Not Our Usual "Weekend Adventure"

Wow. It really was just as amazing as I thought it would be. We kinda last minute decided to drive up for the week. My wife's family lives near D.C. and her sister and brother were both visiting from far off lands, so we decided to make it a "two birds with one stone" trip. Once we decided we were going to go, I really started to get excited about the whole thing. The media coverage was unprecedented. The crowd estimates, if they held, were to be larger than anything else that had ever taken place in D.C. And that's quite a history of events. I couldn't wait to be a part of history.

We showed up the weekend before and the weather had been brutal. Wind chills were below zero. Snow was falling. It was cold. VERY cold. I hoped that it would warm up, and it did. It got into the thirties for the first time all week on Inauguration Day. Boy, didn't I feel lucky. We had to wake up at about 2:30 that morning. The plan was to be at the Metro station by 3:30. We would hopefully unload near the Mall around 5:00 a.m. and be in place before 6:00. Everything went pretty smooth. The crowds at the Metro station were brutal and so were the masses moving from the Metro to the Capitol. Luckily, once we actually got out onto the Mall (after security detoured us all the way around the Capitol) things weren't as bad as I expected. We moved to a decent spot with a nice view of the Capitol. Considering it was still well before 6 in the morning, some might have hoped for a closer seat, but it was better than I expected.

Here we were, at 5 something in the morning and the wind chills were in the single digits. There was nothing to do to warm up, yet people from all over the world were moving in tight for, at best, a lousy view of the event. Already I was struck with amazement. Everything to this point had given all these people every reason in the world to be ticked. No sleep. Terrible weather. Huge crowds. A crappy view. But everyone I saw had a smile on there face, and wouldn't have rather been anywhere in the world.



So there we were perched comfortably (relatively) between the Capitol and the Washington Monument. The Capitol was glowing in the night. It was kinda surreal (a theme for this whole experience). The monument stood behind us, and already the crowds stretched past it, on to the reflecting pool.



Finally, after 2+ hours of standing in the dark cold with nothing to do but take in the surroundings, the jumbo-trons came to life. They started playing clips from the concert that was held in front of the Lincoln Memorial two days before. The music was, to me, the greatest part of the day. I wished so bad we had came down for it. There were some of the biggest names in music, traveling across the country and singing (usually just one song) for little to nothing, except for the chance to say that they were there. Garth Brooks absolutely brought the house down. He sang Don McLean's "American Pie". Nearly the whole crowd was singing and dancing along. Then he went to exit the stage, because up to this point all the artists only sang one song. He paused right at the edge of stage and belted, "waaaaiaaaiaaat a miiiiinute...you know you make me wanna SHOUT!" The crowd absolutely came unglued. People everywhere were jumping and singing along. There I was, a guy you will never catch dead dancing in public, throwing my hands in the air singing and hopping around like a high school cheerleader. He had almost everyone there singing and dancing together. It, again, was surreal. The song ended and everyone clapped and laughed with each other, even people they obviously didn't know. From then on the cold weather was only an afterthought. I was witnessing history.

You can imagine what the rest of the event was like. The crowd was on edge waiting for Obama to show up. Every time the live cameras shot him moving through the building the crowd would go crazy, even though were introducing some Congressman no one had ever heard of. When he got his final introduction, the screams went to a higher, louder level. Then finally, for what was a lifetime of waiting for some of the wheelchair-bound people near me, Obama was officially sworn in. When they finally said "Congratulations, Mr. President," I think every foot on the Mall left the ground. He then gave a speech that had 2 million people begging for more. After the fact, I was looking through my pictures and realized that I had snapped a photo of everything that happened that day, but during the swearing in and Obama's speech, I was so caught up in everything I didn't get a single picture of him. I mean really, it was that surreal. I'll remember it for the rest of my life.

*for an interesting international perspective on the event, you can click the title of this blog and it will take you to a website by the BBC with some interesting comments.

Panther Creek Falls

Dennis sent me a text message about two weeks ago. It read, "Man, I wanna go backpacking!" He hadn't been out since back in the fall when I took him to the Golden Corner of South Carolina for his first backpacking trip. (See the "Another Lifer" entry for more details). I had just finished reading Backpacker Magazine's entry on what was voted the best hike in Georgia, Panther Creek Falls (click on the title of this blog for a link to their website's trail description). So we set it up, and Monday after some early morning appointments we both had, we headed off.

