Father-Son Hiking Trip, October 2019

Kathy's and my intermediate destination for this year's journey to Tennessee was Berea, KY. We had stopped there in the past, just at the visitor center, mostly for a brief rest stop. This time we made reservations to stay overnight to further explore the little community. The trip south went well. We dropped Betty off in Renssalaer, IN so she could visit friends. I-65 was crazy crowded as usual, especially to Indy and then again around Columbus. We arrived in Berea in the late afternoon, checked into the Holiday Inn Express, then headed into the college area. Our initial plan was to eat dinner at Boone Tavern, but the place was overrun with a birthday party celebration, so we went in search of other eateries. While Kathy perused some stores, I searched Google and TripAdvisor for options. A nearby Italian place was obviously a crowd favorite, but had a line out the door and didn't really suit our eating style. We stopped by a used book store (always a good use of time) called Robie. Their selection was nice but their prices were not very good. We ended up at Mariachi's Mexican Restaurant, where the portion sizes were huge. I had to spend some time on the Elliptical trainer at the hotel to work some of that off before bed.

The following morning, we toured the Historic Town portion of Berea. It is rather tiny, and it appears most of the better arts and crafts places have moved to the Visitor Center. All-in-all, we were glad to visit Berea, but don't really see a need to stay there again (although I still wouldn't mind trying out Boone's for a meal).

Craig was already there when we arrived at Mom and Dad's. Lora arrived shortly thereafter. We spent the better part of the afternoon taking down a few trees in the back yard (always an adventure for the McBride clan), and escaped without any injuries or broken windows. It was packing time that evening to ensure an early departure the following morning.

The trailhead this year was again out of Bryson City, so Craig drove us there via the Dragon's Tail on a cool, clear morning. We parked just outside the Lakeview Drive Tunnel, also referred to as "The Road to Nowhere". The road and tunnel were a part of the Government's failed promise to construct an alternative route from Bryson City to Fontana Dam to compensate the locals for loosing their town and property when the Little Tennessee River was dammed up to form Fontana Lake in the 40's. Construction was halted when excavation uncovered part of the Anakeesta Formation. Apparently these rocks release sulfuric acid when exposed to air and water, something not good for nearby aquatic life. Anyway, the result is an almost 0.2 mile tunnel wide enough for two lanes of traffic that you hike through as part of the Lakeshore Trail.

We followed the Lakeshore Trail until it connected to Forney Creek Trail, then hiked the latter about 0.4 mile until we reached Bear Creek Trail. Very shortly we arrived at a sharp switchback that caused us some confusion. There is an obvious small bridge over a creek that initially appears to be the continuation of Bear Creek Trail, but it is posted with a "no horses" sign, usually a signal that this is a spur trail somewhere. Of course, I had left my carefully printed copy of the the trail notes at home, and my memory was of no use. We left Dad resting at the junction while Craig explored the spur trail and I tackled the switchback trail. After reconvening, and after much discussion and debate, we settled on the switchback, which fortunately proved to be the correct choice. Apparently there is a small cemetery about a mile up the spur trail; Craig apparently stopped just short of that.

We made it to Poplar Flats campground (backcountry site #75) by about 1600 and set about pitching our hammocks near the creek. It was a nice flat site with excellent water access, and we had it all to ourselves. After washing up and cooking dinner, we enjoyed our usual evening banter. The recent dry hot weather had resulted in a campfire ban in the Smoky Mountains, so we gathered around Craig's solar powered LED light instead. A full moon later that night eliminated any need for lights in the campground when getting up for bathroom breaks.

The following day, we hiked up Bear Creek Trail a little over 3 miles to Welch Ridge Trail and followed it for another 0.6 mile to the little spur to High Rocks. High Rocks is the site of a former Forest Service fire tower. Only the foundation and a crumbling cabin remain today, but the view is spectacular over Fontana Lake and into the ridges and peaks of the Smoky Mountains. We had a beautiful day to enjoy it. As we hiked back to camp, clouds started to obscure the sun, foretelling the rain that would move in that night.

It did, in fact, rain that evening, breaking up our evening social time. It continued, albeit lighter, until after we finished breakfast the next day. The hike back down to the trail head was mostly in dry weather, but the trees dropped plenty of water on us as we walked. Not far from the end, I took a nasty fall, something I hadn't done in years. A wet slippery log caught me daydreaming, and I made the amateurish mistake of stepping on it. My left foot took out my right foot, and when inconveniently horizontal to the ground, gravity bodyslammed me to Mother Earth, landing me right on my sacrum and knocking the breath out of me. I must have made a good "whumping" sound when I hit, because Craig, who was in the lead ahead of Dad, stopped and turned abruptly. I was a bit slow getting up, but not seriously hurt, other than my pride and a sacrum that would sharply remind me of my foolishness every time I bent over for many days.

We stopped for our traditional post-hike ice cream in Bryson City, then drove home. The women had survived their shopping excursion to North Carolina and were there to enjoy dinner with us.

Craig and I helped Dad do some sealant repairs to his doors the following day, a project that expanded to rebuilding the bottom of one door, then Craig headed for home. Kathy and I left the following morning.

We had decided to explore Cincinnati on our return trip. We actually stayed in Covington, KY, right across the river, which was a nice base of operations (Best Western Plus - Cincinnati River View). Our hotel room had a nice view of the river and the city skyline beyond, and we were within walking distance of dining establishments in Covington. We discovered Blinkers Tavern for dinner and enjoyed it so much we returned the next evening for another meal. We spent a day walking around Cincinnati, covering 7-8 miles on foot. The views from the John A. Roebling suspension bridge were great and the riverfront park is very nice. We grabbed a coffee at Lola's, which also serves as a craft brew pub in the evenings, then headed north into the Over-The-Rhine region, discovering an arts and crafts show in Washington Square. Then we wandered back through the downtown area, stopping to sample the Skyline Chili we had seen advertized so often on our drives through the city on previous trips. Back in Covington, we checked out a bookstore, then had drinks at Molly Malone's Irish Pub before heading to dinner, then back to the hotel.

The drive back to Renssalaer and on to Lowell went smoothly. Even though we had gotten up at our leisure, we still made it home before dark. Another fun trip to Tennessee!