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  1. #31
    Senior Member
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    What a pretty little ditch.

    I pulled in at the Pinchin Trailhead on Monday evening just as the sun was setting. A beautiful sunset to the West, unfortunately, left the Pinchin trail fully dark in about 10 minutes so I just hung my hammock about 100 yards down the hill and watched the lights around Lake James and Morganton before turning in.

    Tuesday broke cloudy with a definite threat of rain. After a quick trip back up to the car for a more leisurely gear check I headed down Pinchin. What a beautiful trail. Steep, yes, but never so much as to require butt sliding. Even with the recent burn and without a single switchback I didn't see any erosion on the trail. The vistas were non-stop looking north and south. Every 100 yards or so I'd stop and stare and curse the gray clouds. Had it been sunny and blue skyed I'd likely have burned through all my camera batteries before I reached the bottom of the gorge. Even in muted light with a light drizzle the trail was a treat that time of year.



    But the siren call of the roaring river kept pulling me downward. Or maybe that was just gravity. The clouds lowered and the rain kicked into full as I reached the gorge floor. Coming down Pinchin I spotted a couple of landmarks I could use to gauge progress up the river: The chimneys and Table Rock across the river. Of course once it started raining I couldn't see anything across the river so there went that plan out the window.

    On the map the gorge trail north from Pinchin to Conley looked like a nice, flat, easy 3 mile riverside ramble. Maps lie. I'll stipulate that the distance was indeed only 3 miles (3 LOOOONNGG miles) but that was a seriously rugged trail. A scenic trail, along a wild river in a beautiful gorge with colorful foliage and all that good stuff, but SERIOUSLY rugged.

    Rain, slick rock, wet leaves, out of shape middle aged hiker - it's an old story and you've all probably heard versions of it over and over. It usually ends with a particularly gruesome self amputation or a taxpayer funded helicopter ride. It's also a story best told by someone with health insurance so don't expect me to spin that tale. I took those three miles sloowwwly and carefully. 4 1/2 hours to cover three miles? I ain't proud. Or broken.

    Just as I was wondering just how much further I'd have to poke along in the rain I rounded a last outcrop and saw my goal: the hidden tribe of the hamakahangas - the mythical men who sew. They certainly set up in a lovely spot. 15 minutes later I had hung my tarp and hammock, changed into dry clothes and felt at home among kindred spirits. Couldn't have picked a better spot.

    What a great group of people. You figure it's a pretty self selecting sub sample of the human population. People with good taste in sleeping arrangements who value wilderness enough to hike into a primitive campsite in the middle of the week in the rain are the kind of people with whom I try to associate. You just assume that since they have good taste about so many of life's important issues they'll have good taste in the rest. And, with the unfortunate exception of that grainy, gray emetic known as Livermush it's true.


    A word about Livermush: I tried it, I swallowed a bite, I kept it down. I ain't proud. I ain't that hungry, either. I wrapped up the rest of that livermush biscuit and hid it behind the firewood pile.

    I spent the rest of the glorious Wednesday just kind of hanging around. Dried gear, read my book, walked a little bit upriver (not far) and engaged in some serious hydrological observations. At one point I actually observed the river change pitch and color for a minute (from a muted brownish-green to a subdued greenish-brown) and was all excited to witness this natural phenomenon until I realized that Hawk-eye had discovered my hidden livermush biscuit and tossed the mush into the river to feed the trout. I'd have expected a stronger reaction from the river.

    I was dreading hiking back up to the road on Thursday. My experience with the Gorge's trails to that point had me expecting a long, steep bushwhack over rocks and laurel. I was wrong (again.) The Conley trail was just this side of being ADA compliant. I got to the top and still had a walking itch in my legs so I kept my hitchin' thumb in my pocket and road walked back to the Pinchin Trailhead. I ran into millergear along the way. He had just come up Pinchin after wrestling through the three miles of the gorge trail the previous day and was about to Rock Jock his way back to Conley.

    I was in the car and headed back to flatland by 1. One last look behind me showed sun breaking through the high clouds and the gorge filled with brilliant reds and oranges and rocks. Beautiful. I'll be back.

