Martha W Inn and Creeper Trail can't be beat

Staying at the Martha Washington Inn in Abbingdon Va. is a treat in itself, but adding on the Virginia Creeper Trail with it,  CAN'T be beat.    The Martha Washington Inn was generous to help support FS Regional Hope Center w/ an auction donation this summer, so I told the manager I'd put out an email to see if some of my Fit and Fun Friends would like to join me for a stay at the Inn w/ some bike riding on the Creeper Trail.  Day one the ladies and bud Jerry Owens (long time family friend and photog WBIR) set out from the Inn and rode bikes (or drove car) to Abbingdon Winery.  It is close to Avelerado which is on the trail and winery half mile off the trail.  It was lovely spot with some cute gifts and wine tasting.  It was only about 85 miles from the Martha to the winery so a nice 19 mile ride and rolling hills not too bad.  Day 2 most of the ladies (some did walking tour of Abbingdon) and Jerry and hiking buddy Carl who drove in that morning, heading to the trail to ride again.  Some of the ladies drove to Damascus and got a shuttle to top, you can also get a shuttle at Abbingdon Bike store next to trailhead.   So some of us ended up going all the way to Damascus on the lower half which is up and down and over beautitful farm land and woods.   The 2nd half from Damascus to Taylors Landing is flat then uphill but not too steep.   We often stop at Taylors landing across the water and bridge to eat at Cafe where we enjoy beans cornbread etc  From that spot to the top gets a little steeper but we saw more color already popping out.  On the way down we stopped off at Damascus at cute roadside cafe that has pastries, sandwiches and ice cream.  (good thing we biked so much) Then some of us still had the 17 miles to go back thru Alverado (open on weekends) which now has a nice new restroom area etc.  Then we finally arrived back at The Martha at 5 pm   So we did a 9-5 day of biking.  You don't have to bike that much to enjoy the Creeper Trail or area.  The AT crosses the Creeper trail 3 times and so there are lots of great hikes close by as well.  And if you get the chance to stay at the historic Martha Washington Inn (Barter Theatre across the street) you should. Every room full of history and beautifully furnished.  Some ladies enjoyed the spa and hot tub pool area too which was thoroughly enjoyed.   Ask them for group rates especially if you are willing to go midweek.  And the Creeper trail is popular but less traffic (bike, foot, horse) on the weekdays. www.marthawashingtoninn.com  www.virginiacreeper.com 

 

 

   

Get on Trail fall hikes full but hope you can try Twin creeks

 Good news is that hiking is getting more and more popular, as folks start seeing that it is a great way to get fit, meet friends and enjoy our regions natural beauty.    Bad news is that our Get on Trail w/ Friends & Missy fills up soo quickly!   We hike every wednesday in OCT and April.   But I do some other hikes especially with Legacy Parks as I'm on the board and hoping to get more interest and funding for this organization. They are trying to improve our parks/greenways/trail system around the knox county/city area.  And so I am helping them start a FRIENDS of Legacy group and plan to help lead hikes around Knox County but also parks close by like Frozen Head, Norris, Panther Creek over the next 12 months. 

 

But if you haven't done it before go check out Twin Creek Trails right outside mynatt park in gatlinburg.  Full of history and pretty, but easy trail    It starts up out of the city park (close to the intersection to motor nature trail)  You have to walk up the road about 200 yards and then you see train entrance.   It goes for 1.7 before you come to the new Twin Creek science center. IT is a cool place where school groups and others get to explore for field trips etc (check with ranger station about it)    Then the trail cont on for another 1/4 mile to the Ogle Cabin     The Bud Noah Ogle wanted to bring his family here from SC and had the land and came to clear etc but he passed away soon after his trip.  So his wife and 7 kids and relatives came over the mountains anyway and built the family cabin/farm area.   Many many apple trees used to be all through this area.   At the cabins take some time to look around then you can either come back for a 4 mile hike, or for longer hikers can walk uphill on road half mile till you come to parking lot etc for Rainbow falls.   You can take the trail out to old sugarland trail and walk around that 3,9 miles back to sugurland visitor center  So you can leave one car there before driving to mynatt park to start your hike.  
www.friendsofthesmokies.org    and www.legacyparks.org 
  Missy     Call center where I work @ covenant health 541-4500  Also I'm on facebook 

Pop Corn Sutton spotted on Old Settlers Trail

Well maybe not Popcorn but Mountain Man Glen Cantrel joined my scouting Team that checked out a fall (oct) hike planned along old settlers trail.   And since Glen grew up in Greenbrier, and has hiked not only all the trails but every man way and off trail around he was a great asset to scout this hike.

  

 

 

We left some cars at Steiner Bell lodge (run by Wa-Floy) which is a few miles past greenbrier up on the right.  You go up their driveway a quarter mile and they have a nice big parking lot.  I have asked them if okay to use for our hike in OCT.  You can give them a call sometime and you can still rent out cabin or lodge for groups if you wish.   Then we packed in a few cars and went further out towards cosby a few miles.  We passed Bent Creek Golf Course which is also a good spot to park a few cars and go in old man way there to the trail.  We went down to pull off close to old radio station 87.2 We didn't block the gate as this is part of the park and access can't be blocked.   Once past the gate it is a nice old road bed and Glen told us how this used to be a road that linked this area to NewPort.   Once you get to old settlers trail there is also a sign to see the old mcarter barn.  It was in good shape and we enjoyed seeing that.

  We hiked along Old Settlers and it is a quiet trail and you can see lots of old rock walls, chimneys, artifax, along this pretty area of Greenbrier. Glen reminded us that this was a pretty good area for farming and he used to see corn fields etc all thru this area.  Sometimes the trail was lush with plants/flowers but also made for a narrow trail and we were thankful we didn't see any snakes which are common in this area esp on hot days.   There are many many manways (old trails) that meets this trail. Glen mentioned Webb creek, noisy creek, brandywine etc  He showed us where a good one comes out from 321 along by Bent Creek that we may use for those who don't want to do 8.5 miles.   Campsite 32 is a good site for lunch and to look around at a few old chimneys close by and the creek.  Not too far past it we came on one of the many old settlers trail signs with an old sock on it and turned up there to walk up 1/2 mile to Steiner Bell lodge where half of our cars were located.   You may want to read up on this trail in the historic hikes of smokies book or little brown book.  But this area is rich in mountain history and once had over 300 families living along the creeks and streams in Greenbrier, including our mountain man Glen Cantrell aka Popcorn!