JOYCE KILMER MEMORIAL FOREST

Before heading home from our family camping trip to Campsite #4 at Rattler Ford Group Campground I talked my family into a short hike. Tucked away deep in the Nantahala National Forest is a living national treasure. Of the 17,013 acres of the Slickrock Wilderness Area, a 3840 acre tract have been dedicated as The Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. This Memorial Forest is a living memorial to Joyce Kilmer, an American poet and a patriot of World War I. He penned the infamous nature poem "Trees":
                                          
                                                       “I think that I shall never see
                                                        A poem lovely as a tree
                                                        A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
                                                        Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
                                                        A tree that looks at God all day,
                                                        And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
                                                        A tree that may in Summer wear
                                                        A nest of Robins in her hair;
                                                        Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
                                                        Who intimately lives with rain.
                                                         Poems are made by fools like me,
                                                        But only God can make a tree.”
                                                                 
                                                        Joyce Kilmer.
                                                        December 6, 1886-July 30, 1918.

Open to the public in 1936, Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest is a sanctuary protected and preserved under the Wilderness Act. This particular forest is supposedly virgin to logging and motorized machinery. If a tree must be cut the U.S. Forest Service uses hand powered log saws or even blown away with dynamite for a more natural look. This unmarred and natural setting along with its' old growth and massive trees was the draw for our hike. Within the parking area there's a few amenities like picnic tables, grills, and a restroom. The trailhead to the more popular Joyce Kilmer Memorial Trail is just beyond the informational Kiosk where I mindlessly left my Nalgene water bottle. Other well-used and easily accessible trails in this old growth forest are the Naked Ground Trail, Jenkins Meadow Trail, and the Stratton Bald Trail. Once we passed the wooden footbridge over Little Santeetlah Creek, a nice wild trout stream for fly-fishing, we ascended into the thickets. The forest, kept in its' primitive and natural state, was comprised of enormous poplars, red oaks, and hemlocks. The well marked and heavily worn trail is a two mile figure-eight. The first loop ascends into the cove passing several stumps blown apart by dynamite, a graveyard of fallen trees, and plenty of wild flowers. At the junction of Joyce Kilmer Memorial Trail and Poplar Cove Trail is the biography of Joyce Kilmer engraved on a bronze plaque within the face of a strong boulder. Both trails are sprinkled with a few small wooden trail bridges over streams of water and crevasses. The Poplar Cove Trail, upper portion of the figure-eight, has the distintive honor of showcasing a plethera of mature yellow poplars stretching over 100 ft tall. With a circumference of 15 to 20 ft., these towering trees are beautiful, mysterious, and awe inspiring. These ancient statues reach and even surpasses the maturity of nearly 400 years. Trying to grasp the magnitude of these trunks we, as many others have done, reached hand in hand around the base for a count of family members it takes to hug these massive trees. Three adults and two kids was the count. A thick layer of ferns and decaying tree trunks victims of desease or insects blankets the ground. Back at the trailhead and the info kiosk lies my Nalgene water bottle and once again instills my faith in strangers. This small two mile hike gives great insight to the stately grandeur of the creations provided by mother nature. Being ingested by the forest is soothing to my soul but sharing that with family is my salvation from the monotony of a common life.

