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Wally Houston
and Brother Sam Hike to
This
was my return hike to the mountain. My
first one was with my wife, Sharon, last year May 16, 2006. An overnighter
it was. What a wonderful time.
This year was different though. My
brother, Sam was coming along with me this time.
Just the two of us started out later in the
morning than when you do a trip to the top.
This time we were only going to the Alum Cave Bluff, since this was his
first time up.
We
began our parking lot preparations and departure at 10:30 and started through
the forest. It is hard to
describe the beauty of it all unless you have been there so photos are to
follow.
Each
place that we stopped for photos I tried to include my brother since I already
had all these photos with Sharon and me in them.
These were his memory making moments.
Of course the creek and footbridges are always
a notable spot for pictures. The
coolness and sound of the creek is like music as you ascend.
We each have poor hearing in one ear.
The opposite for each, so we laughed about it several times going up.
He could not hear the creek good going up and I could, so I told him to
wait until we came down then he could enjoy it. As usual the approach
to Arch Rock is exhilarating if you have never seen it because you are
anticipating the wonder of it from other’s description.
It did not let me down. My brother was awe struck
with the possibilities of how it was created.
After ascending the hole I explained to him that the hiking brochure
had just changed. The
terrain was totally different than below the rock.
We passed by the 1993 washout and wondered what it might look like higher
up the slide. Trust me we did not
venture there.
As
we passed through the forest we saw many views in the
lower section so different than those up high.
At one point we could even see the highway
(US 441) below. The
foliage had not started to break into bloom at this point except for the
Dogwood which actually had a bloom on it that had been damaged from the cold
storm a couple of weeks prior. We made our way onto Inspiration point passing Dolly
Parton Peaks as we went by. Upon
our arrival at the point we were greeted by a small brown squirrel and a dark-eyed
Junco wanting a little handout. I think that is what this bird is.
How can you not help out? In the distance we heard what you should
always anticipate at this location, the cry of the Peregrine Falcon. We made
our way past the sand myrtle on the right, which were just getting their buds
ready for blooming. Then we hiked
on through the low overhang and up to the Bluff.
We had run into four women who had reservations
at the top and were going on from here together.
We
rested at the Bluff and had lunch with the resident
squirrel. While we rested the ultimate experience happened, “The flight of
the Peregrine Falcon”. One made
his way across in front of us out in the distance. At this point I mentioned
to my brother that I would like to go on a little further so he could see how
the terrain, climb and views change from this point on.
He agreed to go a little further.
He was not disappointed. We
went on up towards Gracie’s Pulpit and the steps that
are cut into the rock. It was
here Sam stopped to take a rest and view the magnificence
of the mountains. Enough was
enough for him on this day, so we started our descent from here.
He said maybe if we had started earlier he might have given it a go for
the top at a slower pace. Brother
caught a glimpse of the parking lot down below where
our car was. We did not see that
last time. On our way further we
passed through one of my favorite spots where the foliage
creates a tunnel right before Inspiration Point.
As we meandered on down the mountain, the rest of the hike was
uneventful but beautiful. We made our descent into Arch
Rock and on past the creek. It
was Sam’s turn to enjoy the sounds of the creek now.
Of course creek photos are hard not to share so here is a
beauty for you. My next trip
up the mountain will hopefully be in June.
I can’t go right now because my middle daughter is about to give
birth to our third grandchild. My
next trip up will have one of my sons-in-law with me.
Some day maybe I will be up to conquering the
Chimney Tops. Who knows?
Thanks
again Ed for your inspiration to share this beautiful mountain.
