I walked under the old bridge and looked at the graffiti and kind of abandoned atmosphere the area had. It was a bit surreal.
Friday, May 31, 2019
April 25 - Tallulah Gorge 10/47
Wasn't feeling so spectacular today, but I still wanted to take advantage of the nice weather so I headed up to Tallulah Gorge State Park, one of my favorite spots in Georgia. I quickly realized I wasn't up for doing the stairs so instead ventured down the road to the south side of the gorge, an area I haven't spent much time at. It's definitely a different perspective on the place!
I walked under the old bridge and looked at the graffiti and kind of abandoned atmosphere the area had. It was a bit surreal.
I walked under the old bridge and looked at the graffiti and kind of abandoned atmosphere the area had. It was a bit surreal.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Big changes coming
It has rankled that I've not posted in over a month, but I have a very good reason.
My wonderful purring ball of floof, my walking pair of potential slippers, my beloved fat cat Percy, passed away after an illness.
This made me realize that living alone was not something I could do with the health issues I have, so I reached out to family and am happy (and relieved) to say they agreed to help.
Long story short, I will be moving in with them by the end of July. It does mean a loss of some independence and comfort, but that is the trade off for being in a safe place.
In happier news, I will have access to a nice DSLR camera from now on. While there will be a bit of a steep learning curve, I hope this means better quality pictures and recordings than what I can get with my phone.
In Travel News
I have a few more parks and events that I've visited over the past month for you guys that I should be uploading soon!
I will also be traveling to Florida for a week in June and plan to visit the beaches and a few parks while there. I'm really looking forward to this as it's been too long since I've gone on vacation. With luck, I'll hit up a tidbit of the Florida Trail while there!
Goal Updates
This made me realize that living alone was not something I could do with the health issues I have, so I reached out to family and am happy (and relieved) to say they agreed to help.
Long story short, I will be moving in with them by the end of July. It does mean a loss of some independence and comfort, but that is the trade off for being in a safe place.
In happier news, I will have access to a nice DSLR camera from now on. While there will be a bit of a steep learning curve, I hope this means better quality pictures and recordings than what I can get with my phone.
In Travel News
I have a few more parks and events that I've visited over the past month for you guys that I should be uploading soon!
I will also be traveling to Florida for a week in June and plan to visit the beaches and a few parks while there. I'm really looking forward to this as it's been too long since I've gone on vacation. With luck, I'll hit up a tidbit of the Florida Trail while there!
Goal Updates
- Get photos going on braidshikes Instagram. I hope they have a queue system!
- Try and get some video put together.
- Issues I've run into: I have reviewed all the footage I took at the last two parks and I'm frankly disappointed. The mic picked up my footsteps louder than the ambient sounds. Another similar sound issue is that rivers just sound like static! Every step jiggles the phone (would a Go Pro fix this?). Motion blur is a problem as I move the camera. I need a tripod so that I can take stable video. I try to hold the phone still, but I need to breathe! xD And the puzzling one... everything looks so washed out. My best guess is that taking photos midday is the culprit here? I hope I can figure this one out.
- That all being said! I am looking forward to figuring out the new camera and getting a tripod. I believe that taking still videos (as opposed to actively hiking) will be the best idea for what I want to do. I hope to pick up a mic and mic cover to better record the ambient sounds of nature.
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Christmas tradition
I want to take a moment to talk a little about a tradition I've had for the past handful of years.
My birthday is ON Christmas Day and is usually one spent in isolation as all the family and friend gatherings are over and done with by that point. Everything's closed on that day but for places like gas stations and Waffle House (and THANK Y'ALL for being there for folks like me.)
Because it's such a lonely and quiet, contemplative (for me) sort of day, I've taken to going somewhere every Christmas and hiking a bit. I usually start up at Neels Gap and take a video of their wind chimes blowing in the chilly wind. Bit of a weird tradition, but the place is devoid of people on that day and it's really beautiful.
This past year, a bit unsure where to go besides Neels Gap, I ended up at Track Rock Archaeological Site. This place was completely unknown to me! No idea we had such a thing in Georgia. Even with the diagrams and guides posted nearby, I had to squint a bit to make out anything carved onto the rocks beyond a few images. It occurred to me that carvings like this could be hidden anywhere and how fun it would be to find others.
I also walked up a bit of the Arkaquah trail across the road. It leads (straight up! I swear) to Brasstown Bald, which I had visited not long before. I'm hoping to work up to being able to tackle the Arkaquah Trail someday soon.
My birthday is ON Christmas Day and is usually one spent in isolation as all the family and friend gatherings are over and done with by that point. Everything's closed on that day but for places like gas stations and Waffle House (and THANK Y'ALL for being there for folks like me.)
Because it's such a lonely and quiet, contemplative (for me) sort of day, I've taken to going somewhere every Christmas and hiking a bit. I usually start up at Neels Gap and take a video of their wind chimes blowing in the chilly wind. Bit of a weird tradition, but the place is devoid of people on that day and it's really beautiful.
This past year, a bit unsure where to go besides Neels Gap, I ended up at Track Rock Archaeological Site. This place was completely unknown to me! No idea we had such a thing in Georgia. Even with the diagrams and guides posted nearby, I had to squint a bit to make out anything carved onto the rocks beyond a few images. It occurred to me that carvings like this could be hidden anywhere and how fun it would be to find others.
I also walked up a bit of the Arkaquah trail across the road. It leads (straight up! I swear) to Brasstown Bald, which I had visited not long before. I'm hoping to work up to being able to tackle the Arkaquah Trail someday soon.
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
April 13 - Hard Labor Creek 9/47
I got to experience my first bit of trail magic!
Went to Hard Labor Creek State Park on what looked like a rather ickily overcast day. Ended up being rather pleasant if warm. It's always a bit of a shock to enter 80+ degree weather after bundling up through winter.
I checked out the Little Free Library by the Visitors' Center and found a brand new copy of a Tad Williams book I didn't have! Happy for that bit of luck and will donate another book when I come across another Free Library.
I decided to film as much of the hike around the only two non- bike and horse trails they have at the park, both of which total 2 miles together in relatively easy loops. The place was fairly busy with people so I did what I could to avoid traffic, dropping the camera when I came across other hikers.
Feeling a bit bummed and peckish since I didn't exactly prep a lunch for myself, I came across an elderly couple who were resting beside the trail with their doggo. After heading down to try and take a decent photo of the flowering meadow nearby, the lady offered me a tangerine. Then her husband offered a square of something made from potatoes that was really tasty. Neither spoke much English at all. I bowed a lot. They seemed tickled.
I will see about cobbling together a video of the hike later.
Went to Hard Labor Creek State Park on what looked like a rather ickily overcast day. Ended up being rather pleasant if warm. It's always a bit of a shock to enter 80+ degree weather after bundling up through winter.
I checked out the Little Free Library by the Visitors' Center and found a brand new copy of a Tad Williams book I didn't have! Happy for that bit of luck and will donate another book when I come across another Free Library.
I decided to film as much of the hike around the only two non- bike and horse trails they have at the park, both of which total 2 miles together in relatively easy loops. The place was fairly busy with people so I did what I could to avoid traffic, dropping the camera when I came across other hikers.
Feeling a bit bummed and peckish since I didn't exactly prep a lunch for myself, I came across an elderly couple who were resting beside the trail with their doggo. After heading down to try and take a decent photo of the flowering meadow nearby, the lady offered me a tangerine. Then her husband offered a square of something made from potatoes that was really tasty. Neither spoke much English at all. I bowed a lot. They seemed tickled.
I will see about cobbling together a video of the hike later.
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