  2. #32
    slowhike's Avatar
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    You've got some nice pictures there MillerGear! What kind of camera did you use?
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  3. #33
    slowhike's Avatar
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    More fine photos & description seuss! Good to see you again.
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  4. #34
    Senior Member Hawk-eye's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by seuss View Post
    .... I rounded a last outcrop and saw my goal: the hidden tribe of the hamakahangas - the mythical men who sew.
    Ha ... that's great! Quite a way with words there Seuss!

    Good meeting you even with your questionable taste in food!

    Most excellent report! Great shots by the way ... love that last one!

    WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.


    "A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
    Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin


    Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
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  5. #35
    Senior Member millergear's Avatar
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    "You've got some nice pictures there MillerGear! What kind of camera did you use?"

    Thanks, It's a Sony Cyber Shot 7.2. Very light, with on screen instructions an idiot could follow. But I just set it on auto pointed and shot.
    I THOUGHT GETTING OLDER WOULD TAKE MUCH LONGER.

  6. #36
    Senior Member JerryW's Avatar
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    After a stop over in Kentucky to visit relatives yesterday, I made it home this evening. What a trip! It was long, over 1600 miles total, but it was worth every mile!

    The Gorge is an amazing place! There is an unbelievable amount of scenery packed into this place. It was even more beautiful with all the trees in full fall color. I know this wasn't my last trip to the Linville Gorge Wilderness. There are too many places that still need exploring for me.

    Thanks to slowhike, Hawk-eye and Ken for spearheading this whole trip! If not for you guys I never would have known the wonders of Linville Gorge.

    Thanks to stormcrow for starting that fire Tuesday night! Going to bed warm and dry after a rainy day was great.

    Thanks to Shug for patrolling the Mountain to Sea Trail until we met Thursday night. Hooty Hoo and Whooo Buddy! And thanks for some great evening conversation. The clown/entertainer is only one tiny portion of this man! I'm happy to call him a friend.

    Thanks to everyone who made it to the Gorge. You all made it special for me and I'm glad to have met all of you.

    And lastly, thanks to Hammock Forums! Without this happy place I never would have made all of these new friends.

    I've got a set of 152 photos and one short video clip on my Flickr site.

    Check it out here.

    If I mislabeled anyone or anyplace, let me know and I'll fix it up. All photos are clickable to get to the large, original sizes.

    And here's a few small teasers:
    Looking south:


    stormcrow and Tablerock:


    Linville River:


    Jerry

    P.S. - Full pics and instructions for the "Jerry Chair" will be posted SOON!
    Last edited by JerryW; 10-31-2009 at 23:32.
    The "Search" function is your friend!

  7. #37
    slowhike's Avatar
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    Nice Jerry... very nice!
    I too will something make and joy in it's making

  8. #38
    Senior Member Hawk-eye's Avatar
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    Great series of shots Jerry ... I love seeing the gorge through other folks eyes. Glad you got to experience it. Hope to meet you there again in the future!

    WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.


    "A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
    Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin


    Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
    My Videos YouTube Channel
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  9. #39
    Senior Member Hawk-eye's Avatar
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    Thumbs up Head count ...

    Just a head count (19)... for the main camp in Linville Gorge

    Hanging Burrito
    Running Feather
    JerryW
    Mac-Entyre
    Headcase
    Stormcrow
    Thr33
    Shug
    The Turk
    Hicks
    Capital Bill
    Ongs-Hat
    Millergear
    Ken
    Slowhike
    Mtncamper
    Nooner
    Seuss
    Hawk-eye

    WARNING: Will discuss Rhurbarb Strawberry Pie and Livermush at random.


    "A democracy is two wolves and a small lamb voting on what to have for dinner.
    Freedom under a constitutional republic is a well armed lamb contesting the vote." ... B.Franklin


    Home of the Gorge Rats: Linville Gorge
    My Videos YouTube Channel
    Photo collections Flickr Photostream


    Gorge Rat Productions On FaceBook

  10. #40
    Senior Member Running Feather's Avatar
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    This just keeps getting better. All of the above - kudos!!!
    Suess, I've set that amazing pic as wallpaper, thanks.
    2015 John Rock Spreadsheet.

    "If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing you should do is STOP DIGGING "

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