Blog Update - Wildfires and How to Help

First, please STILL stay out of the Gatlinburg area. First responders are still trying to clear roads from downed trees and power lines. The Red Cross is not accepting any volunteers that are not Red Cross Trained. Upon last known update, a curfew was being imposed in Gatlinburg between the hours of 6pm to 6am.

If you have new items you would like to donate and don't have a way to get it there, let us know. We can schedule a pickup in the Union County, Anderson County, and North Knox County areas. The persons delivering our items will be going up on Friday, Dec 2nd.

If you still want to volunteer, Volunteer East Tennessee is working to connect volunteers to volunteer needs.
Visit https://www.volunteeretn.org/DisasterRecovery
They will be able to assist you in finding the best place for your skills.

Wildfire in the Smokies - How To Help

Updated info as of 11/30 here: https://www.appalachiaandbeyond.com/2016/11/blog-update-wildfires-and-how-to-help.html

Most of you have heard about the devastating wildfires that have affected the East Tennessee area. Last night, Gatlinburg and the part of the National forest that stretches between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge - known as the Spur - was victim of an enormous, swift moving wildfire. Hundreds of homes and structures were damaged or destroyed and many, many people were displaced, some at this time still looking for family members including beloved pets.

It is sad, sad news. We are heartbroken for all of these victims, for all of the animals affected, and for our ancient mountains as well. Although as old as they are they've probably seen more fires than any of us could imagine, but in my lifetime, I've never seen anything like it in the Smokies.

There are more than 2000 people, at this time, that are in local shelters - more than 14,000 people evacuated. With this being #GivingTuesday, you may be wondering what you can do to help.

Trip Report: A Birthday Hike to Oscar Blevin's Farm

This past Saturday, I celebrated another year of life. In honor of that, I decided that I wanted to go hiking with my girls. The night previous, we hadn't a clue as to where to go. We wanted to make sure that where ever we ended up going, there was a destination for Bug to get down and explore, so that hiking becomes a "Fun" activity for her and something that she'll want to continue to do.

The next morning, we awoke and hung out around the house doing the usual morning routine and overall we were just being lazy. After a little while though, we started to get things ready and packed into the car so that we could head out to go hiking.

The weather was perfect. Mostly sunny and in the mid 70's. We finally hit the road just after noon and decided that we would head up to The Big South Fork NRRA. We had a couple different trails going through our heads, and finally decided that we would hike the Oscar Blevin's Farm Loop. This was a relatively easy to moderate trail that we hadn't done since Kiddo was about 5 or 6. That happened to be the year that we beat a nasty storm front off the trail and watched an amazing light show put on by mother nature. What we didn't realize at the time, was that the light show was a precursor to the destruction that hit the area we had been hiking in later that evening.

A Blue Ridge Road Trip (Pt. 2)

It was our second full day on our Blue Ridge Parkway trip and we (rather I) woke early once again before the girls did. For some reason, this whole trip I was always the first one up. I guess knowing that I had Robin and Ashby to contend with for the bathroom, my subconscious decided it was best to be first before anyone else was up and avoid fights over the bathroom.

It wasn't long after I was done and ready, that Robin was up and at 'em. Not long after Ashby and Dinah were both up and going, we were packed up, loaded up, and ready to check out of the Hidden Valley Motel by 9am. Our first task was to sequester breakfast. It wasn't hard, as we had eyeballed a Cracker Barrel in the heart of Boone the day previous to this.

A Blue Ridge Road Trip (Pt. 1)

The third weekend in July is always family reunion time on my mom's side of the family. Every third Sunday in July, the Patteson Clan gather for fun, food, and reminiscing at Glenwood Park in Princeton, WV. Seeing how Dinah was new to the family, and all my aunts absolutely love to see her we decided we would go to the reunion this year. As an added bonus, I thought it would be fun if on the way back home we spent a couple days driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway. The four of us (Tim, Robin, Ashby, and Dinah) as a family doing a mini version of the vacations Robin took as a kid with her family.

