It's a Pittie-full Life
  • Home
  • Travels with Tucker
  • Is it Tucker-Tough?
  • Precious Cargo
  • Renovating Rover
  • Tucker's Favorite Folks

Travels with Tucker

I'm not John Steinbeck and Tucker is certainly no Charley. But after our first year together travelling over 14,000 miles, criss-crossing America, hitting 17 states, I thought it was about time we started documenting our adventures.

Finding (Water)Fall(s)

10/15/2017

0 Comments

 
Every other day I read the description of the John's Mountain/Keown Falls hike in the guidebook as if it was an item in a catalog that I desperately wanted to buy but couldn’t afford. In this case, it wasn’t that I lacked money; I lacked the ability to get up early enough to make the hour and a half drive to Northern Georgia. It’s not Autumn here in the south, and hiking at noon isn’t the best of ideas when it’s 90 degrees out.

But finally, on a cloudy day, not getting up as early as I would have liked but deeming an overcast day with temps in the 80’s as safe enough, Tucker and I packed up the truck and headed north.
​
The beginning of the Keown Falls trail is an eloquently graveled path with stone borders.  I don’t imagine it felt great on Tucker’s feet, and I wished for an end of the man-made adornment to get back to Mother Nature’s flooring.
Picture
​We came looking for fall—the season, not the natural formation of water cascading through air, though both at once would have been amazing. Although the view was expansive there was ne’er a colored leaf to be found. All was still a brilliant green, soaking in the molecules of water from the overcast sky and ready for the moment the sun shone down again to capture every ray of light before winter.
Picture
We did enjoy a woodsy dirt path most of the way, but as we came closer to the falls (water, not season), humans had intervened to make a steep incline more biped-friendly with stairs.
Picture
Keown Falls was unlike any other falls Tucker and I have been too. It was not a waterfall, or a cascading river over rounded rocks. This was a ledge where water drained off, leaving a cave behind it in which to walk in.
Picture
Tucker and I took the stairs downwards and stood behind the waterfall—only a dribble, but I imagine in the wet season it would be a spectacular experience.

The view beyond the falls was the woods itself. It had no mountainous vista, but instead showed us the forest we were visiting.
Picture
Crumbles of rocks littered the area behind the falls. It was the perfect place for Tucker to test out his camouflage abilities.
Picture
We continued up above the falls to take a different perspective. There we met two people on horseback. I told them I had planned on going to John’s Overlook, and they warned that it was steep but a good hike. Despite being overcast and cloudy, it was a decent view.  The woman noted that there was another overlook about half way up the mile-high trek that also had a view.

I thanked her for the insight and made a decision. I could go left, 2.5 miles to the overlook, which probably wasn’t as steep, or go right one mile, and also catch the second overlook. I opted to go right.

I chose wisely.

The next overlook was indeed not on a map. We saw a little bit of color in the immediate plants surrounding us. 
Picture
​However the mountains were still blue and green in the distance.
Picture
Onward and straight upward we ascended to the main event. One last push and we crested the horizon to...
Picture
... a parking lot. Yes, we could have driven here, but that wouldn't have been fun at all. Hiking isn't about arriving at one spot to take in a view; it's about being on the journey and all the things you experience along the way. For us, John's Overlook wasn't the goal endpoint; the journey getting there and back was.

As for the view at this point in the hike, it was indeed still green as far as the eye could see.
Picture
For some reason, I think Tucker looks like an east coast dog. He blends well with the colors and landscape.
Picture
As we finished up our photoshoot, a big white truck pulled into the parking lot. An older gentleman with a white mustache, wearing a baseball cap got out, camera in hand.

We said hello, and then he said, “You hiked here?”

“Yup, sure did.” I can’t see how the level of sweat pouring off me could be excused in any other manner.

“You’re not from here, are you?”

Nope, clearly not.

Two dogs in the pickup truck started baying, and a woman in the front seat yelled at them. As I tried to tug Tucker along to the trailhead where the 2.5 mile trail that would complete the loop back to the Falls began, she stepped out.

“You hiked here?” she asked, exasperated. (I don’t think she had heard my answer over the dogs barking.) “How long of a hike is it?”

I told her it was about 2 miles up, and about 3 miles down.

She shook her head. “Maybe is my younger years.”

I started down the trail and she yelled after me, “You’re not afraid of bears, hiking alone?”

Well, no, not till you just said that. Thanks.

I shrugged. “No.”

Her husband, who was snapping pictures turned around and said, “I don’t imagine she’s afraid of much with him as her hiking partner.”

I smiled and said, “Yeah, but he’d probably try to be friends with the bear, and then I’d have a whole other problem.”

We wished each other well and I started down the trail, thinking of Mt. Mitchell where the same sort of encounter happened. Tucker and I had hiked a few beautiful miles to get there. Those who walked the 500 feet from the parking lot, seeing a disheveled woman and her panting dog, had to wonder how out of shape we were to not even be able to make it from the parking lot without extreme physical difficulty.

As soon as we were out of sight of the truck, the couple and their dogs, we came across this--far creepier than any bear in my opinion: 
Picture
I tip my hat to whoever thought of writing that to freak people out. We continued along the path which stayed on the ridgeline, offering views of the valley below between the trees.

One one of our journeys slightly off the path to catch a glimpse of the pastures below, Tucker proudly announced, "Look! Fall!"​
Picture
Indeed, those sparse leaves were all we were going to see of the season we sought.

But that didn't detract from our walk in the woods. Instead of experiencing the glorious colors of Autumn, I was reminded of the subtle beauty in all woods year round.
Picture
Every rock seems specially placed, the lichen and moss dressing them just so. The trees space themselves appropriately, and leaves of autumns past blanket the ground. 

