Grassy Ridge Backpack

The weather Saturday morning was ominous. As we pulled out of town (around 10:40 AM), dark clouds hung low in Knoxville. When we reached Elizabethton, dark clouds gave way to light rain and fog. A lunch break in one of several Elizabethton Mexican restaurants along Highway 91, did little to cheer us up. We all considered Plan B (bailing), but kept our thoughts to ourselves as we returned to our cars and headed to Carver's Gap, the starting point of our winter backpack. Looked like we were in for just about the worst possible weather for camping on an open bald, rain (with no place to pitch a tarp) and temperatures just above freezing. Could be a long afternoon and evening trapped in our tents.

A 3,900' climb on a very windy road is required to reach Carver's Gap. Much to our surprise, the higher we drove, the drier the road became. Somewhere along the road, we broke through the clouds and the traces of rain disappeared completely. Although we piled out of our cars and smack into a brisk wind, the sun was shining and we could see big patches of blue sky!

Carver's Gap, elevation 5,512' is located in Tennessee at the crossing point of the Appalachian Trail between Roan Mountain and Round Bald. It is the low point in the Roan Mountain ridgeline and just a few steps away from the North Carolina border. We parked in the Gap and picked up the AT headed north, our hike would take us across the first three balds beyond Roan Mountain.

Our group crossing over Round Bald. The beginning of the climb to the top of Jane's Bald is located on the middle left of the photo (the grassy mountain side)

Picture from the top of Jane Bald looking back toward Round Bald (the 1st visible grassy bald)

Rhododendron and the mountains of North Carolina

The trail was muddy from several days of rain and our boots quickly became heavy with the dark, black soil. We crossed the first bald, Round Bald (5826') at a fast pace, stopping at the top to take pictures of the panoramic views....low hanging clouds floating in and out of mountain ridges, as far as the eye could see. The wind remained brisk so we hurried down the back side and up the next bald, Jane Bald (5807'). The AT turns to the left on top of Jane Bald but we took the right fork toward Grassy Ridge, our destination for the evening.

Blue skies, low clouds and sunshine from the back of Grassy Ridge. A mountain range peaks above the clouds in the left side of the photo, just above the pine trees.

After stopping for more photos on the back side of Grassy Ridge, we hiked to our campsite for the evening, an open field with a vicious wind blowing up the back, over the top and down the other side. Level campsites are plentiful but a person is really "out there" with the weather. We were lucky, the temperature remained around freezing although the wind chill took it down to the 20's.

Bill gazing at the ever changing clouds

Our campsite, beautiful but exposed.

Andy and Jonathon

We arrived around 4:00 PM, set up camp and spent time gathering wood. We never did use the wood, the wind was just too strong and flying embers would be risky. I stayed warm and toasty until we settled down for dinner. Hand warmers kept my hands warm, an assortment of fleece, down, wool and wind resistant fabrics kept my body warm, but I still had issues with my feet. Other members of our group were a little colder and pealed off for the comfort of their sleeping bags around 7:00 PM. Bill and Silke headed to their tent shortly after so John and I packed up our cooking equipment and returned our tent.

Me, gathering wood for the fire we didn't burn. It will be a nice surprise for the next group of campers :-)

Sunset from our campsite

John in the tent

Oh, 7:30 PM is too early to crawl in the tent! John lay outside on the ground for a while and gazed up at the clear sky filled with bright, sparkling stars. It was such an incredible sight! We finally settled down a little after 8:00 PM. Amazingly enough, we slept most of the night but were quite really to get up around 7:00 AM.

The wind really blasted against the walls of our tent around during the early part of the night. Somewhere around midnight it stopped but resumed an hour or so before we crawled out at 7:00 AM. We ate breakfast with the wind hitting our backs, it was a chilly affair. We hit the trail a little after 9:00 AM, retracing our steps of the day before. Another lunch, this time in Johnson City and the return drive home. I have been hungry and chilled since. I am looking forward to a good night's sleep, but hopefully not starting at 7:00 PM.

Headed down Round Bald and back to the car. The low frost line indicates a low cloud line

From right to left: Bill, Silke, Jonathon with Andy standing behind Jonathon.

