Pinnacle Mountain Fire Tower

Morning light is so good for pictures. We arrived at about 8 AM

Decaying an old pine log with style and beauty.

Given the lack of vascular structure of the so-called upper plant life, how does the fungus differentiate between body and marginal colors?

I could not find what I deemed to be a reliable history of this tower. Obviously, the deck, steps, and roof had been replaced, but the broadness of the footprint and gauge of angle iron suggests to me that this was once a much taller than 40-foot tower. Anyone know?

The day was summer hazy, but the 360-degree view from Pinnacle Mountain was still impressive. I feel certain that we were seeing Mt. Mitchell, NC, but I imagine you could also see VA and KY on a clear day.

View towards Unicoi and Erwin, TN

View along Buffalo Mountain in the direction of Johnson City, TN

The trail that we walked was an easily graded 5.0 miles. I would have liked to come up the powerline clearing, since the parking lot was pretty much below it.

The definite joy of the hike was getting to know two new young guys and spending a half-day with my hiking partner. I so enjoy solid conversation about life and spiritual things with brothers in Christ.

The Pad

Warm humid days are good for getting wet and cool. I hung out at the periphery, cooling down with water on my legs, talking to the children, taking pictures, and surveying beautiful surroundings of trees and hills.

It was so hard to persuade Little L not to run. Thus is the enthusiasm of the young. Sister was calmer, but still all smiles.

Squirting each other and me when I got too close is always the most fun.

At first we had the run of the pad, but soon others trickled in. Little L made two friends, and all the children played well together.

E confided after an hour that she was cold, and Little L began to slow down and spend more time off the pad than on it, so I suggested that we head for the house. It was a fun, easy-going time, and we talked almost continuously before, during, afterwards. Oh, God, make me a godly influence before them.

Miscellaneous Moments

 I am building a workshop in my back yard. One day, when it is finished, I'll do a few blog entries on the process. At the moment, I want to share a random detail of that process. I was building forms for the concrete slab we are going to pour. I picked up a 10' 2 x 6, and out of habit, eyed the length of it for crown, bow, and twist. I don't think that I have ever seen a board this straight.

I felt bad about using it for such a humble thing as a concrete form.

How many people do you know who have a benchmark for their computer screen background? This BM showed up in a blog entry in the past year? Do you know what state it is in?

I was mowing grass and needed gasoline from the crawlspace. Look what was guarding my crawlspace latch? (I made this picture extra-large, so that LF and BST could enjoy it.) It is not a wolf spider. It is a water spider of the genus Dolomedes. It is also a pregnant female.

Walking along a country road near my house, I spied this raggedy old Eastern Redcedar. Tain't beautiful but there sure are a good number of cedar chests in that log. This tree has prospered on a steep, dry, rocky site at the edge of an abandoned field. What changes has this slow-growing tree seen in its 100+ years? Cedars grow extra well on limestone because they compete well on these basic soils (pH above 7). The bottom branches are all dead because they are very shade intolerant and easily shaded out by shade tolerant deciduous varieties.

Several trees next to each other at the edge of the street in the neighborhood near where I work appeared from a distance to have been planted. But upon further inspection, I doubt it since they are definitely not the same species. The cone on the left is Eastern White Pine, while the one on the right is probably Scarlet Pine. Have you ever counted how many scales there are per rotation? These spirals are always an odd number, usually between 7 to 15. 

I enjoy random little things in God's creation. They remind me to be thankful for all of the beauty and variety God has made, and the little surprises that await the observant and curious.

Last Morning in Baxter

The gravel road was again deserted this time of morning. Just before the I pond, crossed this erector set bridge, so practical, so functional.

All of the world seems black and white, simple and right, on a bright, cloudless morning. It is good for sorting out thoughts, praying about the significant concerns, and coming to a place of peace with God's good providence for all of my circumstances. Oh, to hold that thought!

I know that there were people and cabins over there, because I just walked from there where no one was stirring at the time. Not seeing or hearing them is almost as good as them not being there. Don't get me wrong, I like people, but I also need time alone.

The water was perhaps 18" deep, amazingly clear and barely disturbed.

At first, I thought the blooms were not yet or just beginning to be open, but upon further inspection and observation of insects coming and going, I would say that this is open.

Then it was time to go, "many miles before I sleep" (2), and a poem was coming to me but without anything on which or with which to record it. It was largely composed by the time I returned to the vehicle to write it down, and I was ready to travel.

