On Friday, June 4, I met MedicineMam, MillerGear and new-to-hanging LDCakes at Louise's Rockhouse Restaurant in Linville Falls, NC. After dinner, we parked at Spence and walked a quarter mile to the camp site where Hedcase and Skippy spent the night before Tinker's hike a couple of weeks ago. The next day, we were supposed to meet another new HFer, Legs, but he had car trouble and did not make it.
We hiked down the ridge to Chimney Gap, passing around Table Rock Mountain, and over the Chimneys. Along the trail, MedicineMan showed us several varieties of plants. Then MedicineMan guarded the Chimney Gap camp while MillerGear and I hiked on to the south end of Shortoff, where we located the Watertree, a spring that emits from under a tree.
In the second video you will see that Shortoff provides the best views of the gorge to the north. Also, note that MillerGear and I hiked for 8 hours, a distance of about ten miles over pretty rugged terrain... and that 71 year old kept up with me every step of the way! He says he's slowing down, but I'm the one who was confined to the hammock with cramps at the end of the day.
The Watertree and the views were well worth the hike. Shortoff is interesting because it is recovering from fire, and the trail is difficult to follow in many places.
At the end of Part 2, there is a treat for OldGringo.
Spence to Shortoff in Search of the Watertree - Part 1
Spence to Shortoff in Search of the Watertree - Part 2
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks