Seven Islands State Park

Located about 25 minutes from Knoxville, Seven Islands State Birding Park is a hidden gem. It is not overly crowded. In fact, when I arrived there at 9 am on Sunday morning, there were only two other cars in the parking lot. Although this could be related to how religious the local community is attending the Sunday morning mass. Regardless, I took advantage of that.

It was really cold, I mean freezing cold. I was glad to have worn a hat today. I started out on a paved walkway leading through a barn with some educational signs about birds. You can hear bird songs everywhere. No wonder this was called a birding park. High grass with vast opportunities for nesting combined with forested area next to the river attracts birds even in the "off-season". 

I was hoping to walk in the sun to warm up. I soon reached a bridge with a great view on both sides. I can only imagine how beautiful it would be here in the summer with foliage intact.

I continued along the trail that split into two to go around the island next to the water. Frost was covering the naked branches and grass creating intricate shapes of sharply formed icicles.

I finished the circle on the island spending a few moments with a deer who was cautious initially, but continued her breakfast after I stood still for a while.

I then continued my walk along the mainland part of the park. It was finally warming up. Soon more people appeared as I was finishing my walk returning to the parking lot. What a great morning!

Haw Ridge Lake Trail, Oak Ridge, TN

Start the new year right? Check! After a rather uneventful New Year's Eve celebration I woke up refreshed today ready to do something. The weather was supposed to be rainy, but I saw rays of sunshine. When I opened my door to the balcony, the warmth of 70-degree air filled the room. I knew I had to go hiking today.

Haw Ridge Lake Trail is an 8-mile loop that goes along the water. I thought it would be perfect for today. The drive from my apartment was only 25 minutes, and the parking lot was still pretty empty. Those who celebrated New Year's Eve more successfully with more drinks were still sleeping them off.

The trail started on a paved road, and this is what I anticipated would continue, but Alltrails directed me off the road onto the forest trails. The sound of leaves under my feet and warm air made me feel quite at peace. 

It wasn't long until I started to see water - streams, smaller ponds, and then the lake.

During the whole hike I encountered maybe 3 people. Very peaceful and remote. There were a few quite steep spots but for the most part the trail was pretty flat. Along the trail there were a few stops with benches where I sat down for a minute enjoying the views. About half way in I decided to listed to an audiobook and stopped a few times to take close up pictures.

The trail somehow felt longer that I anticipated. The clouds started to come in and the wind picked up. I knew the storm was coming back, so I started to walk just a bit faster.

The last mile was the toughest one. It started to rain, albeit it was quite warm so rain was refreshing. I cut the trail to get to the parking lot faster, but ended up adding a hill to my hike. Soaked and pumped up, I finally got to the parking lot. There were many cars parked there by now. My hike lasted just over 3 hours. I would definitely come back here. It's a peaceful retreat, for sure!

2021 Year in Review

 

Mount Pisgah Trail and Buckhorn Gap Trail to Twin Falls near Asheville, TN

The morning sky was just incredible today.

Mount Pisgah Trail is located right off Blue Ridge Parkway, one of the most stunning roadways compared to California State Route 1. The parking lot at the beginning of the trail as it is described on Alltrails was closed for the season, but I did some research ahead of time and found that people parked at Buck Spring Gap, less than quarter a mile away. I walked up the stairs to have found another, closer parking lot.

The trail is a "must hike" kind of train in Pisgah forest. It offers amazing views and a great workout as you gain 860 ft in about 1.5 mile. The whole trip was 3.16 mi, including me taking the "stairs" and walking towards the main parking lot. The views at the top were incredible. It was quite windy, and I even recorded the sound of wind passing though the tower (video is at the bottom of this post).

I also decided to go to Buckhorn Gap Trail to Twin Falls where I would hike 4 miles along the stream. The trailhead was 2.5 miles from the main road on a rugged pathway. Luckily, it was not too bad, and my car slowly made it to the starting point. The issue was that there was absolutely no reception there. I was not able to access the map, and the signs were minimal, to say the least. I was able to track my route and found Twin falls on the map. After hiking away from the falls, I got a bit suspicious and decided to take a loop that eventually brought me back to the road. I did enjoy the trail quite a bit. It was this perfect fall hiking you think about when you look at pictures of forest in the fall with leaves rustling under your feet.