1. "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost

 

Pond, Peak, and Falls

After my long day on Katahdin, I was tired and hot (88 degrees at the base of the mountain that day). So, on the ride back to camp, I stopped at Ledges Falls, waded up to the most pleasant looking pool and submerged. Like how food tastes better when you are hungry, a cool stream feels to an achy body. The pools flow. I am sure that during snow melt, these pools really flow.

The sun was low but this cool stream raised my spirits.

I scrounged up some deadwood back at camp. A good fire keeps the bugs at bay.

This camouflaged critter is harder to see than the toad in the last post. Part of the problem is the dim light, but if you are sharp and creative, you can make out something between the Sugar Maple leaves. I don't recall ever seeing one of these in the wild (1).

After 9:30, and the sky is still light above the evergreens surrounding my campsite.

Up again by 4:30 for another day of hiking. At a parking spot along the way, I spied this little guy making his way across.

I went around to Roaring Creek Campground, 22 miles of gravel from my campsite and started up the Chimney Pond Trail. Very near the trailhead were these Lady Slippers lining the path.

The stream looked so docile. The seriousness of this new bridge tells me that it is not always so. Near steep slopes that hold a winter's worth of snow, these streams must roar during Spring thaw.

My goal this day was two cirques (2). I wanted to see Chimney Pond from its shore rather than the vantage point yesterday, 4000' above it. When I stopped at a viewpoint along the way, I met the guy in the fluorescent green T-shirt. We ended up hiking, seeing the sights, and talking for 2 hours.

Downslope and still out of the Katahdin cirque is Brian Lake. These ponds are windblown, cold, and dark-watered.

The ponds are glacial scoured potholes. These flat spots also leave may boggy spots. Frequently the solution is a log pathway.

Another wet area that is common in these forests are fens which are stream or spring fed, non-acidic, and flow. Bogs are precipitation fed, acidic, and stagnant. Probably the moss is growing on a rock or something, but I took this picture because the clumps appeared to be floating.

This location is what started me thinking about snow melt off. There is no water here, but there are obviously water stains up to a certain level. There is some serious flow that would be very dangerous at times.

Ah, here is Chimney Pond at last.

It is certainly backed up against the slopes of Katahdin, here shrouded with thick cloud cover.

In fact, it is so close into the cliffs that boulders have rolled down into the water numerous times in the past.

I passed some rock climbers who said the climbing is good here.

Baxter is Peaking out. The rangers were highly recommending that no one attempt the summit this day as there were supposed to be high winds and numerous lightning strikes. I was so thankful for having done it yesterday.

Old Glory and the State of Maine flags at the Chimney Pond Ranger's Station. I wondered how logs were moved to bridge making projects like the one pictured earlier. Just near the Ranger Station is a small clearing and volunteer worker's cabin. In this clearing were two large bags of gravel (large as in 1/2 ton or more). Evidently, these were dropped onsite by helicopter.

More Canada Bunchberry

The second cirque, Katahdin now on the left

Fully built of boulders, this knoll at the entrance to the cirque seems to be more of a terminal moraine. Looking off in the other direction, you can see Brian Pond that I was at earlier on the right and larger ones in the haze of distant hills. The small fir trees are curious with needles only at the top. Is it disease, wind, or something else? My temporary hiking partner suggested that perhaps winter snows are so persistent as to kill the lower branches. I don't know if this makes sense or not.

I know that I am lichen me some growth on the boulders in green, gray, black, and occasional yellow.

Spring comes later to the north and high elevations

I took this picture for no other reason than it looks like many a section of trail in the high elevations of Southern Appalachia (3).

An interesting leaf pattern on the stem and beautiful lily-like blooms

Eastern White Cedar does not grow in my neck of the woods.

I had to go see the "Great Niagra Falls" in another part of the park. It was a nice cascade and probably roars during Spring thaw, but I hardly think that it deserves such a grandiose name.

Wilderness has both a beauty and a loneliness about it.

I had borrowed a vehicle for the trip because mine quit before leaving. I was thankful for its functionality, particularly on these gravel roads.

Last evening in Baxter State Park

Where do you find quiet to listen to and converse with God? Wilderness is not a substitute for "church" as some proclaim, but it is a retreat for the concrete-encased, schedule-harried soul. Come apart to rest, recreate, and reconnect with your Creator and God.

1. Woodhen

2. An amphitheater shaped valley formed by a glacier

3. That does not start with a long a but a short one.