Category: Harpers Ferry

17 October 2021

At least I had one good night of sleep. Last night was the duel of two air conditioners. On one side of me was a third wheel trailer and on the other side of me was one of those massive busses outfitted as an RV. They dueled all night. First one would crank up and shut off, then the other would crank up and shut off – all night long – until it reached 52F by 7 am and neither needed the air conditioner. On occasions, they would have a duet and crank up at the same time. I couldn’t believe how noisy they were.

Just about the time I got used to the singing air conditioners (around 3:30 am) I heard an argument a few campsites down from me. From the gist of it, a lady said no and the gentleman took offense. Suddenly there was a lot of slamming of car doors, hatch backs, and getting a trailer ready to pull out. They finally did around 4 am. Around 4:30 am, another large travel bus pulled out with all the accompanying sounds of a diesel starting up, air brakes testing, etc.

To compound my misery, I had to get up four times to pee. To be honest, I was worried that for the last two days I had not had my usual urination routine. Normally on a trip, I stop at every other rest stop for a pee brake. I only stopped one time on my way to north Florida and I really didn’t need to pee – it was my lunch stop and I decided it best to go then.

After hiking all day yesterday, I still didn’t have to go. Normally on any hike I take, there are typically three find-the-nearest-bush stops. Not once did I go the entire set of four hikes. When I got back to camp, I did go but there wasn’t much volume. I was getting worried. I drank a coke, an entire bottle of water, most of the water in the camel-back in my day pack, and an entire gator aid. Nada. Then it all started for real around midnight last night.

After the first midnight visit to the comfort station (yes, some parks still call them that) I at least got to follow some of the Ole Miss-Tennessee game. What they were doing playing at 11pm (CDT) I have no idea. Somehow, the game got delayed at 54 seconds remaining and I stayed up until 1 am to get the final score – Ole Miss 31, Tennessee 26. Tennessee ran out of time on the Ole Miss 18 yard line. Whew!

I finally convinced my GPS to take the back roads to Mistletoe State Park, west of Atlanta. I left Suwannee around 9:30 am and made it to Mistletoe around 3:30 pm, so that was a slow, 55 mph most of the way, scenic drive. I passed through Douglas, Louisville – the first state capital of Georgia – Wren, Thomson, and finally the park.

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There’s a lot of soybeans and cotton in the fields and looks like all need harvesting. It seems awfully late for those crops to still be in the field, but what do I know, I’m not a farmer.

The campsite is near the J. Strom Thurman Lake(boo!) and it looks to be really large. I’ll explore tomorrow on some hikes. It’s way too large to hike around in one day.

My campsite is #2 and it’s clean, spacious and nowhere near any campers on either side of me. In any case, I don’t think any will be running air conditioners tonight. I’m also just across the road from the comfort station (seems to be a trend in Florida and Georgia) for my midnight runs to the bathroom.

Tonight’s low is predicted to be 46F. I have two bags with me. One rated for 50F and one rated for 30F. If it gets too cold, I’ll put one in the other.

Stay tuned!

16 October 2021

I’ve been a little reticent about this trip. It’s been so long since I’ve been camping or hiking any distance and I didn’t know how well I would hold up. I’ve been lethargic of late and didn’t think I had much stamina. Covid seems to affect us mentally as well as physically. I almost backed out of the trip several times. I’m now glad I didn’t.

Last night was one of the quietest nights I’ve spent in any park, anywhere. The campsite was almost full and yet everyone managed to follow the 10 pm curfew on noise. I actually got a lot of sleep, unheard for me on the first night of camping.

My next door neighbors were from Florida also and Mark had actually attended Broward Community College many years ago. He and his wife were interested in my national park trips. He had been to several but wanted my take on some of the ones he had not been to. They did a couple of short hikes this morning and then headed home.

I started my morning with coffee and oatmeal. I was on the trail around 9:30 am and hiked until a little after 11:30. I managed the longer 3 mile hike of Balanced Rock Trail in about 1 1/2 hours. The trail followed the flow of the river for about halfway and then veered east and then back south.

