw the places where I hiked, mountain biked, trail ran, skied, cross country skied, and walked. I missed doing all of this.

Then, as I was driving back to Winter Park, I thought: I’ve mountain biked and hiked so much in this county. I lived my best life here. I did everything. I didn’t get the guy but I did everything – I lived my live out loud. I tried everything.  I gave it my best shot. It was a good life living in Colorado and I chose to leave for other opportunities.

This thinking made me instantly feel better. I didn’t waste any time here. I learned so much that has brought me to this exact moment right now. I don’t have to be sad about it anymore. 

Next stop: up and over Berthoud Pass. Here’s a picture of me and Mark at the top of the pass. I used to love hiking from this trailhead when I lived here. We walked around and took in the views, then on to Leadville.

I opted to stay in Keystone to switch it up from Copper Ski Resort the last time I attempted Leadville 100. I like to be away from the fray, to relax before a race. Plus, I haven’t spent much time in Keystone so it was fun to discover.

On race morning we woke up at 2am and then out the door to get to the race start by 4am. The energy at the start was so fun. I knew I wasn’t going to make it very far but I wanted to start. Leadville is an iconic race and I want to finish it. But alas, I dropped at the first aid station. The above pictures is Turquoise Lake as the sun rose. I took the shuttle back to Leadville and Mark picked me up. We headed back to Keystone.

I love this race so much because it’s so hard and I want to do hard things. I sometimes think I am super woman and can do anything I set my mind on. But the last few years I have menopause brain; and my brain is not working well. I still have big mountain dreams and goals; I want to finish a 100 mile trail run. But maybe I will attempt a 100 mile race at sea level.

The next day, Sunday, I drove to Steamboat. I’ve been wanting to go back and revisit the place I lived for three years and hike some of the places I hiked with my first dog, Abbey. First stop was Fish Creek Falls.

I hiked in the area almost every morning with Abbey. The falls are so pretty and the trails have spectacular views.

This is the view from the Uranium Mine trail. This trail is just before you arrive at the Fish Creek Falls parking lot. I have great memories of snowshoeing this trail with Abbey.

I later met up with a friend from Granby who now lives in Steamboat. Betsy and I caught up on our lives. I would love to live back here and hope some day to. I’d have to win the lottery to afford it, but the Yampa Valley is special. On the drive back to Keystone I remember all the spots along the way from the hundred of times I’ve been on Route 40: moving to Granby, driving to the airport, driving to Silverthorne. From Rabbit Ears Pass and the rocky mountains in view, to the winding roads and a hope to spot an antelope.

On Monday, the last day Mark and I drove from Keystone to Canon City to visit the Royal Gorge. Since I work at an attraction with a bridge I was excited to do a little competitive research.

The bridge was very fun to walk on. I loved the view of the Arkansas River. We timed it perfectly to see rafters, kayakers and the Amtrak train.

Royal Gorge
TN State Flag on Bridge

Then we headed to the airport. Vacation over. I can’t wait to go back.

Posted on

August hike to Charlies Bunion GSMNP

The hike on Sunday to Charlie’s Bunion was a great day to be in the mountains. As I started on the AT from Newfound Gap I was thankful for cool temperatures and to see a few other solo, women hikers on the trail. I saw a few trail workers and hikers who have been on the trail a few days. 

I love being on the AT. While I do not have aspirations to through-hike this trail, I can appreciate the patience and dedication it takes to complete the feat. 

While hiking I was thinking of the book I’m reading, Following Isabella Travels in Colorado Then and Now. Since I’m traveling to Colorado soon I wanted to get in the Colorado spirit by reading about its history by Robert Root. But it got me thinking about the trip I just booked to Maine. I thought I should start reading a book about Maine to get in the spirit of traveling there. I start thinking about what I should read and Sarh Orne Jewett comes to mind. I have her biography and I’ve been to her house in South Berwick. I obsessively read about her many years ago. 

As I’m hiking I remember reading about Willa Cather and how she and Jewett wrote letters to each other, encouraging each other in their writing life. That advice is good: “Find a quiet place with the best companions.” Which is what I’m always unknowingly searching for in this life. 

While hiking I think of so many things I want to do. My mind wanders to books and people and places, and suddenly I’m deep into the mountains.

After 4 miles, I climbed to the rocky top of Charlie’s Bunion with expansive views of the mountain peaks. 

I hope to one day learn all the names of the peaks I see but for today, I just took in the view and was happy to be in the Smoky Mountains. 

On the way back to the car I talked to a father who was hiking with his two young girls. They hiked to the Jump Off for the sunrise. I love seeing young kids hiking on big trails. The girls were sweet and seemed thrilled to be hiking this morning. 

I passed about 15 people on the way back to the car, and I even saw one man in flip flops. 

I’m glad to be back hiking and running regularly. My training plan for the next 12 weeks is a long run on Saturday and a hike/run on Sunday. This plan is going to help me complete miles on the 900 miles map. As of today, I have completed 48.9 miles and I’m 2% done. Next week is Alum Trail to LeConte.

Posted on

Why I Must Travel, Finding Home

I bought a few plane tickets and booked a couple car rentals this week. I can’t remember when I’ve felt so excited. Well, at least in the last year. 

