Appalachian Trail - Three Bald Hike

 The parking lot is just over the North Carolina border on the Tennessee side.

The trailhead.

The trail is mostly open. It's somewhat a mystery how a "bald" (barren area) came to be in an otherwise lush landscape. There were little oases where you could find shade and rest.

The trail straddled the border of NC and Tennessee. This was a spot where you could look to the right and view NC and to the left, Tennessee.

On this day, the National Guard was doing some training  

Wilson Creek - Thorps Creek Trail

 You drive or walk to the end (very back) of Mortimer Campground and that where you'll find the trailhead.

A little waterfall about .25 miles in from trail head.

This final picture was the end of our hike. Katie could neither go over or under this large fallen tree. This was a very challenging hike due to a lot of fallen trees and no bridges over streams and creeks. 

Craggy Gardens

There was really not a lot to photograph at Craggy Gardens in the Summer. Flowers that would otherwise  be in the meadow were not in bloom. 

The excitement came on the way to and leaving Craggy Gardens. I came across 4 bears total and this last picture was a mama bear with two cubs. Unfortunately I was unable to get any pictures of the cups. It's great seeing a black bear in your car; not so much on a hiking trail, which I never have has to date.

 

Linville Gorge Wilderness

Our first glimpse of the river was as we descended down the gorge.

Katie having some fun and refreshment in the Linville River.

We took the Pine Gap trail down into the gorge and came back out the Bynum Bluff.

 

Umstead State Park - Company Mill Trail

With the trail leading into the circle it became a 7.5 mile hike.

One of the preserved millstones. Hence the name of the trail.

Katie, my Great Pyrenees mix. She is very enduring even in the heat. She is like a camel and doesn't drink much water. I try to force her to drink more.

A plaque that gives the history of the park.

North and South Manitou Islands

These pictures are from a Kodac film back in 1994 of a trip I took with my long-time high school buddy Paul Imm. The Manitou Islands are part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. North Manitou Island is the largest of the two islands, at around 22,346 square miles of wilderness. South Manitou is much smaller at 8,277 square miles.

This is Swanson's Barn on North Manitou Island's far West side. It is over a 5-mile hike from the Village Dock. All buildings on the islands have been purchased by the Park Service and left to deteriorate naturally by Mother Nature. 

We camped near this barn, and I remember hearing the sound of the waves at night.

I'm picking wild blueberries. We were hiking along, and Paul asked me, "Do you smell what I smell?" I said, "If you are smelling blueberries, then yes, I am!"

10 miles of Lake Michigan beach, all to ourselves. Once we left the Village Dock and began our hike to Lake Manitou and the island's Western side, we only saw two other people for the entire week.

We were keeping journals, and I was writing something. I don't have that journal today; it would be interesting to know what I wrote in that journal. I was on the beach of South Manitou Crescent Bay. 

We were bushwhacking through the woods and treed this raccoon. 

We did visit the grove of old-growth white cedars, estimated to be 500 years old. I remember Paul being on one side and I on the opposite side, and we couldn't touch our fingers as we hugged one of the ancient cedars.

A glimpse of Lake Manitou. We camped near the lake on our first night and did some fishing. We caught pan fish and had them for one of our dinners.

This must have been taken while on the ferry going or coming back from the island. I remember hearing a freighter's foghorn as it passed South Manitou Island on a foggy morning. I couldn't see the ship, but only hear the horn through the fog. 

There was a visible shipwreck offshore of South Manitou Island, and Paul, with an inflatable raft he brought with him, swam the 300 yards to get a closer look at the Francisco Morazan. 

Very early in our marriage, Kelly discovered she had an adventurous husband who loved to explore. Even though it has never been her cup of tea, she has always given me the freedom to travel, camp, and hike. In this picture, Paul Imm and I are returning from one of the islands. Kelly and her grandma Louis Kline stayed at a bed & breakfast in Leland the night before she was to pick me up at the dock.

 

Elkin, NC - Carter Falls Trail

The trail starts on the right side of the parking area and you finish entering the parking area from the left.

You can hear the falls way before you can see them. You have a smaller waterfall at first then a much larger one that comes next.

That's quite a drop. 

The trail leading to the Lower Falls

 The sign pointed the direction the half mile back to the parking lot.