It's That Time Again!

Long underwear-check, rain jacket-check, hand warmers-check, down sleeping bag-check....

H-m-m-m-m, somehow all this stuff

Has to fit in this!

Can backpack #65 really be almost here? Just a month ago, with frozen fingers and toes, I swore off cold weather backpacking forever. Yet this feeble mind seems to have forgotten the numbing pain. Tonight I am busy attempting to stuff my very survival into a small, sturdy bag to be hoisted on my shoulders and carried into the wilderness. With the weather looking iffy at our destination, I have my fingers crossed and eyes open for another location. Forecasted rain-sleet-snow and temps in the low 20's will bring back some chilling memories. A big, open bald at 6,100' is no place to be camping in bad weather. What happened to the me that once eagerly anticipated cold weather camping?

On the exercise side of life where it is always cozy warm in the gym, my legs are officially jello. I crawled out of bed at 5:30 AM and headed to the gym for a short 3-mile run. What I lacked in distance I made up in intensity. I ran 11:06 minute miles, which is 26 seconds per mile faster than my January 5k. The run was topped off some 12 hours later with spin class. Oh and...I cheated a little. When the instructor said to crank the tension up, and up, and up for the last 15 minute hill, I cranked once, cranked twice and then pretended. It's gonna take a few classes to get my legs back to their pre-Christmas spin condition.

Back to the Bike

A couple of pictures of my Valentine's flowers, still beautiful some 5 days later. Lucky me!

I am, quite simply, very tired today. Recently I have been talking up how I plan to get back on the bike as soon as the 10k was over. On Sunday, John reminded me that it was over. So after a hilly 4-mile run on Sunday and a fast (for me) 4-miles in the afternoon, I climbed on the bike last night for a very windy ride.

We didn't go too far or too fast. As a matter of fact, John never got his heart rate above 110, but mine was racing. I struggled against the wind (19 mph) as we headed west on our loop and sailed when it pushed against my back. While John was sleek and graceful in his "outfit" (code: bicycle spandex and jacket), I just wanted to keep warm in my fleece tights, vest, thermal turtleneck and lightweight wind jacket (code: hiking clothes). Most annoying was the flapping sound of the nylon jacket as it whipped in the wind. I couldn't hear above the noise.

One of the purposes of this ride was to test the frame fit on John's son's bike. His Trek is about 12 years newer than mine and the components and technology much better. The problem is, I usually ride a 54 cm Trek and this is a 56 cm so I had to really stretch to reach the gears and brakes comfortably. John is going to replace the fork to see if this will work but regardless of which bike I use, I have some ridin' to do to get comfortable on the bike again!

After the ride, I scoured my gym calendar for the next spin class compatible with my schedule. I have to wait until Thursday. It has been 8 weeks since my last spin class (the racing excuse again) so it will be like starting over.....ouch!

Strawberry Plains 10K (and 1/2 Marathon)

Today was a perfect day for racing. The temperature hovered just below 50 F, the sky was partly overcast and the wind was almost nonexistent. John and I left South Knoxville around 7:40 AM and arrived at an already crowded race site some 25 minutes later. While excited to run my first 10k race, I carried my pre-race jitters to the start line.

Race check-in was a breeze so John and I stood around until about 8:50 AM, when we heard the race director call for the line up. Some one bravely sang the national anthem acapella (now that is tough) and before I knew it, I heard the starting gun! 500 pairs of feet started shuffling from the parking lot to the street.

Took some minutes for people to begin spreading out. I was toward the back and the rolling terrain provided a great view of the running wave. Soon we turned left and ran under an old country railroad bridge. The cool thing was the train crossing the bridge above us.

Putting on my race number "9788"

Very nice coolmax souvenir t-shirts

Racers lining up. I am turned backward watching John

And the racers are off!

I settled comfortably into the run. Although I had my iPod in my pocket "just in case," I ran the entire race without it. Each mile was clearly marked and there was a water stop just beyond mile 2, which made it just before mile 4 on the way back (I took water coming back). The rural scenery was great but the rough pavement kept my eyes fixed to the road for most of the race. I did enjoy the sounds of the country....moos and birds chirping. Mostly I enjoyed the peaceful silence.