Whoever thinks this earth is here only to be plundered by us because we are humans, has never taken a walk in the woods. Beauty exists here not because people will see it one day and enjoy it; it exists because Mother Nature is innately beautiful. The world isn't here for us to steal its elements, waste its resources, and wreak havoc on its delicate balance. It is a work of art we are to preserve, protect, and enjoy. You would never walk into an art gallery and knock over a sculpture to take a piece with you; you wouldn't dump the drink you don't feel like finishing all over the handmade woven fabric of a quilt; and you wouldn't rip a painting off the wall, stomp on it, and slice through the canvas.

Nature is art, the world her gallery. Around ever bend is a new piece to explore and experience. The way a leaf falls from the tree and lands upon a stone; the clouds caressing the tips of mountaintops as you look into the distance; the way the light plays on the forest floor, dancing with the shadows.

I had been hoping to visit during her spectacular Annual Autumn Exhibition, but we were a little early--or maybe in the wrong wing of her gallery. Tucker and I would continue searching for it, but in the meantime, we pay reverence to the art already on display.
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    January 2021
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    May 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014

    Posts

    All
    2016.01.03 Home For The Holidays
    2016.01.04 A Hike On Another Planet
    2016.03.25 Equality Is For Everyone
    2016.03.27 Our Easter Weekend Services
    2016.04.15 Just Des(s)erts
    2016.05.29 Max Patch
    2016.05.29 Rising To The Peak
    2016.05.29 Spring Adventures
    2016.06.11 The Best Of The Unexpected
    2016.06.25 The Ghostly Tale Of Greybeard Trail
    2016.07.03 Escape...to Storyteller Rock
    2016.07.05 A Salute To Asheville From Chimney Rock
    2016.08.15 Up
    2016.10.01 Since You've Been Gone
    2016.12.09 How We Spent Our Summer Vacation
    2016.12.10 Let The Sun Shine In
    2016.12.11 Eyes To The Skies
    2016.12.11 Where The Rainy Day Takes You
    2016.12.18 Waiting For Whistler
    2016.12.31 Only In Canada
    2017.01.10 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.01.11 Christmas On The Coast
    2017.04.22 Out Of The Desert And Into The Land Of Enchantment
    2017.05.05 Someplace To Be; Not Somewhere To Go
    2017.05.20 New Canada
    2017.05.28 Rise To The Challenge
    2017.06.18 Exploring The 'Hood
    2017.06.24 Bishop's Lodge: Anything But Heavenly
    2017.07.01 Finding Your Church
    2017.07.08 Mother Nature's Springs
    2017.07.22 Beside Every Great Woman
    2017.10.15 Finding (Water)Fall(s)
    2017.10.28 This Is 40... Part I
    2017.10.29 This Is 40... Part II
    2017.11.18 Battle Amidst Beauty
    2017.11.25 To The Looking Glass
    2018.02.25 Where The Dog Takes You
    2018.03.31 After The Rains
    2018.04.14 Truly Home Again
    2018.06.02 Just A Walk On The Beach
    2018.07.21 Ready? On Set!
    2018.08.04 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.08.11 Return To The Redwoods
    2018.10.27 The Forty-First
    2018.12.15 The End Of The Tour
    2018.12.30 Santa Cruz
    2019.01.05 Chasing Mavericks
    2019.01.20 Finding Your Soulspace
    2019.02.09 Muir Magic
    2019.02.23 The Point Of Point Reyes
    2019.02.25 From Muir To Mori
    2019.03.02 Our Own Monterey
    2019.03.09 An Irish Escape
    2019.03.16 Hidden Vistas
    2019.04.06 Our Life: The Carnival
    2019.04.20 One Man's Trash Is Another Dog's Art
    2019.05.04 Black Rock And Blue Skies
    2019.06.08 Water
    2019.06.15 In Conversation... With Nature
    2019.06.29 Go Tell It On The Mountain
    2019.07.06 Not So Yosemite
    2019.07.07 Magic Chimneys
    2019.07.20 The Long Way Around
    2019.11.23 All Trails Lead Here
    2019.11.30 Seeking Solitude In All Directions
    2019.12.14 Forest Friends And Soul-Places
    2019.12.21 The San Franciscan Canine
    2019.12.26 An Unexpected Christmas
    2020.01.11 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part I
    2020.01.12 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part II
    2020.01.12 Kicking Off The New Year On The Coast: Part III
    2020.01.19 From The Beach To The Bay... Almost
    2020.03.01 Livin' La Vida Local (SF Style)
    2020.03.20 A Place In Which To Shelter
    2020.03.23 Socially Distant
    2020.03.26 Shelter Of Majestic Beauty
    2020.03.28 Follow Your Heart
    2020.04.04 South For The Spring
    2020.04.21 Finding The Way Back
    2020.05.11 First Rate Second Choice
    2020.05.30 Trails Worth Taking
    2020.07.15 A Reflection Of The Bay
    2020.07.22 A Quarter Of The Way To Half Moon Bay
    2020.10.10 Mountain Air
    2020.11.21 The Great Donut Drive
    2020.11.26 Holiday Special
    2020.12.21 The Great Conjunction
    And Away
    But Not Far Away
    Comes The (Water)Fall
    Everywhere
    Maximum Wind Speed
    Nose To The Wind
    Not The Map
    Part I
    Part II
    Santa Clause
    Santa Paws
    The Look Of Discrimination
    The South's Answer To The Southwest
    Tucker Wescott: Interior Designer
    Up
    Water

    RSS Feed

About    Contact   
c 2014 August Nights Press