Took a day trip down to the Ocoee River and did the Upper/Middle Ocoee.

Let’s just say the trip didn’t start as planned. But I hit the highway early Saturday morning thinking I had plenty of time. Even stopped at Target in Cleveland, TN to pick up a waterproof camera (which I still haven’t gotten developed) and a coffee… gotta have my dose of caffeine before something like this.
Well needless to say where I thought Ocoee Rafting was… it wasn’t. So I quickly stopped and asked for directions (yea… when your deposit hinges on getting there on time you’ll stop and get directions). As I was driving up the hill the bus was heading down and off towards the launch point. The management at Ocoee Rafting was awesome… they could have just canceled my trip for being late but they gave me my equipment and said if I can catch the group before they put in then I was good. Let’s just say it comes in handy at times to have a gas guzzling Hemi powered truck. I parked and ran up to the boat just to help put it in the water.
The Ocoee has over 20 continuous Class III and IV Rapids that drops 260 feet from start to finish.
The Ocoee River is dam-controlled, so the water levels stay constant. Though this weekend they were letting out the surge due to water levels and upcoming rains. It took away a couple of rapids where you can paddle back into them and surf a bit, but it added a little kick to the rest of them. Such as Hell’s Hold and Double Suck. Our guide was awesome, he guided us right into the meat of each rapid. While pushing the limits of the raft and giving us one hell of a ride, he also kept us from pushing it too far and getting tangled up with the other boats and rocks. I forget his name, but look for the crazy red headed grizzly bear with his goatee braided in two strands. If I go back, I’m definitely requesting him.
Each section is about 1 1/2 hours long and it flies by. If I didn’t have to get back to Knoxville or the next tour wasn’t sold out I might have done it back to back.
Look for the dam release dates in 2009 and plan your trip… and be sure to check out Ocoee Rafting. They are well worth getting on their trips.

One day this past Fall, Kaye and I decided to go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I got online and found Gregory Bald. For those that don’t know or haven’t been hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gregory Bald is a mountain on the western fringe of the Great Smoky Mountains. It has an elevation of 4,949 feet (1,508 meters) above sea level. The mountain’s majestic summit makes it a popular hiking destination.

Gregory Bald is located along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, between Blount County and Swain County. It rises approximately 3,000 feet above its northern base in Cades Cove, and approximately 3,300 feet above its southern base at Fontana Lake. The mountain is located entirely within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

We decided to take Gregory Ridge Trail which begins at the end of Forge Creek Road and is a 5.5 mile trail to the summit. Forge Creek Road is a gravel road on the Cades Cove Loop just past the Cable Mill area, at the very back corner. Which means you have to sit and wait behind all the people stopping on the road to take a picture of a tree or a twig. Really people… Really?

The hike up wasn’t that bad, though we were worried when we only saw two other cars in the parking area. Either this is a trail that a lot of people don’t care to climb or bears are eating everyone and hijacking their cars and using them in drive by maulings. I’m going to go with the first, though the amount of bear scat really had me wondering about bear activity. They warned that during late fall when the blackberries and raspberries were out on top of Gregory Bald that bear activity was increased.

The tortuous thing about this hike was that after about 3.5 miles every new crest felt like it was going to be the summit, but when you got there you only realized there was another crest. Down and up, around hills, over multiple crests, a couple streams and we finally hit the sign saying Gregory Bald was just ahead. Actually just ahead was .6 miles that felt like another 3 miles but making it this far there was no way we were turning back.

As we made it to the top of Gregory Bald we realized it was well worth the hike. Even on a partly cloudy day the views were breathtaking. It was so peaceful on the summit. No other hikers (we passed the other hikers so we knew they didn’t get eaten by bears) were up there. Kaye and I were able to just walk around and take in the scenery. Though while relaxing I decided to take some pictures. As I was taking a picture of Kaye, I froze up and was telling her not to move… just don’t move. I imagine she thought it was a bear due to the amount (and size) of the bear scat on the summit, but it turned out to be a doe walking up behind her. It walked right up to both of us and took a good sniff (though after sweating all day I’m surprised it didn’t kill the deer right there). We just sat and took pictures while it walked around us.

Pleased with our bonding with nature we decided to head on back down. We were almost back to the truck, about a mile, when we ran into a large black bear. Luckily we scared it and it took off into the woods. I’ve never seen one run, but have always heard that you can’t outrun one so don’t even try. After seeing how fast that bear hit the woodline I now agree completely with that statement. If that bear would have charged me I doubt I’d have had time to realize I just dropped a load in my pants let alone Smokey the Bear was using my arm as a beef jerky treat.
After that we stopped by a log cabin on the way out and a little coyote pup came right up to us. It came right up to the truck and stood there and watched Kaye and I walk over to the cabin. As cute as he looked he probably would have eaten my face off (My FACE!), but luckily he decided he wouldn’t.

We took a trip down to Atlanta to spend the day at Six Flags while they had their Fright Fest going on. I knew, but this trip reaffirmed
my thoughts that going to Six Flags is merely for the rides. Not the food, atmosphere or anything else besides standing in lines and wondering
if the G forces are going to bring back that turkey leg you had for lunch. Speaking of turkey leg, that is about the only thing worth getting there to eat.

Tailgating was great, weather was wonderful for a football game. And of course, we lost. No surprise.

Kaye and I took the Jeep around town for a bit and down by the lake. Enjoying the last of the warmer weather and the colors of Fall.

It was HOT! We didn’t make it through halftime before we had to head back to the tailgate spot to cool off.

Well Homecoming was a beautiful day. Usually this game is already penciled in as a ‘W’. Good thing we had our erasers, because the day ended with another loss for the VOls.

The tailgating was great but the game was another letdown of the season.

This post is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password:

Well, the the Tennessee Volunteers managed to beat the Kentucky Wildcats. But that’s not really saying much since they hold the longest winning streak of one opponent over another. Also losing would have made this team the worst team (with 8 loses) ever in UT history. So I’m sure they don’t want to be known as the team that sent Phil out with a loss, ended the ‘THE STREAK‘, and be known as the worst team ever. So on a cold, rainy day in November the Vols showed the sparse crowd how they can really play, especially in the second half. The only highlight of the first half was the last second dive into the end zone for a score. It was the second half that showed what this team could have been. I started this season with the Vols in Pasadena at the Rose Bowl with the UCLA loss. That game crushed me and I figured it crushed the Vols. I just hope next season starts with a bashing of the Bruins here in Neyland and a new era under Kiffin. But Coach Fulmer went out a winner and was carried off the field (that was the way it should have been) where he went 152 - 52, second only to the person the stadium is named after. Not bad Coach. Wish you well.

More importantly, we had our final tailgate of the year. Even though it was rainy, cold and down right freakin miserable; we had the Orange showing and the jello shots flowing. Steve and I also donned our Vol ties for this final moment in Vol history, as well as our victory cigars. Which we smoked early since we were that confident… also we were just too cold to wait and figured some sort of heat, any sort, would help keep hypothermia from settling in. Here’s to the tailgate crew for another fine year of food grubbin, ass smackin’, jello shootin’, beer drinkin, orange wearin’ and awesome tailgatin’!

RIP Sawyer’s … your wings and bathroom will be missed. And till next year… as Mike says…

IT’S GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMME DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYY!