Angel Falls Overlook

Finally, I got out on another hike! I didn't want to waste any more time. I drove out to where I rode my bike the other day - very slowly, because the road is narrow, winding, and rough in places. I didn't have any trouble, although I did have to line the car up very carefully to go across the one deeper rut. I parked at the end and headed out toward the Grand Gap Loop.

I've been telling people all summer how to get to this trail, and I'm so glad I finally made it myself! People often hike up from the river level, or through the woods behind the campground, but that would just be too long of a hike for me to manage. (I'm always amazed when people can do thirteen miles as a day hike, or as one leg of a backpacking trip. My limit is about 5 miles, usually.)

I was starting on the inner section of the loop, which snakes around the edge of the gorge and then sort of doubles back on itself. The part I did today took me through the woods to the edge, and then a little way along the edge before I turned around.

It was a beautiful day, bright and sunny. The sunlight at this time of year is just golden, and since I was up on top there was a lot of light coming through the trees - at the bottom of the valley the light is filtered through a lot more leaves before it gets through!

It rained a lot recently, and I kept seeing all kinds of moss and lichen.

It looks like tiny fern fronts and soft spiky balls...

A Silver Lining

I missed out on hiking this week. Yesterday morning I was going to hike, then decided not to because it was starting to sprinkle... Then I decided, it was just spitting, I could go hiking and get a little wet... Then I looked out and it was a steady shower. So I gave up and drove to town instead. It stopped raining by the time I got there... and was sunny the rest of the day.

Today, it rained all day. A gentle shower, but very, very wet.

I drove to town again, and when I came back there was sunlight trying to break through the clouds, even as the rain kept coming down! The light was truly extraordinary. I decided to drive over and walk out to the East Rim Overlook and try and capture it. It was golden.

A Scouting Expedition

I went for another bike ride after work today, but for a specific purpose. I went out on Duncan Hollow Road again, past both the places I turned before, and went down Alfred Smith Road. This leads out to a trail junction along the Grand Gap Loop, a hiking trail with a lot of overlooks of the river gorge. The most popular of those is Angel Falls Overlook, which can also be reached by hiking along the river and then climbing all the way up to the top... but I know I would not be up for that.

I really want to see that overlook, so I thought I might hike there from the end of Al Smith Road and back. (The entire Grand Gap Loop is almost seven miles, which is too far for me. This would be a little less than two miles each way, I think.)

The problem would be the road. Earlier this summer, my boss, Bill, had me drive a park SUV out on all the back roads in this part of the park, so I could describe them to people if they were thinking of going there. Alfred Smith Road was one of the roughest ones - it had been raining all week, there were several very deep ruts and I had to line the car up very carefully in order to get across them. That was several months ago, and I wanted to go scout out that road and see what it looks like now and determine whether I would be able to get all the way to the end in my Malibu!

The first section of the ride is familiar by now - except that they apparently just put down some new gravel on the road. Since there's not much traffic it hasn't really been packed down yet, so it was a little slower to ride on that section. The new gravel petered out by the time I got to the part of the road I hadn't ridden on before.

The ride in on Al Smith Road was easy, not really rutted at all. In fact it was too easy - I was coasting all the way in! I kept braking, because I didn't want to come upon a rough spot too fast. I was starting to dread riding back out, since it would be a long way uphill, but at this point I wanted to see it through. I made it out to the parking area and trailhead at the end of the road, and there was only one deeper trench, which still looked passable. I stopped at the end, got off and stretched for a minute, and then headed back.

Apparently a lot of that road is fairly level, because it was actually not too bad going back out! There were only a few uphill spots, and only one that was difficult. I had just gotten up enough momentum that I was coasting on the level stretches as much as the downhill sections, so I thought it was all downhill!

In fact, the hardest part of the ride was the last section, on the loose gravel! This was a bit longer than the other rides I've done, and it was a good workout. Best of all, I now know that I will be able to drive out there and take that hike to Angel Falls Overlook!

Haunting in the Hills

Today I didn't start at work until noon, because I was to stay late for the evening events. Since I was off in the morning, Joanne and Amanda came over for breakfast. They provided eggs and bacon, and I provided pancake mix and maple syrup. It was delicious - I don't usually buy bacon for just me! And they let me keep what was left!

The big event this weekend, and today in particular, was the 23rd annual "Haunting in the Hills" storytelling festival, which is always the third Saturday in September. Because it's been going on for a number of years now, it's well known and draws a big crowd. The campground had been completely booked well in advance. The main events are always on Saturday; there were various ranger talks and activities, including several demonstrations of traditional country crafts. There were also a lot of local venders of crafts and food. There was a huge tent set up in the field across from the visitor center, and throughout the afternoon there were different local music groups playing.

I worked in the visitor center all afternoon, but I did get a chance to go out and walk around the grounds at one point. There was an afternoon session of "family friendly" storytelling going on at the big tent - the P.A. system was powerful enough that it could be heard just about everywhere. There was one story that was getting a lot of giggles as I was walking by, about how "Rindercella" and the "Pransome Hince" got to go to the "Drancy Fess Ball" with the help of the "Gairy Fodmother"...

The Grand Tour

We got a much earlier start this morning! I drove over to the campground, where Joanne and Amanda were just cleaning up from breakfast. We set out right away. I had volunteered to drive, since I was already familiar with the roads, and they had just driven all the way from St. Louis!

We drove west and north, out to the Twin Arches trailhead. This was a no-brainer when I was thinking of places to go. I had hesitated to just tell them, "This is what we're doing," but their reaction was, "Oh good, she already knows what we're doing." So it worked out well.

Twin Arches was gorgeous, as always.

Another Family Visit

My sister, Joanne, and her friend Amanda are here for a visit! They took a few days off work to come out here. Since they are both teachers they were able to leave right after school and drive most of the way yesterday. They thought they would get here by lunchtime today but since it was such a late night they had a late start this morning as well. I waited at the visitor center, just hanging out and using the wifi. When they arrived we headed to the campground. I reserved a site for them a few weeks ago when I found out it was filling up fast, because this weekend also happens to be the annual storytelling festival at Big South Fork! Fortunately I had picked a good site - not too far from the bathroom, right at the edge of the woods, and plenty of room for two tents.

New Neighbor

A couple of times now there has been a BIG spider making its web on the railing of my porch. I don't mind, except that it doesn't like getting its picture taken and always runs away before I can get in a shot! I think it feels the vibrations as I get closer.

Today I managed to get a few photos.

These first two are from the porch looking out at the yard. There was a really nice spotlight from the afternoon sun. This is about life size - maybe just a little larger than life.