Introduction
Greetings, hiking enthusiasts, and welcome to the 84th entry in the Hiking topic section. This article highlights my 206th hike on House Mountain (my mountain) on Saturday, 3/28/2026.
Previously, my 205th hike was on Sunday afternoon, 1/4/2026. The article from 1/9/2026 was about that hike. The two articles from February were about my father-in-law's transition from temporal to everlasting life and the snow, which delayed his graveside service. The three earlier articles in March focused on yard work at the homeplace and a dusting of snow. Obviously, other more pressing matters kept me out of the woods for the last two months.
Saturday's weather was clear, crisp, and perfect for hiking. House Mountain was calling. It was about time. I had to go! Please enjoy hiking along with me on my 206th House Mountain hike by reading this article.
Hiking Up on the West Trail
Delays: Early Saturday morning, I did a load of laundry. Later, around 11:15 AM, my sister-in-law, who lives nearby, drove over to pick up Mrs. Appalachian Irishman. Jamie, a family friend from Athens, Tennessee, had turned another year older the previous Wednesday. My wife, her sister, and our niece went on a girls' day trip to Athens to celebrate Jamie's birthday. Also around that time, Kevin, our mower guy, arrived to mow. I waited until he finished before driving the short distance in my 2006 Frontier to House Mountain.
Leaving home, the temperature was 55 degrees Fahrenheit with light breezes at times. At the parking lot, my 20-year-young truck registered 199,773.6 miles. Touching the marker near the covered picnic area at 1:56 PM, I started hiking up the connector trail. Before reaching the bridge, the low-lying area was wet and muddy. Smooth rocks, however, provided stepping stones. Across the bridge, I turned left at the junction to go up the west bluff.
Well before reaching the lower four switchbacks, a recently fallen tree forced me to crawl on hands and feet to get up and over it. Thankfully, I didn't come across any other obstacles. At 2:12 PM, I started ascending the six upper switchbacks, and, seven minutes later, I reached the highest one. My upper layers were a tee shirt and a thin pullover long-sleeve shirt. I almost shed the long-sleeve shirt while hiking up the upper switchbacks. They provided another excellent cardiovascular workout!
Twelve minutes later, at 2:31 PM, I had negotiated the trail below the ridgeline and reached the west bluff. Only pausing at times to sip water from my canteen, I had made the complete trek up from the base to the bluff in 35 minutes. I still enjoy the spectacular views of the rock outcroppings on the trail below the ridge. Further, I am still able to cautiously scale up the two rock formations, which require crawling up on hands and feet.
Trekking Across the Ridge to the Upper-Middle Bluff
At the west bluff, I conversed briefly with a younger man, who had been hiking up just behind me. It was his first hike on House Mountain. Not yet fully recovered from a viral infection, the younger man planned to keep in mind my description of the bluffs on the ridge trail. At the moment, however, he was still weak from his recent virus and planned to hike back down the west trail.
After cooling off and enjoying the view, I continued northeast along the ridge trail at 2:37 PM. Not wishing to delay my arrival at the upper-middle bluff, I avoided exploring around the foundation where the old fire tower once stood, the dilapidated two-seater outhouse, and the rock formation, which I call the “picnic rock.”
A few minutes after passing the trail junction that leads down the east trail, I passed by the lower-middle bluff. An American flag was flying along aside the rock formation. Around five minutes later, at 2:58 PM, I reached the upper-middle bluff!
Already at the bluff were a young woman and her two daughters (ages 9 & 20 months). As requested, I photographed them using her phone camera. She said that her husband and their two sons were adventuring elsewhere.
After they left to hike back down and out, I took the following photograph at 3:20 PM:
I was sitting on a rock formation behind me. The spectacular view looks northwest toward the Cumberland Mountains, which are farthest away in the image. The lush and expansive valley was below me. Not in the image, I counted at least four hawks circling nearby. Do you understand why I enjoy the challenging hike up to see this view? I thought so.
Hiking Down and Out on the East Trail
Five minutes after taking the above photograph, I started the trek out and down along the east trail. Like the west trail, the east trail includes six upper switchbacks. The highest one, eroded over the years by inconsiderate hikers, remains a challenge for my surgically repaired right knee and foot. Crawling down on my backside, using hands and feet, I safely negotiated the area.
Just after descending the upper switchbacks, I was pleasantly surprised to meet Maurice and Angela again. They are mentioned with high regard in the articles from 10/26/2023 and 12/1/2023. A finer couple you could not meet on House Mountain.
At 4:15 PM, as I was meandering southwestward along the low-lying trail, my “long-suffering” wife called my cell phone. Her sister had dropped her off at the house after their girls' day trip to Athens. Unfortunately, my wife didn't have her house key with her! Undaunted, she decided to await my return on the front porch. Molly, our 11-year-young “puppy,” of course, entertained her.
At 4:48 PM, I touched the same marker near the picnic area to end my hike. Two hours and 52 minutes in the woods was better than not having been there! It was a great “man day out.”
Conclusion
Yes, once at my truck, I called my dear wife to let her know that I was leaving. Arriving home just before 5 PM, I saw my wife wandering around in the front yard. Not angry at me because she forgot to take her house key; she was merely glad to be able to go indoors.
In the future, dear reader, if you have a spouse who enjoys hiking, you may want to take your house key if you are out and about on your own. Who knows? Your avid-hiker spouse may have decided to go hiking!
Please stand by, dear friend. I hiked House Mountain again the next afternoon on Palm Sunday. That forthcoming article will follow this one.
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