It's the first day of ATC Vista event in Johnson City, TN. I met my hike group at 7:45 on the ETSU campus. Our's was the only hike leaving at this hour. Originally scheduled to go on Big Yellow Mtn but due to rain we are hiking on the AT to Iron Mountain. Our hike leaders are Jersey transplants to Johnson City, Sharon and Bob. Our group numbers lucky 13 hikers. We have folks from NY, MA, NC, SC, TN and PA. Sharon and Bob had hiked this on Wednesday and were reporting over 100 Turks Cap and Carolina Lilies.
It is a cool morning in the mid 60s with a chance of rain. After parking at a rather large parking area along Rt 91, we head out southbound on the AT. Yesterday's several inches of rain has dampened the forest and filled the streams. We pass a Carolina lily, many Rattlesnake plantains in bloom and numerous boletes and amanitas. We also pass a tent with a fellow resting inside. Bob mentions that he was there on Wednesday, 2 days ago. He said hello to our group so we were somewhat assured he was in distress.
Our hike ascended up Iron Mountain. The mountain is a long ridge mountain without any other road access for about 18 miles where it reaches Watauga Lake. There is only one shelter in this area. Another one, near Watauga Lake was removed a few years. It was close enough to a road that it became a party spot and bears were frequenting daily. A trail maintainer told me, people were feeding bears there by leaving food.
On the ridge we passed several Turks Cap lilies before arriving at our turnaround spot - Uncle Nicky's memorial and grave site.
Lived alone, suffered alone, died alone.
While we sat by the memorial, Bob had told us Uncle Nicky's story prepared by another local hike enthusiast. Nick Grindstone grew up on a farm in the area and seemed to start out life in a normal manner. He made his way to California but years later ended up back here. He built a cabin on the ridge of Iron Mountain and lived here for 40 years. There was water nearby. He had a vegetable garden and hunted for food. He'd make a trek into a local community occasionally for a few supplies and a haircut. One day a rattlesnake slithered into the cabin to warm itself by the fire. Nick let the snake stay and it became a regular visitor. They left each other alone and you might say it was his pet. Until, someone dropped by to pay a visit, saw the snake and shot it. During his last years, his constant companion was a dog, Panter. Nick finally passed and was discovered by someone stopping by. For three days Panter would not let anyone near the body. Finally, Nick was laid to rest right there beside his cabin. He died 100 years and 13 days before our visit. It took a couple years, but local folks held a celebration of life for Nick. Hundreds made the trek to attend. A gravestone was installed on the cabin's chimney. The grave was adjacent to the chimney. Over time the memorial has been repaired. There are pieces of pots and other items that have been embedded in the mortar.
Our return hike was uneventful. We passed by the flowers we had seen on the way up. It is always exciting to see lilies, even the same ones seen earlier. The tent was still occupied by the fellow we had seen in the morning. I wonder what his story is.
Bob had promised several times that we would have an add on hike at the end if everyone agreed. No one objected, so once back at the parking area, we walked across the road to continue on the AT.
Until just a few years, the property across the road was an operating farm. The property is know as the Osborne Farm and was considered a prime property to add to the national forest and the AT. We entered the farm through a gate with a complicated latch. Sara, the youngest of us, was given the chore of figuring out the latch. It took her a few mere seconds to open it, disappointing Bob who had hoped it would be a comical undertaking. Being the last one through, I closed the gate and tried to open the latch. It took me considerably longer than it took Sara.
We walked across open fields and took a look at the barn. Sharon took a group photo of us here (first photo of this blog entry). We continued a short distance to a wonderful bench where there were very scenic views.
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