10 March 2021
It looks as though I misnamed this blog. It should be Jeep Episodes. Today I canceled one day at New River Gorge National Park and so will only have one night of camping there instead of two. The reason is I want to get the check engine light checked out at the Jeep dealership in Greensboro. I was able to get a 7:45 am appointment on the 13th but that means I need to overnight in Greensboro. I was able to book a room for three nights at the Hilton Garden Inn in Greensboro about 5 minutes from the Jeep dealership. Hopefully they will (1) tell me all it needs is a reset or (2) they are gonna charge me $1000 for repairs. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
I had an excellent night’s sleep in a king size bed at Amicalola Falls Lodge and had breakfast in their restaurant around 8:30. They offered a vegetarian scramble. It as pretty blah. They do have a few other things you can order for breakfast. Tonight’s dinner will probably be one of their vegetarian specials also.
After breakfast, I walked to the top of the falls. On my previous visit, I started at the base of the falls and hiked upwards. On this trip, I simple walked down about 100 feet to the top of the falls. I tried a new feature on my iPhone that allows me to take flowing water shots where the water “freezes” in place. I like the results.
At noon, I went zip lining. The lodge offers three levels of zip lining. Level 1 is for young kids. Level two is for adults and kids of a certain size and the longest zip line is level three. I signed up for level three so that meant I got to do both two and three.
I was more than a little concerned that when we started, eight of us plus two guides were all atop a platform about 6 feet in diameter. There were two of the people that did not wear masks. I wore mine until level three. The only reason I took it off then was because I was the sole person for the level three line other than the instructors. I told them about my vaccinations.
Probably the hardest part of the entire zip line experience was a “V” shaped wire bridge. We used to make these in Boy Scout camps but out of rope. The incline at the end was a little difficult but you are fully connected with safety harness the entire zip line experience.
Jenna and Chris were our instructors and they did an excellent job and were very attentive to safety issues. The highlight of the experience was on level three. The next to last zip line was 2500 feet in length over a heigh of 300 feet. You got a great view of the mountains from that height.
To keep people’s attention, they also had a lot of “ladder” bridges where you walked on wooden planks separate by some distance. It’s like some of the old Tarzan movies where you cross a wooden bridge suspended over some horribly deep chasm and the wooden planks are missing.
I have to admit I did pretty good for an old man of 72. The second stage of level three was a fairly intense hike up to the top of a mountain, but then it was all downhill from there.
If you are ever at Amicalola Falls State Park, I can recommend the lodge and the zip line experience.
Tomorrow I have a 7 hour drive to New River Gorge National Park. I’ll spend the night there and do some exploring the next morning before I have a four hour drive to Greensboro. As I previously wrote, I’ll be staying at the Hilton Garden Inn – an incredible rate – for three nights. On the 14th, I hope to do a day tour of Pilot Mountain State Park, not far from Greensboro. I also canceled my two nights at Hanging Rock because I’ll be in Greensboro with the jeep problem. It seems my intent to camp out all but one night this trip came up against reality. Now it will only be three nights of tent camping as opposed to the scheduled eight. However, I’ve enjoyed the camping I’ve done and I have really enjoyed getting back into hiking the woods.
By losing a day at New River Gorge, I will at least have more time to visit with my cousin Jimmie and her husband Stephen. It’s always good to see them.
Stay tuned!