We got to the trailhead a little later than I planned. The last thing I wanted to do was finish the hike and set up in the dark. It's just annoying. So, we had 3.6 miles of trail ahead of us and a little less than 2 hours of daylight left. With that in mind, we left the sight-seeing for tomorrow's return hike and kept a steady pace till the falls. We got there in almost exactly an hour. Pretty darn good trail time. We set up and still had a decent amount of sunlight left to soak in the scenery.



Here we all are in front of the tent. Austin is the tan one on the left, then me in the blue, then Star sitting in the middle, then Dennis. The waterfall was so much taller than we expected. The pictures we had seen before didn't make the waterfall appear more than maybe 30 feet high. In actuality the waterfall was all total about 120 feet tall. Even in this picture you can't see the water as it tumbles from around the rock outcrops on the left. At the base of the falls was a really nice sandy area that made for the perfect place to set up camp. The base of the waterfall is a huge breath-taking pool perfect for swimming. No, we didn't swim. It was in the 20's when we got there and got even colder as the night progressed. The creek past the waterfall was littered with car sized boulders. All in all it really was a great spot to set up a tent.


Now, the hike in... well it could have been better. To start, the trailhead was on a busy two-lane road, with room for only three vehicles. When we got there, all three spots were taken. It presented quite the danger opening the hatch of the Jeep and letting the dogs out so close to a busy road (yeah, I forgot their leashes). Right off the bat you have to walk under an overpass while on the trail. Shortly after that you come to a clearing for high rise powerlines, where a huge cable also passes over the creek, protruding from the high creek bank, then disappearing into the other side. There is tons of construction debris from the overpass and trash from passing vehicles. Luckily, you quickly disappear into the thick woods of the Chattahoochee National Forest. The next slight disappointment is that, although the creek rumbled loudly below, you are so far above it and the foliage is so thick, you can't see anything going on in the creek. Finally, after about a mile, you reach the creek's side. By this time the water has calmed down quite a bit. This is when the trail really became enjoyable. There were an alarming number of fallen large timbers, but other than that it was a very scenic trail. There were flat areas for camping all along the bank. A few times the trail rises above the creek, mainly at the numerous sharp bends. During the last mile, the creek begins to give you some hint of what lies ahead. Then finally you start hearing the rumble of Panther Creek Falls. The trail takes you along a rock outcrop that hangs at the very edge above the huge waterfall, where you get a nice view of the camping area below.


Your options once at the campsite are to either continue on the banks of Panther Creek to the eastern terminus at Yonah Camp/Yonah Dam. That is supposed to be another 2 miles or so (I can't verify that because we didn't hike it). Or, of course, backtrack to the main trailhead at the Panther Creek Recreation area. Be prepared for a bit of a climb. 750 feet in all, with most of it coming in that last mile.

3..2..1.. BUNGEEEEE!

The first bungee trip was yet another last minute idea of Greg's. The original plan was to head north from Monterey, CA, to Crater Lake, Oregon. Plans had to change when almost everyone from our group backed out. As usual, we came up with a last minute back up plan, because sitting in the barracks all weekend wasn't a sound option. Bungee America! It was a place in Los Angeles where you first had to hike 5 miles through the Angeles National Forest to "The Bridge To Nowhere". Then you got a class on bungee safety. Then you jumped!


The Bridge To Nowhere is quite the site in itself. The history behind it is back in the 1940s when an attack from Japan on our western shore was a possibility, the government decided they needed an emergency evacuation route for Los Angeles residents. Their answer was a road through this valley through the Angeles National Forest leading further inland. Well, while construction was still going the valley flooded and washed the road out completely. By that time, with the war coming to an end, they decided to abandon the project. The only thing left was this bridge (lucky for us!).

The hike out to the bridge is an adventure in itself. There are something like 5 or 10 river crossings and a few short wooden bridges that seem very questionable. And some spots where a small mis-step could take you 80 feet down to the river bed with likely terrible results. It is extremely scenic. For me, kinda surreal. I mean, 15 minutes before we were parked in some shady grocery store parking lot right outside of the urban sprawl of L.A. Now we seem to be a world away from civilization. And if the awesome hike isn't enough, you get to jump off a bridge at the end!



