After a fabulous day in Roan Highlands, we arrived at the junction with US19E. There are three hose options. We chose the one with the blazing sun, mid-afternoon, 90°F, no wind, no walk in the shade to get there. It was worth every step. We packed our bags and then headed to Braemer Castle. Climbing up and over Pond Mountain to Boots Off Hostel, the next day’s storms were just missing. Boots Off, by the way, has all the elements of a great hostel. It was fabulous. We look forward to a day letting the threat of rain pass and enjoying Boots Off and then preparing for one of the best days yet, a clear sky, a sunny, calm, flat water lake. It couldn’t have worked better. It was almost perfect.
The unexpected beauty of Laurel Canyon
The next day was predicted to be dry and we resumed our hike from Farm Road 293 and headed north. The trail was beautiful. Smooth, wide dirt trail with few sections of roots and rock. We had a great time. About 12 into the day’s planned 15 mile route we entered the Laurel River Canyon area. What a nice surprise. The road had been cut by CCC workers in the 1930s and kept the grade at an easy 3%. I suspect a railway had been planned for this route as this is also the maximum grade for the main railway.
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The physical beauty of this Laurel Canyon made me think of the musical beauty of Laurel Canyon in California that produced much of the early folk rock music that remains classic to this day. It’s hard to believe that Laurel Canyon’s musical ecosystem has so many musicians and songwriters whose songs remain popular today almost two generations after their original release. Many of today’s popular musicians built their sound and style probably having spent some time with the great compositions of this era. The Laurel Canyon of the Appalachian Trail is a fitting natural tribute to the greatness of this group of musically talented people of that era.
Braemer Castle
Once again, our loose and flexible hiking plan took us to three possible lodge options as we left Laurel Canyon toward Hampton, Tennessee. Actually, if it wasn’t threatening to rain in the morning, we probably would have had a lot of fun camping on the banks of the Laurel River, as we passed many great camping spots with wide flat areas, fire rings, and the sound of the river filling the air. The idea of packing wet didn’t appeal much to us, and the hostel prices were reasonable. We decided to try Braemer Castle over the others which we had heard would have been good too. The Castle is an exterior contraction of stone from the bottom of a river on a wooden frame. According to the owner, Ben, this building was the equipment supply, workers’ boarding house and mess hall for the Pittsburg Logging Company, which logged lumber in the area between 1909 and 1923. Ben Sutton, a lifelong resident of the area, runs the lodge for his family who owns the property. His great-grandfather was the mayor of the company and when the building came up for sale, his great-grandfather sold other assets to buy the castle. Ben has made it a unique lodge on the Appalachian Trail with features from that era not present in other lodges. It is worth a visit.
The water fire
The white blaze is the mainline marking of the Appalachian Trail. A blue glow is for an adventure along a side trail connected to the main line. There are other “sores” common to the trail vernacular. A silk blaze is the first person to walk the trail in the morning breaking all the cobwebs woven along the trail during the night. A yellow llama is someone who skips parts of the trail and cheats by using a car to complete the miles instead of walking them. A pink llama walks in search of a romantic connection with specific hikers. The lime green glow at Len Foote Hike Inn intrigued me enough to take on the side adventure on the access trail even before my first white glow. Now, here at Watauga Lake, I am presented with another “fire,” the “water fire.”
How it works
We rented kayaks from Boots Off Hostel. They transport us and the boats to the pier. They take our backpacks. We paddled around the lake. At the other end, Boot Off picks us up and returns us to the lodge or swaps our backpacks for their kayaks and transports us to the ridge and back on the trail after spending the day paddling on the lake in the sun. If you return to the lodge to take a shower after the fire, have dinner, and sleep one more night at the lodge, the shuttle to the TN91 trailhead is in the morning. They have this down to a science and many who have done it wonder why many more hikers haven’t taken advantage of this unique adventure as part of their hike. The cost is reasonable and the excitement of the change of pace really adds a great rejuvenating energy to the daily routine of walking through the woods.
The Watauga Lake Adventure
We decided to take zero today to let another small storm pass in favor of what was forecast to be a beautiful day to be on the lake the next day. We will continue our adventure covering twenty miles of mainline by kayaking 10 miles across the lake and then getting back on the trail after using our arms or legs to cover the miles. Now, this is not an ATC-recognized method of completing trails, and many purists will say we skipped part of the trail, but this is a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and the thrill of completing some of the miles by switching to kayaks is too good to pass up. There are many more miles of forest hiking ahead and the prospect of aquatic glow adds to the diversity of adventures on the trail. One thing is for sure: this will be the flattest part of the trail yet and we won’t have to worry about foot placement around roots and rocks.
Paddling on the lake with bears
The weather was spectacular, the lake had only a few motor boats since it was mid-week, and the Boots Off Kayak armada was incredible. The views of the surrounding mountains were stunning. Watuaga Lake is a limited construction lake, so the entire first part of the paddle was surrounded by nothing but the green of the trees and the blue of the sky dotted with big white clouds puffed with cotton balls. First we stopped at one of the marinas on the lake and had lunch. We then leisurely paddled to an island in the middle of the lake and spent some time swimming and exploring the island. Then the reality of paddling to the takeout place motivated us to head down to the lake. As we approached the bridge across the lake, a bear swam across the lake in front of us. The excitement of seeing the bear revitalized us all and then we navigated the different inlets to the arm where we met the collection team. We had a big celebration dinner at a lakeside restaurant and half of us headed back to the lodge and the other half headed up the trail.
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