Sorry for the silence. I was having so much fun with my family while they were up here I forgot to blog.
On Friday I went hiking with my brother, uncle and cousin. We decided to climb Mount Yonah in Cleveland, an impressive-looking mountain (for here, anyway) that rises 3,186 feet above sea level.
There are three stages, more or less, to the trail. The first is a winding trail with a shallow grade through the lower forests that passes by a lot of huge boulders. This culminates in an overlook with an impressive view, and the first rock face for climbing or rappelling.
The next stage is much steeper, but shorter, than the first, going over lots of smallish rocks perfect to roll your ankle on. No big views, but the hiking gets easier when you turn right onto the road (they use this to bus Army Rangers up to the cliff face). The road leads in to a campsite with restrooms of a sort and nice places to build a fire. The campsite is open year-round except when the Rangers are up there to train (call 706-864-3327 to find out when they’ll be there).
Continue up the road to reach the summit and the third stage of the trail. At one point you’ll see a trail that leads off of the road: you definitely want to take it! All the best views out over the valley are located off of this trail–you can see some of them in the photos below. Although the temperature was about 55* down at the parking lot, there was ice up here near the top– the main cliff face features ice climbing in the winter–and the winds were astonishingly strong.
A little farther on we reached the summit, which was a whole different animal from the rest of the mountain. The winds abated to a light breeze, the sun felt balmy overhead and the top was a grass-covered bald surrounded by trees, with a fire circle and great camping spots. It was a peaceful rest after a strenuous climb. We saw two, four and then an improbable dozen eagles soared out over the side of the mountain, diving occasionally as they hunted. We had lunch, rested, looked fruitlessly for my poor cousin’s cell phone which he’d dropped, and headed back down, taking the road this time.
In total, we took about two hours to get to the top, counting breaks, and a bit less than an hour to get back down. There were points when we looked all the way up toward the summit and considered turning back, but it was well worth it when we reached those views!
Looking back at the road so far
The journey’s left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight
Looking back You know You had to bring me through
All that I was so afraid of
Though I questioned the sky, now I see why
Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love
-Caedmon’s Call, Lead of Love
|
Something you should know about Lead Of Love LyricsTitle: Caedmon’s Call – Lead Of Love lyricsArtist: Caedmon’s Call LyricsVisitors: 4008 visitors have hited Lead Of Love Lyrics since May 27, 2008.
// <![CDATA[
tf_sid = "PMMBs0001";
tf_artist = "Caedmon's Call";
tf_song = "Lead Of Love";
document.write('');
// ]]>
Looking back at the road so far
The journey’s left its share of scars
Mostly from leaving the narrow and straight
Looking back it is clear to me
That a man is more than the sum of his deeds
And how You’ve made good of this mess I’ve made
Is a profound mystery
Looking back You know You had to bring me through
All that I was so afraid of
Though I questioned the sky, now I see why
Had to walk the rocks to see the mountain view
Looking back I see the lead of love |
Send “Lead Of Love” Ringtone to Mobile