My first time jumping was back in Fall of 2005. I think October. I remember when we got to the bridge and sat down for the safety course, the first thing they told us was, "You guys don't need to worry, you just survived the most dangerous part of your trip today: the hike!" If I was supposed to feel relieved, I didn't. You see, this whole time I had myself pumped up and ready to jump off the bridge. I had come to terms with it and was really starting to get excited. That all changed instantly when we arrived at the bridge and I took my first look over the rail. We sat around waiting for the rest of the group to show up (some people were really slow hikers). As our safety class went on, I started feeling better and better about jumping. I could do this.


We decided we were going to be in the last group to jump, so we spent the day climbing on rocks and playing in the creek, and watching grown men come almost to tears trying to throw themselves from the bridge. We laughed and had a great time. Then it was our turn. I again felt like I had psyched myself up enough to jump. But then... BAM! As if staring over the railing for the first time wasn't a smack in the face, actually strapping the cord on and trying to step over the railing is a like taking a right hook from Tyson. But standing on the little platform on the other side of the rail, I knew I couldn't let myself freeze up like some of the other guys did. Even though my muscles were giving out and my mind was screaming, "DON'T DO IT!" I refused to be the guy who couldn't jump. "3..2..1..BUNGEE!" Holy Cow! If I tried to describe what it felt like jumping off that bridge, we would be here all day and it still wouldn't do it justice. I'll say it's feeling like you know for sure you are about to die, but you don't. Scary. And the feeling you get when you are finally standing back on the bridge is euphoric.

If you are ever in L.A. and are looking for something to do, look these guys up. You can click on my blog title and it will take you to their website.

So this past October I got another one of those calls from Greg. "Hey man, if you get a plane ticket, bungee and everything else is on me." Since that first trip to "The Bridge To Nowhere", I had been back twice. This trip was going to make it three returns (four total trips). Greg got lucky enough to be stationed in San Diego and he had been back so many times that he was not only on a first name basis with all the guys who worked there, but he was getting to do a lot of special jumps. So our group made it out to the bridge and we had an excellent day of jumping. A lot of the guys had never been before, so it was hilarious watching them freak out trying to jump off the bridge. When it came my turn, they said since I had jumped so many times I could try some of the harder jumps. I got to do a back flip... which is nuts, and, scariest of all, a running start jump. On that one, instead of jumping flat-footed from the platform on the other side of the railing, they let you run from the middle of the bridge and jump the railing as if you were jumping a fence. It was wild.



The above picture is Dani. It was absolutly hysterical watching him jump. If it hadn't been for a 12 year old boy jumping earlier in the day, Dani never would have jumped. But he admitted that since the little boy jumped, he couldn't back out. Once Dani moved over the rail to the jumping platform, it was 4 loooooong minutes before he finally jumped. When he did, we got to see a man who was truly scared out of his misery has he fell to the bottom of the valley. We weren't completely sure that he wasn't going to die of a heart attack on the way down.

We jumped late in the evening and camped right there beside the bridge with one of the bungee employees. It was an awesome night. As the sun went down we got to see a handful of big-horn sheep moving along the ridges high above the bridge. The next morning we packed up and headed out, passing the next day's group of bungee jumpers as they were on their way in. Yeah, we were all jealous.

The Wheels Are In Motion...

I just finished talking to Greg, and it's official. Plans are being made for another week-long excursion. I asked Laura for her blessing on one last week-long hoora before our baby boy arrives. She said yes, so I phoned Greg. As I knew he would, he said,"Let's do it." So, the plan is to get together some time during his spring break and head into the Carolina mountains.

Our adventures like this never, ever disappoint. Let me highlight a few for you. If you check out the side bar, you'll see pictures of things like Death Valley, the Western Continental Divide, the largest tree in the world, Crystal Caves, Badwater Basin, Mt. Whitney, etc. These were ALL accomplished in one amazing three-day weekend. It was the Thursday before Labor Day weekend and I got a call from Greg. "Hey man, you doing anything this weekend?" I said, "No..." He replies, "Good, because I bought you a plane ticket to Cali for the weekend." This is how Greg operates. He is all go. We can think about it and make plans on the way. I never was like that before, but after a few amazing weekends in Northern California, I just made the decision that when Greg asks, just go with it. It's what has made us great friends. It's also made for memories that I will never forget, experiences I wish everyone I knew could have experienced.

