a few days on the great eastern mesa

in tennesseee, autumn is the best time of year to get out in the woods



 

KSANA (13): The five of us started out in Edward's van heading for the Big South Fork, with Edward driving. We are about half way there when the guy ahead of us pulls out in front of a car going in the opposite direction; they hit. One of them does a 270 and the other flies off into the ditch. While one is flying into the ditch, we collide with the other automobile. The accident wasn't that bad for us but some of the other people got hurt. The sun was going down, so Edward asked the sheriff about what he had to do and let us go. We made it to camp around 6:30. Rasimo built a fire, Edward started dinner, and I set up the tent with Dad and Isa. When dinner was done, we sat around and listened to Dad and Rasimo catch up on old times. The night got cold, so we cleaned up and hopped in bed. The next morning we woke to bitter cold. Everyone got packs ready before putting everything away and driving to the trailhead. After about an hour and thirty minutes of hiking, we came to a wooden platform between some trees overlooking a river. We sat there for awhile eating and talking about where we were and what to do next. Edward decided to go back to the van because his knee was out of place. The four of us walked around for another hour or so, then met Edward and went back to camp to do just about what we did the night before. We found out we had to go home a day early because Rasimo's plane left on Thursday instead of Friday. The next morning we drove down to Angel Falls Trailhead. It took about two hours to get up to the overlook. When we got to the top we sat around and looked at all the strange things around us. By about 1 o'clock, Isa and I fell asleep; not five minutes later I woke and placed my leg right on top of a bee which stung me. It took everyone a while to notice but when they did, we fixed it up (my foot that is). Anyways, I thought it would be hard to get down from there but I ended up running ahead of everyone. Its kind of funny looking back on it. When they got back to the van, we drove back to our wonderful resting spot - camp. And then the same old. Everyone got up early and was ready for our last day in the woods. Dad wanted to show Rasimo some of Kentucky's waterfalls, so our first stop was Cumberland Falls. Isa and I stayed in the car for that one. Then we drove down the road a little more and out into the woods again, where we walked the path to Yahoo Falls. This is the highest waterfall in Kentucky but there wasn't very much water coming down. About an hour later we got in the van and started our journey home. We arrived at  9:00 safe and sound.
 
 
 

ISA (15): It was me, Dad, Ksana, Rasimo and Edward. We were headed to Big South Fork for the week which meant no school but a lot of walking. We sat in the van for over three hours. About a half-hour from camp some jackass decides to pull out in front of an oncoming car. They smashed and one went flying off the road while the other did a 360 in front of us and slammed into our front left fender. I did not actually see all this happen, as I was in drift mode; I heard the squeal of the tires and felt the smash of the cars. Everyone was okay. The ambulance came and the cop filled out an accident report. We were soon back on the road and heading to the campground. When we got there Rasimo made a fire. Next morning we drove to the trailhead of Honey Creek Loop, where we grabbed our packs and started walking. About 2.2 miles down the trail we stopped at an overlook. Here, we sat and talked for awhile. Dad looked at the map. When we were about to leave, Edward said the trail was too rough on his knee so he walked back to the van. Rasimo and the rest of us headed down another trail to see Indian rock shelters and we kind of got lost but it was fun. When we got back to camp, we built another fire, made dinner and hot chocolate, and then got into the tent; I won't say bed because it ain't no bed. Next morning it was off to Angel Falls Overlook. I've been here before, back in '96 when that tornado hit Summertown, but that is a whole different story. The walk was pretty easy. We got there and hung out for a while. I fell asleep so I don't know what happened except that Golden Boy, as we sometimes call Ksana, got stung by a bee. So when it came time to leave, he thought that he might have to hop all the way back to the van, which was about three miles up river. At the van, we put our packs in the back and drove to the East Rim  to see the sun set . We watched it go down and headed back to camp where we did basically the same things we had done on the previous nights. Next morning is the day to take the tent down and get out of here. We left camp early and drove to Kentucky to see Cumberland Falls, where me and Golden Boy sat in the van and talked for about an hour or more, while I looked over our assignments in American History. Then it was off to Yahoo Falls. It is not a long walk and it is very pretty when there is water spilling over the cliff, but there was hardly any water at all and this is the tallest waterfall in Kentucky (yeah right...).  We stayed below while Rasimo walked to the top and waved to me. When we got back to the van, Ed wanted to stop and make dinner. Dad said hell no and that we could munch on what we had. All aboard! - home sweet Home.
 
 

VAJRA FAMILY


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