Monday, March 03, 2008
Another NovaEagle FTF
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Saturday, February 23, 2008
Geocaching on a cold and blustery Saturday
We wanted to start at the CCC road near Peavine Falls but the gate was locked on the main road at 6:15 this morning so we went on to the yellow-white connector. Nice hike up the mountain early in the morning. It was cold but the weatherman said it was going to warm up. Can I just go ahead and call him a liar now? Got to the top and bush whacked over to the sign. It had been warm on the way down but then once we got to the sign it was cold again. NovaEagle didn't have enough clothes so I gave him my windbreaker and dug out a poncho I had in my bag to break the wind. So now I am down to a t-shirt and a poncho and its not getting warmer. 2 MILES! so says NovaEagle. Yep says I and we head out.
Too cold on the Blue so we drop off the back side of the mountain to get out of the wind. See some pretty views, find some deer beds, and come across Oak Mountain South Rim Cache. NovaEagle found it while I was still trying to get the GoTo working on my GPSr. He signed the log and I signed the log and we enjoyed the rest and the reprieve from the wind. We stay on the backside and come across Got Noculars?
Our coords put us up by a small tree and without any hint we spent some time looking in vain. Finally I started easing down the hill and spotted the cache. I made my way to the cache and waited on NovaEagle to bring the goody bag and make his way down. We rummaged through the cache, signed the log and once again forgot to take a single picture. The sad part is that my camera was in one of my six-pocket pants pockets.
So we put the cache back and raced each other back up the mountain. I started out with a slip and NovaEagle took advantage of that fleeting head start and only gained distance as we went up the mountain. The boy is part billy goat. He liked the fact that he beat his ole man up the mountain also. We grabbed our stuff and headed on to the Apprentice.
Finally head back to the Blue and start hoofing it. Still not warm. We get across from the cache and hang right off the trail and bush whack to the site. I ask Stephen, reckon that is the cache and he pulls the ammo box out of a hat. Boy is he excited.
We rummage through it, sign our names, take a Captain Kidd DVD, leave a Captain Hook hook and absolutely forget to take the first picture until we were a good quarter of a mile away and headed back. Before that though we sit down for a snack of dehydrated pineapple and a good swig of water. My pack had caused my lower back to sweat and now my wet cotton t-shirt is causing me to freeze. Lying weather man. I gotta get me some better clothes.
We suited up and headed back out. NovaEagle was dragging further behind this time on the way out. Also it seemed to be colder on the way out than on the way in. It really got cold when I called MamaCacher and found out it was only 38 degrees. Lying weather man.
We bush whacked down from the Blue trail to the CCC road and quickly go through three caches that Gubbool had apparently archived in just the last week. I guess I am going to have to update my pocket query of the area. We make it to the Yellow-White connector and then on down the mountain to the Jeep. That dirty ole white Jeep never looked so sweet. We ran the heater on high the entire 30 minute drive to the house and I never got hot. Lying weather man.
Too cold on the Blue so we drop off the back side of the mountain to get out of the wind. See some pretty views, find some deer beds, and come across Oak Mountain South Rim Cache. NovaEagle found it while I was still trying to get the GoTo working on my GPSr. He signed the log and I signed the log and we enjoyed the rest and the reprieve from the wind. We stay on the backside and come across Got Noculars?
Our coords put us up by a small tree and without any hint we spent some time looking in vain. Finally I started easing down the hill and spotted the cache. I made my way to the cache and waited on NovaEagle to bring the goody bag and make his way down. We rummaged through the cache, signed the log and once again forgot to take a single picture. The sad part is that my camera was in one of my six-pocket pants pockets.
So we put the cache back and raced each other back up the mountain. I started out with a slip and NovaEagle took advantage of that fleeting head start and only gained distance as we went up the mountain. The boy is part billy goat. He liked the fact that he beat his ole man up the mountain also. We grabbed our stuff and headed on to the Apprentice.
Finally head back to the Blue and start hoofing it. Still not warm. We get across from the cache and hang right off the trail and bush whack to the site. I ask Stephen, reckon that is the cache and he pulls the ammo box out of a hat. Boy is he excited.
We rummage through it, sign our names, take a Captain Kidd DVD, leave a Captain Hook hook and absolutely forget to take the first picture until we were a good quarter of a mile away and headed back. Before that though we sit down for a snack of dehydrated pineapple and a good swig of water. My pack had caused my lower back to sweat and now my wet cotton t-shirt is causing me to freeze. Lying weather man. I gotta get me some better clothes.
We suited up and headed back out. NovaEagle was dragging further behind this time on the way out. Also it seemed to be colder on the way out than on the way in. It really got cold when I called MamaCacher and found out it was only 38 degrees. Lying weather man.
We bush whacked down from the Blue trail to the CCC road and quickly go through three caches that Gubbool had apparently archived in just the last week. I guess I am going to have to update my pocket query of the area. We make it to the Yellow-White connector and then on down the mountain to the Jeep. That dirty ole white Jeep never looked so sweet. We ran the heater on high the entire 30 minute drive to the house and I never got hot. Lying weather man.
