Spring hike in the far western edge of the Flatside Wilderness
4/14/22
The morning began like any other morning. My first stop was Waffle House at 3:30...closed for some reason. Waffle House #2 down the road...closed for some reason as well. All I can say is...bastards! No convenience stores along the way had any breakfast sandwiches or anything resembling breakfast. I was then forced to eat my lunch along the drive west...coffee was available, so there's that. The moon was low and nearing fullness. This revised my low mood to one notch upward. Storms the day before would no doubt provide wet woods and flowing streams. I was slightly concerned for the potential of trees in the road within the national forest. After driving nearly 20 miles of gravel roads, I was within 3 miles of my destination. Appearing before me as I rounded a bend was a rather large pine tree obstructing the road. Adding 3 miles of hiking would not put me in position for sunrise at a suitable time. The decision was made to detour to Hwy 7 and up to Hollis and come in from the north. This put me in position with about 15 minutes until sunrise.
The ridge in was rocky and brushy. It was 38°. This was a new western addition to the wilderness area. It was traced to the east and downward into the valley of Little Cedar Creek. Forked Mountain could occasionally be seen through the trees just to the north. It towers above the surrounding area like a forked cone. The creek was arrived at and it had a goodly flow. A tributary was followed through spring meadows with newly blooming iris, violets and grasses. The day was calm and sunny and the temp rose quickly as I proceeded up and out of the valley. I made the mistake of mounting a ridge instead of staying along the creek. The terrain got quite rocky and filled with vegetation style obstacles. At 10:50 and 55° I emerged from the shrubbery and onto the road. The hike was 4.3 miles and was very refreshing.
