Introduction
Last Sunday afternoon, 11/8/2020, was warm enough for only a tee-shirt during the hike. I didn't need another layer. After hiking, I changed from that sweat-soaked tee-shirt into a dry one, which was in my 2006 Frontier.
As I hiked down and out, I could smell my sweaty odor. It’s no wonder that the deer, which I'd heard but didn't see to the west of me, kept its distance.
Soapbox Sidetrack
The man-made global climate change folks, with their not very well hidden agenda, must have enjoyed making hay with this heat. But wait! The “guvrmint,” on National Weather Service: Knoxville normals and records for November, tells me today that the hottest four days in November were as follows:
11/08/2005 81° Fahrenheit (15 years ago)
11/09/2005 81°
11/11/1879 80° (141 years ago)
11/13/1879 78°
The Industrial Revolution started in or around the year 1880, the year that Papaw Ferrell was born. By logical reasoning, without taking time to break down each step here, since educated readers can do likewise, global climate change occurs based on varying natural weather and solar patterns. The logical leap, which is not verified, is the man-made part.
We humans do need to take care of (i.e., conserve) the planet where God has placed us, as he told us to do. The Creator provided fossil fuels so we could use them. We must use them cleanly, as we appear to be trying to do fairly well. We need to keep the air, land, and water (both above and below ground) clean. My father was a water-well driller.
That doesn’t mean, unless folks wish to do so, that we stop driving vehicles, using electricity, using central heat and air, and so forth. Of course, if we all decided to go back to living like folks did around 1880, without the modern trappings of life, then we might keep the world cleaner. I would be glad to live as they did in the 1880s or even the 1780s. Will the global climate change socialists and propagandists join me? I doubt it.
Okay, that’s enough of my soapbox sidetrack. Let’s hike on!
173rd Hike (37th with “Bionic” Joints)
Without looking at my watch first, my determination of the approximate time of day, within 15 to 30 minutes by checking the sun’s position in the sky, did not factor in “guvrmint” time!
I started hiking at 1:33 PM. I took the east trail up. (Usually, I take the harder west trail.) The above photograph looks south and down the trail, up which I had hiked. The location is the final switchback before the ridgeline. I hunkered down at knee level to take the photograph. It looks as if the trail disappears. It doesn’t. The erosion, caused by too many hikers cutting the switchback over the years, drops the trail sharply about 45 degrees. I hope that the switchback is restored eventually. I would be glad to help.
The above photograph is at the middle bluff. I was standing below and to the east of the rock bluff, a part of which was above me and to the left of the image. The tree gave my trusty cell phone camera shade to photograph the west side of the mountain. The leaves were in fairly good color.
The above photograph is about the opposite of the previous one. You can see more of the tree that gave my phone camera shade. The view looks northeast. My old cell phone camera still takes a good photograph, in my opinion.
By the way, two or three groups of hikers were on the bluff. They were good people. One couple spoke English as a second language. They spoke with me in English and with each other in their native tongue. It was another international experience on “My Mountain!”
Leaving the middle bluff, I hiked west along the ridgeline to the west bluff. I enjoyed the solitude there.
Profound Sidetrack
My total time in the woods was from 1:33 to 4:28 PM, almost three hours. I met a few folks hiking or while at the middle bluff, but not too many. I had plenty of solitude. I talked to the Good Lord for a while. (He didn’t talk back.) The trappings of modern life unburdened themselves.
There was no work-from-home or at-the-office insanity, no political humdrum, and no “new cold virus” obsession. I did see a group of three, each wearing a mask, in the heat and sun. I don’t know how they could breathe. There were no computer technical or software aggravations. There were no worries, as if I ever have any.
Every day that you spend in the woods adds at least a day or more to your life. That’s my saying. You may cite me if you wish. Instead, however, I suggest that you take my advice. Let’s hike!
Okay, that was my profound sidetrack. Let’s hike out now.
Conclusion
I didn’t take any photographs at the west bluff or while hiking down the west trail (which I usually hike up). I was too busy hiking, sipping water from my trusty canteen, and wiping sweat by taking off my cap, wiping my forehead with my left tee-shirt sleeve, putting my cap back on, and repeating the process. I wasn’t bothered. I’ve done it often while hiking in very warm weather. Give me temperatures in the 20s or 30s for hiking!
The above photograph, taken at 4:28 PM, marks the end of the hike. The signboard in the foreground is what I touch, check my time, and start hiking up. The opposite (not visible) side of the information board to the left includes one of my winter photographs with my name on it, along with other photographs (e.g., of Boy Scouts). Do you see my 2006 Frontier? He was waiting and hoping that I would change into the fresh tee-shirt before I got in! (Yes, my truck is a he.)
Well, let’s see, on this Veterans Day, if I can write another article or two before supper!
No comments:
Post a Comment