keeping busy

I went back to the Cruso Circle Play and Jam, and have participated for two weeks running, but I'm not playing guitar. Steve has a bass that he brings along every week, and that's what I'm playing. Not terribly well, as it has been about nine years since I sold my last bass and have hardly touched one during that time, but I do a lot better in a group setting when playing my preferred instrument. It's coming back to me pretty quickly.

Rocko and I have been "bagging peaks" lately. This week we hiked over to the peak of the Devil's Courthouse from Black Balsam Road via the Mountains-to-Sea Trail on Monday - a four hour round trip - and then on Tuesday we spent the day exploring Cal Falls (I don't know the real name; that's what Lisa called it) then climbing Black Balsam Knob and Tennent Mountain, coming back via the Ivestor Gap Trail because it has plenty of water for Rocko.
 
A short time into Monday's hike, we came upon a campsite that had only recently been vacated. The fire pit was still so hot that when I splashed some water onto a rock, it evaporated immediately with a sizzle and a puff of steam. I used up most of a liter of water putting that fire out. It was a windy day (it's almost always windy on top of the ridge) and there was plenty of flammable material around. I was wearing my Smokey Bear shirt, appropriately enough, and I did as I was taught from an early age: I made sure the fire was dead out.

"Only YOU can prevent forest fires!" -- Smokey Bear

Cal Falls from the bottom. A short hike in from the road.

Swimming hole up above Cal Falls. Very nice indeed.
Note the rope swing on the left. It appears to be fashioned from a water-skiing handle.

Rocko at the peak of Tennent Mountain, Haywood County, North Carolina.
Rocko is as hot and tired as he looks; there's little water on the peaks.
It's (mostly) all downhill from this point, at least until after we get to good water.

Plaque at the peak of Tennent Mountain. (Click to embiggen)