Introduction
Howdy, fellow hiking enthusiasts! The first article this year was somber, but it did include a touch of humor. It also mentioned my 188th “hike,” or walk, on House Mountain, at least on the loop trails. This year's second article brought out the analyst in me, but it ended with an encouraging note.
The second article mentioned that I didn't publish any articles in 2007, 2015, or 2018. According to my hiking record, I hiked House Mountain seven times in 2007, fourteen times in 2015, and a lucky thirteen times as a “bionic” man in 2018. The 12/17/2023 article was about the hike from 10/17/2015.
This past Sunday, I was reminded about my two hikes on House Mountain in one week back in January 2018 (six years ago). That was the first time that I had hiked House Mountain twice in one week since my near-death experience on Tuesday, 3/29/2016. (The 8/26/2016 article inaugurated the topic section My Bionic Life - since 3/29/2016.)
This sixty-first article under the Hiking topic section recounts my hikes as a “bionic” man on House Mountain on Tuesday, 1/2/2018, and on Saturday, 1/6/2018. That was two hikes in one week! I hope that you enjoy the lucky thirteen photographs as this author hikes down memory lane.
Two Hikes on House Mountain in One Week in January 2018
The 142nd hike on “my mountain” was on Tuesday, 1/2/2018. Four days later, on Saturday, 1/6/2018, I returned to “my mountain” for my 143rd hike.
Tuesday, 1/2/2018, Hike with Eight Photographs
My hiking record indicates that the weather was sunny. The temperature was a balmy 27 degrees Fahrenheit. (I had clipped a hiking thermometer to my belt.) One other vehicle was in the parking lot. I never did see the other hiker.
I hiked up the west trail to the west bluff in 40 minutes, pausing to take three photographs. Continuing east on the ridge trail, I hiked down and out on the east trail. The total time in the woods was from 1:40 to 4 PM. Two hours and twenty minutes in the woods was better than not having been there!
I took the first three photographs while hiking up the west trail. I enjoyed seeing the long, thick icicles! At 2:05 PM, I took the first photograph below at the highest switchback. The view looks north.
I took the following photograph four minutes later. I was on the trail below the ridgeline and heading west. The clear, crisp sky was a sight to behold! I saw more icicles!
The next photograph was three minutes later, after I had hiked a little farther west. Can you see the icicles?
The next three photographs were from along the ridge trail, heading northeast. I took the first photograph below at 2:33 PM. The west bluff was not too far behind me.
The next photograph was seven minutes later. I was near the highest point on that section of the ridgeline trail. The view still looked northeast.
I took the third photograph at 2:51 PM, when I was farther east on the ridgeline trail. The view looks northeast. Can you understand why I call the rock outcropping the “dinosaur rock”?
I did not hike farther east to reach the lower or upper middle bluffs. Instead, I decided to hike down and out on the east trail. The following two photographs are from that hike out. The first one below was at 3:17 PM. I was at the upper switchbacks.
The immense icicles were spectacular! The view looks northeast. The morning sun had broken off the tips of several icicles. Four minutes later, I took the next photograph, still on the same trail going down.
The theme of this hike on Tuesday, 1/2/2018, must have been icicles! I had worn sufficient layers and never felt cold. At the house before the hike, the morning low was 10 degrees Fahrenheit. The high reached about 33 degrees. Cold and sunny weather make for excellent hiking!
Saturday, 1/6/2018, Hike with Five Photographs
Four days later, on Saturday, 1/6/2018, my 143rd hike on “my mountain” was in the records! I hiked up the west trail to the west bluff in 32 minutes. I continued to the lower and upper middle bluffs along the ridge trail. Finally, I hiked back down and out on the east trail. Along the trails, the weather was sunny and about 23 degrees Fahrenheit. Before the hike and at the house, the morning low was four degrees, and the late afternoon high reached 25 degrees.
I took the following two photographs four minutes apart at 2:33 PM and 2:37 PM.
The west bluff was behind me. The view looks northeast. Can you see my trusty canteen? Bought around 24 years ago, I still carry it with me on hikes.
In the next image, the fallen icicle was already at the base of the split tree trunk. The view looks southeast. I think another hiker, who had braved the elements before me, placed the icicle there.
The next photograph, at 3:18 PM, was after I reached the upper-middle bluff. The spectacular view looks northeast. The large rock outcroppings are prominent. I was standing on one outcropping.
On my hike down and out on the east trail, I took the following photograph at 4:01 PM.
Now, those were massive icicles!
At 4:45 PM, I photographed my 2006 Nissan Frontier. (He likes to have his picture taken.) The image includes the only other three vehicles that were in the parking lot at the time.
My hiking record indicates that I met a man named Patrick at some point on a trail. Thinking back, I recall that he was hiking down as I was hiking up the west trail. Patrick was a student at the University of Tennessee and majoring in physical therapy. I shared with him my story about the vehicle accident on Tuesday, 3/29/2016, my hospitalizations, outpatient physical therapy, and my recovery progress up to that time. (I am still recovering.) With my permission, he photographed me. I hope that he shared my story and the photograph to encourage others. I have not seen Patrick since the hike.
Conclusion
Yesterday, the weather was too warm, rainy, and windy for a hike. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman enjoyed a “rain closure” day off from work. Public school systems in surrounding counties had also closed due to a little rain and wind.
Today, the weather is windy and cooler. I could have hiked. This morning, my wife's public school system employer called for a two-hour “wind delay.” Several county schools in the area did likewise. My “long-suffering” wife had already planned to leave work early for another “paint and cut” hair appointment. Wisely, she decided to take the entire day off. The humorous article from 3/22/2023 contrasts a “paint and cut shop” with a barbershop.
Thanks, fellow hikers, for hiking down memory lane with me. This article should have been published in January 2018. Publishing it six years late was better than not publishing it at all.
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