West North Carolina

April 4
I run a couple miles into North Carolina and the Jackrabbit Mountain trails in Nantahala National Forest. There are less technical trails, that seem to be purpose built for casual mountain biking, saw quite a few kids! and a few walkers out too. Rudy brought the van while I ran a few trail miles, followed by bike rides for us both. The system was lots of fun and well signed, and it was a gorgeous day.

View from the High Point Trail of Chatuge Lake

Nice and helpful signage

Later in the afternoon, we took a little nature hike on the same trails - awesome little informational signs.

Cool signs - though a lot of plants were still dormant

We ended up staying at the trailhead, had barley and red sauce for dinner and played cards. Hand and Foot - Rudy win, 3-13 - Leslie win.

April 5
Thunderstorms were the weather for the day. Started up a bit earlier than forecast, but I still managed to get out for an early run, getting some rain during hour two, but I escaped the heavier stuff. The rest of the day was lots of hanging out in the van - not really a better destination nearby. A good day to soak soup beans and play cards. Two Hand and Foot and one Gin Rummy - Rudy's winning streak continues!

April 6
Cool and drizzly, supposed to be another wet day. I got in a quick stroll, then we drove to Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Temperatures in the 30s! Wet snowflakes sighted! We spent a good amount on time in the visitor center, learning quite a few roads were closed within the park, and opted to check out the Deep Creek Trails - good for waterfalls.

Juney Whenk Falls

Bridge at Juney Whenk Falls

Cool Bridge

Cherokee Rose, I think

Tom Branch Falls

Indian Creek Falls

We did some hiking and were treated to a few glimpses of sun. Rudy even motivated to run! I was content with the slightly drier hiking miles and stretched, puzzled, and watched the rain from the comfort of the van. We eventually made our way to camp at a boat ramp and cleaned up leftovers for dinner. Hand and Foot - miraculous Leslie win !!! 3-13 - Rudy win.

April 7
Cold and breezy, and a little blocked from the sun, so a slow morning getting going. We finally got warmed up and headed to Tsali trails on Fontana Lake. Another decent system, with an apparently successful program of alternating horse and bike users on different days. I got greedy and ran three hours while Rudy biked half the trails open to bikers. Sadly, he needed to make a seatpost repair - at least he got the funner trails in.

Fontana Lake

From the Left Trail Overlook

Houseboats/Boathouses?

We tried to camp in a pull out but North Carolina I think Fish and Wildlife? guys kicked us out, directing us to a nearby campground (not even the USFS one at the bike trails initially) and said there was no dispersed camping around. Rudy found us obvious and legitimate dispersed camping ~5 miles away (~1/4 mile down the road from the private campground we were told to go to!) Seems surprising they wouldn't know about that! We were right along picturesque Panther Creek.

Lovely Panther Creek

Ate shells and cheese and played Hand and Foot - two wins for Rudy.

April 8
Cold and cloudy. We went back to Tsali to get in the other trails. First a shorter run for me. Rudy doubled up on bike rides. The day warmed up quickly once the sun came out and I was interested in getting in a ride too. The mountain biking was good, quite a few downed trees, but nice tread, very few puddles despite the recent rain, and nifty views.

From the Mouse Branch Trail Overlook

We headed back to Panther Creek, ate bean burritos, and got in some Hand and Foot - one win each.

April 9
Cool and clear, so sunshine earlier and a little warmer for one more day at Tsali. Rudy got in the rest of the trails he missed while I got in a five hour run covering 24.5 miles, guessing 1 mile of walking in there - it was fantastic and such a gorgeous day. Sunday and busy, but not crowded.

I was told this is not a poisonous snake, I won't be getting too close

Old Chimney on the Left Trail

Each of us managed to get in some chatting with regional locals. Only sad part of the day was the camp chair we used to claim our camp site was stolen, but at least the site was still unoccupied! It was the older, more decrepit of the two chairs we brought along, but it was also the one with the cup holder. Pasta for dinner, then Hand and Foot - one win each.

April 10
An even nicer morning. A lovely little stroll for me before we headed toward Fontana Dam. We stopped at a relatively fancy shelter along the Appalachian Trail - running water! Then continued to bike on trails near Fontana Village. These were more hikey in my opinion, with a few sharp climbs, and some technical stuff. Only about ten miles of trail (some of it old road), not really a 'destination' but cool to check out.

Another view of Fontana Lake

Four miles of pedaling uphill for a not-terrible view of Fontana Dam

 

We found camping at Lake Santeetlah - pretty, and a few people there, glad we got in on Monday!