Monday, January 21, 2008
King's Chair Hike
I took the evening off since the kids were off and decided to hike to the King's Chair Geocache in OMSP and find it since none of us had found it. On the way there we ran into Gubbool coming down the hill. Gubbool is the caching name of a local Geocacher and temporary resident of OMSP. He informed us that he had just hidden a cache and would gladly take us there to let SugarPie, my Geocaching daughter, get her first FTF(First To Find) on a Geocache. So he turned around and took us on up the mountain.
He was able to help SugarPie get her first FTF and she was very excited about that. The cache was at an amazing spot in OMSP and offered a great view of the valley between the two ranges. Now it was on to the King's Chair. It was good that Gubbool was with us because it became quickly obvious that the coordinates for King's Chair were not in my gps. Gubbool however led us straight to it and MamaCacher and SugarPie quickly found the cache. MamaCacher signed the log for all of us and Gubbool passed out Pop Tarts to the kids. They really like Gubbool now.
We spent some time taking pictures and admiring the scenery before heading back to the van. It was at this point we discovered that I had dropped my jacket somewhere in the woods on the way to the chair. It was getting dark and so Gubbool offered to let us hike back the way of the trail and he would go the route we took coming in to find my jacket. We made it back to the van before dark and about 10 minutes later we see a dark form coming down the mountain. It is Gubbool with my jacket.
Everything turned out good that evening, thanks to Gubbool, even though we tried to mess it up more than once. Below is a short video I took of the view. Don't bother with trying to figure out why your sound doesn't work because it doesn't have any sound.
He was able to help SugarPie get her first FTF and she was very excited about that. The cache was at an amazing spot in OMSP and offered a great view of the valley between the two ranges. Now it was on to the King's Chair. It was good that Gubbool was with us because it became quickly obvious that the coordinates for King's Chair were not in my gps. Gubbool however led us straight to it and MamaCacher and SugarPie quickly found the cache. MamaCacher signed the log for all of us and Gubbool passed out Pop Tarts to the kids. They really like Gubbool now.
We spent some time taking pictures and admiring the scenery before heading back to the van. It was at this point we discovered that I had dropped my jacket somewhere in the woods on the way to the chair. It was getting dark and so Gubbool offered to let us hike back the way of the trail and he would go the route we took coming in to find my jacket. We made it back to the van before dark and about 10 minutes later we see a dark form coming down the mountain. It is Gubbool with my jacket.
Everything turned out good that evening, thanks to Gubbool, even though we tried to mess it up more than once. Below is a short video I took of the view. Don't bother with trying to figure out why your sound doesn't work because it doesn't have any sound.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
South Cumberland State Park
Stephen and I hung out with my old college buddy, Philip Walker, and his son and some of their friends for a trip to South Cumberland State Park. It was fun except for the thunderstorm we camped out in.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Geocaching in Oak Mountain State Park
I have discovered geocaching and introduced my friend and his family to it. We went one evening to Oak Mountain State park and had a great time finding caches. The great thing about it is that my family would have never gone out there to hike. However they hiked all over the place looking for these caches. I love it. Click here to see the pictures.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Hiking w/the Family in Oak Mountain
We got to the park about 10:30 am and parked at the entrance to the primitive campground. We took the Yellow/White connector up the side of the very steep mountain to the White trail. We hung a left on the White trail and went to Shackleford Point. From there we went on down the White trail until we hit the Yellow trail.
We took a left on the Yellow trail and made it to the BMX track where I filled our hydration bladder back up with water. We had run out. We then got back on the Yellow trail and came on to the road to the primitive campground, hung a right and got back to the Jeep around 3:00 pm. It was a lot longer hike than I had originally planned.
The above two paragraphs is what Mitchel wrote... apparantly he wasn't as affected by the day as the kids and I were. We started off and very soon we came to a mountain that went up... and up... and up. I was soon informed that, no, in fact, it was NOT a mountain, only a hill... the mountain would be later. I was dying and we hadn't been hiking for 30 minutes. We made it to the top of the hill and it got better until we reached the bottom of the mountain and started up again. Thankfully the trail up the mountain was a switch back trail which made it a little easier going up. We made it to the top and it was beautiful.
Tall grasses lined either side of the narrow trail and made our legs itch. Huge rocks rose out of the mountain top on either side. We used these as resting areas. We began our descent and hit some very steep areas. My shoes made the ends of my toes hurt due to the gravity pulling my feet down. Perhaps I need better shoes. But, on the bright side, at least we weren't going UP those steep areas. We finally made it to the bottom of the mountain and soon came to one of the lakes. This was a welcome sight. We watched turtles, fish and frogs play. We had been seeing frogs frequently throughout our trip. Once we neared the lake they increased in number and got smaller in size. As we were passing a spillway over a dam into the lake Mitchel paused and looked down. There sitting in the shallows was a very small turtle. Needless to say we now have Max and Emmy. We did just have Max.
