I decided to hike this beast, and a beast it was. Temperature gradients changes form 65 degrees on the bottom to below freezing at the highest point I went to ( 6,484 feet). It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle, and just connect with nature. The rolling mist and howling wind were both foreboding and calming simultaneously. Images of my Cherokee ancestors running along similar paths danced in my head, and whenever I stopped to catch my breath the Cherokee Forest seemed to be alive with pulsating energy. Wavy lines and morphing of my visual field certainly made for interesting breaks. I'm still not sure if it was an optical illusion caused by the mist, the low light, the heat radiating from my layers of clothing, or a combination of all of them.
Rocks and icy paths welcomed me near the end of my climb up. The final destination was rather anti-climatic, consisting of a reconstructed weather shelter and ruins of an old fire watch tower from a century ago. But I was at peace with warming my toes back up in preparation for stumbling back down the mountain.
Not a bad break from Memphis. And nice to to do something physical outside of my CrossFit and Krav Maga.
Posted by Chris on 03/18 at 09:11 PM
.....
Personal Thoughts and Fun Posts •
Permalink


