Mulberry Gap Shuttle

September 26, 2022 Prepped bike and gear, broke down camp at Mulberry Gap, and enjoyed another great meal at the “Barn”. This bike camp is absolutely fantastic with superior hospitality. At 10 a group of us loaded up the shuttle, apparently the 2000’ ascent was up a mountain called “Potato Patch” mountain due to the potato sized rocks encountered. The shuttle was much appreciated as that road up gravel would’ve been fairly brutal. The descent was magnificent through the woods of the Cohutta forest. Lots of roots and rocks and that yielded a couple of “endos”. In all the descent from the shuttle drop off was 2000’ of descent and 1000’ of ascent. It was a glorious fall day with the temps in the 60s. I was on the road by 2:00 after a “me” shower as well as a bike shower! The ride was nearly 3.5 hours, taking a stop at Walmart in an area called Blue Ridge for some supplies and gas. The last hour or so was through some serious winding climbing and descending mountain rides which made me wonder which was more treacherous, the mountain biking or the ride to get there. Passed over the Eastern Continental Divide a couple of times elev. 3868’ Notable treacherous roads were the Walnut Creek and Pine Creek over a gap, winding and crazy. Finally pulled into the Dupont Bike Retreat at a little after 6 where I set up camp in the Hill Top site, had some dinner from the cooler, tried to make a fire (wet wood-no go) and hit the rack early.

"Travel Day" to Mulberry Gap, GA

September 25, 2022 I was up and out of the Marriott Courtyard Tallahassee by 0945. I said goodbye to Rachel, but she was fast asleep from a late night out on the College Town. The Waze app had me routed on the back country roads North out of Tally through Thomasville, and other small towns each one highly populated with churches, patriotic slogans, Trump signs, and I even saw a sign that read “Jesus 2024”. It reminded me of the drives I used to take back home when I lived in Pensacola, two lanes through the pine forests, but also pocked with cotton fields and pecan groves. Another prominent feature is the Georgia state troopers lurking in the forest shadows waiting with their radar guns providing ample speed traps. One town I passed through was Warwick Georgia, proudly displaying their status as the “home of the national Grits festival”. Grits and God, welcome to Georgia. I finally made it onto I-75 and picked up a real highway, but as I continued towards Atlanta, the traffic expectedly got a little crazier, and added a little extra time to the drive. It totaled about 7 hours when I finally arrived at the Mulberry Gap mountain bike camp. The terrain North of Atlanta definitely got a little steeper, and as I proceeded out of Ellijay, the road got really windy and steep. In fact, I lost cell service, and had to double back to grab a bar of service in order to find my was to Mulberry Gap. Such a well maintained and cool camp. I got my tent set up on the Brook side site, and headed up to the “Barn” for dinner. It was yummy. I met 2 other mountain bike couples and another tent camper who it looks like will be sharing the shuttle tomorrow. I sat in the Barn for a little while after dinner enjoying the solitude of these forests, drinking tea, and taking a true chill. Now as I type, I am in the tent as the brook babbles just a few feet away and the crickets are chirping in the still forest. Looking forward to a great ride tomorrow on the Bearhoti trail, a combination of the Pehoti and Bear trails. Gladly, it looks as if these other riders are going to be doing the same ride.

FSU vs BC Game Day!

10/25 Went to a quaint little country store with the Dolans yesterday morning called, Bradley’s Country store. Their specialty was homemade smoked sausage. The route out to the place was through old Florida, country roads that were canopy covered live oak, shrouded in Spanish moss. We got out of town to try and avoid the crazy crowds in Tallahassee as a result of game day, and especially parent's weekend. In reference to the FSU vs BC game football game last evening, one can only say “what a game!” It was a drubbing to say the least. 44-14 was the final score, and the 3rd string was brought in as early as the 3rd quarter. The very first play started with a returned FSU kick to a touch down. The score was up 14-0 in the first 2:10 and the drubbing only continued. All that a non-drinker can say about my wife and daughter is that they were in a “festive mood”. Nice to be here with Rachel for her parent’s day weekend. The bar scene here in Tallahassee resembles spring break more than any college party experience I am used to. At a tailgate for some Cocoa Beach area folks, one of the dad’s said FSU was #2 party school behind Arizona State University. What I observed can totally support that. Back on the road this morning for the 6 hour drive to Mulberry Gap, Mountain Bike Camp in Ellijay GA

September roadtrip begins: 1st stop Tallahassee

Road trip begins: 1st stop Tally. The morning started in the best way possible, to start the day, a sweet surf session. At 4th Street, all the local characters were there. On the road shortly thereafter, and ended up in the bars with my senior FSU student, out with the other shell shocked parents. We followed Rachel through her usual haunts, no stranger to the happy hour scene.

Glacier Trip with Rebecca

Video Link to Glacier National Park September 2022 with Rebecca What a great trip, to Glacier National Park. Had 4 days of fun hiking and a little bit of biking with Rebecca and also with John Magee. John acted as our tour guide, and kept us on track for some great outdoor experiences. We did a hike everyday ranging from 3.5 miles to 16 miles on the Highline Trail. The middle section of Highline was a 1 mile ascent to an overlook over Grinnell Glacier that was about 1000’ of climb in 1 mile, called the Garden Wall Trail. Grueling. This is a retroactive post, so I will let the youtube link fill in the blanks. We stayed at the Lake MacDonald lodge and had rented a “Turo” car out of the Kalispell airport. This was a great start to my 4 weeks of vacation! Note the slogan on Magee's shirt: "Live a Great Story". A motto to heed, and in keeping with my desire that my life is like a page from Outside magazine!

Link to you tube video of USMMA 2022 Bell Ringing

Ryan's Bell Ringing 6.9.2022

 What a festive event, filled with pure elation as the USMMA class of 2022 receives acknowledgement of passing their Coast Guard licensing exam for 3rd Mates and 3rd Assistant Engineers.

Congrats Ryan Pletcher!  Another 3rd mate in da house:

Ryan Pletcher rings the bell 2022

And then there were 3......................

Dylan Pletcher rings the bell 2021

O.G. Pletch rings rings the bell 1986