Trail Journal - by Deb Pate
May flowers and good company ease the ups and downs of Blood Mountain hike
Twelve
hikers, led by Bob King and Beth Rothermel, set out at 9:30 Mother’s Day
morning on the AT segment Woody Gap to Neal ‘s Gap.
Temperatures in the fifties soon climbed into the eighties, but a nice breeze helped us complete the eleven-mile hike in a little over six hours.
Pictured: David Bark, Keith Collier, Bob King, Stacey Padgett, Nick Padgett, Brent Padgett, Levette Bagwell, Jane Berry, Katie Sanstead, Beth Rothermel, and Pam Freeman enjoy a quick break. Deb Pate is behind the camera.
Luckily
for us, Katie Sanstead, Beth Rothermel and Keith Collier knew quite a
bit about wildflowers, and the easy pace allowed me to pause a time or
two for a quick shot. I was certainly glad I chose the 75-300 lens for
this trip. Almost immediately we began to spy varieties of trillium amid
the wild geraniums and foam flowers. Bright orange wild azaleas were
interspersed among the flushed out deciduous forest. Bluets, cinnamon
fern, flea bane, lousewort, Solomon’s Seal, May apple, and a stalk that
formed little bells (Sorry, Beth, I forgot the name) were in abundance.
Only the mountain laurel, a species we saw on the access road to Woody
Gap, eluded us on the trail.
Bob
led us on the hike and arranged the shuttles. The logistics of this hike
were easier than the previous ones since we all fit into one group. Bob
told us we could only hike one group at a time due to wilderness area
rules. A second group had formed and hiked on Saturday. The limit was
twelve hikers, and our group was formed of many of the folks I had seen
on previous hikes, though I had not actually hiked in their groups.
Keith was back and I was able to catch up with news of his new
grandchild. David Bark joined us again and we shared a cool “we made it
moment” at the top of Blood Mountain. The Padgetts, Nick and Stacey,
returned with Brent and because the group was smaller, I was actually
able to see more of the little hiker. Levette Bagwell was back for her
second trip with us, and I enjoyed getting to chat with her. Jane Berry
is always fun to be around with an infectiously positive attitude. She
had a little two-dimensional friend named Flat Stanley, a little fellow
the size of her hand, sent along by her nephew for a school project. We
kept him out of the sight of park personnel since he made our group one
over the limit. As always, I enjoyed the drive from Nashville with my
friend Pam. She is always a joyful trail buddy. We are both grateful for
the opportunity to meet incredible people with a shared vision of
nature.
The
various summits provided breathtaking views of the Appalachia, none more
beautiful than Blood Mountain.
I was halfway up the 1000 foot climb, thinking I was on Turkey Stamp Mountain. Imagine my relief when Beth told me I was almost at the top of the summit I had dreaded.
Bob and Beth gave us some history of the shelter and the trails, including the Freeman Trail at the bottom of the mountain.
The descent proved no worse than previous descents, but I was glad I had purchased knee braces. I highly recommend others near or beyond fifty invest in a pair. They are hot and sweaty, but my knees held tight all the way down to Mountain Crossing at Walasi-yi where we shopped while Bob and Keith walked down to Byron Reece Parking area and retrieved our shuttles and cold drinks. The Coke Zero, chips and dip and homemade cookies were the perfect celebratory feast for our latest adventure in the AT series. I am already mapping out the next segment.
Take care, trail buddies and summer flowers, until we meet again at the next trailhead.
To Deb's photo album from the trip, click on the photo below:
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| Woody Gap to Neal's Gap May 8 |
