Day: November 18, 2024

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 4

18 November 2024

The 3 bedroom cabin we are in is really nice. It’s called the Parkside cabin and is located just adjacent to the visitors center.

One of the wonderful features of the cabin when visiting during colder months is the fireplace.

After they delivered the kindling, I was able to make a fire, albeit with difficultly. There was a strong downdraft from the fireplace and when I tried to close the damper – nothing. Eventually, I got the kindling going and the wood burning but soon smoke began to fill the cabin and the smoke detector went off. This I wrote about yesterday. What I didn’t write about was the cause that came to me at 3 am. Somehow, we had cut the attic fan on which was drawing air from the chimney and up through the attic fan. I noticed it during my 3 am bathroom break. It would not matter whether the damper was closed or not because smoke was going to pulled into the cabin by the fan. If we do a fire tonight, we will make sure the attic fan is off!

We spent a lazy morning and ate breakfast in the cabin. Later, Jimmie, Stephen and I went to the visitors center and we toured their exhibits.

The Japanese maple made for a great background. Later, Jimmie and I walked around the visitors center loop trail. We clocked in 0.4 miles.

We decided to drive to Cleveland for lunch at our favorite place. The food is good and the prices are right. The place is called Clydes after the owner’s dog.

This is the third time we’ve eaten there. The park is equidistant between Helen and Cleveland and there are a lot less tourists with which to contend.

After dropping Jimmie and Stephen off, I headed to Dukes Creek Falls parking lot and walked the Dukes Creek trail down to the falls. It’s one mile to the falls – all downhill (with some steps) and then one mile back – all uphill. My Apple Watch clocked my hike at 2.5 miles which probably included some wandering down around the falls and when I had to go back and pick up my water bottle that had fallen out at the last part of the trail.

The falls are approximately 150 feet in height. Also coming down Dukes Creek are several cascades that are really nice.

I met a lot of people on their way up the trail and I would joke with them about the broken elevator or escalator for the falls.

As I was hiking back up, sweating and panting, I considered how nice it was to get back in the woods and on the trail. Several times when I paused to catch my breath, a gentle breeze wafted through the woods and cooled me off. Even the smell of the woods was intoxicating to me. I’m so pleased I managed to hike 2.5 miles today, down and back up a mountain. It gives me hope. Stephen commented on how I seemed to have a lot of energy today and maybe that’s due to getting back to something I love.

Even though it’s mid-November, there was still some color on the trees.

As I got back to the parking lot, I took one more look at Mt. Yonah. There’s a spectacular view from the parking lot.

Tomorrow, we plant to head to Sautee and our favorite general store and have lunch, buy taffy, and pretty much cool our jets. After all, it’s a vacation!

Stay tuned!

Smithgall Woods Redux – Day 3

17 November 2024

There were no vivid dreams last night. Maybe I worked out all my frustrations the night before.

I called the Doubletree Hilton in Jacksonville and questioned the two charges: extra valet and breakfast. She removed the valet charge but I must have been mistaken about the free meal. It wasn’t that costly and it was a good breakfast. Better than today’s at Home2 Suites in Augusta. They at least had my Raisin Bran.

Is it me or is all hotel coffee horrible? I’ve had experiences with all the room coffee devices and all the coffee in the breakfast area and it just tastes bad. It’s like the Hilton chain decided to make the coffee taste horrible so people would be more eager to leave and get a decent cup somewhere else.

Late yesterday afternoon I walked over to a franchise I’ve never heard of, Chicken Salad Chick. Seems redundant to me. Instead of chicken (the place smelled) I chose a pimento cheese sandwich which was OK except for the stale bread. It was quite a come down from Ruth’s Chris Steak House but was certainly a little cheaper.

When I got back to the room, I forgot that it was Saturday and college football. I watched LSU get beaten by Florida and watched a little of the Tennessee/Georgia game before I started reading on my iPad. In both games, they showed the student sections and I’ve never seen so many students crammed into so little space. When I used to attend the Ole Miss football games as a student, you had a little room to breathe between your seat mates. I guess they are cramming more into smaller spaces. Gotta pay for those sky boxes some way.

It was 46°F outside this morning. It’ll be interesting to see the temps in the mountains of Smithgall Woods State Park. Of course, I missed the beginning of the cool spell in Fort Lauderdale (68°F last night).

I was on the road at 9 this morning. Breakfast at this hotel wasn’t anything to write about. I had some problems with my GPS routing me around highway 78 because it was not up to date and didn’t show the new road. After one detour I figured out to stay on 78 until I needed to head north to Helen.

I pulled into Helen around noon and had a quick lunch. I did the tourist walk.

Can you tell Helen is a Christmas town?

After the tourist walk, I headed to Smithgall Woods State Park and checked in. I paid the remaining balance (we split the cost and I’ve already been reimbursed). They had not finished with the cabin so I decided to walk the Laurel Ridge trail again. It’s 1.6 but with my meanderings, it ended up being 1.8.

Laurel Ridge Trail
Laurel Ridge Trail

It was a 300 foot climb in elevation and the day was perfect for the hike – cool, low humidity, sunny. At the top, you get a great view of Mount Yonah.

Mount Yonah is the knob on the left. It’s 3, 143 feet in elevation and is used by Army Rangers for training and repelling. I can’t believe I climbed that several years ago.

There were several people on the trail (who passed me) and when I got to the overlook, I sat on the bench provided and rested. Soon, another hiker approached. He sat down next to me and introduced himself as Nathan. I’d estimate his age around 18 or 19. He wanted to know about some hikes in the area and I steered him to Dukes Creek Falls, Anna Ruby Falls, and, of course, Mt. Yonah. I figured he was young enough he could run up the mountain.

I finally got permission to go to the cabin at 3:30. Jimmie and Stephen arrived around 4:30 and we immediately went to eat dinner. None of us like to drive after dark. We ate at a familiar restaurant to us and Jimmie and I had the same as last time: country fried steak.

I wanted to start a fire in the fireplace but there was no kindling. The office said they would send someone over with it. When we got back from dinner, I tried to get it going but there was a strong downdraft coming through the chimney. I decided to close the damper just to get the fire started and it went well. However, when I opened the damper, the downdraft filled the cabin with smoke and the smoke detector went off. We opened up the doors to get the smoke out and then let the fire die out. There’s still a stiff breeze coming out of the fireplace and the damper doesn’t seem to want to close again. Oh well. Good thing we have auxiliary heat.

I think we’re all exhausted from the drive and me from the hike. I’m thrilled that I had the stamina to make the hike even though I had to take several rest stops. I’m not sure my stamina is back but my hard headedness made me push through. It’s great to be out in the woods again. I’ve missed it.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s adventures!