Women’s Hiking

Crowders Mountain w/the North Carolina Dames

This past Saturday, 5 of us headed up to our local mountain for a nice hike 3 mile hike. This was a first hike for some of the Dames and the second hike that I was leading. I purposely chose the 3.5 mile trail in hopes that everyone would be able to finish.   We met up at the visitors center at 9am and started out in the chilly windy morning. The first mile was a nice gradual climb. I hung back with Chris and Sharon as Linda and Dianna blazed up the trail. We finally caught up to them at a trail intersection. They were sitting on a bench and as we got to the bench, both Chris and Sharon plopped down. I didn’t realize how hard the trail was til the newbie Sharon mentioned she wasn’t sure she could make it to the top. I was just about to give her the “You can do it!” speech, when to my surprise, before I could utter a word, the other ladies showered Sharon with encouragement, compliments, and affirmations that YES!, she could do this! They were going to make sure ALL the Dames made it up! I just stood back, amazed at the camaraderie of this group. The others even went so far as to hlep find a stick for Sharon to use to help her for the rest of the hike. My heart swelled and I had to choke down a tear and thought, “This is what Trail Dames is all about.” Women encouraging one another to accomplish what they didn’t even know they could do!
With renewed determination, Sharon got up with her stick and started up the trail. We all hiked the last .7 miles, (which happened to be the steepest and toughest .7 miles of the hike), together. When we neared the top, I ran up to the sign indicting we reached the summit. When I yelled back to let them know they were yards away, I swear I heard chorus’ of “thank goodness, YAY!, and FINALLY.” Haha! As each Dame reached the sign, I snapped a photo and high fived the hiker while each person cheered for the next. Linda made it point to say, it was a lot tougher than she expected. Someone mentioned that walking 3 miles and hiking 3 miles were two different experiences. I  understood, after all, I was once in their shoes.
With no view in sight, I point up to our very last, strenous piece of the trail. We have to boulder climb (literally climb) up to the summit. They all look at me like I’m crazy. At this point Sharon says that there is no way she can do it. (Crickets…)No one says a word. This time I pipe up and say, “YES you can! You didn’t hike 1.7 miles, all up, for nothing. You all worked so hard for that view, you EARNED that view! Now lets go get that view!” One by one, they caustiously placed their hands and feet in foot holds and climbed thier way up the last .15 mile to that view. I went up last to make sure everyone made it up safely. One by one, I could hear the gasps as they each reached the top. Chris, usually chatty, was silent. She was taking in the view. Linda was the first to say it was all worth the climb, (everyone nodded in agreement). Sharon, told us that she would of never have seen this view or made it up to the top if it wasn’t for all for us being there for her. We stayed up there for a good 20 minutes, just taking in our accomplishment, before we decided to hike back down to the cars. It was a great day, and as many times as I’ve seen that view, today’s view was especially special because it was a “first time” view for many of these new Dames. I’m glad I was able to show and share it with these ladies. Til next time… GET OUTDOORS!!!

Reedy Creek- Guest Post from the North Carolina Dames

Reedy Creek Hike

9 Dames made it out on a beautiful mothers day morning for the 3 mile Reedy Creek hike.  (Nina, Lori, Kimber, Chelsea, Diane, Diana, Dolores, Kathy, and me.)  We all met up at the nature center where we chatted a bit before trail maps were passed around.  After taking the “before” picture, we headed down past the Nature Center and started our hike on the yellow Umbrella Tree trail.  We hiked in around .33 miles before Diana decided to take the short cut trail to meet us at the Robinson Rock house.  We all continued the next mile on the blue Big Oak trail.  Everyone seemed to be chatting away and hiking around the same pace, which was great, because I was able to talk to each Dame 🙂

