HANNAH MOUNTAIN 3/09/08

Snow is for playing and boys will be boys.

Closed for bear? I don't think so.Daffodils sprung a bit early this year.Chambers wonders what he has signed up for. Here is the stay puff marshmallow coach.New Trail signs but I wonder which volunteer rangers they convinced to erect them.

Grady arrives before dark to proclaim that he is on "BiCurious' tail" whatever that means. I think he has some special trips planned for the next few weeks.

Here, Comrade Vladimir Chambers constructs a pyre in honor of the Kremlin.

Like the usually stoic Communist he strikes an unassuming pose that says, "Death to Capitalism".

We tend to refer to those as tent poles, Grady, often useful for the erection of tents etc. Had I more time, there would be an instructional clinic but I am busy saving the world from communism.

Even superheroes need some down time.Sally Dumplin says, "Not so fast cowboy. I might be from Jefferson County but I saw Red Dawn and I will whoop that Commie Pinko like Patrick Swayze did in the movie up here in the hills."

After subduing the Communist, Highlanders decide his fate over the counsel fire. It is discovered that he is a Horseman, not a Norseman, and subsequently little threat to the Highlanders. He is allowed to live depending upon the results of his Hike Off with Grady in the morning.

Chambers arrogantly boasts he can defeat any capitalist.

Grady makes ready for the hike out with his secret weapon.

Chambers learns the Hard way about crop dusting as Grady invokes his secret weapon and edges JChambers by a few feet to the truck. Even Grady admitted that he was right on his tail and it was an admirable showing for a Non Highlander. Skidmore and I strolled in an hour later.

I have always had a weird fascination with the Pileated Woodpecker since one landed in our yard when I was a child. They look like prehistoric archaeopteryx or something and are huge and loud. In the wild they sound like something out of the jungle book. All morning, I was thinking about Pileated woodpeckers and came up on this fellow and he let me get real close and started posing for pictures. As we communed together this beautiful late winter morning as the snow melted from our low teens night, I appreciated the solitude of our respective hikes and the variety of scenery and weather that accompanied us this past weekend. We started in some snow and ended in beautiful 40 degree weather that felt like 60 after a very chilly evening that all but scared most hikers out of the Smokies. I am not boasting, Knock Wood!

Trail Stats: Rabbit Creek to Hannah Mountain to #14. 6 miles. Return, same route.