Once the reunion was over, or rather close to the time people were starting to leave, we loaded back up into our SUV and we were Blue Ridge bound. We had made arrangements to stay over night at the Allegheny Inn in Sparta, NC shortly after making it to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We got all checked in and hung out for a little bit before going out in search of food. The Allegheny Inn was a wonderful motel, located in the heart of the quaint downtown of Sparta, North Carolina and only 15 minutes from the Blue Ridge Parkway, where we would begin our adventure on the next day. Unfortunately, our adventure wouldn't begin without some sort of hiccup.

Trail Report - Slave Falls/Needle Arch Revisited (A Father's Day Hike)

I really couldn't ask for a better family. Constantly and always on my mind, are the Great Outdoors. Having four walls around me on a daily basis is actually quite confining, suffocating, and if it weren't for the light switch, the fluorescents would be deadly. So when asked what I wanted to do for Father's Day, naturally I wanted to get in the woods for a hike with my girls, and that is exactly what we did.

I had two hikes in mind, one being at Frozen Head, the other in The Big South Fork. Considering that Robin and I had just run a 5k the day before and Robin's back has been and still is in a "shape," I figured hiking to the fire tower at Frozen Head wouldn't be such a good idea. So I opted for the Slave Falls Loop trail. Robin and I hiked to the falls and to Needle Arch last year while she was pregnant with Bug so I figured we could revisit them now that Bug is here.

O&W Bridge - A Hike on National Trails Day

We were recently blessed with the opportunity to do an actual hike (and by "actual" I mean something more than a half mile with a stroller) since Bug has been born. Since she's been doing so well in public, we decided it was time to carry her into the woods. We chose the O&W Bridge trail (4.6 miles) because of its ease and accessibility. A few weeks previous to this day, we'd tried to hike this trail and found that (1) it is not stroller friendly by any means and (2) thunderstorms looming + baby = bad idea. The trail, however, is virtually easy with small elevation gains and the occasional rocky runoff crossing.

Dinah's First Official Hikes

We've been jonesin' to get out on the trail for a while now. We hadn't been on any hikes since September of last year. Well I take that back, Robin did let me out on the Hiker Release Program back in November. Granted we've been on the Songbird Trail at Norris Dam State Park a couple of times and up to the Pinnacle Overlook at Cumberland Gap NHP after our little Bug was born but those were more just strolls along the path and not what we consider "real hikes". This all changed last weekend when we decided we were going to get out on the trail even if it killed us.

We had originally planned on just doing one hike this weekend. However, we had a small dilemma. Dinah is at the discovery age (4 months old) and she's not keen on being in her car-seat stroller. So we had to find a stroller that would allow her to sit up and see the world as it came at her. We found a good stroller and decided that instead of hiking on Saturday, we would just go to a park and walk around to test out the stroller and see how "Bug" did.

Featured Destinations Archive (LeConte Lodge)

Since we haven't featured any new destinations in some time, we figured it was time to decommission the "Featured Destinations" page and instead archive the two destinations here in separate blog posts. Going forward, if we do have a "Featured Destination" to write about, it will be a regular blog post and we will have it tagged with "Featured Destination" along with any other relevant tags. So for the first archived "Featured Destination" We present to you LeConte Lodge.

LeConte Lodge - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

(Originally Posted on the now absent "Featured Destinations" page in Spring 2011)

Last year around this time, Robin and I took an overnight trip to the top of Mount LeConte for our anniversary. For years we've always rented a cabin for a weekend to celebrate what we coined our "anni-moon". You see, we were married on top of a mountain in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and for our honeymoon we stayed in a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. So every year since we have celebrated our anniversary in much the same way. Always a cabin, and always in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains.

Bug's Big Adventure Weekend

So last weekend was pretty busy for us. Big sis had her first track meet of the season, and so it would also be a big test for "Bug" (one of the few nicknames for Dinah). The meet was a jamboree so nothing official. I have to say that I am very proud of my "Big Bug". She threw the discus for the first time for a whopping 43'9". She also did the long jump and the 800m run, she did those events last year as well.