Mile 3.1 came up pretty fast and we U-turned around an orange cone. I watched some of the people who had been running near me continue on the half marathon course, including two 60 something ladies who had been discussing running. One said that she was glad she had not started running until she was 58, because she didn't have to watch the race times of her youth become a distant memory. She said she was still improving. Amen to that!

I was running next to a younger woman who was in run-walk mode. She walked up the hills and ran the rest. We must have passed each other 10-15 times. I told her I envied her fast running, she told me she envied the fact that I could run the entire race. The race finished on a downhill and she beat me by some seconds.

I am not sure what my time was, I think somewhere around 1:12. I was so excited to finish and feel good that I forgot to pay attention. Times should be posted on the Knoxville Track Club website in the next day or two. (Results are in, my actual time was 1.11.44, an 11.33-min pace....better than the 12-min mile I expected)

Diane Madison #1003

John caught sight of Diane Madison, an old backpacking companion, at the beginning of the race. We didn't have a chance to speak to her until after the race. Like a bunch of old folks, we stood around discussing our health issues. Diane apparently had the same problem that I did last year, she tripped on a piece of rough pavement while running. She broke her ankle and was in a cast for 8 weeks. I jumped in with my broken arm and John, his broken collar bone. Her training partner (the guy behind her) had only a stubbed toe to discuss. Oh well, we hope to have more positive things to discuss if we see her at another race.

Running into the finish!

I finished, I am smiling! The end to a great first 10K (the guy behind me is finishing the 1/2 Marathon :-)

Pre-Race Jitters

Hope I didn't make a big mistake tonight, I just ate leftover pasta from Wednesday night's dinner at Macoroni Grill. My stomach started bubbling and gurgling several hours before dinner but I didn't feel bad, so I chalked it up to pre-race jitters. Unfortuantely, I forgot that I had the spicy marinara sauce. Maybe it won't cause me any problems tomorrow.....

Since I missed running yesterday, I got out at lunch for a short 1.5-miles, just enough to loosen up and enjoy the spring weather. I am looking forward to getting the 10k (my first) out of the way. Next week I will return to spin class, bicycling and begin working with my new swim coach. I expect to be pretty sore by week's end.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What will we be doing to celebrate? After 7 years of battling crowds and hurried service we are dining in. On the menu is steak, shrimp, grilled asparagus, potatoes and lots of butter and garlic! We will top this off with chocolate covered strawberries and cherries from South's Finest Chocolates and a couple of days of serious exercise and bouillion (just kidding on the bouillion). Oh so rich and oh so good!

We give presents sporadically on Valentine's Day. Last year I didn't give John anything, this he will get the Smartwool neck gaiter and liner gloves with grippers that he has been eyeing at Mast General Store. Not too romantic but both items will be great for bicycling and our upcoming backpack to Grassy Ridge.

No running for me today, I spent lunch getting ready for dinner. Yesterday was another 4 miles on the treadmill. Tomorrow will be a short, easy run before the 10k.

Earphone Dilemma

My iPod is not quite 6 weeks old and already I own 3 sets of headphones. Unfortuantely I have yet to find the perfect pair. My first pair (A) came with the iPod, the original earphones if you will. I worked with this pair for a couple of days with no success. They fell out everytime I tried to run.

Pair B is the 1st pair I purchased (well, 2nd, I returned the first). This pair fits around the ear and is fairly stable and comfortable. These earphones also block out all outside noise, a fact that prompted John to have a "discussion" with me when he discovered I couldn't hear him when he walked up behind me. You can guess what the discussion was about. Pair B would be fine for treadmill running, but as you can see, one ear piece is missing. I stepped on it.

A trip to Target resulted in Pair C, the Nike Vapor, with a 3-way adjustable ear piece. Sound quality is great, comfort level is crappy! The speakers do not fit in my ear. I can hear outside noises (this makes John happy) but can barely hear the music, which makes me unhappy. What is it about our ears that make one pair fits so good and another so bad? The speakers on the different earphones seem to be about the same size. Is there no way to size for big ears or small ears?