CAMPSITE #4 AT RATTLER FORD GROUP CAMPGROUND

For more than 40 years my family has been going to Santeetlah, camping and fishing. Miraculously this place has never changed. We have camped at numerous primitive campsites along the Santeetlah River, at Horseshoe Campground, along Snowbird River, near Stewart Cabin, at Rattler Ford Group Campground, and at Lake Santeetlah. But there's one campsite that has always eluded us all these years. Everyone has stated multiple of times about the allure of staying at campsite #4 in the Rattler Ford Group Campground. Last weekend we finally camped at site #4. For a family and friends camping trip my sister had made the appropriate reservations on the only weekend that site #4 was available. Just past Robbinsville, Rattler Ford is about 3.5 to 4 hours away from Charlotte depending on how you drive. After leaving early from work I arrived around 5:30. My dad and brother-in-law Paul were pitching one tent while Pat and Steve Steinbrueck, family friends, were making fresh avocado dip. My sister along with my two nieces, Owen and Barrett, would arrive an hour later. This campsite has all the important amenities like several picnic tables, tent pads, lantern hooks, nearby restrooms with showers, a really nice fire pit, and my favorites like being excluded from the other sites and being located right next to a mountain stream. Hamburgers and baked beans were on the menu for supper. After hours of glaring at the flames and casual conversations the group slowly dwindled one at a time while everyone retreated to the tents. Eventually it was my turn but instead of retreating to a tent I had strung up ENO hammock between two healthy trees near the open fire. The weather would be perfect fall weather with sunny days in the upper 70's and starry nights in the upper 50's. Bailey, my dog, was in the hammock with me radiating a great amount of heat that kept both of us warm. Morning came early as to a few family members getting up and stirring at 6:15am. When camping, the best part of the day for me is at an early morning fire eating a hardy breakfast. Some would say with a hot cup of coffee but I lack the addiction. After breakfast, Dad and I suited up and bombarded the stream with our tackle. Within the first hour I caught two wild spotted brooks and dad had one. By lunch the tally was four to one, all spotted brook. Changing the venue up a little, Dad and I took my nieces, Owen and Barrett, out on Lake Santeetlah in the canoe for more fishing. We needed about two more fish for everyone to have a good trout dinner that night. As far as fishing on Lake Santeetlah, and watching a fishing pole slowly sinking out of sight and from our grasp and battling the canoe against the current while fishing I would say the canoe trip was a failure. But as far as spending quality time with the nieces, the canoe trip was successful. Once we returned to Campsite #4 I tried my luck downstream. With three more in my creel and at my limit of 7 for the day I had to stop and hike back to camp. This meant we would have trout and a Satterwhite tradition of fried potatoes and onions for dinner. Feeling stuffed, everyone then gathered around the roaring fire sipping wine, exchanging jokes, having some good conversations, and squeezing in a Smores or two. The moon was piercing through the trees while the stars dotted the skies. Then next morning we all reluctantly pack up and head out of Campsite #4 to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. Campsite #4 had definitely exceeded the expectations I placed on it.

FISHING OFF THE BANKS OF LAKE NORMAN

I had a weekend in between my AT hike to Mt. Rogers trip and my family Santeetlah camping trip. So, I decided to try my luck at lake fishing off the shore of Lake Norman State Park. Lake Norman is one of the larges lakes in NC with over 520 miles of shoreline. With a large stock of striped bass, largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, spotted bass, and bream, I was confident I would catch tonights supper. Behind the facilities at the picnic area was a trail leading into the woods to a nice little fishing spot. This spot was perfect on paper with coves on the left and right, some laydowns nearby, and plenty of shade overhead. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm with a light breeze. Once I established my spot I started off fishing on the bottom using earthworms for striped bass, a popular fish near the shoreline of Lake Norman. NC fishing regulations are still in effect at the state park. NC Wildlife Resources Commission Fish Size and Creel Regulations for Lake Norman are the following: Crappie has an 8" minimum size with a limit of 20, Largemouth is 14" and 5, Smallmouth is 12" and 5, Striped Bass is now 16" and 4, while catfish and bream has no restrictions. After about 4-5 hours of fishing, soaking in the sun, and only catching a few small sunfish, I packed it up. On the way back to the parking lot I passed a small field with a lone deer staring at my every move. No fish for dinner so I guess tacos instead.

THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL (AT) TO MT. ROGERS

Labor Day weekend and three days off, what should I do? Hiking a section of the AT from Massie Gap to Mt. Rogers sounds pretty good. My friend Jorge and Bailey, my dog, agrees. Just pass the NC/VA border is Grayson Highland State Park. My daughter Cassie and I made a day trip to the park months ago to see the wild ponies and hiked up to Wilburn Ridge for the 360' panoramic views. Ever sense I wanted to come back and hike the AT to Mt. Rogers. The park charges $2 - $3 per day parking fee. We parked at the backpacking parking lot, loaded up and disappeared down the trail to Massie Gap. At the trailhead of Rhododendron Trail is a kiosk and wooden gate. Ascending up the trail to where the AT intersects the Rhododendron Trail and where a pair of wild ponies were hanging out to greet us. We took a left onto AT Northbound toward Mt. Rogers. About a 1/2 mile is another Kiosk and a turnstile to enter the Mt. Rogers Recreational Area. Following the white blaze markers to the top of Wilburn Ridge and beyond. The trail saddles a rock outcrop and descends to a small gap where a herd of cattle were grazing. The blue skies were spotted with  non-threatening white clouds when we first started. But the gray clouds are slowly rollin our way. Passing a few more outcrops we come upon the AT and Horse Pasture Trail junction. The clouds starts dribbling so we find a hidden campsite at the junction and set up our tents quickly. At the moment we get everything situated the rain releases so we hunker down into our tents listening to the rain pelting our tents. About an hour after the drizzle started two hikers strolls into camp and with a voice of desperation they asks if they can share our campsite. I get out of the tent to investigate. With only about 10 feet of visibility through the fog, I see a young professional couple drenched from head to toe frantically trying to get their tent up. Once the rain and fog subsides and the sky clears a little our new neighbors and I both prepare our dinner. Jorge and I had some re-hydrated rice and chicken while they made some lintel beans. The couple was from Cary, NC with ties to Asheville. The friendly couple then pulls up camp and presses on. We hike up a large outthrust to watch the sun set over distance mountain ranges while another group of young campers shouts out snippets from Lion King on a nearby outcrop. The temperature dropped to around 65' overnight. Great weather for sleeping. When the sun rises again we wake up to a few cows mooing. About 12-15 cows and calves stroll pass our campsite along the trail. After breakfast we jump back on the trail towards Mt. Rogers. The drenching rain made the trail even more challenging. Blackberries are abundant along the trail. The next mile or so consisted of spruce-fur trees, open field, panoramic views, a turnstile, spruce-fur trees, open field, panoramic views, another turnstile, and more spruce-fur trees. Around a bend and out of nowhere was the Thomas Knob Shelter. There we chatted with a guy from Tega Cay, just south of Charlotte. Thomas Knob Shelter is unique with a second floor, a water source, and a pivy nearby. Just pass the shelter was an open field where deer are frequently spotted. Less than a mile further was the summit of Mt. Rogers. Disappointed with the lack of view but satisfied with the accomplishment of reaching the highest point in Virginia at 5729 ft. Heading back down from the summit and a mossy tunnel of dark Spruce trees the unexpected raincloud burst. The closest place to retreat is the Thomas Knob Shelter. With six hikers already there we find our spot out of the rain. Over the next 1/2 hour more hikers pile in adding the total in and around the shelter to 18 hikers. Being wet, dirty, cold, and hungry, Bailey wasn't feeling the love for outdoors at this point. A local hiker stated that it always rain for short spurts around this area. Most of the hikers used this down time to have lunch. Once the rain subsides enough we jump back onto AT Southbound back through the spruce trees, open field, a turnstile, and another open field to a spot near some spruce trees. With the tents back up and dinner eaten ( mac and cheese ), we eventually call it a night. Sometime throughout the night Bailey and I popped out of our tent to take a wiz under the starry sky. The first shooting star I've seen in years. Morning brings the clouds and fog back so no breakfast until after we hike out. On our way out, the rain slams us as we hide in some bushes underneath Jorges' tent tarp. Only lasting 30 minutes this time we hiked out with some intensity.

Hike: 10 Miles