As for Bug well, she didn't take to well to the meet business. Actually, she didn't take to well to being out and about much at all. It was still a bit cool and there was a pretty good breeze blowing and Bug doesn't much care for big breezes. So Robin and Bug ended up spending much of the time stuck in the car where Bug was more apt to be pleasant. At one point she had finally taken up the whole back seat, forcing Robin to sit up front in the drivers seat completely bored out of her mind while little bit napped the day away.

We're Still Around

First off, let us just wish everyone a very belated Happy February as well as a belated Happy Valentine's Day. From the looks of it, Spring has sprung rather early for the most of us, and it's quite strange. What's unfortunate, is we haven't been able to get out and enjoy it as much as we'd like, but that's quite alright, we've got very good reason, and we shall be changing that all soon enough.

We're pretty sure that all of you are wondering how life is going with a newborn, and we'll be honest in that it's been stressful, pleasurable, nerve-racking, blissful, fearful, and joyous all wrapped into one. We've done quite a bit with little Miss Dinah since she's come into this world. A few weeks back we made a trip up to Cumberland Gap NHP just to get of the house for a while. We had been cooped up for a while and Robin was climbing the walls. Dinah made her first, but likely not last trip to the Iron Furnace at Cumberland Gap. Of course she was oblivious to the whole thing. What did you expect? Infants sleep, a lot. Well, at least when they are feeling well.

Our First Trail Post On Trail Sherpa

As some of you may know, we are contributors for TrailSherpa.com. We were invited by Tim Miner to join the team of contributors and we gladly accepted as it would be a mutually beneficial relationship. Well our first trail report has just been posted on the site. This trail is the Ewing Trail up to White Rocks in Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.

Once you see the trail report, you might be wondering, "How on Earth did Robin make it up that trail and 8 months pregnant?" We did this trail last year and decided since we haven't been out on the trail since our trip to Judge Branch, we'd do a write up on White Rocks. We hadn't done a report for this hike because we hiked up to White Rocks well before the "Blog Revitalization" effort back in October last year.



Anyway, head on over to TrailSherpa.com and check out our report. While you're there, if you aren't already a member, sign up and join the fun. There's plenty of like minded people who love the outdoors and hiking. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin

Apples, Oranges, and 5K's

We hope everyone had a chance to get out this weekend to enjoy the perfect fall weather. It was perfect for most of us out in the east here, but I did see where there was some snow out west. Yikes! Snow in October?! I know that's not totally unheard of here but it would be unusual. Anyway, the leaves are turning color more and more each day. We are nearing peak around here in the East Tennessee Valley. From Cumberland Gap to Cherokee National Forest and down to Knoxville, the colors are magnificent. It won't be long before "Old Man Winter" is knocking on our doors. So if you haven't yet, you better get out and enjoy this weather before it gets too cold.

That's exactly what we did this past weekend, and look forward to doing just that over the next few weekends. We started the weekend by heading out to Coalfield, TN for the Coalfield 5K supporting the Coalfield Cross Country team. The race started at 8:00am and ran through a subdivision next to the school then through the cross country trail on the school grounds, back in front the school and down another road before turning around and heading back to the school for the finish. It was a pretty fast course with a nice little uphill just after the start. Then there was a nice 1.5 miles or so on the trail the cross country team uses to practice on. It's a graveled trail with a couple of foot bridges and two covered bridges. After the trail, it's back to the road and a slight up hill just before heading back to the finish at the school.

The Ghost Train to Blue Heron

We hope that everyone had a wonderful weekend and was able to get out and enjoy the wonderful weather. Where did you go? What did you do? We'd love to hear all about it. Did you get out for a hike, go camping, or just hang out doing yard work? Luckily for us, most of all the home buying work has been done so we had a free (for the most part) weekend to do what we wanted.

In Memory of Tom, KK4TA

As you know from our post last week, we had the Ten-Tec hamfest to attend on Saturday morning to sell gear for our friend who lost her husband to cancer earlier this year. We really couldn't have asked for better weather. The turn out was a lot bigger than in previous years thanks to the gorgeous weather. Robin and I arrived just before 7:00am and were swarmed by "old men" (don't worry, that's what they're called in Ham Radio) wanting a chance at the sweet gear we brought to sell. By 11:30am we had sold all we were going to sell (nearly everything!) and it was time to pack it up and head home to prepare for our next event of the day.