On the running side of life, this is an easy week in preparation for the upcoming 10k. Today's plan was a relaxed 3-mile run on the treadmill but I was feeling pretty good so I kicked up the pace to 15 seconds faster than my previous fastest treadmill run. I discovered I have been a treadmill slacker. I breezed through 4 miles feeling strong. Incredible! A short 4-1/2 months ago, I returned to running with a very slow 12:30 minute mile. Today's run, at an 11:15 pace, seemed easy. Now, if I can just duplicate the effort over the next 4 months!

Sunday on the Boulevard

We did our usual thing today, church, Panera's for coffee, then exercise. Shoved inbetween coffee and exercie, was a trip to Strawberry Plains to drive the route for the Straw Plains 10k. The course is beautiful, lots of farmland, some sections in sight of the Holston River, but also a little hillier than I expected. While the scenery on a sunny day should be distracting, Saturday's long range forecast is for rain. I have to think about running 6 miles in the rain, in cool weather.

Thoughts of a "rolling" course sent me immediately to Cherokee Blvd to practice on the hilly section. John rode laps on his bike while I inched up and down the hills. Not as bad as I thought but I have revised my expectation for the 10k, I may come in last after all.

John got in a decent ride, some 15 miles or so and I ran 3.2-miles. I am ready for a rest day!

Running this week:

Tuesday : 5-miles, treadmill
Wednesday: 2-miles, treadmill
Friday: 5 miles, treadmill
Saturday: 6 miles, Cherokee Blvd
Sunday: 3.2 miles hilly, Cherokee Blvd.

Mt Airy, the Salt Factor and Running

Three nights in Mt. A = three nights eating everything Thailand Cafe. Basil shrimp rolls, seafood salad, lettuce wraps and steamed dumplings, all served with salt based sauces. My sodium intake is over the top. I am finally home, flushing the salt with large quantities of water and anticipating a pasta dinner!

I had a great few days in the office! Got to catch up with the people in my group, check out the new building expansion and dress in something other than jeans. On the other hand, it required that I get up an hour earlier everyday.....and dress in something other than jeans. Can't wait to crawl in my own bed tonight, sleep an hour later and wear my jeans tomorrow!

Exercise was never far from the office conversation as several people in my group are training for various events in the Mt. A and surrounding NC-VA counties (this area hosts a number of road races, bicycle events and triathlons). We chatted about running, workouts and I received some song suggestions for my iPod. We will exchange emails about our progress and successes as we work to accomplish our 2008 goals.

Even with all the eating and socializing, I managed to put in treadmill time at the Mt A community center. The community center is an old YMCA with limited space devoted to areobic and weight machines, which means a very limited number of treadmills. Like my gym in Knoxville, Reeves is still filled with New Years resolutioners so a little patience and some standing around were involved to grab a free machine.

Tuesday's run was a nice 5.0-mile effort in a fairly hot room on a crummy treadmill. Wednesday's effort was not so good, a meager 2.0-mile run and I struggled to run as long as I did. Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I can't wait to return to my lunchtime running routine. I have a number of miles yet to log this week!

Running Update

Running update for the last couple of days. Thursday's 3-mile run, planned for the treadmill, turned into a 4.2-mile run on my neighborhood hills. I couldn't bear the thought trudging to the gym again this week. The weather was pleasant for the end of January and I felt great. Friday was a rest day and today was my scheduled 7-miler.

The temp was around 28 F when I woke up, so I stayed busy around the house until the mercury rose to a toasty 36 F. Unfortuantely, the rise did not occur until early afternoon and breakfast was consumed hours before. I was hungry and my stomach grumbling, this is a bad sign.

Cherokee Blvd was not too crowded and my run started out just fine. The first 3-miles passed quickly as my iPod shuffled through the song list. The second 3-miles was a bit tougher as my tired calves and qlutes (the hill climbers) started to ache. I found my body trying to convince my mind that it would be okay to stop. This was a little frustrating as I thought I had mastered mind over body.

