Tag: hiking

Posted in treasure

Finding treasures on the trail

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash

We took two grandsons and our two dogs for a hike on a beautiful, sunny, Florida spring afternoon last week. I primed them for the experience, telling them, “You find all kinds of treasures on a trail. You might even find some money!” Their eyes lit up when they heard that last part. At ages eight and five, they have become quite the shoppers, mostly for Pokemon cards. We made sure we brought some bags for all the treasures (and cash) we would discover.

Railroad tracks used to run through this part of the county and now it is a six-mile paved trail. Signs warned against getting too close to alligators, but I’ll bet they rarely crawl out of the swamp onto the path. There’s just too much foot and bike traffic on the path and more food near the water.

For a long time, we didn’t find much in the way of treasures. The trail is well-maintained and I was pleased to see hardly any trash along the way. We found a few pieces of broken glass, which we counted as treasures and placed in the bags. The first real treasure that caught my eye was a small, black metal cross. I thought it might be something that I could put on a necklace for one of the boys, but I don’t think it had a hole in it.

We only hiked a mile in, and then turned around to head back to the trailhead. That’s when something shiny caught the younger boy’s eye: a dime! Now that’s a treasure. Before long, the older brother spied a quarter. It wasn’t much, but it made the afternoon a success.

After a stop at Starbucks for hot chocolate and a snack, we headed home. Later that night, I said, “It’s cool that they actually found some coins.” My wife confessed, “Actually, I planted them. The boys were losing interest, so I dug a couple of coins out of my purse for them to find.” Very clever. The next time we go out, I’ll be sure to bring more “treasure” for the boys to find.

Posted in Travel

One piece of the trail

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We finally hiked our first section of the Appalachian Trail. Only 2,188.25 miles to go.

Our November cabin in Franklin, North Carolina was a few mile from the Winding Stair – Siler Bald section of the trail. We didn’t do the whole 4.7 mile trail. With a Westie leading most of the way, we only went a mile and three quarters. A 3-1/2 mile hike made for a great fall afternoon.

The trailhead is on a highway that connects Asheville and Murphy. One you cross the highway, the trail leads through dense rhododendrons, across a trickle of water, to the start of a long uphill hike.

It’s not an especially steep grade, just steady. Most of the leaves had fallen, so I could see hundreds of yards in every direction through the trees. The only color left was the deep reds of oak trees. The leaf-covered trail is well-marked by white rectangles on successive trees.

We took our first break at Moore campground, and then went another 3/4 mile where we decided to head back downhill. From there we could see Siler Bald, another 500 feet up, where the view would be amazing. Of course we shared our water, oranges, and bars with the dog.

We only passed one other hiker the whole day. A solo hike was coming down the hill as we worked our way up. With two hiking poles, he looked like he knew what he was doing.

It’s actually harder going down. It’s tougher on the knees, and I had to pay closer attention to my steps. You can’t see all the stones and roots on the trail when it’s covered by leaves. I’m happy to report that we didn’t have anyone stumbles that day.

Without a dog in tow, we might have done the whole section. I don’t know if we’ll do the whole thing, but I’m looking forward to hiking more parts of the AT.