Spring Break ’25

Here it is, March of 2025 and it’s the final spring break of Andrea’s nursing school. I took a couple days off of work so we could get out on a couple adventures and man did the weather play along. Both days were absolutely perfect. The challenge for the time off was picking out the destinations for our hikes.

The first location that we decided to hike was the Pinnacle Mountain Fire Trail. Located in Unicoi TN, this fire tower is one of four remaining in the Cherokee National Forest. In 2011 the tower was adapted from a wood and metal to an all metal covered viewing platform. The views from atop the tower include Johnson City, Erwin, Unaka Mountain, Roan Mountain and Mt Mitchell.

We arrived at the parking around 9am and prepared ourselves for the 9.5 mile hike. The trail begins right across the street from the parking so the journey began right away. The route itself has many switchbacks so the almost 1800 foot elevation gain isn’t so intense. We were a little worried that we might encounter downed trees from hurricane Helene but they have maintained the trail extremely well.

We made it to the tower in 2 hours, give or take a few minutes. However, now it is time for the real challenge.. climbing the tower. If you know me any, you know that I do not do heights very well, and I have a hard time fighting past the fear.. not this time!! I went into this hike with the full intention of making it to the top of the tower, not like the first time when I could not get myself to. A deep breath and two rather steep sets of stairs later, WOW!! 360 degrees of beauty!! Fear, take a back seat today.

After taking in the views, taking some pics and flying the drone we packed up our stuff and begun the trek back. We must have running on a high and flew down the mountain. At the bottom of the mountain we stopped and snuck into the woods to find a geocache and then to the car. Another fantastic hike complete! Of course a hefty hike deserves a hearty meal.. thank you Firehouse!!!

Day two.. destination, Abrams Falls. When Andrea and I first got together we came out here to visit the falls and have always looked for another reason to revisit. Finally it’s here! I went online to send in my “permission“ slip and gain proper access to the hike, since it is located on private property… or so I thought. It seems that the land the waterfall is on was donated to Washington County and now you just sign a waiver and away you go!

After a 40(ish) minute drive to the parking, we found ourselves on the trail and heading towards the falls. Back in September of 2024, Hurricane Helene caused widespread destruction which is visible all around the East TN and surrounding areas. This area was affected also, and there are massive trees down along the path, a path that was already a bit of a challenge due to the narrow trail and unstable ground. We found ourselves climbing over and under these trees in order to continue our hike. After the first quarter mile or so, the trees no longer an issue.

The hike itself is only around a mile so it doesn’t take long to make it to the destination. However, short hike doesn’t mean easy hike. I am not saying I am the most experienced hiker, but I do have a few miles under my belt, and I’ll be honest. This is not a beginner’s hike. We made sure to take our time and enjoy ourselves while being cautious of the potential dangers around us. Wait.. can you hear it? We madeI IT!! Well, almost.. we still had to make our way down the hill side to get to the base of the falls.

Ah, there she be, all 75 feet of her. We were worried that with the lack of rain that our area has had recently that we might not get to see a good flow, but that was not the case. It never gets old, seriously, no matter how many times I see these places I go, one thing always remains, I love it!! We snapped our pictures and flew the drone before making the ascend back to the top and to the car. Another fantastic adventure in the books. Hmm, I could make a life of this..

I want to thank everyone that took the time to visit my blog and follow my stories. There will be more to come, but meantime, drop a comment and tell me about your story, your adventures, or maybe somewhere that I need to go.. till then, captain out