When I finally went to the car, I had completed a 6-mile run, a little faster than my last 6-mile run on the Blvd and I was pleased. I had lost my appetite, my legs ached, I picked up an unplanned mile on Thursday and I had recycle in the car to unload.......yeah. Lots of excuses for not running 7-miles, but in truth, I was just ready to be done. Although 7-miles was my personal qualifier to sign up for The Knoxville Track Club Strawberry Plains 10K on February 16th, I have decided that 6-miles is good enough. The race application goes in the mail on Monday. Just hope I can convince John to take few hours of his Saturday morning to stand in the cold and be my support team.

Use of Earphones STRONGLY Discouraged!

My iPod now contains over 2 hours of music, some 33 songs of various length and all with the right beat to keep my feet moving. Recently I have been craving variety and shuffling what I have isn't satisfying the crave. Unfortunately, I am about out of ideas for new tunes. While asking what others are listening to seems like the best idea, I am afraid to ask anyone under say, 40, because I probably wouldn't recognize their artists of choice. When did I get this old?

Concerning iPod use, I have been reading the application for the Strawberry Plains 1/2 Mary and 10k. It notes that "use of earphones and headsets is STRONGLY discouraged." While I understand the logic of the request, I have some concerns. The guys on the front lines, the fast runners, will be finished with the race, high fiving and stuffing down pancakes long before I reach the halfway point. Lets face it, I am slow. While the scenery will be new and interesting, my mind is going to need some distraction from the time and discomfort. So the question for me is, do I run with the iPod and one earphone or try to struggle through without?

New Slideshow Addition to Smithposts....

In the past few days, I have made some adjustments to Smithposts.... Like the new slideshow? Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to shuffle so the show will always open with the same photo unless I go into the sight and change the order. Oh well, I enjoy the process of selecting pictures to add. After 8 years of traveling together, John and I have many great memories in photos.

On the running side of life, another trip to the gym today. Felt great, put in a nice 6 -mile run at a slightly faster than usual pace. For every bad day (yesterday), there is a good day and today was good. I am paying for it tonight, moving like an old woman. Means tomorrow has the potential to be another bad day even with only 3-miles on schedule. I certainly am looking forward to Saturday so I can get off the dreadmill and run outside!

When all else fails......count!

After a break yesterday, today it was back to the gym to pound out 4-miles on the treadmill. How hard can that be? Well, some days are good running days and some days are bad, today was bad. My body didn't feel right and I never fell into a rhythm but nevertheless, I had 4-miles to run. So what is a person to do?

Listening to the iPod while mindlessly scanning the TV bank got me through miles 1-3, but mile 4 was a little iffy. I finally resorted to a trick I use to climb mountains, counting steps. This practice takes my mind off the difficulty of the task at hand and focused on steps and numbers. I have also been known to utilize another method of distraction, singing. But not at the gym, just ask anyone who knows me,I can't carry a tune! Mile 4 complete, number of steps...a lot.

And do I have a sign on my back, "Use the treadmill beside me if you intend to use your cell" ? The gym is still crowded with New Year's resolutioners but there were several treadmills open today. Some girl climbed on the machine next to me, turned up the speed and proceeded to make a phone call. Sheesh, don't know if I was more irritated by the phone call or the fact that she could run so fast and still carry on a phone conversation.

Dinner with Kim and Chef Will

Friday night dinner was deeee-licious. It was a middle East meet Italy evening as Will dished up big, steaming platefuls of eggplant pasta served with artisian bread and an Olive Garden salad. I certainly put away more than enough pasta to fuel my Saturday morning run!

On the agenda with dinner, some discussions about our travel plans for 2008. While plans are still in the works, we are looking at some weekend backpacks to Savage Gulf and Shennandoah National Park and possibly a trip to Egypt (if not this year, definitely next). Stay tuned, more to come.

Will took several photos Friday night and I have included them below. We are a fine looking group....

Kim in her fabulous red dress, wearing Will's yellow Rubbermaids. He is very lucky to have such attractive, able kitchen help!

Me watching Will cook!

John and me. I need to loose the reading glasses around the neck. I look like someone's great aunt Effie!

