Hiking in the Mountains -- Spring 2009 Cherohala Skyway

One of the things Phil and I enjoy most about being at our cabin in North Georgia is being able to take walks in the woods. Since buying the cabin, I have dealt with problems that prevented my taking long walks -- first an arthritic hip that finally was replaced and then a pesky stress fracture in my foot that took nearly two years to heal. Now that I can walk comfortably again we are combining our hobbies of geocaching, bird watching and wildflower identification once again with physical conditioning.

Cherohala Skyway North Carolina to Tennessee, May 30

1. Spirit Ridge Accessible Trail .7 mi RT

Rhododendron Phil at Overlook

Teeth of the Lion

2. Huckleberry Knob -- Geocaching and Hike 2.61 miles

Phil heads off the end of the world

This trail, an old road, took us up 300 ft. to 5500 ft -- we were higher than Denver. Two lumberjacks in 1899 are remembered here on top where they froze after too much whiskey.

View from the top

3. Mud Gap Trialhead .7
We chose to walk a bit here because it included a little bit of the new addition to the Benton MacKaye Trail.

In keeping with our gruesome meanderings, we stopped at a memorial to a"an unknown man killed by the Kirkland Bushwackers."