Thanksgiving into December in TN, SC, and GA

I had a lovely Thanksgiving hike in the Smoky Mountains. It was a very peaceful loop trail that I got a fairly early start on, while the critters were still out and about. I was hiking quietly along a wide section of trail, blanketed in fallen leaves. I came around a slight bend in the trail and come face to face with a 6-point buck white tail deer. He regarded me for a moment and then went back to nosing among the leaves for fallen acorns, though I stood just 50 feet from him. I watched for at least 5 minutes and then heard rustling in the leaves behind me and a much larger buck was strolling away from the trail into the woods. He had the largest, widest rack I have seen ‘on the hoof’. Too bad I didn’t get decent photos of him, but it was really special to have shared these peaceful moments with 2 such magnificent creatures.

Mostly it was a wooded hike with little distraction. I spent a lot of time thinking about all that I have to be thankful for – not the least of which was that my life wasn’t snuffed out 7+ years ago when I ‘fell from the sky’ as my paraglider collapsed. I am also thankful that I live in a nation where it’s possible to have the freedom to travel as extensively as I am doing now. I cannot think of a better way to explore my country and begin the life of a retiree! There were very nice views along the way of the farm communities below. 

I took a lunch break at the top of Rich mountain and was joined as I was finishing by 2 horseback riders who had a cabin nearby. Besides these locals, there were a lot of people enjoying a holiday vacation in Great Smoky Mountains National Park for Thanksgiving week. I guess it’s family tradition to rent a cabin for the week and spend it with family. 

My loop route started and ended at the beginning of the one-way driving loop I’d mentioned in my previous post. Even more folks were driving it on Thanksgiving Day than on the other days. As I was coming out to the road, a driver warned me that there was a bear nearby. Sure enough, a big fat boar (black bear) was busily foraging for acorns about 100 yards above the road. That definitely slowed the rate at which the cars started along their way until a ranger came to get them to pause only briefly to snap a photo and then move on. His attention was drawn to that need when one driver made a u-turn (on a one way road) and drove back along the sidewalk so he could take photos.

After I finished my hike I headed into the nearby town (Townsend, TN) to plug in to electricity and take a hot shower with unlimited water supply for the first time in a week (another thing to give thanks for). It’s a good thing I’m so well set up for boondocking (camping off grid) because that’s all the park had to offer.

After leaving the park, I drove a windy, scenic route south of the park, through a scenic river byway, heading to where I “bagged” 2 more high points – Brasstown Bald, GA and Sassafras Mountain, SC. Of course you can drive to the top of both of them, but I took the long way. My GA highpoint was a 12.9 mile round trip up the Arkaquah Trail, with 4300’ elevation gain. The trail head started at some petroglyphs. Smoke from ongoing fires obscured some of the view from the top adding to the “Blue Ridge” effect, but it was still gorgeous.

My first sight of where I was hiking to. See the tower on top of the hill in the middle of the photo?

The SC highpoint view was definitely affected by smoke. It was looking like a bluebird kinda’ day when I started out at the trail head and I was pleasantly surprised to find lots of fall colors still hanging on the trees. There were some fun rock formations on the way up but as I got to the top, the view was only partially visible. Some folks that had driven up (I didn’t hike down the other side to see the road), said there was a policeman at the parking lot telling them they couldn’t hike farther along the trail I’d hiked up because of the fire, and the campground I’d intended to stay in that night was closed, due to the fire (they'd set a controlled burn to clear some of the fuel that allowed the fire to continue advancing).

 I think I’m done high pointing for a while. I’m not willing to drive 100s if miles out of my way to stroll a couple hundred feet up a hill. Unless it’s along my way or a good hike (with elevation gain and potential views), it’s not on my ‘list’.  Who knows? Maybe later in life, when a couple hundred feet elevation gain is more of a task, I’ll come back and bag the remaining, mini high points.  I might hit the 345’ FL highpoint because it’s likely on my way, when I start heading west to less humid, warm climates (as I was writing this it was after 8pm and was 71 degrees with 93% humidity! Yuck!!!). The TX highpoint is >12,000’ so might not be doable in winter. Time will tell.

After bagging those 2 peaks, I enjoyed a great visit with my niece’s family. Who knew I had cartoons in my van, or that it was such a good place to play Go Fish?!?

My hands were sticky from coring apples for apple butter. I didn't want to send my grand nephew and niece to bed sticky but had to give them a hug!

Scenic hike at Keowee-Toxaway State Park, SC.

After much searching, I finally found a Dodge dealer (not all service facilities have lifts hearty enough to lift the extra weight of my RV) that could deal with some minor warranty issues and some basic maintenance after 7,500 miles. I thought that my maintenance needs were over but when I was paying the bill, they informed me that, due to my bike rack, they couldn’t get the van lifted high enough to align the front wheels, so my search for a dealer that can attend to all my van’s service needs continued. Sigh… I found one (I thought) in Jacksonville, FL that could get me in the following Thursday so that dictated where I'd go next and for how long. I showed up this morning for my 8a.m. appointment only to be told they couldn't do what I needed to have done. AAARRGGGHHHH!! I was referred to a truck service center a 20 minute drive from there. They said they'd squeeze me in but it could be a long wait. I wasn't going to budge until it was done. Happily, they managed to get it done within an hour of when I arrived. Phew!

But back to my adventures prior to the  last (yay!!!) service stop... It looks like the coastal area of Georgia got hit pretty hard by Hurricane Mathew. I’m not seeing destroyed houses, but there is a plethora of very large downed trees. They’ve mostly been cut up and piled along the road sides and sometimes in the bike paths, making my bike ride on Hilton Head island (after my 1st service stop) a bit challenging at times.

As I work my way south I’m getting a few history lessons. I toured Fort Pulaski built after the war of 1812 to fortify the coast and protect the busy port of Savannah, GA. There was some impressive engineering done during the build, including a water filtration system in the substrate of the walls of the fort with cisterns below to store the water, and a flush system that routed water from the nearby waters into the mote protecting the fort, to flush the sewage twice a day. It was designed by a young Robert E. Lee; an engineer before he became a famous general. There were lots of fun camera angles to explore and a few trails to hike, with critters you don't see in Alaska.

This young man is living the dream. He's a history buff who started out volunteering but now, as a senior in high school, is paid to wear traditional costume at Wormsloe and explain the 'living history' display of a cottage and blacksmith shop. He is happy to fire his musket if asked.

I hiked the cypress swamps of the campground I was at, draped heavily with Spanish Moss, and toured nearby Wormsloe Historical Site, where they attempted to establish a colony in GA and deed land for farms/plantations without the use of slave labor. The experiment lasted 20 years and only one man (Noble Jones, founder of Wormsloe) achieved the goal. Georgia voted to use slaves after that.

When I first attempted to post this I was in Okefenokee Swamp. I got there late in the afternoon and only had time to ride my bike and hike a few short trails. I saw alligators (small ones), a racoon, lots of white egrets and ibis, a couple of large (barred?) owls and lots of lizards. I deployed my inflatable kayak the next day to explore the swamp waterways for a couple of days before I headed off for my 2^nd visit to a Dodge dealer to finish up my van maintenance needs. But Okefenokee Swamp deserves a post all its own so I'll end this one now.