We finally reach the intersection of yellow Umbrella Tree trail.  We stop and I ask Nina which way we should go.  She checks out her map decides we need to turn right.  Perfect!  She and Dolores keep the lead and pace going for the hike for another .33 miles before we come to the next intersection.  Again the ladies consult the map and keep us going in the right direction.  We take a right, then stop to admire a big tree that Dolores points out  before we continue another .33 miles on the red South Fork trail.  We finally run into the orange Robinson Rockhouse trail, hang a right and continue another .33 miles down to the rock ruins.  Dolores was the first to notice the sweet aroma that a honeysuckle makes and I made sure everyone else caught a whiff of that sweet scent lingering in the air.  A few feet later, we passed by the honeysuckle plant and I was so tempted to pluck a flower and taste the nectar.  But alas… we were in a county park where we are not allowed to pluck, pull, cut, or pick up any flower, fauna, tree, or shrub.  So.. I took a deep breathe and settled for the sweet aroma in the air 🙂

I love this section of the trail, not only
because it’s beautiful, but because when you near the end, you round a bend in the trail and then all of the sudden, you stumble upon the rock ruins.  We stopped here for 15 minutes, enjoying and exploring the ruins.  Kathy shared her yummy trail mix with me and I told her I would be hiking with her from now on! haha!  We take our Trail Dames group photo and hop back on the trail.  This time, Kimber and Chelsea lead the way with Chelsea using her map skills to get us back to our car. At the trail intersection we run into Diana, seems as if her short cut, ended up being a long cut!  After adding up her mileage, she had hiked around the same miles as we did. haha!  Oh well, at least we all hiked back out together.  When we get to the nature center, everyone walks over to the pond and picnic table, while Lori and I head back down the trail to check on Diana.  She was right on our heels.  When we get to the picnic table, we all say our goodbyes and head back to our cars.

We needed this hike…..

MAryland5
Today the Maryland Trail Dames did a short day hike in Gambrill State Park.  It was previously scheduled for last week but a big rain storm canceled that so I rescheduled it for today.  Not so many could come but nonetheless we had such a wonderful day.  Gambrill State Park is very close to our house. We are very fortunate.  I’m sorry for the blurry spot on the pics. Apparently I need to clean the lens.

The hike was meant to be 7.9 miles but a wrong turn (well…we were chatting and laughing and hiking….and I (yes, I take full responsibility) missed a turn, so we did a 6 mile hike. Truth be told, no one was terribly disappointed.  Before we had set off, while gathered in the parking lot, it seems that we’d all had some very stressful days and sleepless nights for a variety of reasons. We all agreed that we didn’t just want to do this hike, we needed to do this hike.  We were all stretched taut, twisted hard and tight, and like a string on a violin, we needed this hike to loosen the tension before we snapped.  It worked.  It always does.

The weather simply could not have been better. After yesterday’s windy cold spell, today was glorious. It was still, warm, clear.  We’ve lived in 10 states and 2 other countries and in none of those places is the air as clean and clear and sweet as it is here.  In spite of the heavy rains we’ve had, the ground and trail bed were well drained. The air was sweet scented with pine needles, new leaves, watered soil.  We had decided at the start that we were in no hurry….a pace of 1 1/2  – 2 miles per hour was enough.  We passed wild mountain azaleas in full bloom, dogwood still adorned in floating white blossoms, newly sprouted ferns so green they are almost painful to look upon, and mountain laurels exploding with new growth and the promise of showers of pink and white blossoms in another month.  There were tiny exquisite bright purple wild violets.  Our Spring may come a little later than in milder climates, but it lasts longer and is an heavenly joy to behold.  When it turns green here it stays green well into Fall.

We found a spread of flat rocks and sat down for lunch.  It was at least 70 degrees, sunny, still, so beautiful.  We moved on and in 3 1/2 hours we completed the 6 miles.  We had taken short breaks to just catch our breath, drink water, chat.  When we returned to the Middletown Valley Overlook, where we had set out from, we took some time to just soak in the views and take more photos.  Then we all turned to one another and in almost the same breath said “We live in such a beautiful place.”  Yes, we do. We are well and truly blessed to be here.  And ladies, you are the best.

Linda, aka Mrs. Baggins

Wagon Train Trail

This weekend, I went with the Trail Dames to see the leaves changing at Brasstown Bald, the tallest peak in Georgia (4784 feet).  We hiked the Wagon Train Trail, which follows a ridge north from Brasstown Bald all the way to Young Harris, a college town.  This hike is all about the journey, rather than the destination– especially the views along the ridge and watching the trees change as we drop elevation and go through different forest types.

Down the Wagon Train Trail.

