Yes, it has been a little while since I\u2019ve been here but this time, I have a decent reason. \u00a0Last weekend, I took my vacation to visit Jeremy, and it feels very very long ago. \u00a0But I\u2019m going to recap as best I can:<\/em> Three posts in one day, wow! Well this isn’t really me, except for this intro. Jeremy called this afternoon and we had a nice Skype session. Rosalie was in high […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[27,83,6],"class_list":["post-206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zach-stories","tag-jeremy","tag-north-carolina","tag-zach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211,"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206\/revisions\/211"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n Thursday I got up very early and drove to the ATL. \u00a0The only real highlight of the trip was taking the wrong exit and going through NOLA instead of bypassing the city. \u00a0When I got there Thurs Jeremy and I played catch out front, watched TV, and then went up to Ted\u2019s where he works and had extreme milkshakes. \u00a0Basically, we just sat at the bar and discussed different milkshakes and booze combinations and then asked the bartender to blend them for us. \u00a0They were fantastic and although I don\u2019t think the booze added much, it was still pretty damn good. \u00a0I would make the argument that they tasted so good because of the heavy cream included, LOL.<\/em>
\n Friday, we got up and drove up about an hour and a half towards the South Carolina\/GA border and rafted Section IV of the Chattooga; the river had been running pretty low and it was billed to have some class V rapids along with a lot of III and IV rapids. \u00a0It was pretty damn fun, although the lack of water made it so that it wasn\u2019t as heart pounding pulse thumping as it could have been. \u00a0Jeremy made a good point that enjoyed big water more than technical rapids and I have to agree with him. \u00a0But, with that in mind, it was a banner day: brilliant weather, water that felt good, hardly any actual paddling, and it was just me and him and couple guides in the boat so the conversation was much better than it would have been if we had any gringos. \u00a0So that was nice. \u00a0After rafting, we got back on the road for Greenville, with plans to meet Greg for dinner and to crash at his place. \u00a0As we were driving, we realized we had some time to kill and we were driving right through Clemson, so we stopped for a little while and checked out the campus. \u00a0It was gorgeous; a small town pretty much with nothing else except the university going on and it just felt peaceful, even with the buzz of a football game that was scheduled for the next day. \u00a0I immediately loved it. \u00a0After Clemson, we got into Greenville, met Greg, went out to Thai food and then pretty much passed out.<\/em>
\n We got up the next morning (Saturday) with plans to meet Kevin Lausch and go to camp and Brevard. \u00a0We ate at the Golden Corral breakfast buffet (heavy) and then drove up to Kevin\u2019s camp, which is outside Traveler\u2019s Rest. \u00a0It was fantastic to see him and randomly Turbo was there as well, so it was a mini-camp reunion. \u00a0Randomly, Katie Sidman texted me the night before, which was the first time we had talked in probably 2-3 years. \u00a0After chatting with Kevin for a bit, we hugged him goodbye and went up to camp, where we spent a little while at Pretty Place paying our respects. \u00a0When we were there, it was overcast so the views weren\u2019t exactly tremendous but it was still a powerful experience to revisit a place that is so deeply entrenched in my heart. \u00a0After Pretty Place, we drove down into Brevard and had lunch at Pescados, which Jeremy loves but I find pretty average. \u00a0After Pescados, we drove out into Pisgah to Big East fork, where, for the first time in over five years, we hiked the same trail that I took campers backpacking on during that magical summer. \u00a0We did the same exact route too and got up onto Shining Rock Ledge where the views are enormous and powerful. \u00a0The mountain forest is as beautiful as ever. \u00a0It was an intense hike when it was all said and done: about 7 miles and around 3,000 feet in elevation gain; I was sore. \u00a0After Pisgah, we were trying to connect with Kelley Clifford and we didn\u2019t really have any definite plans. \u00a0We elected to go back into Brevard (rather than go towards Asheville) and made the decisions to buffet at Twin Dragons, since we were both ravenous after the hike. \u00a0At this point, our day had pretty much gone according to plan and I was quite pleased. \u00a0Then, Kelley decided to meet us in Brevard and got us an in to sleep at the Dill\u2019s in Hendersonville, which was a huge upgrade over our plans to camp somewhere on the side of the road. \u00a0So we crushed some Twin Dragons (as epic as ever) and then met Kelley at Dollies (a slightly overrated ice cream place but still deep in my heart) and then went out to the Dill\u2019s, where Kelley also was staying. \u00a0At the Dill\u2019s we stayed up late and drank good IPA\u2019s that Jeremy had brought and had big conversations with Mike Dill and Kelley. \u00a0I was exhausted and looking forward to the big bed they had prepared but we still stayed up late and loved the conversation. \u00a0As I write this now, I recall something else: when talking with Mike and Kelley: a feeling of kinship. \u00a0I found myself saying the words: what we all do professionally, thus implying that we have similar missions. \u00a0And we do! \u00a0We are in the business of making people\u2019s lives better. \u00a0It was a cool moment and it made me realize the inter-connectedness of my camp connections and my rec sports connections.<\/em>
\n Saturday was heavy and Sunday we got up, Kelley cooked us breakfast, and then we were on our way to Gorges State Park and Turtleback falls. \u00a0We found it with a little difficulty, hiked the 1.5 miles down to the falls, and then spent a little while sunning ourselves on the rocks before taking some time to do the water slide over the falls. \u00a0I hadn\u2019t been there in over 4 years, when Jeremy and Ashley and I had all met there for a 4th of July weekend (that was transcendent in its own right. \u00a0Also was the last time I had seen Kelley). \u00a0Anyways, the sun was out, we were the ONLY ones there and it felt very special, as though were an exalted being for enjoying the majesty of those hidden waterfalls. \u00a0After doing the slide 5 or 6 times, we hiked back out and got back to the car, where we then drove back to Atlanta. \u00a0At this point, Jeremy and I were doggone tired but we had planned another Epic Mealtime fest for that evening, involving Tequila and mexican food. \u00a0The problem, however, was that it didn\u2019t flow as nicely as it did when we did it at xmas and Jeremy invited a bunch of really annoying work friends over and they pretty quickly put me out…so after he and I cooked, I basically hid away from the party and chatted with Ashley, who was also pretty annoyed. \u00a0So it didn\u2019t exactly go as epically as the first time but was still pretty damn fun, overall. \u00a0It helped that the giants were on TV that night and beat the dodgers, so my mood was improved. \u00a0I slept in the next morning and then left ATL around 930 and drove back to BR, where reality awaited.<\/em>
\n It was an intense 4 days, which is how I like it. \u00a0Although taking vacations like that don\u2019t exactly make you rested, it was crammed full of good memories and happiness and we didn\u2019t waste much time sleeping. \u00a0My axiom of the short but crammed vacation still proves true.<\/em>
\n One thing about this trip, perhaps above all else: the beauty of that region is still amazing. \u00a0Although Jeremy is a big proponent of the West, where everything is bigger and more savage and in many cases, just as beautiful, there is something so magical to me about the forests and the waterfalls and the feeling that I\u2019m in the middle of the jungle. \u00a0And the air! \u00a0The cold crisp mountain air, even at the beginning of September, just felt right.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????\"](\"http:\/\/thezachproject.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/Zach-and-Jeremy-Shining-Rock-Wilderness-North-Carolina-Sept-2012-IMG951765-224x300.jpg\")
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