Another great picture of Kim

Will, who is becoming quite a chef in his retirement. We are always happy recipients of his efforts.

Thanks for the evening Will and Kim!

A Brick....of sorts

John and I agree that I am a better bicycler than runner (read: stronger, faster). The problem is, I prefer to run and haven't been paying much attention to the bike recently so I was feeling particularly whimpy when we went to ride laps on Cherokee Blvd today.

My hill skills are weak and the loop we rode included the first large hill on the Blvd. While riding at a decent pace on the flats and small hills, my gears maxed out as we began the big climb. Ouch! I have some work to do! We knocked off a slow 11.6-miles in 50 minutes and I jumped off the bike to run while John continued riding...at a much faster pace.

John and his very new (yesterday) bicycle. This is the replacement for the bike that was destroyed in his September accident.

I am told that running after bicycling is called a "brick." The reason for this is that when you try to run after bicycling, your legs feel like bricks. Amen!! Several weeks ago I tried to run after my ride and got through a very painful 1/2-mile. Today I planned to run 2-miles after the ride and I was determined to be successful.

The run started out awkard and shakey, my legs just wouldn't respond to my efforts. I am sure I looked as funny as my legs felt cause the motion was that of a waddle. Somewhere after the first mile things began to feel better and finally around the 1.75 mile marker, I got my running legs back. It did feel good to hit 2.0-miles and stop!

Ugh! That's some helmet, running hair!

On another note, we went to see "Bucket List" last night. While I boo-hoo'd at the end, the film was good and the international scenery great. With Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, it is a must see film. Wow, 2 films in 1 week, that is big for us.

Winter Running

Today's running schedule said 7 miles so I laced up pair A running shoes and headed out to Cherokee Blvd to give it my best go. With a 38 F temperature and a "feels like" 32 F, my biggest concern was what to wear. Haven't done much winter running in say, well, the last 10 years but I made some very good clothing choices and.... some bad ones.

Lacking in official running gear, I dug into my camping clothes and pulled out a long underwear top, fleece vest and fleece tights. Award for "Best Item" goes to a pair of Smart Wool running socks. With breezy vents on top of running shoes, these socks kept my tootsies nice and cozy. "Worst Item" ....my long underwear top. I am a hot runner and by mile 5, I felt like a furnace. The tights were great and the vest worked okay (lots of pockets to tuck phone, emergency

number, gloves, fleece headband and such, causing me to look an extra 10-15 pounds heavier).

Aside from clothing lessons, I also learned another lesson....remember to check your gear before you go out the door. My sun glasses broke while trying to straighten them in the car and I could not get my watch set to time my run. This last issue was a good thing. Being a slow chick, I probably didn't need to know how slow I was running, might have been a bit discouraging.

As for the run, miles 1-6 went great, mile 7, complete but not so pretty. I was happy to hear "We Are the Champions" on my iPod about 6.5, the song put a little kick in my step and got me home. I wonder, am I becoming an iPod addict?

Spirit of the Marathon

Tonight John, Will, Kim and I went see "Spirit of the Marathon." The film was scheduled in a limited number of cities for a one night showing, 01-24-08. Knoxville, like many cities across the country, sold out before the day of the show.

The film features 6 runners- 2 elite, 2 repeat marathoners and 2 new marathoners. The story line, through the voices of the athletes, tells how each came to the point of running the 2005 Chicago Marathon and follows their training and running the marathon. It is a story of dedication, pain, injury and success, and is very motivational. Eight thumbs up from the 4 of us!

Back to the Gym

Determined not to go more than 3 consecutive days without a run (Saturday's 1.5-mile doesn't really count), I slinked into the gym this evening to put a few more miles on my new Asics 2130's. Actually I wore pair A, a Christmas gift from John, while pair B, a Christmas gift from-to me, remained in the closet for tomorrow's effort.