Full moon rising

Looks refreshing

Ate lentils and rice, and played Hand and Foot - two Rudy wins.

more North Georgia

March 29
Cool but sunny. We headed back south to Georgia and near another section of the Pinhoti Trail, at the Bear Creek Loop trail head. A run on the loop for me, and a bike ride for Rudy - he got onto some of the adjoining trails too - neither of us saw bears. Actually a few people around for a Wednesday, at least later in the afternoon. I took a nice little stroll to check out some of the fun spring plants - a lot from Calloway Gardens that I now get to see in the 'wild', don't know most of the names though.

Rhododendron buds

So many cute flowers with cool leaves

Trout lily and periwinkle?

Trillium Decepiens?

All around, a pleasant day. Rudy, with his random loops of biking, found us another decent camp spot on a ridge and along Pinhoti again. Ate simple, but still delicious pasta and played Hand and Foot - Leslie win, and 3-13 Rudy win.

March 30
I managed to get up and out for a relatively early hike/run on Pinhoti - lots of turkey sightings! After that, a bit of town time in Elijay, then on to the Jake/Bull Mountain Trails in the Chattahoochee National Forest for some biking. We were both a little tired, but enjoyed ourselves - slowly increasing challenge level of trails! Rudy found us good dispersed camping sites near a nice little creek. Dinner was bean burritos, gaming was Hand and Foot - 2 wins for Rudy.

March 31
Storminess overnight, but a pretty morning, the sun took a while to get down to us though! A good run for me, which included some of the Georgia Death Race course - I even ran across the race director doing some flagging.

Jones Creek Dam Trail

Jones Creek Dam

The singletrack was pretty solid, despite rain, some of the double track more soggy, but still not terrible. Rudy spent most of the day chatting with a local who was extremely knowledgeable about the area history and ecology - he also gave us some firewood, may be desirable for a day at an aid station. We eventually headed up Winding Stair Gap road to the aid station we would be volunteering at the next day. Just a few HAM radio guys there already, otherwise we had the place to ourselves. Ate some shells and cheese and got in one exciting game of Hand and Foot - Leslie win.

April 1
Georgia Death Race! We helped out all day at 'Winding Stair Gap' aid station 47 miles in, 25 miles to go. Our aid station seemed well-manned with no one getting too bored or too overwhelmed, mostly other runners to share stories with! Cool in the morning and evening, but otherwise a gorgeous day (well, maybe a little warm for the runners.)

Calm before the storm

Everything an ultrarunner should need

GDR has a fairly grueling course, but most of the participants seemed to be in good spirits (as they should be, certainly advertised as a tough one!) After the last runners through, and everything was cleaned up and the rest of the aid station departed, a few volunteers from the prior aid station stopped by to see what was happening - we got some more good recommendations for North Carolina, had just a little fire, and didn't go too late into the evening. We were the only ones camping out again, nice to not have the rush of packing up and having to drive somewhere!


April 2
Nice clear morning! Rudy and I hiked up to Springer Mountain and the Southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail - unplanned bucket list type thing!

Older plaque

Newer plaque

Scenic overlook

Top of Springer Mountain

Rudy headed back to camp to get in a bike ride, and I continued running on the AT - lots of people, but it was a beautiful Sunday! 22+ miles and five hours on the feet for me! Not much else in the afternoon - garbage pick up, a little yoga, dwindling traffic. Rudy was able to cover most of the good trails in the area. We cooked some split peas and sweet potatoes (my favorite gruel) and played Hand and Foot - 1 win each.

April 3
Very stormy, so pretty much a travel day. We headed a little ways north, got in some town stuff, and ended up camping on Chatuge Lake on the border of Georgia and North Carolina. The rain was done and we got in a little stroll to an 'island' that could currently be walked to.


Ate rice and lentils, and played Hand and Foot - 2 Rudy dominations!

Chattanooga, TN

Some technical spots out there!

March 24

I got out early to run 'virtually' with some friends back home doing a birthday run, I didn't cover the 33k they did, but about the same amount of time out with 3ish hours. I even got in ~15 minutes of headlamp time, dawn and dusk go fast lately! Biking destination for the day was Chattanooga, TN at Raccoon Mountain. This was a neat little area, trails a little more technical, and I managed a slow hour while Rudy got in a more extensive ride. I spent more time strolling around, enjoying the views of the Tennessee Valley.

One of the awesome views from Raccoon Mountain

The planned camping locale was closed of for the season (until March 30, a week too early!) and we ended up back at the previous night's spot. By the time we were ready to eat, feeling a little apathetic about dinner - canned fish and cheese and crackers sufficed! One game of Gin Rummy - Leslie win.