A Hauntingly Good Time

Courtesy of BSFNRRA

As most of you know, and if not then you should read this blog more often (hehe), this past weekend was the "Haunting in the Hills" Storytelling Festival at Big South Fork NRRA. It should also be a no-brainer that we went as usual as it has become sort of a tradition for us. This is one festival we make a point to clear the calendar and attend.

This year was no different. We made sure our day was clear to head out to Big South Fork for the festivities. It didn't matter that UT was playing against Flordia. Besides, UT loses to Florida more often than not so it really didn't matter much to me. After all, I was able to keep tabs on the game while enjoying the festivities. Anyway, we had planned to arrive early this year so that we could really take in all there was to offer. In years past, we usually would arrive just as most of the crafters were packing it up and heading out.

A Haunting In The Hills Is Coming

We hope everyone had a wonderful Labor Day Weekend. We celebrated it in grand fashion: we scrubbed the outside of our house before the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee decided to dump over six inches of liquid sunshine on us. It's was Labor Day right? That means we work right? Honestly, we really had to get that done.

Anyway, enough about that stuff. With September having arrived, the weather cooling off a bit, and our favorite time of year (Autumn) being right around the corner, that can only mean one thing. It's time to get outside for some hiking and festival attending. All the autumn time festivals are getting ready to ramp up. Next weekend, there's a real treat of an event going on at The Big South Fork NRRA. It's the 19th Annual Haunting in the Hills Story Telling Festival on September 17th.

Interpretive Programs This Weekend at The Big South Fork

Summer is here and nature is calling...erm not that kind of calling. Nature beckons us to get outside and enjoy all there is to offer. What better way to do so than by going to a state or national park for picnics, hikes, camping, etc? If you are planning on hitting your parks this weekend, the summer time always offers plenty of activities for the whole family. Most parks have seasonal interpretive rangers on staff and that means a full list of daily interpretive programs.So be sure to stop in at your park's visitor center to find out more information on these great programs.

This weekend and through the month of June at the Big South Fork is no exception. They have a full list of programs for the whole family. Saturday, June 11, they have a nature hike along the O&W trail down at the Leatherwood Ford area starting at 10:30am. At 2:00pm one of the rangers will have a program on box turtles. Saturday happens to be free fishing day in Tennessee and at 7:00pm join one of the BSF rangers for a fun time fishing. In the Blue Heron area of the park at 7:30 there will be an Owl Prowl. On Sunday the only program on the list is a hike on the Oscar Blevins Trail, this starts at 10:30am.

The Big South Fork has more information on their programs throughout the month of June on their website. Check it out or contact Howard Duncan @ 423-569-9778 for more information.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin

Alice And The Rabbit - Kephart Prong Trail GSMNP - 6/4/2011

This past Saturday was National Trails Day, and regardless of the fact, we had already been planning to hike earlier in the week. You see last week Robin finally received her Vasque Taku GTX hiking boots and Goodhew hiking socks as a result of winning a "Gear Review Opportunity" from the OBN. So just like a kid at Christmas or a kid who receives a new pair of Nikes, she was ready to take them out on the trail.

We actually made it to bed early (11:30pm EDT) by our standards so that we could get up early in order to avoid the heat of the day and the crowds in the Smokies. We were so excited about our hike that it was hard for us to either get to sleep or stay asleep. We were both up, ready, and out of the house before 6:00am and on our way to the Great Smoky Mountains. Of course we had to make a couple pit stops for petrol, breakfast, ice, and well, nature calls more frequently when there's something pressing against your bladder almost non-stop.

National Trails Day is Around the Corner

Saturday June 4th is National Trails Day and there's a lot of hikes and volunteer activities being held all over the place just for this occasion. In addition, our President just declared June as National Great Outdoors Month.




