Fontana Lake, NC, Oct. '13

It could not have been better. The weather was perfect. 5 days in the Great Smoky Mountains with temperatures in the 70ºs everyday, no rain.   The boat ran great.

The Government shutdown made the park extremely quiet, but all seemed normal here at Fontana Lake, NC. You'd never know there was a park shutdown. No rangers, but Fontana visitors center was open, a few campers arriving by kayak in the park.  However, only saw one hiker in 5 days and 35+ miles of hiking...  a girl through-hiker on the AT, coincidentally, a recent college grad from Sewanee.  We hiked with her to Shuckstack tower.

The big hike was Monday, the 16 mile hike to High Rocks with a 3500" climb.  We started a bit late and walked the last hour in the dark, but we were prepared.  The summit view was great.   The old ranger cabin at the summit was severely deteriorated, the roof had fallen in.

The Friday hike up the Lost Cove trail out of Eagle creek to Shuckstack tower was spectacular.  The weather was clear and it made for some really good photos.

Overall, we saw 5 bear... all in trees and coming down fast to flee from us.

Check out the photos...

A nice place to wake up

The view from my bed, on Election Day morning... 7:30 am.  
I love the fireplace at the foot of my bed.

The land beneath

 If there is anything wild or rare in this area, it's in Champion Cove.

I made my first venture down the bluff from my place in Sewanee this weekend.  It required an extension ladder to scale the initial bluff.  Once I got down there, I realized that this was true wilderness.  No trails, no sign of humanity whatsoever...  and some very steep rugged hiking.  This is not a place for old men (or women).  One has to be very sure-footed and in top physical condition to hike down and back up this bluff.   Next time, I'll take water!

I followed the Laurel Branch creek down where it joined a second creek.  The second creek had a waterfall and an awesome rock overhang 3' high that went behind the falls - a stunning natural feature probably few have seen.   Where the creeks joined, they formed another waterfall that fell into a sink and disappeared.   There was a huge old growth oak at that spot.  I continued down until I reached the flat part of the cove.  

I started back up and got to the rock wall and walked left.   I was disoriented and followed some deer paths I hadn't seen before.  I finally came to the top and saw an unfamiliar road.   I checked a sign and found that I had wandered out at Myers Point, near the Stapleton land.   I had no idea where I was so I  flagged down the next car who was Sarah, a professor at UTC.  She drove me to Maggie's house and Maggie drove me home.   It was probably less than a mile to my house as the crow flies... but a staggering 4 to 5 miles by road.

That evening, we watched one helluva sunset.

A slice of heaven

Morning view from my house

John says it has 'a tree house feel' ...

an observatory of earth and sky, a dream, a spiritual place.

A southwest view at a promontory point.

This is the view from my new cottage on the mountain in Sewanee, TN.

I'm going to fill this valley with the gentle sounds of guitar music.

First Sunset

After a storm

... more to come.

Green's View in Sewanee - above the clouds

Photo by Iska's brother, Brunson Hoole - Thanksgiving weekend in Sewanee.

Green's View.

(click to enlarge)

TN River gorge - pictures of morning and storm clouds

Morning in the TN River gorge. It was a calm serene morning. Osprey and blue heron were fishing. I was amazed by the lack of boat traffic for a Saturday. We definitely found the nicest and least populated part of the TN River gorge, near Raccoon Mountain, about 12 miles outside of Chattanooga.

I took these pics with a cell phone, so they are not very sharp, (click to enlarge).

Later that day, I saw it coming.





The thing most boaters don't want to see on the open water: a severe storm... except me of course, I like storms. On the radar, it looked like it would be brief, so I didn't put up my full canvass, a mistake.


By the time I saw the wall cloud dipping down, seeming headed right for my boat, I decided to drop anchor and hide in the cabin.


The wind then started picking up and serious waves started hitting the boat. I could tell my anchor was slipping because the waves were catching me broadside. Not good. Rain was pouring in from under the top canvass and every time I went out to put up the side canvass, lightning chased me back into the cabin. At times the boat was rocking pretty violently with white caps slapping the boat around. Quite a ride!

I was OK after the anchor caught and turned the boat into the wind which I estimate to have hit 55 mph with near zero visibility in heavy rain.

It was a great storm.

I love the summer.

Pine Creek hike from Center Hill Lake

It's one of those secret places. A place that's shady, cool, beautiful.... an undeveloped wilderness where I have never seen another person in the several times I've hike here.

It was about 95 degrees in Nashville that day, but in the deep canyon of Pine Creek, probably in the low 80's.

Iska and I arrived by boat from Center Hill Lake and started the nearly 2 hour hike to the falls. Much of the hike was actually walking in the creek. There is no trail. After a few miles, the creek is bordered on both sides by huge walls. Eventually, the creek runs dry and who would imagine there would be a beautiful waterfall and swimming hole up ahead? For about a half mile or so before the falls, the creek is dry.


Note the interesting rock formations and the mist illuminated by the sunshine near the falls.

Unfortunately, these photos are not too sharp because they were taken with a cell phone. (click on photos to enlarge)


We also visited Great Falls at Rock Island State Park. The falls were incredible. I wish I had brought my camera, but I didn't.

Stay tuned, I hope to go back next week to get some pictures of Great Falls. What a stunning place.