Random streams

Twin Falls from a distance

Creek Crossing

After finishing the hike I decided to go back to the cottage and relax for the rest of the day. I was ready to go home tomorrow, and so was Kitty.

Four Waterfalls Trail and Hooker Falls Trail near Asheville, NC

For Christmas this year I decided to go to Asheville, NC. I have been in Asheville before in early October of 2020 (here and here are the descriptions of my trip), but now with no foliage on trees it would look completely different. 

I was lucky to have an amazing weather for the holidays. It got to 72 degrees! I rented a cottage for 3 nights and took my cat with me. He wasn't overly pleased with the ride, especially when we got to the area with multiple turns. Before arriving at the cottage, I stopped by to pick up a coconut cream pie I pre-ordered a few days ago at Whistle Stop Market. Kitty has vomited by then, and I knew I quickly needed to check in. The pie turned out to be fantastic, by the way...

While the cottage did not turn out as great as I hoped it would, the hiking and overall experience in Asheville were very good. I arrived around 2.30 pm and went out to Oskar Blues Brewery, an outdoor only experience with minimal heat provided. Beer was quite good. Reasonably frozen, we headed to Sora Japanese for sushi and it did not disappoint. Quick service, good food and a very pleasant atmosphere.

I stayed the rest of the night in enjoying the large screen TV with a whole bunch of premium channels in my Airbnb (this was probably one of the few highlight features of the rental).

The next day in the morning I headed to hike Four Waterfalls Trail. I am still not really sure why this trail is called "Four" waterfalls as I have only seen 3. Those three were really nice nevertheless.

The access to the first one, Triple Falls, was partially closed, so I was not able to get near it, but enjoyed the view from afar.

High Falls, the second waterfall, was really nice. I got close to the bottom and then was able to get a good view from further away.

Grassy Creek Falls was the last waterfall I saw, much smaller. On the way there, I passed through the covered bridge that I believe was used for horses in the past.

I finished the hike and found another trail starting from the same parking lot. Hooker Falls Trail (not sure why someone would name a beautiful waterfall like that) is an easy hike towards Hooker falls. I found this waterfall to be my favorite.

I thought I would do another hike after, but was quite lazy and hungry and went back to my Airbnb. After lunch I drove to Asheville and walked around the city. I stopped at a school bus-like coffee shop to get coffee (not the best coffee I've had), bought amazing dessert (well, 3 desserts, but who's counting) at Old Europe Pastries (their tiramisu was not that great, but the hazelnut dessert was to die for) and visited a book store that reminded me how much I love books. A great afternoon. With dessert in hand, I knew it was time to taste it and headed back to my Airbnb.

The rest of the evening was spent watching the new series of "Sex and the City" or whatever the alternative is chowing down delicious dessert. I mean, come on, who can beat that kind of Christmas Eve???

Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, TN

Located just 10 minutes from my apartment, Ijams Nature Center was highly recommended to me by several people as a nice retreat away from the city. On a cold (almost freezing) Tuesday morning, right before the beginning of my work day, I headed out to hike a trail that was supposed to cover the perimeter of the park. 

Sadly, it barely got me to the midpoint because of the trail closure. The trail came close to the water, and hiking on a boardwalk was rather peaceful, but the hum of the city together with its industrial smell just didn't give me that feeling that I was in nature. 

It's interesting how when you take the pictures out of the context, they look pretty incredible. But with the sound and smell, the whole photo changes. I would like to see what this park would look like in the spring, but for now I don't think I will come back.

House Mountain - First Hike in Tennessee

Move in date - November 30th; first hike date - December 4th. No time to waste!

This hike was an interesting one. It's been a while since I have hiked in the winter (well, technically not winter yet) among bare trees. House Mountain trail was a 4 mile trail with some elevation gain, and in my perception was going to be an easy one. 

Somehow it was not. Maybe it is my lack of regular hiking practice or possibly I was exhausted from the move, but going uphill was pretty strenuous. The surface was covered with fallen leaves making the ground somewhat slippery. My hiking shoes were up to the challenge sturdily gripping the moist soil under my feet. The rocks were a bit more difficult, but with careful foot positioning, I got to the top of the mountain. The view was rather nice.

The way down was a bit more tough as now slippery leaves were hiding rocks and roots underneath them. There is something about the sound of fallen leaves that made me feel peaceful in this serene place with few people around me. Quiet, very quiet...