Lack of Peakbagging

Sadly, I haven't bagged any new peaks since February 11, 2010, when I attained the summit of Cheaha Mountain, the highest peak in Alabama. For the most part, hiking has still been a steady part of my weekly regimen, until this summer.

The hyper-extending knee incident earlier this year put me on the sidelines for a while. I decided to keep my walks on the paved roads of my neighborhood, or on the not so rough paths of Meeks Park. My knee felt "loose" for many weeks and made me shy away from uneven terrain. I kept imagining an improperly placed step on a rock, or a rut and having my knee hyper-extend, this time with more severe consequences.

In fact, when I did finally venture out on the Appalachian Trail hiking north from Dick's Creek Gap, my knee did exactly that. On two separate occasions, my knee just buckled backwards, for seemingly no reason. They weren't bad enough to send me to the ground, but bad enough to make me realize that it wasn't completely healed.

Then in late spring, I caught a cold that lasted the better part of three weeks. Coughing, sinus pressure, the whole works. Once I got over that ailment, it was summer which swept in with a vengeance.

For the first part of summer, it rained almost daily here in my part of North Georgia. Then, like the flick of a switch, it stopped, and has been very dry. Right now, my garden looks pitiful due to the excessively high temperatures and lack of rain.

I have also spent a lot of time on my property attempting to control an infestation of Chinese Privet which has taken over the lower part of the lot next to Brasstown Creek. It may seem strange to a lot of folks, but I really enjoy clearing brush, as well as cutting and trimming trees without the use of any power tools.

I have three tools that I use: a pruning saw, a tree pruner (loppers), and a swing blade for non-woody vegetation. It's a slow process, but knowing that I am clearing the land without using a pollution spewing two-stroke engine, doing it the way it would have been done 100 years ago, is rewarding. Plus, it is labor intensive which provides me a bit of a workout to replace the lack of trail time I've had this summer. I also like that the work is done while still being able to hear the babbling of the creek, the wind blowing through the trees, and the kingfisher's call as it races up and down the creek.

The dogs and I finally worked the trails back into our weekly routine, just for workout hikes. We'll go an hour up the trail and return. As soon as this heat wave breaks, the goal is to add Sassafras Mountain in SC, and Mount Mitchell in NC to my list of state high points. Until then, its yard work and short walks until I have something more interesting to share.