A little before you reach balanced rock, you come to Little Gem Spring. It’s a second magnitude spring which is classified as a flow rate of 10 to 100 cubic feet per second. A category one is anything over 100 cubic feet per second. Since the Suwannee was so high, all you can see is the bubbling of the spring from below. During low levels of the river, the spring can be seen emerging from the bank.

Alas, the balanced rock is no longer balanced.

What really surprised me was the abundance of wildflowers this late in the year. You can always tell when fall arrives when the golden rod starts to bloom and it is abundant everywhere.

Once I made the loop of Balanced Rock, it fed into Lime Sink Run Trail, approximately .75 miles in length. This is a limestone ravine tided directly to the Cathedral/Falmouth/Lime Sink Run cave system and it is considered one of the longest underwater cave systems in the world.

From there, I hiked back to the parking area and had lunch and rested a bit. I needed it.

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Next up was the Earthworks Trail, a 0.25 mile trail to the place that once was a ferry landing where the Suwannee and Withlacoochee Rivers come together. It’s quite a site. At one time there were steamboats that traveled the Suwannee and the park has pieces of the machinery along the trail. There are also some Confederate breastworks that once guarded the ferry and landing.

I was getting close to done-in but decided to do the Sandhill Trail of 0.8 miles. It goes through a longleaf forest and also through the remains of the town of Columbus – the cemetery. Most of what composes the state park was the town. It was a pretty busy place at one time with the ferry, post office, general store, sawmill and a railroad line as well as a stage coach line.

The last of my hike was a small section of the Suwannee River Trail that connects with the Balanced Rock Trail. In all, I figure I covered in excess of 6 miles. It’s still not a great test of my endurance since everything here is exceptionally flat – thank goodness!

I needed a shower – badly. I didn’t have a dry stitch on me. After the shower, I decided to fill up with diesel for my trip tomorrow to Mistletoe State Park in Appling, Georgia. The closest town is Live Oak, 18 minutes away.

I’ve passed the exit for Live Oak many, many times while on I-10 but never stopped. It took forever to find a place that sold diesel and I eventually had to go all the way through town until I hit the Interstate.

The architecture of the town is quite interesting. It was established in 1878 and from the look of the County Courthouse (Suwannee County), it looks that old.

It also has an imposing U.S. Post Office.

Another interesting building was the old city hall that has been renovated and turned into the chamber of commerce.

Tomorrow is about a five hour drive to Mistletoe. Tonight, the low is predicted to be 52F. I broke out the heavier sleeping bag.

Stay tuned!

15 October 2021

Up at 6am and out the door at 10am.  I made a quick stop at Publix for Advil (hiking aches) and cherry tomatoes for snacking, then it was Turnpike Bound.  

Everything was smooth until Wildwood where traffic backed up where the Turnpike connected with I-75.  Two lanes of traffic merged into four, along with merging traffic from Wildwood and the Villages.  It was 70 mph one minute, 30 mph the next and then back to 70 until you came to a screeching halt, dead stopped on I-75 hoping the person behind you has good brakes..  Then we’d start the process over again.

Florida drivers seem to have a little trouble with hills.  They don’t mind going 70, 75, 80, 90 on the Turnpike and Interstate but when the road begins the incline to the hill, they take their foot off the gas and try to coast to the top.  Once on top, they floored it.  

Come to think of it, they also have trouble in rain.  Two drops on the windshield and they go from 90 mph to 15 mph.  

Once past Ocala, the pace begin to pick up and the traffic thinned out for a little.  Then it was “Dodge the Semi’s” all the way to I-10.  

Suwannee River State Park is a small park located in the bend of the river just before I-10 crosses it near Live Oak.  There are 29 RV/camp sites and five cabins.  It’s not the nicest state park in Florida but it’s very attractive and the camp sites and completely in each others’ laps.  Since it is basically next to the river, sand is everywhere.  Good thing I brought a rug for the front of the tent and a dustpan and brush.  