Now, he was responsible for making that one happen. This one is on me. I feel a little pressure, but very excited at the stories I am going to come back with. The Carolinas don't quite have the same wow-factor that California does, but I'm sure when we get back we'll have some great stories to share.

Hunting Island, South Carolina

Hunting Island, South Carolina is located on the South Carolina coast just north of Hilton Head Island. It's also about a two hour drive south from Charleston (mainly due to there being no direct road connection). I first visited this island in January of 2008. It was another one of those weekends where, with Laura being in Iraq, I needed to keep myself busy, so I just decided on a whim to hop in the truck with the dogs and drive to the coast. When we got there, being that it was out of season, there was no attendant taking money for parking (I think the usual cost is $3). There wasn't a single car in the parking lot. We got out and started exploring the beach. I didn't do any research before-hand, so I was surprised when, around the corner from where we parked, was a beautiful lighthouse. We snapped some pictures there and read the placards about the island's history. The lighthouse was built in 1859, and then rebuilt in 1875 after it was destroyed during the Civil War. It was deactivated in 1933. Because we were there in the off season, the lighthouse was closed, but you can climb all 167 steps for a small $2.00 fee when it is open during the spring, summer, or fall.

The beach was awesome. The sand was awesome, and being that it was out of season, the dogs got to run up and down beach at free will. One of the placards also talked about the erosion problem. Apparently the island has been washing away at an alarming rate for quite some time. That explained all the downed palm trees. It made for a kind of surreal scene. We headed down the beach for quite a while till we got to the campground. Then we backtracked on one of the trails they have just inland from the beach.

The trail leads you under a canopy of palm branches from the campground, to the lighthouse, and on to the beach parking area. All in all we had a great time. We made it back to the island during the summer. The crowds were pretty overwhelming, but we still found a nice spot on the beach to lay down a towel. Dogs are welcome year round, just be sure you leash them (unless its winter and there is no one there!).

Another Lifer!

This is a hike we did back in August. And when I say "we", I don't mean the usual "we". Laura was spending her last weekend at Camp Lejeune, so she was a no-go for this one. I finally talked a co-worker of mine, a fellow Airman, Dennis, into going with me. Anytime you take people hiking or backpacking with you, you can usually tell within the first hour of the trip whether or not they will ever go on another trip. Getting people to go backpacking is a non-stop effort. I go hiking probably every other weekend or so in the three warmer seasons, and probably once a month in winter. EVERY time I go I try to recruit anyone from work that I can to come with me. It's usually the same reaction I get when I ask. "Hey man, sounds pretty cool. Where are you going camping? Can we bring beer? No? Oh, I'm actually supposed to go to the bar with my friends this weekend. Maybe next time." And of course there is actually never a next time. So needless to say I was excited to hear that Dennis was going to come, and he was bringing a friend of his from tech school with us.



We prepped to camp for two nights, and made three stops. All three stops were in the Golden Corner. (The Golden Corner is what they call the three counties in the western tip of South Carolina). We got to Brasstown Creek just as night was setting in. We set up camp, cooked some food, and washed up in the creek. I was anxious to show the guys the Brasstown Waterfall Series that was less than a quarter mile from our tents that night. The next morning we packed up and went on down to the waterfalls. The guys were just as blown away as I was the first time I stumbled upon these falls. The first is a 30 foot wide cascade tumbling slowly down a rocky incline. Just 20 meters downstream is a 20 foot waterfall flowing over a cliff face. It's a very picturesque waterfall, one of the best I've seen (above). Then the third part, again just 20 meters or so down stream, is a sluice that drains into an awesome swimming pool, framed to the north by a beautiful cliff face.


((left to right: EVAN, DENNIS (kneeling), ME, & AUSTIN -one of my two dogs))

The next stop was just up the road (an old forest service dirt road) from our campsite. We walked to the top of Pine Mountain and caught some really amazing panoramic views (as pictured above).


After that, we headed up the road to the Chattooga River. If you are ever in this part of South Carolina, you have to go enjoy the views of the Chattooga River Valley. After driving through the rain on a questionable dirt road, we arrived at the trail head. We sat in the car for a few minutes to wait for the rain to stop. Sure enough the clouds rolled back. We loaded up and headed down the valley wall. We arrived at the river, and there was an awesome spot just across the river perfect for our three tents. We set up early and spent the rest of the day walking up and down the river soaking in the views.

