Introduction
On Christmas Eve, I was perched on the ridgetop, watching in silence. Below me, frenzied shoppers were fighting traffic bottlenecks and hordes of fellow crass consumers. Earlier on Christmas Eve, Mrs. Appalachian Irishman had been one of them. Not me.
This 72nd entry in the Hiking topic section celebrates, not the coarse commercialization of Christmas, but the silent Christmas Eve solitude on a House Mountain ridgetop. Christmas Eve marked my 195th hike on House Mountain.
I hope that your Christmas Eve was relaxing and enjoyable. On “my mountain,” Christmas Eve was wonderful, even if it was too warm for snow. Come along and hike with me!
Hiking Up the West Trail
Early on Christmas Eve, the cool morning low of 21 degrees Fahrenheit and sunshine warmed quickly into the upper 40s. Clouds filled the once sunny, blue sky. I should have started hiking early that morning.
Instead, my trusty 2006 Frontier carried me to the parking lot just after the noon meal. Thirteen vehicles were already parked. Several hikers were already on the trails. I joined them.
At 1:15 PM, touching the sign near the picnic area marked the beginning of my hike up the west trail. The first four days of last week brought rain, followed by three days of clouds. The two days of sunshine before Christmas Eve, however, dried most of the mud in the usual low-lying areas. Seventeen minutes were needed to hike up the four lower switchbacks, negotiate through the lower and rocky areas, and start up the six upper switchbacks.
Eight minutes later, I reached the highest and final switchback. Hiking up to that point, brief conversations with fellow hikers exchanged Christmas greetings. A young man in one group expressed, “Happy holidays!” My reply was, “Merry Christmas!” I always reply that way, when someone extends to me that politically correct greeting.
After another fifteen minutes, I had hiked along and up the narrow, rocky, and steep trail below the ridge. At 1:55 PM, I touched the rock at the west bluff to mark my time, 40 minutes exactly from base to bluff. Brief conversations with other hikers and pauses to view the remarkable surroundings slowed my ascent. Well, my “lame mountain goat” precautions, due to my surgically reconstructed right kneecap and right heel, still slow me down a little.
I photographed the following view from near the west bluff at 2 PM exactly. The view looks southwest, toward Knoxville.
Despite cloudy conditions, I was impressed by the artwork in the sky. I turned northeast to hike for a while along the ridge trail, which is behind me in the above photograph.
Christmas Eve Silence on the Ridgetop
The west side of the ridge trail soon reaches a crest. Continuing northeast beyond that, the trail dips and rises three times, before reaching the high and north-facing bluff. The west side crest was peaceful and quiet. I relaxed and enjoyed the silence. The following two photographs are from that crest.
At 2:24 PM, I photographed the next panoramic view, looking north.
The light clouds hovered gently above. The farther northeast segment of House Mountain is visible. Can you hear the frantic noise of last-minute Christmas gift shopping below? I didn't think so. Hearing only the gentle rustling of squirrels and birds in the underbrush, I enjoyed Christmas Eve silence on the ridgetop.
Two men and a boy were coming up and across the trail from the east. Exchanging Christmas Eve greetings, I left them and started hiking back west the way that I had come. Four minutes after the previous image, I photographed the following section of that ridge trail, heading back west.
I have always enjoyed the clean serenity of that location. The clouds were showing potential breaks to allow the sun to shine through them.
Hiking Down and Out
At 2:32 PM, I reached the west bluff again and started my descent down the same west trail, up which I had hiked.
Still heading east along the trail below the ridgeline, I took the following and final photograph at 2:43 PM.
That is one of several huge rock outcroppings along this trail. The view looks up and to the north. Do you see the seemingly petrified tree trunk, jutting out from the gaping crevice? That is what I call the “Defiant Tree.” I touch it while passing beside it. Long ago, the tree grew out from that crevice. Eventually, the trunk split apart, and the severed section fell down the steep bank below. The “Defiant Tree” has been the same, since my first hike on House Mountain. That first hike was on the Sunday afternoon of April 23, 2000. A niece, age 12 at the time, and I, at age 39, hiked.
Conclusion
I hope, dear reader, that you enjoyed reading about my Christmas Eve silence on House Mountain. It was far more enjoyable than shopping for last-minute Christmas gifts! Driving out and back to a main county road, the sun broke through the clouds. How quickly the weather changes.
The gift of Christ is the reason for the season. Share the gift of Christ with all, who will accept it. It is the Gift that keeps on giving.
I also hiked House Mountain on Christmas Day and the day after Christmas, for three hikes in three days. Forthcoming articles, also published today, will be about those hikes.
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