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This is my first time pitching my 4-season tent since the missing tent pole fiasco and I apparently got everything back in operation.  The tent went up pretty quickly.

After that, I took a very short ride to see the river and scope out a few of the hiking trails.  The longest is the Big Oak Trail with a distance of 12.5 miles – not doing that one.  There are five other trails, all short except for the Balanced Rock Trail at 3 miles.  I’ll probably start with that one tomorrow and work my way through the other short ones – if I can still walk  I’m curious about what rock could be balanced near the river.  Hopefully, photos will follow tomorrow’s hike.  

I used to be a big Civil War buff. I read everything I could get my hands on about the topic and enjoyed traveling to various Civil War sites like Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and Shiloh.

I have a good friend that considered himself to be an expert in all things Civil War so it was with a little surprise I had to correct him on a critical piece of information. He, at one time, referred to the first and second battles of Bull Run. As a Southerner, he should have known better. In the South, it was known as the first and second battles of Manassas, taking place in the vicinity of Manassas Junction.

I also admit to a little fascination with John Brown as an historical figure and have read one or two bios of him and his raid at Harpers Ferry. Interestingly, it was Robert E. Lee who was sent by the U.S. Government to arrest him.

I’ve seen photos of Harpers Ferry from the 1860’s all the way through today. It seems a beautiful spot where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers meet and I’ve always wanted to visit. Hence my newest trip.

As with any of my trips out of state, the biggest hassle is getting out of the state of Florida. I really believe Florida requires more effort to leave than any trip through Texas. My first stop will be Suwannee River State Park near Live Oak, Florida. I’ll be gone 15 days, most of it tent camping and day hiking. This time, I intend to only spend three nights in hotels and two nights with my cousin in Greensboro, NC. Below is my itinerary.

October 15-16 Suwannee River State Park, Live Oak, Florida
Travel time: 5h 16m
4h 42m

October 17-18 Mistletoe State Park, Appling, Georgia
3725 Mistletoe Rd, Appling GA
Travel time: 4h 42m

October 19-20 Greensboro, NC
Travel time: 4h 34m

October 21-22 Peaks of Otter Campground, Blue Ridge Parkway, Bedford, VA
10454 Peaks Rd. Bedford, VA 24523
Travel time: 2h 16m

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October 23-24 Harpers Ferry (Home2 Suites by Hilton, Charles Town, WV)
70 Jefferson Crossing Way, Charles Town WV
Travel time: 3h 4m

October 25-26 Loft Mountains Campground, Shenandoah National Park
Travel time: 2h 24m

October 27-28 Mt. Pisgah Campground, Blue Ridge ParkwayTravel time: 6h 24m

October 29 Home2 Suites by Hilton, Lake City, Florida414 SW Florida Gateway Blvd., Lake City
Travel time: 7h 19m

October 30 Home at 2451
Travel time: 4h 53m

There are two federal campgrounds, Loft Mountains and Mt. Pisgah during my trip. The significance of those is they don’t have showers. I also have a lunch date with a friend in Charles Town on the 23rd. In order to make the reservation I’ll need to break camp, shave, and use towelettes for my “shower” and change into some acceptable clothes and hope I don’t smell too smoky.

The two state parks, Suwannee and Mistletoe are first time parks for me and fortunately they have shower facilities as well as laundry facilities. I’ve already downloaded information about hikes in the areas and I’ll get to see how much stamina I have lost due to the two years of Covid isolation.

I’ve spent the week checking out the jeep, packing camping gear, other clothing I might need and trying to anticipate the weather. Looks like a few days and nights will be rainy and in some places, the temperature will be in the 30’s. Just to be sure, I’ve packed two different sleeping bags: one rated for 50F and another rated for 30F. If worse comes to worse, I can put one bag within the other. I’ve also packed a heavy jacket and a light jacket. Of course, there will always be the one item I forgot to pack but that’s why god created Wallyworld.

Stay tuned!