Saturday, May 5, 2018
Today is the third annual "Pisgah Pride" day, sponsored by the Pisgah Conservancy. 400+ volunteers from the surrounding communities of Brevard, Pisgah Forest, Etowah, Hendersonville, Asheville and others gathered at the ranger station at 8:00 this morning. They have spread out through the forest, most notably the Turkey Pen area, for a massive spruce up of the forest. The majority of the volunteers have gone to Turkey Pen for Lopalooza where they are lopping off branches on the hiking, horse and bike trails. Gardening is going on at the Ranger Station, the rest of the volunteers are spread throughout the forest sprucing up trails. It's a perfect day, overcast with temps in the low to mid-70's. The people of the community love Pisgah Forest, as evidenced by their volunteerism.
Tuesday, May 8
Today we hiked one of our favorite trails Slate Rock/Pilot Cove. The trail head is about 15 miles from us off of Yellow Gap Road. Yellow Gap Road is your typical forest service road -- gravel, narrow and climbing in elevation. We were about a half mile from the trail head when a black bear ran across the road in front of us. He/she was beautiful!! Coop wasn't sure what to make of it!!
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| the trail head is on the other side of the road |
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we're following Slate Rock to Pilot Cove. We're splitting off at Pilot Cove in order
to view the vista and make a loop back to our truck. It will be about a five mile loop.
we opted to hike the longer, gradual climb to Pilot Cove. we'll return on the shorter,
yet much steeper Pilot Cove trail back to Slate Rock to our truck |
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| Coop's ready to go! |
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| Slate Rock trail is a long, gradual climb to the junction of Pilot Cove |
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| another bridge crossing |
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| time for a drink |
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| the trail is getting steeper |
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| waiting for me. |
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| still waiting |
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| I finally got there! |
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| here's where we split off of Slate Rock. we've still a climb to go before we arrive at the vista |
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| a good place to take a break before heading out on Pilot Cove |
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| getting closer |
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| we walked out of the forest to this view! that's rock on the ground, not snow! |
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| fabulous view! |
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| looking back towards the forest |
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| taking a break before we head back down the trail |
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| heading back down Pilot Cove |
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| after leaving the vista, it was pretty much downhill all the way. view is looking back up the trail |
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| back on Slate Rock. taking a break while waiting for us |
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| mountain stream. almost back to our truck |
This was a great hike. The trail is in good condition, the weather was perfect, the view fantastic. Best of all, we did not see a single person while hiking. That's a first for us!! As well as highly unusual for the Pisgah Forest!
Tonight was a beautiful night at the ball field. Ron umpired machine pitch tonight.
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| clouds moving into the mountains |
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| beautiful sky tonight |
Wednesday, May 9
Today we took a drive to Waynesville. Waynesville is about 37 miles from us on the other side of the mountain. It takes about an hour to get there. Mountain roads are twisty and curvy with beautiful sights to see! We went there with the express purpose of eating at The Sweet Onion -- one of our favorite places to eat.
Nestled in the mountains,
Waynesville has a rich musical heritage...
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| Ron's new friend |
Main Street is a mixture of the old and new...
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a fun, three story store that sells just about everything including clothes, shoes,
camping necessities, as well as some kitchen items |
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| yes, Cooper went shopping for a few treats! |
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| notice the foot pedal? |
Waynesville is one of our favorite towns.
Sunday, May 13
Tiny Homes are becoming more popular. About four miles from us in the town of Pisgah Forest, a Tiny Home village is springing up...
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| it's located in a beautiful setting |
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only two homes are here as now. pads are being set up for more homes;
the village just opened this past March |
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| three slides on this one |
Spring has come and gone. We are now into summer!! It is
As we headed back home into the forest, we were greeted by this sight...
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a one and half mile back up of cars leaving the forest. this is a common occurrence on
weekends during the summer months. |
Wednesday, May 16
With high temperatures comes thunderstorms. We've had a lot of rain in the last two days. The Davidson River is running high...
The rain is really "greening" up the forest...
Til next time,
Dawn, Ron & Coop