So what are your plans for Trails Day? Are you going on a hike or planning on giving back by volunteering in a trail maintenance activity? Let us know, we'd love to hear your plans. If your having troubles find activities or don't know what's available, check with your local State or National Parks. There's plenty of opportunities and it's not hard to find them. Remember Google is your friend.



For the East Tennessee area there are all sorts of events planned for different parks from hikes to clean ups and even trail maintenance. Tennessee State Parks page has a whole list of events on their website. To name a few, there is a trail work project to celebrate Trails Day at Frozen Head State Park on Saturday. Call the park office at 423-346-3318 for more information.

Slave Falls and Needle Arch - Big South Fork - 5/21/2011

As you have heard, yesterday was supposed to be the rapture and Robin reported that we were going out in our style. Of course that meant walking in the woods. After Robin had been cooped up in the house most of the week and me having a busy week at work, we were both itching to seek solace in the trees and sandstone geology of The Big South Fork NRRA. This time we decided to do a hike that we hadn't done in close to 10 years: the Sawmill Trail to Slave Falls and Needle Arch.

Our original plan was to do the Slave Falls Loop. Of course with Robin working overtime all the time right now, we decided that she would make the call as to whether or not we would do the whole loop or come back out after seeing Slave Falls and Needle Arch. We really couldn't have asked for better weather as the rain was forecast to hold off another day. I suppose if there was one complaint, it would have been for the temps to be a couple of degrees cooler but nonetheless we weren't going to complain and enjoyed our time.

The trailhead is located on the graveled Fork Ridge Road. To get there from Knoxville, you travel north on I-75 to the Oneida exit in Scott County. From there you take Highway 63 through Huntsville. At the light turn right on Highway 27 to Oneida. At the first stop light in Oneida's industrial area take a left onto 297 and continue left on 297 at the stop sign. From here follow the signs to The Big South Fork NRRA. Once in the park stay on 297 all the way through the park until you come to Highway 154. This is a bit of a drive so don't worry, you will stay on 297 until you get to 154 and have no choice but to turn right or left. At this junction turn right towards Pickett State Park until you come to the sign for Charit Creek Lodge. Turn right at the sign onto the graveled Divide Road and then turn right onto Fork Ridge Road. Go down Fork Ridge Road until you come to the parking lot for Sawmill Trail. It's just past the Middle Creek Trailhead area.

From the trailhead we donned our gear and were ready to head down the trail when a lady exited the trail with a full pack. Minutes later, as I was waypointing the trailhead, a man exited the trail with a nice sized pack as well. It was at this point he asked Robin if she could get their picture. Turns out the man and woman were together and had just hiked out from Charit Creek Lodge where they had stayed the night. After he took a good 5 minutes to explain how to properly operate his point and shoot to a woman holding a Canon 60D (bless his heart!), Robin snapped a few pictures for them and the gentleman offered to do the same for us. I handed him my camera and we (Robin, Clover, and I) posed for our group mugshot.

After exchanging pleasantries we finally set down the trail which followed alongside the graveled road we drove in on. Within two to three tenths of a mile we came to the point where the loop begins and you can turn left to cross the road or right to take the loop in a clockwise direction. It was also at this point, while once again waypointing this spot, we were met by a large group of adults and kids hiking back from what appeared to be a scout outing on the trail. Everyone admired Clover and one little boy mentioned that at first he thought "We were walking a skunk" because all he seen was a black and white tail. Too cute.

We turned right at this point and headed downhill on the trail through a mixed pine, hemlock, and hardwood forest. Along the way, we enjoyed the sound of birds flitting and chirping throughout the forest. We spotted toadstools and other fungi, as well as many different wildflowers amongst a fern-covered forest floor. We had the trail to ourselves and relished in that fact. We continued hiking, making mention of things we both saw.

At one point in the trail, about a half mile in, we noticed that a creek was meandering along to the right of the trail. We took a moment to let Clover get her paws wet and discussed how that would be a great water source for backpackers. Once Clover was done playing, we continued on for another .2 miles when we came upon a footbridge that crossed over the creek. We decided once again to take a small detour and let Clover play in the water once more. She absolutely loves playing in the creeks if you hadn't noticed by now. The interesting thing about the creek at this point was that it seemed to drop in behind a rock and then flow out of it's opening, which was pretty cool.