The gym this time of the year is quite crowded. People are on their 3rd week of that popular "get in shape" New Year's resolution and are still pretty dedicated so I had a short wait for an open treadmill. When one became available, I turned on my iPod, cranked up the treadmill speed and suffered through a couple of painful miles. Somewhere around mile 2, a women climbed on the treadmill next to me, put on her iPod, picked up her phone and started a loud conversation about car issues....so loud that I could hear the conversation over Pink's "Get the Party Started" blasting in my ear. Irritation was my first reaction, then I got mad. When I get mad, I run harder and the run gets easier.

So I guess I should thank her. I completed 4 miles at a moderately fast pace and felt great after the run. Not bad for a girl still suffering from the effects of the weekend backpack, suffering so much that after the run I had to cling to the bannister to get down 10 steps to the first floor of the gym.

On another note, with the inclement weather, the bird feeders in my yard stayed pretty busy. At one point I counted 14 cardinals stationed around the green feeder, waiting to swoop in for a sunflower seed snack. Sometime late in the afternoon, I looked up from my computer and saw no birds. Then I spied a magnifiacent hawk perched in the ash tree near my window, looking for a snack of his own. He stayed around for a few minutes but it took about 30 for the smaller birds to return to feeding. Below are a few pictures from today:

Post Backpack Recovery

I have been moving slow for the past 48 hours, the proverbial "licking my wounds". Wicked downhills on Frozen Head's Chimney Top Trail kicked my butt, or at least bested my calves and quads. While today's running schedule puts me back on the treadmill for a 5-mile run, the dismal icy weather conditions have provided an excellent excuse to put the run off for another 24 hours, or at least until after work.

Frozen Head Backpack

Every year we look forward to the Sierra Club annual winter backpack. Some years the weather is warm, but this year did not disappoint, the trip provided as much cold weather as we could stand.

Hike leader Ron Shrieves had scheduled the bp for Frozen Head State Park in the Cumberland Mountains. His original plan was to leave Oak Ridge at 8:30 AM for a 30 minute drive and six mile hike to Tubb Springs campsite. John and I were concerned about his shoulder; he had not carried a backpack since his bicycle accident in mid-September. We also though that 8:30 was a very early departure for a six mile hike, especially with the anticipated frigid conditions. We conferred with Will Skelton and all decided to leave Knoxville at 12:30 PM, hike the 3.5-mile North Old Mac Trail and meet the group at the campsite.

Ron's group plans changed to a later departure and changed again when signing in at the Visitor's Center where he learned that the campsite was full. The group was assigned to the Mart Fields campsite via the Spicewood Trail and Ron notified us of the changes by cell. We left Knoxville as planned and started hiking at 2:18 PM (we got lost on the way to the trailhead but don't ask).

Will on the corridor trail that eventually turned into the Spicewood Trail

The Spicewood Trail was a gradual incline that stretched over 3.9 miles. I should say the trail was billed as "gradual", in reality it climbed almost 500' per mile. It was a pleasant hike. We figured the temperature was below freezing but the climbing kept us warm.

John on the Spicewood Trail, stopping for a snack and to zip up against the light wind

John's shoulder did just fine. The hike took a little longer than expected but we could smell the campfire before we could see the campsite so the anticipation helped push us through the final uphill climb. We arrived about 5:00 PM and were pleased to discover a large flat site on the top of the mountain with incredible views on both sides. Ron and group (Steve Harvey, Linda Morrison, Marti Hands and Terri Cox) had their tents set up and were sitting around a roaring campfire. We were surprised to learn that they had arrived only 30 minutes or so before us.

A sunset worth braving the cold

We had a simple but delicious dinner: pine nut couscous with grilled chicken and fresh spinach. It was filling and didn't make much mess. By the time we settled down to dinner, the temps were in the mid to low 20's and a slight breeze blew swirling the campfire smoke around the campsite. By this time, I was wearing long underwear, a fleece vest, fleece jacket, down jacket, 2 sets of gloves, 2 pair of socks, fleece pants, Will's old down booties, a wool hat and the hood from my down jacket to block the gusts of wind. It was cold!

Ron sitting around the campfire. Terri Cox in the back with the blue jacket

The campfire with John's crocs and Will's new booties. Face behind the smoke are Steve (standing) and Linda (sitting).

