Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest || Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Today we fought the dragon and went over the mountain to Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. The home to a large stand of virgin timber, JK is close to Robbinsville, North Carolina (where Nell was filmed... think early 90s Jodie Foster) and Fontana, NC (where the dam scene in The Fugitive was filmed... think early 90s Harrison Ford). While there, the four of us hiked a 1.25 mile loop on a very well-maintained trail. If you're intimidated by hiking but would like to try it, this is a good idea. On the way there, we stopped at a boat ramp along Santeelah lake where Bailey showed us one of her new talents... Apparently she's a prodigy at catching butterflies with her bare hands... between her index and birdie finger. She had 4 catches in about 10 minutes. Very impressive. On the trail, Myers used the Lord's name in vain for the first time, as he was sitting kind of crooked in the backpack and yelled, "Oh, God!" Well, at least it sounded like that. To avoid car sickness on the way home we came back over the Cherohala Skyway and saw a huge Timber Rattlesnake on the side of the road (still alive). We stopped and gawked for a few minutes, until an old guy pulled up and got out of his car to try to play with it, then we left so Bailey wouldn't have to see someone shout and curse and scream, though it would have been a valuable lesson: Don't be a dummy.

Total Mileage: 1.25 miles

Route: Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest loop

Date: 7-10-2007
Hikers: Andy, Jodie, Bailey, Myers