Fri, Jun 5 2009 - Nat'l Trails Day Hiking Weekend at the Historic Swan Cabin (View Original Event Details)
|  |
A friendly and energetic group of 15 AOCers enjoyed a wonderful weekend of hiking, campfire-side merriment and delicious cookouts & breakfasts on our Club’s third trip to the historic Swan Cabin in the Joyce Kilmer Wilderness. We were pleased to have among us two newcomers to the AOC for whom this was their first Club event: Aline Talmage and Justin Farrar. We’re proud to have participated wholeheartedly in volunteer projects associated with National Trails Day, Saturday June 6th, including trail maintenance & litter cleanup during our Saturday hike to Stratton Bald and Hangover and beautifying the Swan Cabin grounds by planting several new plants including a small fig tree beside the stump of the gigantic 400-year-old red oak that had died and fallen beside the patio in 2003.
All fifteen of us arrived by about 10:00PM Friday night in about 7 different carpool groups facilitated expertly in advance by our trip co-leader, Angela Nelson. After a light sprinkle early Friday evening the weather cooperated beautifully all weekend, with a bright full moon casting its haunting glow on the split-rail-fenced yard both nights as we relaxed around the campfire. Nighttime lows were ideal for sleeping -- about 50 degrees both nights, with daytime highs in the mid-70s. Just four or five of us chose to sleep inside the Cabin, with the others finding great spots for their tents in the adjoining yard and meadow.
Saturday morning after a gigantic breakfast by the campfire, we took a 10-minute walk to the Cabin’s own waterfall along a path through a rhododendron thicket. Along the way we got practice with our hedge clippers removing branches that had overgrown badly across the path. After a few photos at the falls, we located the “geocache” that is hidden to the right of the falls under a big tree growing out of a rock.
After a brief break, at about 11:00 AM fourteen of us embarked on our big hike of the weekend: First we headed westward and northward from the Cabin, ascending about 1000 feet in elevation to the bald end of Stratton Bald, where we took some photos and had lunch. We then hiked eastward along Stratton Bald’s ridge. During these sections of trail our hedge clippers again came in handy for trimming the spiny blackberry fronds that jut out into the trail at numerous places. At the Naked Ground/ Wolf Laurel junction we split into two groups of seven: one group hiked the additional 2.5 miles to the scenic “Hangover” overlook and back while the other seven of us hiked on back down to the Wolf Laurel trailhead and back to the Cabin via Forest Service Road 81F. Total hike mileages for the day were about 14 for the Hangover group and 9 for the rest of us. Thanks to Phyllis and Rachel for picking up about 30 pounds of litter during their hike (predominantly along the Forest Service road) and to Janice for “minding the store” for us all day back at the Cabin.
After a brief but well-deserved “R&R” session Saturday afternoon we all enjoyed happy hour and hors d’oeuvres by the fire followed by a giant “potluck” cookout feast that included steak, BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, baked beans, salads, grilled veggies, and much more. Our campfire session this time included a sing-along and joke session around the fire.
Sunday morning we enjoyed another huge breakfast including hot coffee, eggs, bacon, pastries and fresh cantaloupe & watermelon. Thanks to Trish for treating us to delicious blueberry-pecan pancakes! After a few group photos on the sunny “chimney end” of the Cabin, our carpool groups went their separate ways en route home with some groups enjoying nice visits to Bald River Falls in nearby Tennessee and a scenic drive over the Cherohala Skyway.
Thanks to the many in our group who shot fantastic pics throughout the weekend including lots of candid shots in the Cabin yard and atop Stratton Bald and Hangover. Check out the attached links to all those great photos.
—Post-trip write-up by Event Co-Leader, Charlie Cottingham
Calendar of Events
Event Places