Hello Again!

This is Erik here. For those of you unaware of what I've been doing the past 7 years, I've been busy with my own blog over at Problems, Predicaments, and Technology™, along with a host of other projects, trips, and Living Now. I've also learned a considerable amount since I last posted here.

Speaking of Living Now, I wanted to spend more time on this topic by simply sharing pictures and stories. One might ask why I feel compelled to do this. The reason is pretty simple for me - civilizational collapse is occurring all around us. For those who want to know what collapse is, this article explains. To get a good idea of the posts there which explain why I think sharing pictures and stories will help, check out the Table of Contents.

I have a considerable amount of catching up to do now, since I have taken thousands of pictures since I last posted here. Most of these pictures have been posted in a group I run on Facebook and several have been posted in my articles and pages in my blog, but now I am going to feature them here along with background stories. Please feel free to join me!

I will, for my first post in eons here, highlight my recent trip; especially the hikes, which were more of a focus on this trip.

The most strenuous hike was the Arrowhead Trail to the Ann Bailey Tower at Watoga State Park in West Virginia. This trail is very steep for most of the way with a couple of more moderate sections. It rises from the Riverside Campground about a mile to the tower with some beautiful sections and the view from the tower is spectacular! I am including pictures from this hike here; subsequent hikes listed below will have separate posts with their pictures in those posts.

The second most strenuous hike was the Roanoke Mountain Loop which once could be driven up (indeed, I drove up to the top in 2010) but has been closed since 2018 due to mudslide according to multiple accounts. I looked for evidence of a slide but found none. 2 miles up and 2 miles back down the mountain was a good workout with some awesome views of the Roanoke area. 

[Roanoke Mountain Loop post]

The Falls of Hills Creek in West Virginia does take time with some 380-400 steps to climb down and then back up. Awesome scenery abounds here, but be careful on the wooden sections of stairs which can be wet and slippery. The top falls and middle falls out of the three different falls here are nothing fancy or spectacular, but the bottom falls (63 feet) are worth the trip.

[The Falls of Hills Creek post]

The hiking at Amicalola Falls in Georgia can be strenuous to moderate, depending on whether one climbs the stairs or drives to the top of the falls. I started at the bottom trailhead and made my way up the concrete sidewalk to the base of the falls and then came back to the trailhead to drive up to the top. Then I drove back down to the trailhead at about the midpoint of the drive down the mountain where another trail takes one to the middle of the falls. The first hike was strenuous going up; the latter two hikes were quite easy. The falls are very spectacular and definitely worth the time spent getting to them.

[Amicalola Falls post]

The Stone Tower and West Overlook Trail which goes to the top of Fort Mountain in Georgia was pretty strenuous going up but quite pleasurable on the return trip. The view at the overlook is nothing short of breathtaking! The Stone Tower has no access, which was irritating but understandable. There is also an 855-foot-long rock wall built by the early Indians for what appears to be ceremonial purposes at the top of the mountain. This is similar to Medicine Wheel in Wyoming, but on a much grander scale.

[The Stone Tower and West Overlook Trail post]

Glen Falls on Lookout Mountain above Chattanooga, Tennessee, is a really cool spot to see. It's about 1.2 miles out and back and the trail is a moderate workout. Parking at the trailhead is a bit of a challenge, as there isn't much room and when I was there it was a bit busy. Other than that, this was a very pleasurable spin on the way up to the top of the mountain.

[Glen Falls post]

Two other fairly strenuous hikes were the Listening Rock Trail at Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia and the Mitchell Ridge Trail at Pike Lake State Park in Ohio with the latter trail in quite poor shape with lots of trees down and the trail in the process of growing shut. Also, beware of poison ivy everywhere on the latter trail along with warnings posted for ticks.

[Listening Rock Trail post]

[Mitchell Ridge Trail post]

The Boardwalk at Cranberry Glades in West Virginia takes one through the bog there, and the trail is almost completely flat and easy to walk. It is a refreshing excursion through some gorgeous areas and a creek (Yew Creek) runs through it!

[Boardwalk at Cranberry Glades post]

The weather on this trip was notable for one thing in particular - rain, and lots of it. Still, despite the prediction for rain for 3/4 of the days, most of those days ended up being mostly dry although cloudy and/or foggy. The temperatures were highly variable, normal for spring, and actually fairly comfortable. Highs in the afternoons were anywhere from the upper 50s to the low 80s (Fahrenheit) and lows from right around 40 to right around 68. As I noted in the PPT blog, extreme weather events were also a feature on the trip, although luckily none of these events involved us or caused any severe issues for us.

Overall, this was two and a half weeks of mostly pure pleasure - hiking, reading, and relaxing with music. I hope you enjoyed this; comments on whether I should continue these posts are appreciated!