On Wednesday, we woke up to a beautiful sunshiny morning.
After breakfast while Chuck was in the bathroom, he yelled and said he could smell something burning like an electrical fire again but the smell was even more intense this morning. I began shutting off all the breakers and power to everything and then he went outside to cut the power off at the pole. We smelled everywhere and we could not figure out where the smell was coming from but something was definitely wrong.
Finally, after sniffing everywhere we could think of, he checked the water heater compartment and noticed a faint smell in there too but the water heater had been working. We gradually began turning the power on to everything and then ran the water in the sink until all the hot water side ran cold. We turned the electric side of the hot water heater back on and we could tell from the amp reading on the surge protector that it was not coming on. So, apparently, the heating element or something related to the electrical side of the hot water heater quit working. We called Cullum & Maxey in Nashville and they were able to schedule an appointment for first thing Monday morning. Fortunately, the gas side of the hot water heater is working fine so we will still have hot water.
Talk about a scare! Thankfully, that appears to be what the problem was because we haven't smelled anything unusual since then.
We decided to go ahead with our hike we had planned for the day even though we were going to be a little later getting started. I had looked up hikes in the area and found that the Laurel Falls trail near Hampton, Tennessee, in the Cherokee National Forest had good reviews and it was only about 30 minutes away.
It was a BEAUTIFUL day for a hike!
Chuck started down the trail first...
...then me...
...then Ken and Bonnie. Watch your heads!
The description for the hike indicated it had rhododendron, rock formations, views and waterfalls with a 620 foot elevation change over 2.25 miles. The trail reviews also talked about how there were several spurs off the main trail that would take you to other trails making it easy to get off the right trail so we tried to pay close attention to the trail signs and markings.
At the very beginning of our hike, there were still some small purple wildflowers along the trail.
Very shortly after we had begun the hike, there was a trail marker pointing to go up a hill. The path was so narrow we began to wonder if we had gone the right way. But the detour gave us a beautiful glimpse of the fall colors on the Tennessee mountains.
As soon as we were off the detour, we began walking through jungles of rhododendron.
The rhododendron grew all along the trail...
...and, at times, over our heads.
 |
| Look at that red tree popping out above us! |
Can you imagine how beautiful this trail is in the spring when all the rhododendron is blooming?
The trail follows along the Laurel Fork and opened up to this tall bluff.
It's pretty even in black and white!
We continued along the Laurel Fork...
...and came to our first creek or "Fork" crossing.
As we crossed, the bridge we thought we heard something behind us stalking in the trees.
There it is. It's a Kenny Bear.
The Kenny Bear is always on the lookout for other bears.
But a Kenny Bear is never truly happy until he's with his Bonnie Bear. :)
We had one other "Fork" crossing...
...with beautiful views up and down the Laurel Fork.
Sometimes, the Laurel Fork turned red from the bright red fall trees along the banks.
We had been hiking about an hour or so when we reached a perfect picnic spot...
...with an absolutely gorgeous view.
While we were sitting there, a hiker came down the trail and told us how far we were from the falls. He also told us to be sure and keep to the right at the sign in about 300 yards or else we would be going up and over the mountain ridge to get to the falls.
Per his instruction, we stayed to the right when we began hiking again and began descending back down to Laurel Fork.
The trail narrowed and went around a rock ledge close to the water.
And then we climbed up...
...and then back down...
...and reached our destination: Laurel Falls.
Some photographers will go to all kinds of extremes to capture the perfect "selfie" picture.
And sometimes it takes more than one attempt.
But with perseverance and determination, the nearly perfect picture can be achieved.
Of course, Mr. Chuck takes a mean selfie with the iPhone too!
In all my running around to get the best picture, I somehow managed to step in dog poop. I had to soak the bottom of my shoe in the water and with some help from Chuck, finally got all of it off.
As we headed back up the trail, we met a couple hiking toward us asking us how far they were from the falls, and we told them they were not too far. They had come in from a different trailhead and hiked up over the mountain ridge and weren't sure how to get back. We told them how to get to the falls and then what trail to take to get them back to where they started without going over the ridge again.
While we were standing there talking to them, this young man came by with a huge backpack on his back. He was hiking the Appalachian Trail (which this trail is a part of) and had started in Maine around the first of June.
His name was JB and he said he was looking forward to finishing the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and couldn't wait to get back home to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. He was hiking alone but he hikes with some other buddies too that he has met along the way: Houdini, Honey Bear, and Tennessee Jeb. He averages hiking about 20 to 25 miles a day along the way and has seen about 20 black bears since he began the trail. 15 of those 20 bears he saw in two days while hiking through the Shenandoah National Park.
We continued on down the trail stopping for a couple of more pictures at our perfect picnic spot.
As we crossed the last bridge, we met another guy with a big backpack. It was J.B.'s friend, Honey Bear...
...and then right behind Honey Bear, came Houdini and Tennessee Jeb.
Honey Bear was from Massachusetts and was definitely the comedian of the bunch. When we asked them if they have gotten blisters on their feet, Honey Bear said their feet are so tough they give the boots blisters! :) Houdini is from Pennsylvania and has hiked the 220 mile long John Muir trail in California. Tennessee Jeb is from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and the Appalachian Trail is only the 2nd hike that he has ever done. His first hike was a 5 mile trail at Long Hunter State Park in Nashville!
Honey Bear is not only a comedian but a terrific trumpet player. He got out his plastic trumpet and played several tunes for us. He carries a plastic trumpet because it only weighs one pound. He didn't want the extra weight of a real brass trumpet.
We finished up our hike but not without stopping for just a couple more of some of the prettiest pictures of the leaves that I think we have taken yet.
When we got back to the detour portion of the trail, we decided to not take the detour but I quickly discovered the reason for the detour when I stepped in some squashy mud and muddied up the same boot I had just gotten the dog poop off of earlier!
Wow! What a surprisingly spectacular trail! It was just about perfect. Challenging but not too challenging. Awesome scenery. Just the right length. And meeting some wonderful new friends along the way!
We sat outside and enjoyed the nice sunshine until it went behind the hills again and then played cards after dinner with the women winning both games tonight.
What started out as a scary morning, turned into another beautiful and blessed day!
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