After the trip, Dennis was already talking about all the gear he needed to be a fully equipped backpacker (he was using all my wife's stuff for this trip). I knew then I had found another lifer. He was hooked. We have tried to get some trips together since then, but our schedules haven't worked out. We do have dates set aside for the week after next. I'll keep you posted!

Virgin Falls, Tennessee

Well, now that I am back to the blogging, I have to catch everyone up on all those hikes you've missed out on the past year or so. This one was an all-around interesting adventure.

I had just had micro-fracture surgery on my left knee only a week ago. I found out later that I wasn't supposed to walk for six weeks, but those instructions were given to me while I was still drunk on meds in recovery. I still had the staples in my knee and everything. Anyhow! I was headed to Texas, from Augusta, for my cousin's wedding. I figured since I had so much time off for recovery, I would take a detour and hit up some Tennessee trails on the way home (even though it wasn't really on the way at all).

When I got to the trailhead and unleashed the hounds (my two dogs, Austin and Star)and let them get their usual pre-hike scamper over with, I got my pack on and laced up my boots and hit the trail. By that time the dogs' tongues were dragging the ground. "No big deal," I thought, "they can get some fresh water out of the creek we are supposed to cross in about half a mile." Sure enough, at about half a mile we crossed a footbridge over a completely dry creek bed. I had no water on me at all, expecting to use the creek as a source. I figured surely at some point we would find some water. Mile 1, nothing. Mile 2, nothing. At this point, I was very close to going into panic mode, because they were really panting hard, and I myself was getting quite thirsty. Thank goodness at mile 3 there was a decent sized puddle in the creek bed and they got a good (dirty) drink.

We reached the campsite and found this amazing, one of a kind waterfall. There is a small hill/mountain top, with water coming out of the very top. No really, just flowing striaght out of the mountain top. There is no visible river or anything feeding the waterfall. The waterfall splashes down about 90 feet to its bottom, where it disappears into the base of the mountain. It's so crazy. There in the middle of this wilderness is a mountain with a waterfall flowing down its side. No river at the top, no river at the base. Awesome.

When we got there I hike down to the slippery base of the waterfall, being extra cautious not to fall and slide into the abyss where the water disappeared. I filled my water bottle, took some pictures and got ready to climb back up to the campsite. On the way up I felt my leg getting wet. At some point I gashed a small hole in my bottle. So now, if I balanced it just right, I had half a bottle of water. The only way to refill the bottle was to hike down to the slippery base of the waterfall and hope not to slide into the abyss. Not cool. It was rough and thirsty night.

The next day, I finished taking my last set of pictures and soaking it all in. We packed up and got ready to hike out. Right when I shoved off, another hiker comes in with nothing more than a walking stick and a small backpack. We made small talk about the dry creek bed and the best time to catch the waterfall (he recommended December). I headed out, thinking he would stay, but he said he was headed out as well. As we talked along the trail, I found out that he comes out here all the time and hikes the trail as a workout (which explained why he didn't hang out long at the falls). At first I was slightly annoyed that he hiked out with us. The dogs usually act edgy around company. But he was very friendly and seemed to enjoy the dogs running up and down the mountain. Then, suddenly, I noticed my heart getting kinda fluttery and my hands felt really shaky. I looked in my pack, but I had only packed what I needed for supper last night and breakfast. I knew it was only a 5 mile hike and figured surely I could make it out. My new hiking buddy offered me some of his food, but I didn't want to take it. Also, my water bottle (or half water bottle) was empty after about half a mile. I did accept his offer for water (since the dry creek bed was in fact still dry...), but still just felt bad about accepting his granola bar. Sure enough, with just one mile to go on the hike, I simply couldn't take another step. I realized that the whole time I was using only my right leg to carry the load (due to the left knee only being a week removed from surgery). This drained me way faster than normal. So I took up his offer for the granola, which gave me the boost I needed to get back to the car.

To date, that's the only time I have had any trouble on the trail. It was close to being serious trouble. This guy I thought was going to be annoying ended up saving me from a world of misery. I think it may have been God's way of making me feel like a heel for judging someone. He ended up being a true Godsend.

**This trail also offers some cave hikes. I got in late, and was short on water and food, so I didn't stray to far from the main path. There is also a short spur trail to take you to a nearby river, but my new hiking buddy informed me that even the river was dry at that time; something he had never seen before.