Early Birthday To Me

Mark surprised me with a trip for my birthday this year a little early because we had Fall Break and he was hoping the leaves would be turning because he knows how much I love fall with the smells and the changing of the leaves.  Not to mention the mountains and hiking.

Here we are bright and early on Sat morning all packed and ready to go.  All our gear is packed in my backpack weighing in at 27 pounds and Mark carrying the camera backpack weighing in at around 12 pounds.  

Temperature 39 degrees.  

Listening pleasure...The First Lady by James Patterson.

We are heading to Big South Fork National River and Recreational Area...specifically Charit Creek Lodge, Fork Ridge Road,  Jamestown Tennessee.

Charit Creek Lodge is a rustic backcountry lodge that is only accessible by biking, hiking or on horseback.  From the trailhead, it is a 1.1-mile hike from the ridge top to the valley floor.  (More about that in a later blog.)

A funny little tidbit...the parking lot is on Central Time while the lodge is on Eastern Time.  Ponder that for a minute.  I was always confused.  

There is no electricity so there is no WiFi or phone service.  Oil burning lamps in the lodge while the cabins have a propane lantern.  Bathrooms are separate from the cabins.  Showers are separate from the bathrooms.  Family-style meals with strangers.  Cabins have wood-burning stoves that must be stoked all night long and a cooler that is used as your personal bear box.  Oh and two blankets, one really soft one and one heavy wool one.

You might be thinking that we have finally both gone off the deep end.  How on earth!  Why would we want to do something like this with all the health issues Mark has going on and my plantar factitious?  We say why not!  You only live once so you should take advantage of it while you still can because you never know what tomorrow will bring.  So grab your trekking poles and let's go!