Autumn is now upon us, here in Tennessee, and the harvest season is mostly past, while winter lurks ahead in the winds and shadows–awaiting to pounce upon and shred our fading dreams of summertime. For me, it has been a great year for hiking in the southern Appalachian Mountains, harvesting the good experiences as well as dealing with adversity at times. As ever, I am learning new things about the mountains and trails, and attempting to adapt these fresh outlooks into a lighter weight, more efficient, yet ‘fun’ctioning approach to hiking.
Autumn colors near Curly Maple Gap
Anyway, if we can just skip the long introduction, there is several trail stories to write about, including a maintenance trip to Big Bald with ‘Rat’ and Doug, a pair of Unaka Mountain hikes, a couple of Sampson Mountain Wilderness hikes, trips to Sam’s Gap, Spivey Gap, and Cliff Ridge.