Eleven Dames met at the large parking area early in the morning.  We had a wonderful mix of women- it was one woman’s second hike ever, while others had been hiking for years.  We started down the wide, relatively flat path, and reached a viewpoint after an hour.  We stopped for a break and marveled how far we’d come.  The tower at Brasstown Bald, near where we began our hike, looked so small in the distance and it was hard to imagine we’d so easily traveled all this way already.

The tower on Brasstown Bald appears tiny.

After a very long and hot summer, the crisp fall air was quite a relief.  The leaves were spectacular red, orange, and yellow, contrasting against deep blue sky.  As the sun shone through the red leaves, it gave everything a rosy hue.  Leaves crunched beneath our feet.  Though most of the time we were walking through forest ablaze with red leaves, we passed through one part of the trail was all golden yellow.

The Dames that went with me on the Blood Mountain hike recognized the turtleheads clustered around small springs.  We also saw quite a few striped gentians.

Turtlehead

After getting back to the trailhead, some of the Dames still had enough energy to climb the remaining 6/10 mile up to the observation tower and visitor’s center at the summit.  Stepping off the Wagon Train trail, where we’d seen very few other hikers, was quite a culture shock, because the summit area was crowded with tourists.   At first, I felt annoyed that this summit had been “ruined” by all the development.  But then, we met a woman in a wheelchair that was 95 years old!  She had visited this mountain many years ago, and was excited to make this return trip, even though she couldn’t walk anymore herself and had to take the shuttle bus to the top.  Of course this made me instantly appreciate that this mountain was accessible to everyone, and I smiled looking around at all the different people, up there, enjoying the fall day.

Same Trail, A Year and a Half Later

Same trail, a year and a half later

Milkweed along the AT (May 2009)
Another wonderful guest post from our wonderful hike leader, Hemlock.  For more of her writing, check out her blog athttp://ramblinghemlock.blogspot.com/
This weekend, I went on an overnight backpacking trip from Hogpen to Unicoi on the Appalachian Trail.  A year and a half ago, in May of 2009, I backpacked this section as a new Trail Dame and a beginner backpacker.  I recall struggling up the hills.  Thankfully it was spring and there were plenty of flowers in bloom to examine while I caught my breath.   I remember asking our trip leader a million questions about her gear, taking notes on everything she said.  She was one of the first people I’d met that was a solo hiker (how brave!) and had hiked long distances on the AT (how cool!).

Now, I scouted the trip as a trip co-leader, in preparation for taking a group out there next week.  Walking this same path, it struck me how much has changed– not just the change of season with the wildflowers all gone to seed– but how now the hills seem like a breeze, and I’m the one answering questions from the first-time backpackers as they email me about what to expect on this trip.  I sometimes feel like a fraud– I’m still learning myself– until I realize that I can help since I remember vividly what it was like to be a beginner myself.

Milkweed pod and seeds in fall
What hasn’t change is how much I plan for the hike (and, I’ll admit, how I still get butterflies the night before a big trip).  But now, I try to figure out how to provide directions and explain the features of the trail and think through what to do in case of emergency.  I wonder how I can be as welcoming, respectful, and supportive to them as everyone was to me a year and a half ago.

As I walked along, I thought about what makes the Trail Dames a unique group.  Like I said before, I’ve hiked with dozens of other hiking clubs, so I know there’s something special about the Dames.  Is it the caring nature of the group that brings everyone together?  How does this happen?  How can such a diverse group of women get along?  How can we laugh so much?  When I hike with the Dames, I try to keep my ears open to catch incredible conversations– inspirational stories of challenges faced with courage.  And there is something about being outdoors that allows the conversations to just flow.   I take in this wisdom, and make mental notes about how I want to live my life.

I watch the way everyone looks out for one another- not condescending at all– and how folks are understanding if someone is having trouble, because everyone else has struggled at one time or another, so we all know what it’s like.  (One Dame describes it this way– “There’s No Shame With the Trail Dames!”)  I really appreciate this because I’ve hiked with other groups that are competitive, and I’ve noticed that this attitude prevents people from coming together as a team, and connecting with one another.   I see these things, but all of these parts don’t fully explain to me the incredible things that happen on the trail with the Dames.