15. Seven Days and Six Hikes with Bob and Joanne – July 23

This past week I hiked six of seven days.  My brother Bob came down from Michigan to hike the first three days with me.  Then we had a day of drenching rain that nourished our dry area and Bob left to go back to Michigan, so that gave me a day off.  Then, Joanne Simmons, one of the Michael J Fox Climb Kilimanjaro team members, flew in from New Jersey to spend three days hiking with me.  Bob and I did three very different hikes.  The first was a short 5.5-mile hike along a section of the Mountain to Sea trail from Big Ridge Overlook off the Blue Ridge Parkway to Shell Knob.  On the second hike we invited members of my hiking group to join us for a trek from Skinny Dip Falls to Upper Falls at Graveyard Fields.  This 8.6-mile and 1,400 ft elevation gain hike was a challenge but very pretty.  We enjoyed four waterfalls, a mountain river, interesting fungi, flowers, and diversity of trail construction.  Half of the group did a shuttle and returned from Graveyard Fields while the rest of us returned on the same trail back to our car.  The third hike was to see the grand falls at DuPont State Forest.  It started out to be a drizzly day, so we donned rain gear and headed out.  We took in Hooker Falls, Triple Falls, High Falls and three lakes for an 8.5-mile hike with a surprising 950 ft. elevation gain.  In addition to the usual trail sights, we spotted a quiet, unobtrusive, peacefully resting water snake and a gorgeous cluster of what I think is Chicken of the Woods, a brightly colored fungi that can be eaten if you’re sure of its identity.    

Joanne aka Jo, and I did three days of different hikes as well.  The first day we went to Mt. Mitchell, the highest point east of the Rockies.  As we drove up the parkway to the Mt. Mitchell area, we entered very dense fog, the kind you can barely see a car length ahead.  It was windy and cold and of course views would be non-existent.  Once at the trailhead, we were greeted by a reporter and a photographer from the Asheville Citizen Times, our local newspaper wanting to do an article about my planned adventure.  I was interviewed and photographed for about 45 minutes and then we were off in the cold, windy, damp, and foggy weather to see how far we’d be able to go.  The weather improved as we trudged on, but the tail was very slippery as we got our footing on rocks and roots.  Then there were technically difficult places requiring the use of our hands and ropes to scramble up steep, rocky, muddy, and root laden patches.  Eventually, we came to Big Tom and then Mt. Craig which had glorious views from their higher than 6,000 ft. elevation points.  We finished our hike at the Mt. Mitchell peak and observation point and were grateful the sun was partially out giving us the beautiful views we were hoping to see.  The second day with Jo, we went to Black Balsam and Mt. Tennet to hike.  This was completely different from Mt. Mitchell in that most of the trail was exposed to the sun and the paths were more like trenches than flat trails.  We were glad we applied sunscreen as it was a sunny day with lots of exposure.  On top of Mt. Tennet, we had sweeping panoramic views and found other hikers who were interested in chatting about our training for the Kilimanjaro hike.  The third day, I took Jo to hike Mt. Pisgah which isn’t far from my house.  The short trail to the top was steep and we had to stop and get our breath a few times on the way to the peak.  Once at the summit, we gazed at the very tall broadcast tower which can be seen from every direction in the Asehville area.  After we got back to our car, we decided to take the short drive to hike to and climb one of the few standing fire look-out towers in the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The walk from the pullout off the Blue Ridge Parkway was a steep, gravel road about three quarters of a mile mostly in the sun.  The tower had a very steep, metal stairway to climb that was not for anyone who might be afraid of heights. We chose to go on up the ladder and take a look at the views which did not disappoint.  The mountain ridges stretched out before us in every direction with their slightly blue hues characteristic of the mountains of Western North Carolina.  Then it was back home, shower, grab a bite to eat and off to the airport for Jo to catch her flight back to Jersey City.  We had a wonderful time over the three days we spent conditioning together and getting to know each other.  I already know I have a friend for life and the bonds of this journey will be lasting.  And that’s even before the hike where I will have other team members to get to know and share this trek of a lifetime.  Looking forward to what lies ahead with less trepidation now.  Thanks Jo for being a part of my conditioning efforts.  Now to take a break from hiking for a few days as I must admit – I’m tired!

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