Wilderness hike

Finally catching up on this blog.  Saturday, Roya and I did one of the ultimate challenging wilderness hikes and the best thing, it's right outside my door.  We hiked down my bluff to the falls where Laurel Branch meets an unnamed creek.  There are no trails to get there, just a several hundred foot slope of treacherous boulders and fallen trees.   There are just a few places accessible to get down off the bluff, none on my property.  The initial slope is certainly well in excess of 45º.    About the hardest 2 mile hike imaginable.   Locals have told me, "don't go down there alone."  In the almost 12 yrs I've lived here, it was only my 4th time going down.   Twice alone and my second time with Roya.   

The gorgeous falls are so remote and difficult to get to, it is not a stretch to believe that these falls go literally years between human visits.  As one gets deeper into the gorge, cell phone service and even GPS begins to disappear.  The spring is the best time to do this before the leaves come out.   But even with the increased visibility, it is still easy to get disoriented and lost.   We briefly got lost on our return as we took the wrong creek branch but as we got on higher ground, we got the GPS and compass to work and righted our path.   Agility, caution, and fitness is a must to get down and back out.  I can't imagine how a rescue could be carried out in such difficult terrain in case of an accident or injury.  

I wanted to go all the way to the meadow in Lost Cove and to Prince Spring, but we stopped about a half mile short and started the return.   It was really tough on my foot.   Lost over 2 lbs in the effort.