March 25
Since we were right on the trail again, I enjoyed a little stroll and found some prescribed burning happened the day before - good thing we got in our longer activities here a few days ago!

The only actual flame I saw, mostly smoldering

Headed back toward Chattanooga to hit up White Oak Mountain for more biking. More good trails! Some even a little more challenging - nice that we seem to be getting eased back into more rugged terrain. Again, beautiful weather, and a cute little creek I could do some yoga by. After the fun we traveled east to Cherokee National Forsest and Lake Ocoee.

Scenic overlook of Lake Ocoee

We stopped by a trailhead for Chilhowee Trails - pretty populated! It was Saturday I guess. Another stroll for me while Rudy checked out a nearby beach (found to be closed for season) and camping options. We moved to a spot near Clear Creek Trail, cleaned up some leftovers, and played Trivial Pursuit and 3-13 - Leslie wins both!

March 26
Some rain overnight, but cleared up quickly. We both embarked on bigger excursions for the day in the Chilhowee system, with no travel planned. I hiked up Clear Creek Trail for about an hour, then ran area trails another 3 hours, including a couple of waterfall detours.With some stops for pictures and hiking breaks, I took it relatively easy and felt good!

Some of the Clear Creek Trail was pretty rugged

Excessive rhododendrons everywhere

Benton Falls

Another little set of waterfalls

Rudy did a bunch of biking, he had fun as always. A few rain showers in the afternoon - Rudy just finished up his ride after the first one! So a bit of hanging out in the van. For dinner, added barley, onions, and mushrooms to a box of ginger miso soup - interesting. For entertainment, Rummy 5000 - 1 win each.

March 27
Overcast, and another late morning. We eventually get to the Tanasi Trails, along the Ocoee River from the Thunder Rock trailhead.

Near a dam - sometimes walking path, sometimes whitewater

Other side of the dam

This area has a great mix of easy and technical - not much for steep hills, nice and fun! Seemed like it could be popular, glad we got it on a Monday. We were able to use some hot water from the nearby campground - so nice! Then headed up a forest service road to get to some camping. Ate polenta with red sauce and played a round of Hand and Foot - Leslie win!

Thunderstorms overnight - actually a little too noisy in the van for good sleeping through rain - bummer.

March 28
A planned 'rest' day - rain was done, and actually pretty nice in the afternoon. We each got in some little strolls, lots of hanging out in the camp chairs, reading and puzzling, and even picked up a little bag of trash from the area.

Quartz Trail

Another view from the Quartz Trail

Dinner was lentils and rice, and gaming was more Hand and Foot - 2 wins for Rudy!!

North Georgia

March 20
Another Monday and back to normal life for Alicia and Divesh - we got in a little visiting with Alicia before departing and heading to Blankets Creek, northwest of Atlanta for biking. Good, fun, well marked trails, and a lovely day to be out on them.

These kinds of signs are so fun

A good way to enforce one way use, IMHO

I enjoyed a little jog and stroll too, while Rudy put in some good hanging out in the sun and reading. We ventured to a nearby Wildlife Management Area for camping and cooked up the last of the cornmeal with onions, mushrooms, and red sauce. Games were Trivial Pursuit and 3-13 - Rudy won both.

March 21
A nice, warm morning, good for a short stroll and some reading - Rudy was studying Duluth's Master Plan for the Traverse, and I looked at information on the Georgia Death Race, which we've agreed to volunteer at on April 1. We finally head to Allatoona for more good bike trails and weather in the 80s! After the lovely day there, we headed further northwest toward the Pinhoti Trail and found camping along Johns Creek.

Fish tube - apparently the creek gets stocked Thu and fished out by Mon

 


 A nice, thundery evening - no serious storming for us though. Ate some pasta and played some Gin Rummy - one win each.

March 22
The rain was done, and the morning breezy and cool, with some sun. We continued north a few miles to get on the Pinhoti Trail - lots of variety - rocks, roots, double and single track, mostly rolling but some sharp little hills.

Pinhoti Trail - marked with turkey tracks

A run for me, and biking for Rudy. Even more sun in the afternoon, and we just chilled and enjoyed that, eventually heading back to the same camping area. Dinner was split peas and sweet potatoes, entertainment was Rummy 5000 (Rudy win) and 3-13 (Leslie win.)

Turkey Trail

March 23
Cool, cloudy, breezy and late! Nearly 11 before we get going to check out the Armuchee trails. More great riding! Though I skipped some areas due to water crossings. we were able to camp right at a Pinhoti Trail access point, so plenty of time for me to get in some nice yoga and a stroll on the Turkey Trail (saw no Turkeys). Beans and rice for dinner, followed by Rummy 5000 - Rudy wins again!