The group called it a night around 9:00 PM. Even with the fire, it was cold and we were ready to crawl in our warm sleeping bags. Most of our cameras were acting temperamental in the cold.

Chimney Top ridge trail

Morning arrived too soon and it was time to climb out of my nice, warm sleeping bag. John had crawled out of his sleeping bag a few minutes earlier and started heating hot water for drinks and breakfast. Yeah John! It snowed lightly overnight and we were informed that the temp had dropped to 5 F, probably 0 F with windchill. My feet and hands suffered greatly, a not so gentle reminder that I need to come up with a better cold weather system for both.

We hiked out on the Chimney Top trail. It is a 4.9 mile killer trail. I found this description of the trail on a website describing the 7 significant trails in Frozen Head.

"The Frozen Head trail map describes Chimney Top trail as difficult with 3,460' of elevation gain/loss. They got that part correct: It is very difficult and includes two major climbs and descents (more than 1,000' elev. change each) plus several more minor ones. Some grades are in excess of 20%. Better eat your Wheaties and leave that heavy pack at home. Take plenty of water and energy snacks."

Well, we had to carry our heavy packs. It was very cold and we never really warmed up. The visitors center came into sight long after we expected, almost 4 hours after we left the campsite. We were very happy to be off the trail and in a the warm car driving home.

The Chimney Top trail is named for some incredible rock formations along the way. This is just one of many. Additional pictures of the rocks and other pictures from the trip are located at this link ( click on Outdoors and Frozen Head) http://smithposts.smugmug.com/

A very cold me along the Chimney Trail, and yes, we had just climbed straight up the ridge in the back of the picture, no switchbacks here!

Ice on one of the rock formations.

Getting Ready for Backpack #64

Based on my actions this evening, one would think I have never been on a backpack. But here I am getting ready for my 64th backpack and I can't remember what I need. Blame it on my "advanced" age, the missing backpack list or the stresses involved with moving my mother from assisted living to a nursing home, but things are just not coming together for me.

The simple solution is to take everything I own, but this is surely a slap to the face of the ultra lighters who preach "weight, weight, weight." Hmmm, the weather channel is predicting a low of 15 F with the "feels like" down to 7 F. Ultra lighters consider yourselves slapped! In the pack goes the bulky down jacket, fleece jacket, fleece vest, fleece pants, fleece sleeping bag liner, rain pants, jacket and gaiters, glove liners, gloves, hat, fleece neck gaiter....."warm, warm, warm."

Back to Mayberry

I slipped in and out of Mt A this week, after an absence of over 2 months. I enjoyed being back in an office atmosphere and catching up with people I haven't seen in a while. My favorite thing about Mt A is that it changes very little. I can count on seeing the same friendly faces in my favorite places and being greeted by name like I was there last week.

Food and Friends

After a year of little participation in Sierra Club board meetings and activities, I attended yesterday's annual planning retreat as a regular "member". This is the first year since 1998, that I have not served on the board but work related travel has resulted in many misses of board obligations. I enjoyed the meeting, chatting with people I haven't seen in a while and of course the potluck dinner, which was delish. Too bad for the people who wimped out early and went home directly after the meeting.

Below are a few pictures from the dinner:

Kim and Barbara....Barbara is sporting a hat to cover what she calls, a very short hair cut, we think she looks cute!

One of many great food choices...this is lima beans, olives, pepper and spices

John and me

Will and Kim with Bob in the background

Priscilla, John and Kim

David and Barbara

New Year's Day 5K

Today I ran my first 5k in over 6 years. Though slow, the effort was remarkable to me. Over the past years, I have drifted away from dedicated running. Long (and for me, slow) distances, take much time and effort. With a lot of encouragement from John, I put my running shoes back on in late October and hit the hills in my neighborhood and the treadmill at the gym. The running went well, so late in December I decided to sign up for the New Year's Day 5K.

"Timed running" or racing, for me, means high anxiety and this morning was no exception. John drove me to the race so I couldn't back out and it was a good thing! Once the gun went off, I relaxed and enjoyed the experience. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed it so much that I signed up for the Knoxville Marathon 5K in March!