We continued on once more making our way further down the trail towards Slave Falls. It was around this point that I noticed the "CPS" had lost the satellite signal. Previous to our starting down the trail, Trimble decided to throw some sort of exception error. I had to restart the program and it appeared that all was well. Unfortunately, we were no longer recording our trip past the footbridge and it wasn't til the next day that I discovered it wasn't going to record any trips until I reset the whole phone. Oh well, c'est la vie.

Shortly after the footbridge we came to a point in the trail where it traverses the rim edge of the hollow where Slave Falls is located. Another .2 miles and we reached the junction in the trail where we could turn right to the Indian Rock House and continue the loop or continue straight for another tenth of a mile or two to the point in the trail where we had to decide if we wanted to go to the falls first or the arch first. We opted to turn left on the trail and head down to the falls. The trail to the falls is .2 miles and meanders alongside the rock overhang of the hollow rim. This part of the trail is where you can expect to get, in the very least, dirty and at the worst muddy as water from rain and runoff continuously drips from the overhang.

As we continued to descend into the hollow alongside the rim wall, we finally made it to the falls. There is an observation point here with fence and sign to allow safe viewing. However, being the photographers that we Robin are is, we decided in order to get the shot we had to CLIMB down the trail to the rock pool at the foot of the falls. This is where we got the dirtiest as we had to slip and slide down steep, muddy trail and butt slide down boulders to get there. (Makes me wish I had brought our climbing rope. :P). Once at the bottom we snapped several photos and then let Clover off the leash to romp in the pool created by the 60' Slave Falls -named for the slaves that took refuge in the rock overhangs in the area and the amphitheater that was created by the erosion from wind and the waterfall.

After what seemed like an hour enjoying the waterfall and surrounding scenery, it was time to head back up and check out Needle Arch. Of course this meant scrambling back up the muddy embankment to the observation area and then back to the main trail. Once back to the main trail we turned to the left from the falls trail and hiked another .2 miles to the arch. Needle Arch is a natural sandstone arch formed over time from erosion. At the arch, you can go right on the trail for another 1.5 miles to Jake's Place and then eventually to Charit Creek Lodge. However, after spending a little bit at the arch admiring the geological formation and taking Robin's 10 week pregnancy picture we decided to head back to the loop trail. After all if we were going to do the entire loop we had to get a move on.

We headed back the way we came until we came to the decision point as to whether to finish the loop or just head back out the way we came. Robin was feeling pretty tired after climbing down and then back from the falls so we opted to take the short route and head back out the way we came. We took our time and enjoyed what was left of our time in the woods, snapping a few more pictures. We came to the point where the trail traverses along the rim and I decided to see if I could give Robin a mini heart attack walk to the edge and glimpse the waterfall from above. Unfortunately, all I did was get a scolding for sliding down the rock to the ledge as Robin thought I was gone 60' down in a hurry.

At this point we continued our walk back to the car and enjoying each others company. We got back to the car to realize as always our car was the last one in the parking lot. We kicked off our shoes, removed our packs, put on our flip flops and headed home. We had to take time at the trailhead long enough to enjoy our PB&J sandwiches and oatmeal cream pies though. We had definitely earned them.

On our way back home we made countless jokes about the rapture. It wasn't quite "time" yet but drawing closer. We decided to stop at a little market (The Hitching Post) to grab a couple of sodas and a bottle of water for the Beene. We decided that it had that "Wrong Turn" feel to it as it reeked with that creepy vibe. It couldn't have been a more fitting place for the "pending rapture".

Nothing happened - as we all knew it wouldn't. Jesus will come in his own time, not some quack's time. Until then, there are plenty more trail to follow.

For bunches more pictures, go here and view this hike's web album.

BTW - we're transitioning to Picasa for our photos. Soon we'll have them all moved over from our Flickr.

Happy Trails,
Tim and Robin