A lot of meat but mostly gristle

This morning the sun was not shining. The day was overcast with clouds hanging low in the sky. I was at the trailhead just a little after six intent on just doing some exploring. I started out on the red trail, joined with the orange trail, green trail and then the yellow trail. Three hours later I was back at the South Trail head soaking wet. It rained at some point during the night so the trail was wet and the humidity could be cut with a knife.

Curbie and I then went up the Peavine Road and hiked down to Peavine Falls. There was nothing hard about the hike but when we got below the falls there was only a trickle. I will post a couple of pictures but only to memorialize the trip. All in all there was a lot of exertion this morning but very little to show for it. But in the end getting out and exploring with Curbie is better than sitting in front of the computer.

"The Heat Is On"

I came out of the gym this morning at 8 am and it was already hot and humid. I think if this weather would break every ones humor would improve. The legs felt good this morning so I upped the intensity on the treadmill and Steven followed that up with some fairly heavy strength work.

Even though it is still going to be hot this weekend I will go out to Oak Mountain State Park and do some hiking. I have not hiked up to Peavine Falls this summer so I think I will make that trek. If I am lucky Curbie and I can pick up a ride back to the trail head. What I may actually do is start at the South Trail head and go up to Peavine Falls and back down to the trail head. Then I can go down the blue trail toward the North Trail head and turn around at some point and come back to the South Trail head.

I am just putting in some miles slowly getting in hiking shape for later. The Pinhoti Loop Trail will probably be my next real adventure. The 17 mile loop can be done in one day but I think I will make an overnight out of it. Curbie has not spent the night out in the woods like this before so I think she will enjoy it. The question is will I enjoy her enjoying it?

The Chinnabee Silent Trail Take Two

Chinnabee Silent Trail

Travels with Charlie (Curbie)

If you grew up in the 50's and 60's you know that Captain Kangaroo had a cartoon on in the mornings called "Tom Terrific and Manfred the Wonder Dog". John Steinbeck wrote a novel that I loved called "Travels with Charlie" about his trek across the country in a truck camper with his mutt dog Charlie in the 60's. Curbie has turned into my Charlie and Manfred the Wonder Dog both.

Curbie is a lab mix that Karen picked up as a stray dog in Tarrant. She was one flea bitten mess but she had the sweetest personality. All she ever really wants to do is play unless it thunders. Then all she wants to do is get under the stairs and not come out for a day. When I got back to hiking I knew that I was going to want some company and the beagles cannot go to the woods without a leash. The thought of walking mountain ridge lines holding a leash and wearing a pack did not interest me. So Curbie was my only option. No, Karen was not an option. She is always welcome to come but she does not do hiking.

Curbie and I have done very well hiking together. She stays in front of me for the most part unless she gets real tired then she follows close behind me. I have been able to get her to drink at just about every creek whether she needs to or not. Just in case I bring a plastic bowl and an extra liter of water for her. She will drink out of the bowl but she prefers wading in the creek to cool off and hydrate.

Today Curbie and I hiked the Chinnabee Silent Trail outside of Cheaha State Park. The trailhead was at Turnipseed Parking Area just above Turnipseed Hunting Campground. The trail goes along some nice pine ridge lines, across a waterfall, past a shelter with a great overlook, past Cheaha Falls and into the Chinnabee Recreation Campground. The total distance is about 4 miles one way. This will be a great hike during the fall after the leaves are off the trees. There are a couple of vistas that will be very nice without the leaves. Cheaha Creek runs next to the trail the last third of the trail and the waterfalls while not large are very picturesque.

Curbie and I had brunch at the campground on a picnic table overlooking Lake Chinnabee, a very pretty small lake at the terminus. We brewed some tea, ate some fig newtons and Curbie had a small can of dog food. It does not get any better than that.

After we had our brunch and hydrated we headed back to the Turnipseed Parking Lot the same way we came. The only problem was that it was considerably hotter on the way back. I had to make sure that Curbie drank more than usual as we went over and past the creek. We were both very happy to see the truck.

I went to the Park store and purchased two nice maps of the area. I am interested in doing an overnight trip on the Pinolti Loop Trail. Which is the Chinnabee Silent Trail, Skyway Trail and a section of the Pinholt Trail. The total length of the hike will be 17 miles which is easily done in two days. I want to wait until the fall to do this because I do not like to sleep with the mosquitoes.

I will be posting some pictures of my trip after this post.

Seeing Alabama Again for the First Time

Curbie and I are going to make a road trip this Saturday to Cheaha State Park to do some scouting for a future hike. I have not spent any time in this area and that is a shame. I have been doing some light research as to the types of hiking that may be available in the area and things do look promising.

The Pinhoti Trail is an old Alabama trail covering more that 100 miles in Alabama. The trail runs from around Piedmont southwesterly to near Talledega. Over the last few years the Alabama Trail Hiking Association in conjunction with Georgia are attempting to tie this trail into the Appalachian Trail which continues from North Georgia to a terminus in Maine. The Pinhoti Trail is part of Cheaha State Park for a short distance and connects with other trails inside the park. There is a 17 mile loop called the Pinhoti Trail Loop which looks to be a great overnight weekend hike.

So Curbie and I will go up and check out the park and find some of the trailheads inside the park and do some short day hiking just to get the lay of the land for future hikes. Eventually we will do the same thing around the Sipsey Wilderess. But for now Cheaha State Park looks like our destination for this weekend.

"Give my knees to the needy"

One of my favorite John Prine songs is "I woke up this morning and went into the kitchen and died". The title to this blog segment is a phrase from that song. At this point I do not think that the needy would accept my knees because they sure song like they need oiling. The right one is sore and makes funny noises. I think it is simply a case of getting older. I will only put the pack on a couple of days a week (Tuesday and Thursday) so that I do not overdo it.

Spin class was not very tough today. Either that or my fitness level continues to improve. I never really got to breathing hard until the very end when I was actually in a stationary sprint because I had a lot left to give. One of the girls in the class was not coming back after today so that she could get ready to have her first child. I think the baby is due in about 6 weeks.

I am starting to think about where I want to go hiking next weekend. A lot will depend on the weather. I do not want to do 11 miles in that kind of humidity again and I am certain that Curbie agrees.