Hazel Creek for Turkey Week

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It was a brisk morning that turned into a glorious day as the Highlander Navy set sail from Cable Cove across lake Fontana on Friday morning. Martin navigates the brisk waters expertly in a heavily laden old 17 foot canoe that was towed across the dragon by an even elder 1971 Ford truck.

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Mtn. Laurel, who is now fully acclimated from out last week’s outing to Spence, steers her own vessel towards yonder shore.

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Kurt and AJ complete the armada. Here we are witnessing an Eagle soaring high above at Ollie Cove.

tn_P1080147Low water levels made our docking and portage somewhat tricky. Then there was a half mile walk into an almost empty Proctor campsite.

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Martin begins camp duties.

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And Laurel does what she does best as AJ oversees!

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Much merriment ensued around a crackling fire and chilly night.

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The next morning we went in a few separate directions.  Curt set about to trout fish with his fly rod.  AJ and Laurel and I walked over to Ollie Cove.  We are at Hazel Creek because Eagle Creek is closed for bear activity.  It has been closed for a while. I soon prevailed upon our group to undertake a bit of bushwhacking.  AJ and Laurel were game.  What we did was take off into the woods between Ollie Cove and Hazel Creek.  For a couple of hours we played in the woods, up and down hills and hollers.

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There’s rhodo surfing, then there’s leaf skiing.

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Up these hills and down.  I had honestly expected to find traces of the old Proctor civilization but none were to be had. It was a good workout, though.

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As the sun dropped, so did the temps, so we raised them.

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Curt was also warming from his day in the chest waders.  His luck was a bit better than ours, having hooked a small one but nothing else.  It didn’t matter. We were soaking in the Autumnal goodness of Hazel Creek and Proctor.

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Martin is telling AJ to HUSH!  Hush, Hush, Hush!

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Nice looking pile, eh?

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From Florida to the mountains, Laurel has had a busy week. And glad we were to share her company.

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Clear as a bell was the water flowing from old Proctor.

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We toted some show food and no one went hungry on this trip. Eggs, sausage, you name it. Water vessels are quite nice at times.

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Sadly, we departed Sunday to even more bluebird weather.  It was a three day blessing of perfect company and weather in Proctor. The seas were somewhat sporty as a bit of chop kicked up around 1 pm when we hit the main channel of Fontana.  But the vessels held up along with their pilots.  Awesome outing.

 

  1. AJ

    This was an excellent holiday weekend trip. I enjoyed it very much. It was really nice seeing Mt. Laurel again.