What did YOU do this weekend?

Did you wake up and think, "Brrrr, it's pretty cold out today. I think I'll just kick it on the couch in front of the TV." Or did you get out and do something? If so, was it because you had to or because you wanted to?

I wanted to....

I spent the better part of Sunday on the Etowah River, just below Allatoona Dam. Even with the intrusion of residential and commercial properties, it's very peaceful. Very relaxing.

The Army Corps of Engineers typically does not generate electricity on the weekends, so the water level was normal. In the next picture the water mark on the bottom is at generating levels and the top mark is flood stage.

Hey Alabama, look how much more water you get during the days electricity is generated! For those of you not indigenous to the Southeast U.S.A., the Etowah River drains the Etowah Watershed and, along with the Oostanaula Watershed, make up the Upper Coosa Watershed which brings water into the Eastern portion of Alabama via Lake Weiss.

Here's some of the local wildlife.

You may have to squint, but in the middle of the picture is one of the biggest blue herons I've ever seen.

Below is one of the many fishing birds that I encountered. I could never sneak closer to get a better picture. I even tried moving to the opposite bank from them but it never worked. They have beautiful blue and white plumage and spook easily.

These pilings near the US Hwy 41 bridge are original railroad pilings built in the 1800's. Very cool.

Highway 293 Bridge w/Red Barn on right

This is, by far, the most dangerous part of the entire trip. Can you see the water forming a straight line near the old red building? Do you know why?

Lowhead Dam!!

This keeps the trip interesting. This is the Thompson/Weinman Dam. It was built in the early 1900's for the process of mining barite from the surrounding area. There's a portage route around the dam that's not too bad, especially considering there are no alternatives. That's a full-size, can't get your arms around it, tree in the middle of the spill-over. This lowhead dam is dangerous because once you go over it there's a concrete ledge ready to break you and your boat in half. Other dams of this type have such a powerful hydraulic (circulating) current at the base of it that it can entrap boats and not let go.

The last part of my trip took me by the Etowah Indian Mounds

Another river feature that has withstood time is the fish weir.

These fish weirs are an arrangement of rocks in the shape of "V" with the bottom point of the "V" pointing downstream. This creates a pool in the river where fish will naturally collect due to the current. Native Americans would wade out and collect the fish in baskets. These weirs are all over the Etowah River.

Today's takeout is the bridge at Douthit Ferry Road, just behind this old iron bridge. It was a cold, windy trip, but I had the entire river to myself. No fishermen along the banks. No boats to manuver around. Ah, peaceful bliss!!

Hazel Creek - Part 2

After a good night's sleep, Smith and I set off for day two's destination, the confluence of Forney and Jonas Creek on the opposite side of Welch Ridge.



We were fortunate on day one and part of day two that the trail is also used by horses, so it is wide and clear. Horses are allowed on the first 8 miles or so of Hazel Creek. For the entirety of the trip we did not see one other backpacker. Everyone we came across had come in on horseback.



The climb to Welch Ridge from Hazel Creek was tough. Lots of switch backs and a lot of elevation gained. Up to this point every step we had taken was uphill. We reached the Welch Ridge Trail a lot later than we had anticipated.



We started down the Jonas Creek Trail which would take us down to the confluence with Forney Creek and our campsite for the night.



We reached the bottom of the ridge and it was getting darker on us. It didn't help the fact that we were on the East side of the ridge either.



Shortly after this picture, I saw bear number three. About 200 feet ahead of me on the trail it raced across and out of sight. One thing I've been noticing about these bruins is they are deceptively quiet, even when they're running. Very disturbing. I waited for Smith to catch up before I went ahead. He's been suffering from blisters and wasn't moving as fast as I was.

We hiked the last hour in the dark, crossing Jonas Creek at least three times. We came across a clearing and decided we were staying there whether it was the campsite or not. Well, to our good fortune, it was the campsite. We set up camp and got some much needed rest.

Hazel Creek - Part 1

By Spring of this year I had read my third or fourth article about Hazel Creek and the solitude and remoteness it offered. It looked like a great place to me. Being that it is in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it is relatively close by. I started to loosely pull a trip together, wondering if I'd ever go on it. I have a bad habit of coming up with great trips or projects and never following through with it.

In July my wife and I let go of one of the greatest Greyhounds I've ever known. One of the things I learned from this experience is that life can and will pass you by if you let it. From that point on I've made a more determined effort to see my ideas develop into reality. The trip was on!

I contacted a close friend of mine (Smith) to see if he was interested in going. Absolutely was his response. We finalized the trip. We estimated the trip would take between three to four days. The following covers the first two days of the trip.

Sunday, September 28th, Smith and I met at Fontana Village Lodge to get our gear situated and to make sure we had everything we needed.

Monday morning, we drove down to the marina which would be our launch point for the first part of the trip.

This is Smith with our boats and gear. Notice the partially submerged police boat. It was recovered from the bottom of Fontana Lake two days earlier.

We paddled out of the marina cove and went east across Fontana Lake to Hazel Creek and then up Hazel Creek to a point where the park service had placed a barricade across the creek preventing further upstream travel.

I had read that this particular part of GSMNP had higher concentrations of black bears than in other areas of the park. I had seen one drinking at the lakeshore as we paddled up Hazel Creek. When we got out of our boats on Hazel Creek, we saw this:

Guess they were right! Within an hour of that picture we encountered our second black bear as he came onto the trail from the creek. He was about 30-40 feet in front of us. With the sound of the creek and us being down wind, he never knew we were there until he made it on the trail. Sorry, but I thought safety before photo-op and yelled "Hey Bear!". He promptly sprinted up the hill and out of sight. The rest of the day was scenic, but not as eventful.

Here are some buildings from what used to be a community (I believe it was Proctor)

We continually gained elevation as we headed for a the last campsite on Hazel Creek. We covered almost 9 miles that day, arriving to camp a couple hours before dark.