Thomas Cemetery Road and Tarkiln Branch Road loop, Dupont State Forest

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
2/10/2026	4.3 miles	2 hours 4 minutes	295'	2.3 mph	17.6

Parking: 

• Guion Farm 

Map:

• Pisgah Map Co. Dupont State Recreational Forest

Directions:

• Take Buck Forest Road from the parking area. At the end of the field, turn left onto Thomas Cemetery Road. Pass Tarkiln Branch Road on the left. Pass the Thomas cemetery on the left. Reach Buck Forest Road and turn around, hiking back on Thomas Cemetery Road. Turn right onto Tarkiln Branch Rod. Turn left at the field to return to the parking lot.

It was 70 degrees out today! Luckily, I had no appointments, so we could go out for a hike. I wanted to go to Dupont. It was a bit challenging to find new trails to hike, as all of the single-track trails are closed. We started out on Buck Forest Road to get to Thomas Cemetery Road. I noticed some unusual grey objects just off the trail. I went to investigate and they were pieces of marble, obviously cut. Very odd. We continued on ad reached the Thomas Cemetery, enclosed by a split rail fence. Only one of the gravestones had a name. The other ones had initials. We turned around and continued on to Tarkiln Branch Road. We ran into two NCFS employees doing trail maintenance. We thanked them. I asked when they thought the single-track trails would be open, but the woman said its anyone's guess. They talked about how the freeze/thaw cycles made the trails greasy and slippery. I mentioned the upcoming rain, and they said the rain actually helps improve the trail conditions. Go figure. We learned a new mountain word from the man "gaum". It's used to mean mess something up, as in gum it up. We returned to the trailhead. We encountered a handful of bikers, 1 hiker, and 1 jogger. The trails were pretty quiet.

Crossing the meadow, we turned left onto Buck Forest Road

Turning left onto Thomas Cemetery Road

Mysterious pieces of marble in the woods

Passing Tarkiln Branch Road

Stopping at a bridge over a small stream.

I love this tree!

Thomas Cemetery

Reaching the end of Thomas Cemetery Road

Horse tie outs at the cemetery

Turning right onto Tarkiln Branch Road

A wider stream which we luckily could rock hop

Despite it being 70 degrees, there is still some ice left.
The end of Tarkiln Road was muddy and slick.

Bull Creek Preserve, Swannanoa

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/29/2026	3.4 miles	1 hour 35 minutes	226'	2.1 mph	13.3

Parking: 

• Riceville Road, across the street from Berea Baptist Church

Map:

• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• Misc trails

Back out for a hike after my surgery. Very cold out, but at least we are got out.

Even Krumm was cold.

He still was trying to drag us to the water. We let him get just his feet wet.

Trail Maintenance, Appalachian Trail - Garenflo Gap to Bluff Mountain

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/21/2026	6.3 miles	5 hours 30 minutes	1,476'	1.4 mph	9.9

Parking: 

• Garenflo Gap

Map:

• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• Hike southbound towards Bluff Mountain. Turn around at some point past Big Rock Spring. Return the same way.

I still have cold symptoms (4+ weeks now) but feel much better. We had 2 reports of a tree blocking the trail, so we went out to see what we could do. I have an upcoming surgery, so unfortunately, they require me to be off the pain drugs I take for my hips. The timing was best to do it today though, otherwise we might not get out there until March. We've had a lot of cold weather recently and today was forecasted to be slightly warmer. Our thermometer said it was 20 degrees when we left the house. Still cold.

We were thrilled as we approached the trailhead that the USFS has regraded the gravel road before Garenflo Gap. Before it was undrivable, so we'd have to walk an extra quarter mile in to reach the trailhead. The road looks beautiful. We hope it lasts! We were told the big blowdown was by Big Rock Spring. We did find a single tree 1.3 miles in which looked like a high priority issue. It is at a piped spring which has an unnamed mini waterfall. We have nicknamed the waterfall Krummholz Falls. Anyways, you have to crawl on your hands and knees under the tree and its rather awkward, especially wearing a backpack. We continued on to Big Rock Spring and past it, finding no big blowdown. There were a few trees down, but they were all easy to navigate over. We decided the location was mis-reported. There was 3 inches of snow at higher elevations. Also, lots of ice heaves. Glen removed 2 trees and I removed 1. But the high priority tree will need a sawyer (someone who is certified to use a chainsaw). At least we have identified its correct location so that a sawyer can find it more easily. There are 5 down trees left after our work - we ran out of time. On the way down, Krumm and I stopped at the lower woods road for a sandwich & tea. This is something we often do. I love just sitting with him enjoying being outdoors. The last mile out was very painful for one of my hips, so I was grimacing and limping. Looking forward to being back on pain meds soon. 

The high priority tree

The cave

Tea time at the lower woods road

He's lying down to indicate a stick he wants me to throw

Gorgeous graded road! It had 1-2 foot ruts before! Thank you USFS!

Bull Creek Preserve, Swannanoa

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
1/6/2026	3.6 miles	2 hours 18 minutes	158'	2.0 mph	3.6

Parking: 

• Riceville Road, across the street from Berea Baptist Church

Map:

• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• Misc Trails

I still have a cold, 2 weeks after getting sick from my flight home. A nurse I spoke to suggested I get outside for a walk in the sun: the walk to loosen up the mucus in my lungs and the sun to help my immune system.  Great news! I joined Glen for an afternoon hike. I missed doing a New Year's Day hike this year. The temperature was 66 degrees, so we decided to let Krumm have a swim. He was cold, but so very happy. 

Guanajuato, Mexico - Day 16

December 20th, 2025

Last day in Mexico. At today's workshop, we covered sketching crowds. We also had a postcard sketch exchange amongst workshop participants.

Checking out the postcard sketches during happy hour

Group dinner

USk Asheville representing :)