Sat, Oct 18 2008 - Backpacking Lost Cove in the Smokies (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Michael Johnson, Bob Bunner Participants: Bob Bunner, Michael Johnson, Ross Davis, Lisa Maldonado, Kristi, Laura Butler, Daryll Cordeiro, Charina, Steven K, Trey Baldwin, Rob Garner, Andy Altman

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Write Up:
Wow! What an incredible backpacking weekend to Lost Cove. We were really fortunate with the weather this weekend, snagging the firepit in the meadow, and having a great group of people to enjoy it with. We had a challenging hike up Shuckstack Ridge on Saturday. After about 2 hours of huffing and puffing, seemingly straight up the Ridge, we finally made it to the firetower. All of us enjoyed a great lunch while sitting on the ridge. Many of us ventured up onto the firetower where, when we weren't being blown off the tower, were greeted with panoramic views of Fontana Lake and the Dam and the beginning of fall colors in the surrounding mountains. Then it was a steep descent (oh, my knees) down to our magnificent campsite located next to the meadow adjoining a tributary to Fontana Lake. We managed to muscle out the existing riff raff, or more likely, Lisa scared them off with her New York accent. Rob built us two amazing fires. And then nature did the rest. A clear night's view of the milky way that even Bob's laborious recitation of baseball history couldn't spoil. Of course, Michael's generosity with his Scotch was a big help on that front. The following morning was a bit nippy, but after Lisa demanded a fire, and Trey offered her some coffee, we had a leisurely and very pleasant morning around the fire, cooking breakfast. We didn't break camp until almost 11:00 and by then the temperature had soared to long sleeve shirt weather. We had a phenomenal late morning and early afternoon hike along the Lakeshore trail, where we visited rusty old cars and autumn views of Fontana Lake. After a quick change of clothes at the Dam, we carpooled to Sylva, where all restaurants except one were closed, but fortunately, the restaurant that was open was mexican and had something for everyone. Great trip! Glad everyone could make it.

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