Murfreesboro's Altiplano

Up on Murfreesboro's "altiplano" - (otherwise known as secret place #1) I watched the sunset and the day turn to night.

Here, at the edge of a 300' cliff I watched the sunset, saw the local herd of wild mountain goats, walked around at night under a nearly full moon listening to the frogs and whippoorwills while looking down at the city lights below at my feet.





While standing for some time in the same spot, I was approached by a medium sized dark furry creature resembling a wolverine or a tasmanian devil.


It must not have seen me, and when I moved it immediately started growling. We circled each other in a primal 'dance of defense' before the animal ran off into a boulder field.

I then took out my camera and chased it. What the hell was that animal?

I got one distant photo of the creature. It turned out to be an extremely large possum with dark, almost black fur. About the ugliest possum I've ever seen. They are notable for their bad vision so that explains why it didn't see me standing there and almost ran into me. I'm glad I was standing and not sitting down.


It was a gorgeous night up on the altiplano, the Murfreesboro highlands ... thanks to the mobility provided by my Sherpa.

These are the 'light days' - the longest days of the year. I just love this time of year.

Enjoy!!

Time again for the rarest wildflower to bloom

Pyne's Ground Plum
(Astragalus bibullatus)

Found in just three locations in the world, all in Rutherford County TN, Pyne's Ground Plum gets it's name from the fruit it produces in late May to early June. The fruits turn a purplish color and are marble sized when mature. The fruit is more like a sugar snap pea than a plum. (No, I will not admit to tasting the forbidden fruit - it is a federal crime). Also known as Guthrie's Ground-Plum, this plant is a federally endangered species that exists in the cedar barren habitat near Murfreesboro, TN. It is totally illegal to pick this flower and it's fruit. The species was first recognized as a new species by biologist Milo Pyne (then Milo Guthrie) in 1988. Mid March to early April is the best time to see Pyne's Ground Plum in full bloom. I took the above photo on Sunday, March 30 on the state protected area along Factory Rd. in Murfreesboro, near (but not at) Flat Rock Cedar Glades and Barrens State Natural Area.

Don't you just love spring?

(text from last year's post - pictures are new)

The Smokies by boat - Fontana report

Fourth of July on Fontana Lake in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Quiet and majestic. No fireworks . . . except for nature's own.

The lake has warm and clear blue-green water. The thick rhododendrons forests are in bloom with rushing cold creeks and rarely a person to be seen.

What can I say, it's a paradise. There is no better way to see the Smoky Mountains.

The best way to visit the Great Smoky Mountains -- by boat

Here at Bill's TN Paradise, we do things differently. When we seek out the most beautiful places, we don't follow the crowd, we tend to follow the path less traveled.

With 9 million visitors a year, the Great Smoky Mountain National Park is the most visited National Park in America. (click photos to enlarge) To get a true wilderness experience, you can't go through Gatlinburg and hike Mount LeConte - unless you want to be surrounded by hundreds of other hikers and tourists. It seems like 90% of park visitors come to the park through Gatlinburg. So, we avoid such tourist areas and visit the most remote and beautiful areas of the park ... by boat.

I would guess to many people whose idea of a Smoky Mountain vacation is a cabin in Gatlinburg, Sevierville or Pigeon Forge, that to visit the mountains by boat would seem like an impossibility . . . unless you happen to look at a map. If you do, you'll notice that nearly the entire park is bordered by the crown jewel of TVA mountain lakes - the 30 mile long majestic Fontana Lake. This resevoir was created in 1944 by the largest dam in the east, the 480' concrete Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River.

Hiking from the North Shore of Fontana is superb. Some of the great remote destinations include Shuckstack Tower, High Rocks cabin, and many family cemeteries quite close to the shore. The lushness of the rhododendron thickets on the Forney Creek and Bear Creek Trails is awesome. From Forney Creek, it's also possible to hike up to Clingman's Dome and back to the lake in a day. It is the biggest day hike I've ever done - 25 miles with a 5000' climb.

Staying on the boat for several days isn't exactly roughing it compared to camping. A 24' Sea Ray cruiser with a queen size bed, hot water, shower, bathroom, stove, icebox, and TV/DVD ... there's a movie every night, a hot shower, popcorn and a cold beer after a day of hiking. A great boat to stay on, small enough to trailer but fast enough to ski behind.

This place is a slice of heaven, and it's best shared with a companion and as few other tourists as possible. I can't wait to see that moonlight on the water.

Secret Place #1- Murfreesboro at my feet

Imagine a place...
in the flat city of Murfreesboro, just 3 miles from the MTSU campus where you can stand at the edge of a 300 foot cliff, overlooking a blue-green lake, with a commanding view of the sunset and the 'Boro city lights at night. A place that seems perpetually breezy, completely private, where mountain goats walk along the cliff edges and where it's so quiet, you can occasionally here voices from a mile away. On a clear day, you can see 25 miles from horizon to horizon. Yes, this place exists, I go there often.

We all need secret, quiet and beautiful places to go. It's especially nice when such places are 10 minutes from home. Only I have the secret passage to get there, and it's only accessible via my magic carpet ride.

Photo below - looking down at mountain goats on the cliff edges 150 feet above the lake.
Click to enlarge: