Rescue Salvage

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It was founded in 1908.  It has some really nice people who are ready to help others.  The mayor is Ricky Nash, and the town council meets monthly.  The total population may be around 1000 people.  If you are a visitor to Altoona you may want to stop by City Hall for information, or if you are just passing through then stop by one of the businesses for supplies & refreshing needs.  Highway 132 is the highway that goes through Altoona.  Last year, Friday and Saturday, April 25th & 26th was the "First Annual Highway 132 Yard Sale".  It covered the 18-mile long highway that goes through Altoona.  Hundreds of people were buying, and there were many yard sales from end-to-end.  The Second Annual Highway 132 yard sale will be this Friday, April 24th and this Saturday, April  25th, 2009.  Come to Altoona for these great deals. Altoona has some vacant buildings and a number of historical buildings, which may be for sale or rent if a person was interested in opening a business.  A person could check with City Hall or the bank for more information.

This hike began north of Big Creek Ranger Station and on to Davenport Gap where we stayed overnight shown in the second picture.  Believe it or not, there were no rats, snakes or other creatures in the shelter for the entire night as far as we know.  Being one day into the Park, we had a good food-&-fun get-together.  I got stung twice on the face near the left eye, but the yellowjacket died and I got well fast.  We used a Katadyn water filter as shown in the third picture to collect supplies of water for the next day of the trip.  The water spring is about 15 feet away from the shelter.  No, the water is not the color that you see in the picture.  I had already added my green tea to the bottle.

On the next morning after breakfast, we were in a climb much of the time, en-route to Cosby Knob Shelter shown in the fourth picture.  I was paid another visit from one of the little stinging creatures again.  This time it got me on the left arm, but that yellowjacket also died, and again, I got well fast.  We stopped at Low Gap Trail Crossing for a quick snack. The calories were needed and probably burned up in the next ten minutes of hiking.  It was on to Mount Camera lookout tower which has some absolutely gorgeous 360 views.  As we got to the next trail crossing, several of our friends went off of the A.T. and onto the Walnut Bottoms Trail toward their campsite and we then hiked on up the trail toward ours.

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Saturday morning's hike up to the top of Mount Sterling where campsite # 38 is located had some good views.  Trillium and other plants & flowers were all along the trail.  The next two pictures, after the tent, are in Cattaloochee at the Palmer House, which is a really pretty area.  Sunday, after Chapel Service, the hikes to Mingo Falls, Juney Whank Falls, Tom Branch Falls, and Indian Creek Falls were really great.  If you like waterfalls then you may want to get the waterfalls map from the Park Visitor Center.

The 2008 Memorial Day weekend stay in Smokemont Campgrounds was pleasant.  Mount Sterling did not seem like a hard hike, and the North Carolina/Smoky Mountain waterfalls were really easy to access.  Mingo Falls is right off of Big Cove Road in Cherokee Nation, and Juney Whank, Tom Branch, and Indian Creek Falls can all be hiked from the same parking lot in the Deep Creek camping area near Cherokee, North Carolina.  The last picture in the group is Henwallow Falls near Cosby Campgrounds on the Tennessee side.

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Camp Sumatanga which is located near the Etowah/St clair county line in Northeast Alabama has several hiking trails. From Birmingham, go North on I-59 to the 231/Ashville exit, go North on 231 to the Horse pens 40/Gallant road on your right.  Go until you see a fire station on your left, that is where you turn right on the Camp Sumatanga road.  Look for it around 5 miles on the right and left side of the road. Camping, backpacking, hiking, fishing, and canoe are generally available. Camping at the beautiful lakeside is very reasonable. There are several hiking trails in the area. View the pictures in the order of mention.  They are taken in step beginning at the foot of the mountain.  This mountain trail through the woods to Creel Chapel and the mountain cross is only around a mile, but is somewhat steep in several places.  It begins at Hutto Auditorium and first crosses the creek to the South and then up the mountain.  Hiking this trail has helped many to get stronger and also helped some people to train for the longer trail hikes.  At the time of this hike, about 0.2 miles up the trail, there was a big tree across the trail from a storm.  When you hike up to the water tower, bear to the left and keep hiking.  At the top of the mountain, you have a choice to go left to Creel Chapel or to go right to the cross.  You may want to carry your camera and take pictures at both of the mountain top locations.

Probably every hiker has their own ideas about what to carry in their backpack or on their person for a long back country hike.  In preparing for the Smoky Mountain "AT" trail hike, the following list has been a good standard to include in the contents.  The items that I prefer to include, which may vary from one hike to the next are listed here.  New Testament, backpack, Wenger black handle "Handy Man" Swiss Army multi-function pocket knife, bear spray, sleeping bag, sleeping bag pad, USA-made Inova white LED microlight flashlight, Silva keyring Finland-made compass with a built-in thermometer, Casio wrist watch, custom first aid kit, 2 ink pens, 3x5 top-bound memo pad, 1 inch round mirror, magnifying glass, 1 roll Scott unscented bathroom tissue, 2 one quart water bottles ( cranapple juice came in them originally ), Katadyn water filter unit, 25 thin coffee filters (to prefilter the water), 1 thin pair of Sanifresh size 10 gloves, 1 stainless steel spoon, Coghlan's biodegradable Camp Soap in a small 0.2 ounce size plastic bottle, toothbrush & holder, lightweight bush/booney hat, water purification tablets for back-up, trail map in a zip-seal-lok type bag, head boggin, light-weight hiker safety sun glasses, mosquito protection head net, tie-cord (it has many uses), green or yellow USA-made Bic butane visable lighter, earplugs, cork ball type plastic whistle, hanging food storage bag, carabiner (it is also used for hanging the food storage bag), a stainless steel combination cooking pot/eating bowl/drinking cup, cell phone to make one call per d

