Some Time on the Mountain

For about three years of my life, I would venture to the top of the highest point in Alabama, Mount Cheaha, and navigate over the numerous trails. I would take my children there and let them enjoy nature as well; we all loved hiking that mountain. Fast forward twelve years, my kids are grown and either living in different states or are moving on with their lives. I couldn't be happier for them, but I lack hiking partners now.


That said, a buddy of mine has told me he wants to hike Mt. Cheaha this coming weekend, so I plan on grabbing a stick, packing a bag, wrapping my knees and hitting the Pinhoti trail for the first time in years. To say I love that place is an understatement of sorts. Heck, the protagonist in my novels lives just at the mountain's base, where he hunts and fishes when he isn't gallivanting around the world, meeting interesting people then killing them.




High atop Bald Rock on Mount Cheaha

The history and mystery of Cheaha is steeped in Native American lore. Specifically, the Muskogee and Cherokee occupied the lands around the mountain before Europeans settled the U.S. Many believe the mountain to hold a sacred power. Some say you can feel a strange vibration while you walk the trails of Cheaha. And others, still, claim the mountain is haunted by Natives of ages past.

Perhaps all these things are true, or maybe they aren't, but my head resides in the realm of the magical and possibilities found in ancient tales. No matter, I am hoping for fair weather as we traipse across and around the rim of Mt. Cheaha that usually takes several hours to complete. Eventually, I would love to continue my trek across the Pinhoti and on up to the southern point of the Appalachian Trail, where I would love to hike and camp to Klingman's Dome in Northeast Tennessee. We shall see if that happens.

Maybe, just maybe I will catch a glimpse of Bill Evers's house when we finally turn north and round the western face of the mountain. I am hoping to look down into the Coosa River basin to see small creeks filled from waters running off Cheaha. And most certainly, I will post photos from our voyage.