More Days at Lost Creek Campground

April 9-10, 2012

I got a bit behind on blogging. We spent 2 whole days at the bottom of the mountain. No rivers are running. We had cold mornings, into the upper 30s and low 40s. It takes a long time to warm up the campsite, due to all the tree coverage. Missy got a fire going, and we pretty much had that the whole time. Missy and I took a trail up the creek and went firewood hunting. This forest allows you to gather wood, so we brought our clippers and our kayak gear bags (which make excellent firewood backpacks) and sought our quarry. The ¼ mile radius around the campground is pretty much picked clean, so we branched out. Found some great pine that wasn't rotten because it hadn't fallen on the ground. It sounds corny, but a fire made from wood you hunted yourself is so much more enjoyable. :-)

I discovered that if you crossed the creek at the end of the campground, there is a nice, level path that continues down the creek. Must be an old road. It's perfect for walking elderly dogs. This creek is so crystal clear that I find it fascinating to just stare into it, looking at the occasional fish and more common pollywogs. I took a picture of a spot that was 6 feet deep, but yet looked only inches deep. But the picture didn't turn out like I'd hoped; you can't tell at all how clear and deep the creek is. Oh well. I did some reading (ebook) and just generally relaxed while the dogs hunted around. Missy took the walk with me one day, but we had to turn around early because someone was fishing. One time, on the walk back, I lost Cassie at the crossing back to camp. I didn't worry, because it was only about 50 yards to the fitty. I walked with Buddy through an empty campsite, and all of a sudden I heard Cassie on the upper trail doing her stranger bark. And then this guy came tearing down the hill at top speed. Cassie had scared the bejesus out of him. I felt terrible, but he was gracious about it.

A coupla other things of (possible) interest: One night I had stored my hammock under the fitty, per usual to protect against dew. Some critter chewed a hole in it and built a nest. There was some kind of synthetic material in there. What was that about? Who builds a nest where there is no food source, under a heavily trafficked (both human and canine) building site? So strange. And the other thing: We'd all been sitting around the campfire trying to list the 43 mammal species listed in a newsletter as being in the Cherokee National Forest. Jeremiah named vulture…and I called him out on naming a bird. Then he and Missy mocked ME, saying birds are mammals! Hah! The next time you, the reader, sees Missy or Jeremiah, be sure to mock them for thinking birds are mammals.