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Foothills Trail Hiking: First hike in 30 days… Chattooga River never disappoints

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I find it hard to believe, but I have not been hiking in over a month. February ended up being kind of crazy, in every possible sort of way. I had to admit to myself that February demanded for me to hunker down and tend to important things. So I did- which made yesterday’s hike even more enjoyable. It was also a gorgeous day, and we haven’t had too many of those recently!

I’ve hiked this section of the Foothills trail before, in several directions (from both Cheohee Road and from Burrell’s Ford Road and also from Big Bend Road). This time, we parked at the Burrell’s Ford campground and hiked in about 3.5 miles then back. A short hike by our standards, but we hadn’t been out in a month. I always like to look back at my old photos from hikes on the same trail- here’s the portions of the same segment last year on February 8th, then on February 16th and also on November 14th!

Here’s a link to the GPS map of our hike. We didn’t go down as far as Big Bend Falls, but we did hang out for a while on some massive boulders and eat oranges!

Strangely, I wasn’t really in the mood to capture images. I think it’s because I haven’t been out hiking in a while, so my mind was wandering. Hiking is a way for me to clear my mind of the usual constant simmering anxiety that runs through it. I have pretty severe anxiety, but don’t take medication for it. While I decided to try to handle my anxiety naturally with lifestyle changes, I realize this isn’t for everyone- it’s just what I’m personally trying to do at this point in my life. Things like hiking, gardening, knitting, coloring, researching my special interests… they’re all things that relieve anxiety for me.

I love seeing the world shift as we move from Winter into Spring. Bluebirds and Robins have been spotted. I have a whole bunch of hyacinths coming up in my garden, from bulbs I buried last year after Easter. The cow pasture I can see from my window is starting to get green, and I suspect we may soon have some calves appear. Last year’s first calf was born on May Day, and we named her Peaches, but we later found out she was a he, so he became Pierluigi. The trees are starting to bud, and the forest is bustling with quiet signs of life, a barely perceptible hum of delicate intensity. My window screen is covered in ladybugs, and hungry young deer ventured right up underneath my window this morning, to feast on greening cat’s paw which speckles my un-weed-controlled lawn.

I can’t wait for Spring to be sprung!

DSC_0038 DSC_0099 DSC_0037 DSC_0057 DSC_0104 DSC_0068 DSC_0078 DSC_0105 DSC_0098 DSC_0092 DSC_0052 DSC_0094 DSC_0106 DSC_0086 Not 100% sure, but I believe this bent tree is what is known as a Cherokee marker tree. They would bend young saplings at 90 degree angles. They're common here in Cherokee territory. DSC_0036
Filed under: Chattooga River Trail, Foothills Trail, health, hiking, la vita semplice, love of nature, Rural Living

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