We ran out of water and came to a picnic area with a bathroom. Mitchel filled up the bladder in his camelbak back pack. It wasn't long before we ran out again. It was odd that we ran out quicker after the fill up than before. I guess we thought we had a lot of water since it had just been filled up. Usually we come over prepared with food and water but, like Mitchel said earlier, we didn't expect the hike to be this long. We finished the hike about four hours ago and my feet STILL hurt.
It was a long, warm, tiring day. But the day was spent with my family. The kids had fun... there were a few complaints from them, but not near as many from them as from their mother. They were real troupers and did excellent! They must take after their Daddy. We were together... building memories... and that's what's important.
We took a left on the Yellow trail and made it to the BMX track where I filled our hydration bladder back up with water. We had run out. We then got back on the Yellow trail and came on to the road to the primitive campground, hung a right and got back to the Jeep around 3:00 pm. It was a lot longer hike than I had originally planned.
The above two paragraphs is what Mitchel wrote... apparantly he wasn't as affected by the day as the kids and I were. We started off and very soon we came to a mountain that went up... and up... and up. I was soon informed that, no, in fact, it was NOT a mountain, only a hill... the mountain would be later. I was dying and we hadn't been hiking for 30 minutes. We made it to the top of the hill and it got better until we reached the bottom of the mountain and started up again. Thankfully the trail up the mountain was a switch back trail which made it a little easier going up. We made it to the top and it was beautiful.
Tall grasses lined either side of the narrow trail and made our legs itch. Huge rocks rose out of the mountain top on either side. We used these as resting areas. We began our descent and hit some very steep areas. My shoes made the ends of my toes hurt due to the gravity pulling my feet down. Perhaps I need better shoes. But, on the bright side, at least we weren't going UP those steep areas. We finally made it to the bottom of the mountain and soon came to one of the lakes. This was a welcome sight. We watched turtles, fish and frogs play. We had been seeing frogs frequently throughout our trip. Once we neared the lake they increased in number and got smaller in size. As we were passing a spillway over a dam into the lake Mitchel paused and looked down. There sitting in the shallows was a very small turtle. Needless to say we now have Max and Emmy. We did just have Max.
We ran out of water and came to a picnic area with a bathroom. Mitchel filled up the bladder in his camelbak back pack. It wasn't long before we ran out again. It was odd that we ran out quicker after the fill up than before. I guess we thought we had a lot of water since it had just been filled up. Usually we come over prepared with food and water but, like Mitchel said earlier, we didn't expect the hike to be this long. We finished the hike about four hours ago and my feet STILL hurt.
It was a long, warm, tiring day. But the day was spent with my family. The kids had fun... there were a few complaints from them, but not near as many from them as from their mother. They were real troupers and did excellent! They must take after their Daddy. We were together... building memories... and that's what's important.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Loop 13 Clockwise
I parked at the Cabins instead of at Tranquility Road. I had looked at too many trail definitions the night before and once I got to the park I got confused on which one we were running. I stood at the cabins and waited for Richard until I decided I better check my phone. Sure enough I had a message from Richard stating that he had started his run at Tranquility Road. So I gave him a call and turns out that he was headed my way down the Red Trail. So I took off to meet him.
I ran a portion of the Red Trail to meet Richard and was sucking air bad by the time I met him. It felt like my lungs were full of water. We ran back by the Cabins and on out to Maggie's Glen. I wondered who Maggie was as we went through the glen. We hung a right up the Yellow Trail. That is a really nice trail that I think I have only been on once before. Further up it there is Camp Site #2 that I would like to camp at one day.
We passed the camp site and arrived at the back of the lake near the old Cabins. We went around the lake and down by the Dam. At the picnic area I ran across the bridge and hung a right back up toward the Dam. Richard kept on running toward the main road to get back to his truck.
I picked up a water bottle and a Mountain Dew bottle that some ding bat had left behind as trash. I staggered up the trail next to the Dam and headed toward my Jeep parked near the Cabins. I saw a guy fishing in the lake and ran straight through a very muddy, wet spot near the cabins. Made it to my Jeep and threw the trash in a trash can there. There was a drink machine there so I put some money in to get some bottled water. However it was out of water so I settled on a Gatorade.
I got in the Jeep and headed on out of there.
I ran a portion of the Red Trail to meet Richard and was sucking air bad by the time I met him. It felt like my lungs were full of water. We ran back by the Cabins and on out to Maggie's Glen. I wondered who Maggie was as we went through the glen. We hung a right up the Yellow Trail. That is a really nice trail that I think I have only been on once before. Further up it there is Camp Site #2 that I would like to camp at one day.
We passed the camp site and arrived at the back of the lake near the old Cabins. We went around the lake and down by the Dam. At the picnic area I ran across the bridge and hung a right back up toward the Dam. Richard kept on running toward the main road to get back to his truck.
I picked up a water bottle and a Mountain Dew bottle that some ding bat had left behind as trash. I staggered up the trail next to the Dam and headed toward my Jeep parked near the Cabins. I saw a guy fishing in the lake and ran straight through a very muddy, wet spot near the cabins. Made it to my Jeep and threw the trash in a trash can there. There was a drink machine there so I put some money in to get some bottled water. However it was out of water so I settled on a Gatorade.
I got in the Jeep and headed on out of there.
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