When I went into the Army the first time, I took basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey during the cold February of 1973.  I did not mind the running, other physical training, and all the other types of training, but I felt like they could have given me more to eat than what they did.  One day during the snow, we hiked out to the rifle range.  We had to rush through the chow hall, eat fast, as we usually did, and get out to the military formation.  We would move in the formation from there, over to the weapons room to get our weapons, then go on foot out miles through the woods to the firing range.

Since I was slow to eat my breakfast, I thought I needed some extra calories to help keep my feet on the ground.  I had it all figured out, I thought.  The mess hall had these trays sitting out with multiple breakfast items in them, some with fruits in them, and some with those small boxes of cereals in them.  What a nice opportunity it was, since I was wearing an ammo pouch on each side of my belt buckle.  I grabbed two boxes of cereals and put them in one ammo pouch and grabbed two oranges and put them in the other ammo pouch.  I picked up my weapon with the rest of the troops and we all headed out to the firing range.  I felt better knowing that I had something to eat when the urge hit.  We got to the range, and did our crawling around and firing, running and firing, and the other lock-load-fire maneuvers.  Anytime that I got more ammo, I put it in my pockets, since I had so many pockets on my clothes.

The photos in order are Davenport Gap shelter, Cosby Knob shelter, Spence Field shelter, Russell Field shelter, and Mollies Ridge shelter, which is an example of what the hiking / camping shelters look like along the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains.  If you enlarge the last picture, you may see my loaded backpack and hiking gear sitting in the bottom bunk area.  Six people sleep on the bottom bunks, and six people sleep on the top bunks.  A total of 12 people are allowed to stay at a shelter each night unless a through hiker has a tent permit.  A lot of people prefer the bottom bunks, so they can get up & out better, and so they won't disturb others, and some prefer to sleep on the top bunks.  The shelter areas have a small clear water spring really close by, so you will have drinking water.  Bears frequently come by some of the shelters, so you may want to have the camera ready, and don't be too quick to panic and grab your bear spray.

To make a prospering decision means using the principals of giving.   "Giving people do prosper; Selfish people don't prosper".  It comes from ( Proverbs 11:24 ).  This is something my wife and I have taught our kids since they were yea high.When someone is a giving person, then good things will come their way because of the giving.  The giving type of life is so much better than being selfish.  I have found it to be so true that I like to go through the house, shop, and storage buildings deciding what to give away next and who to give it to.

Why am I telling you?  So you can have more blessings in your life.  The Bible says in Ephesians 6:8 "that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of The Lord, whether he be bond or free".  There is somebody, somewhere, that is in need of something that you have, and the power is in your hand to help them out with it.  The facts are, that if you will adopt the giving living principals that are laid out here, you can count on much more good coming your way than what would have been, if you had not given ( Second Corinthians 9:6 ).

No, I am not trying to get rich from another's hurt, nor am I someone who is trying to beat you out of something.  Giving people are happier more of the time, and selfish people are grumbling and are unhappy much of the time.  The Bible says in Psalm 41:1 & 2 "Blessed are you who consider the poor: the Lord will deliver you in time of trouble.  The Lord will preserve you, and keep you alive: and you will be blessed on the earth: and the Lord will not deliver you to the will of your enemies."

God said that he would bless the things he has called food, not just anything a person decided to put into their mouth.  It is better to know the contents of any item you put into your mouth like it is good to know the contents of any material you read or look through.

Many of the foods today have so many bad things added to them during processing, and many of the additives in the processed food does not promote good health. So many people are causing a lot of their own health problems by consuming things that are not food.  Many fruits, nuts, vegetables, grains, herbs, and the protein sources which God has approved for food, have good flavor, nutritive value, and also promote good health.  Those are some of the things that our body needs to maintain health.

The Bible says in Genesis 3:6 "the woman saw the tree was good for food", God did not say that it was food, but the devil lured the woman into changing the God given definition of the word food.  If it does not promote health, then God doesn't want a person to put it into their mouth.  The Bible says in First Corinthians 10:31 "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

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On the north side of the Smokies, I like to park at the Big Creek Ranger Station parking area, and begin hiking south from Davenport Gap.  This is the wilderness area of the park.  The hiking/camping trail shelters and/or places to stay overnight from north to south are: Davenport Gap, Cosby Knob, Tricorner Knob, Pecks Corner, Icewater Springs, Mount Collins, Double Spring Gap, Silers Bald, Derrick Knob, Spence Field, Russell Field, Mollies Ridge, and Fontana Dam.  Going up to Cosby Knob shelter, from Davenport Gap, there is a big rock that many people climb out on to enjoy the vast view.  The crying noise from the rock as the wind blows through it, is a reminder of a very important bible verse.   If we don't praise his name the stones and rocks will cry out ( Luke 19:40 ).