See, the last year has been filled with moving plans, buying furniture, adopting a dog, buying a house and starting a new job. 

While all of these things are exciting in context, at my age they have produced unwanted  anxiety to the level that I’ve never felt before; although all self-inflicted. While anxious, travel and and seeing new places is the last thing on my mind. 

However, as things have settled down, one of the things that makes me want to travel is reading. After a period of stress and watching too much television, I have a thought about a book. I find a book on my bookshelf, or in a random online search and I’m suddenly reading for hours – I’m back to the self I like. 

The reading frenzy started with Thomas Wolfe and Look Homeward, Angel; a book I read 20 years ago and fell in love with. I live 90 minutes from the setting of the book and where Wolfe grew up. I drove over to Asheville and walked around Old Kentucky Home. 

I started reading his biographies and literary scholarship. I fell in love with him again. But reading Wolfe has led me back to my favorite author, Wallace Stegner. Reading Stegner makes me want to travel west, and so I booked my flight to Phoenix and can’t wait to see the desert, Grand Canyon and Tucson. 

Right now, I’m on a reading frenzy. I have books lined up: The Secret Knowledge of Water, Following Esabella, Dakota, Marking the Sparrow’s Fall and more. 

I’ve also started listening to audiobooks while driving. This was suggested to me by my friend Missy. I’ve mostly listened to music while driving all over East Tennessee. I live in the country so it’s a 15 minute drive minimum to anywhere I want to go except for the grocery store which is two miles down the road. YAY. I’m listening to Big Rock Candy Mountain by Wallace Stegner. Next up: Angle of Repose. I didn’t think I’d be able to concentrate on the words while driving but I can now lose myself in his descriptions of the midwest and west, his characters and their lives. 

Reading and traveling make me question everything, and that is always good for me. It makes me reevaluate my choices and where I live. I live in the south and after one year, I truly like living here and enjoy learning about this region. I’m reading books about its history, about Great Smoky Mountains National Park and nonfiction from local writers. 

As much as I like living here, and feel at home here, it’s always been a pattern of my thinking that I need to go away from a place, even if it’s just for a few days, to really appreciate it. I need that distance to think about my feelings towards a place I chose. Yes, I like living here but why do I really like it? One of the hard things to get used to living in East Tennessee is how far west in the eastern time zone it is; it is so dark in the morning. Right now, the sunrise is at 6:45 am and can’t walk dogs or run in pitch black for safety; from wildlife or crazy people.  

Distance helps me sort out complicated feelings of home, place and choices. In the last 25 years, home has always been where my dogs are. Could this be my forever home, a place I own and where all my stuff is? 

I’ve been told that if you don’t own a home you are considered homeless by the government. All these years I’ve been homeless while searching for my forever place. So there is this to think about while traveling and walking around the desert. 

I do know that as soon as I start writing packing lists and preparing dogs for the kennel my travel anxiety will begin. As much as I love being away from home, or the place I live, I will miss it and can’t wait to get back home again.

Posted on

Review of Murder at the Jumpoff

I like how the story includes chapters that take place in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. I also like how I found this book after hiking many of the trails in Greenbrier in GSMNP. I’ve  been on a lot of the trails in the book except for the manways. As I read the book I just kept thinking what a funny name to call the bushwhacking trails since I’ve always known them as organic trails; trails that the Forest Service despises in NH. I think it might be a Smokies thing.

I’m not a big murder mystery reader but the landscape of this  book held me close. I couldn’t put down the book. I really enjoyed how each chapter switched back and forth from each character’s perspective. I liked the characters especially Hatsy, Sally and Hector. 

Before and after reading the book I kept Googling the author, wanting to find out more about her. I wondered which character she was like; probably Hatsy. But I wondered why the author committed suicide? She had such an interesting life and lived in many different places, and was such a talented writer.  The mountains called her, and she moved around a lot. She travelled and lived in beautiful places like Colorado, New Hampshire and Vermont – all places I’ve lived and loved, primarily for their mountain landscapes. 

This book found me after I’d stopped hiking in the park for a bit, getting distracted by other life things.  I was frustrated that I couldn’t hike with dogs on trails, plus it was getting hot and humid. However, the last few weeks, every weekend I went to Greenbrier on a different trail. It was easy to get to – I didn’t have to drive through Gatlinburg on a weekend. And I was always on a time limit since I didn’t want my new pup to be in his crate for more than 5 hours. When I started reading the book, I wanted to hike more and get to know this park. 

I don’t have a desire, even after finishing the book to hike off trail – I like hiking and trail running on trails; this book was just a new perspective on the park. The characters in her book loved the challenges of the mountains and exploring the landscapes I love, too. 

In an interview the author said, “To me, off-trail hiking is a magical journey, a quest to discover incredible places that practically no one ever sees.”

I like reading books that take place somewhere I know. Scenes in this book took place in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Sevierville and Knoxville. It allowed me to enjoy the book more that the story took place here. Plus, the final chapter takes places in the White Mountains and the scene is a mountain I know. 

Excellent book. Here is a link to a story about her and her death:

The Last Stream: Unraveling the Mysterious Death of Smokies Hiker Jenny Bennett

Jenny’s obituary

Ramsey Cascade Greenbrier
Ramsey Cascade Trail
Greenbrier area GSMNP