Winter Hike at Glendale Branch

The unseasonably warm winter days of January offer opportunities to get out and hike. Today, although overcast, was warm enough to nudge us to hike. We chose to hike the Glendale Branch Trail along the East Lakeshore and create a loop hike by taking the shortcut to complete a 3-mile lolly-pop hike. 

 Recently we have enjoyed several hikes on the East Lakeshore Trail System along the Little Tennessee River. We like the gentle ups and downs of following the lake shore. 

 During this time of the year, there are no bugs, poison ivy, tall weeds or ticks! 

 Most of the trail system is relatively flat with occasional creek crossings on bridges that remind us of those in the pocket wildernesses. A construction of wire mesh on the surface of the bridge prevents wet boards becoming slick. 

 On the Glendale Branch section Chris spotted what appears to be a cable with old bell-shaped insulators. We had never seen one quite like this one. 

 There were about 10 separate insulators strung along the cable. 

 Looking closely, you will notice the chipped and cracked ceramic elements. Only a small portion of the exterior remains. Chris' research concluded that these are high tension insulators. Just down the trail, we passed under two power line towers. So, perhaps these old insulators were once part of TVA's power system. 

 On our hike today we passed through a large chattering flock of robins. I don't recall encountering so many robins at one time. I wonder if they are wintering here before they head north in early spring. 

On all of the trails we've hiked on the East Lakeshore we've noticed an abundance of Cranefly Orchid (Tipularia discolor). A few orchids produce leaves in the winter. An interesting fact about Tipularia is that once the orchid blooms, the leaves begin to deteriorate and wither. By peak bloom time, usually during midsummer, the leaves are dead.  

 We spotted large patches of these interesting leaves scattered along the side of the trail. 

 The picture below was taken at the end of July. Without the foliage, the nondescript flower stalk is camouflaged in the leaf litter and shadows. This orchid caught my eye because it was spotlighted by a ray of sunshine. The individual flowers, barely an inch long, resemble a crane in flight but unless the viewer gets a close inspection, these beauties remain illusive although they are considered common in our East Tennessee woods. 

 One striking feature about the Tipularia leaf is that in the winter the top of the leaf is green while the underside is purple. However, I was surprised to spot two leaves that were purple on the top and bottom. 

 I thought my mind was playing games when I spotted this gnawed tree near the shore. I spotted a couple of similar small trees gnawed completely in half. Beavers! It had to be, but I never saw any other evidence. 

We never quite know what we will encounter in our exploring! It was a wonderful day full of beauty, fragrant smells and birdsong! 

Wildcat Ridge Spur Trail

January 9 was another gorgeously mild winter day. What better opportunity to hike a segment of the East Lakeshore Trail along Tellico Lake! Although the temperature early this morning was 28 degrees, the day warmed up into the upper 50s to lower 60s. Perfect for hiking! 

The trailhead begins at the edge of the parking lot at this park, but during the winter months the gate is locked. So, we parked outside the gate just off the road but not blocking the gate.

 It's just a short walk from the gate to the trailhead. We are not quite sure why the spot is called a "park" because the only structures on the property are a block restroom facility and the kiosk describing the trail segment. We wonder if there will be picnic tables, standing grills or a playground constructed one day. This park is the terminus for the southern end of the trail system. 

 Wildcat Pointe Trail begins at the kiosk. 

 The northern terminus of the East Lakeshore Trail system is 28.5 miles from where we began our hike today. 

 After a steep 0.2 mile climb, we came to the marker indicating the Wildcat Ridge spur trail which leads out to the overlook. 

 Chris and I both set our watches to measure the distance from the marker to the pointe. It was actually about 1.5 miles to the pointe. But who's counting!

 One of the lovely things about the trails along East Lakeshore is not only the view but the abundance of very large trees, mostly oak, although we did see some large hickories as well. 

 Yes, we are tree huggers!

 We had nice views from along the ridge top, but when we reached the pointe, we had spectacular views of the lake in three directions. 

 Looking closely, you can see a railroad truss bridge and beyond it the US 411 bridge.

 The trail wound among these three giant oaks, sentinels on top of the ridge. 

 Our return trip gave us a view of the communications tower and an interesting knotty tree bulge. If you zoom in on the tower just below the bottom panels, you can see the 2 large vultures that were keeping an eye on us. Of course, we insisted that we felt fine. Our exertion was not going to kill us.

 A field of goldenrod fluff danced in the wind and sunshine. 

Out of curiosity, we actually hiked down into the woods along a manway. We thought perhaps we could access the lake cove beyond the parking lot. We came across some interesting "debris." An old collapsed log structure was covered in vines.  Two tiny creeks merged to become a bubbling creek. The manway ended at a wide place at the creek. Crossing would have required some serious rock hopping. Across the creek on the side of a tree was a bucket mounted on a platform about eye level. We spotted a couple of large empty cat food bags nearby, so we wondered whether someone was feeding wildlife such as bobcats or raccoons. Just speculating! 

We returned to our vehicle and headed home after spending a lovely day hiking and exploring.   

Christmas 2020

For the first time in 9 years, our family was together on Christmas Day. The kids had Christmas morning at their respective [and even respectable] homes before coming to Grand-Dad and Grandmama's for a huge brunch followed by gift exchange. So much fun!

Francis 2A

W's

 Francis2B

 After several trials, squabbles, shifting, posing and clamoring, we finally got a shot of all 14! 

 Woops, who flipped?

God has truly blessed my family! 

New Year's Day 2020

New Year's Day deserved celebrating outdoors on a day that invited hiking and marveling!

We chose to hike the Coytee Loop Branch Trail on the East Lakeshore Trail System of Tellico Lake. 

We parked at the trailhead which has the large metal bridge over Sinking Creek. On a previous hike, we had crossed the bridge and hiked the Sinking Creek segment. But today we chose to take a lollipop hike.

The first part of the trail parallels the road and shoreline, but soon disappears into the woods. After about a mile of gentle hiking, we came to the intersection at the beginning of the loop. We chose to go left. No, I won't make a political statement! 

After about 1/2 mile of up and down through a mix of hardwoods, pines and cedars, I began to recognize some features. When we came upon the huge white oak, I knew that I had been on this trail before.  

 To capture the size of this giant, I had Chris stand beside it. 

 Notice the size of the branches. I wonder what story this old tree could tell! 

 There was no discernible crown. The lower branches were gnarled and twisted. 

What I recall from our previous hike on this loop trail was the numerous large oaks and hickories. Winter is a good time to hike the East Lakeshore trails: no ticks, bugs, poison ivy or heat. Plus, the hiker can catch glimpses of opposite shoreline without leaves blocking the view. However, most of the views across the lake are of large houses and boathouses. I bet the lake is noisy in the summer! Today was perfectly serene!

With the temperature in the upper 40s, the sunny day was perfect for taking a 3.5

 mile hike in a very lovely area. 

I must make a disclaimer/apology: I took most of the pictures with my iPhone. And the photo above is from a precious hike with friends to this spot.