Each year our Highlands Chamber of Commerce organizes a litter pickup for our town. Volunteers by the dozen show up to clean the roads of litter debris. This year’s Plateau Pickup was scheduled for last weekend, but bad weather delayed it a week. I met neighbors Pam and Roger at the designated park. We enjoyed a light breakfast provided by the event and picked up our t-shirts, orange vests, garbage bags, gloves, and handy picker-uppers. We checked our assignments and listened to last minute instructions. We drove to our starting point and got our equipment ready. And then we were off on our mission! It didn’t take long for the bags to fill up. As I walked and looked at the beauty around me, I wondered how anyone can throw out trash in such a gorgeous area. We were determined to get every last can, beer bottle, styrofoam cup we saw, not to mention the cell phone, men’s boxer shorts, and dental flossers we gathered. Ha! Trucks came by frequently to take our filled bags and give us more empty bags to fill. When we had cleaned several assigned areas (over 10 bags for our three-person team), we headed back to town to enjoy a lunch prepared for the volunteers. Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with all the fixings and sweet treats for dessert...yum! If you’re ever in Highlands, North Carolina on our annual Plateau Pickup Day, be sure to join us. We love our sweet small town!
0 Comments
Mike and his wife, Dianne, offered to guide us on a hike through Panthertown just outside of Cashiers, NC. If a person isn’t familiar with Panthertown, it’s easy to get lost. Mike lives there and is an active member of Friends of Panthertown—- a group of volunteers who take care of the hiking paths. He is a wealth of information about the area and we were thrilled to take him up on his offer. We met at the Salt Gap Trailhead and took our traditional selfie. We took off down the trail... ...and soon came to a lovely vista of Panthertown. Mike pointed out where we’d be hiking today. And then we were off again hiking the Panthertown Valley Trail. Wet muddy spots were common along the trail, but we maneuvered around those areas. We stopped at one wet spot to check out a pod of frog eggs floating in the water. Mike and Dianne took us out on a large sandbar with a perfect swimming hole—-Sandbar Pool. We lingered a few minutes and then returned to the trail. We crossed a bridge spanning a creek... ...and continued on across the wet trail. We turned down a path and crossed a footbridge to Schoolhouse Falls. No hike is complete without a waterfall and a view! We took a break here before continuing on. Mike showed us his bear “gun.” And then it was time to hike up to the top of Little Green Mountain. So UP we went... ...and UP... ...and UP... ...until we reached the top. What a lovely view! Mike and Dianne picked this spot for a lunch break. Perfect! After a nice lunch, we walked across the mountain top. We stopped often to take in the views. And then it was time to come down off the mountain. So down we went. When we finally reached the bottom I just had to turn back and get a picture of that final set of steps we had come down. We continued on the trail. And, yes, it was wet on this side, too! Mike told us the area pictured below was a favorite hangout for the bears so we picked up the pace. I’m not sure how many bears are in Panthertown, but I know it’s a bear sanctuary so I would think there are a lot! We took a little detour to see Granny Burrell Falls. We stopped to look for the native brook trout which fill these waters. Fishing is permitted but only catch and release. Then it was time to hike the rest of the way out of Panthertown Valley. Mike had told us that Panthertown was like a bowl which meant we had to hike up the side to leave. Did I mention UP? We made one last stop at the vista from the very beginning of our hike where Mike had shown us where we would be hiking. This time we recapped where we had been. Thank you, Mike and Dianne, for a wonderful hike. We can see why you love it!
|
Phil & SharonMarried 40 years and hoping to enjoy many more! Archives
December 2019
Categories
All
Categories
All
|