2021/9/30 - GREAT CRAGGY MOUNTAINS, HAWKSBILL ROCK
DIRECTOR'S CUT EXTENDED EDITION

This is the Director's Cut Extended Edition for this album, meaning I have included many photos which don't meet my typical artistic standards because they hold special memories for me. If you are looking for a shorter and higher quality collection, or if you are not a fan of spiders, visit the curated Theatrical Cut at GREAT CRAGGY MOUNTAINS, HAWKSBILL ROCK - SPIDER FREE THEATRICAL RELEASE.

In September/October of 2021 I took a trip to Asheville, NC and walked my poor feet as much as they could take up and down the Appalachian mountains. Starting well before the sunrise again, I hiked up the Craggy Peak trail under the light of my headlamp. Fog hung low in the valleys, but it wasn't until later that I realised a large area that I thought to be a cloud was actually a lake reflecting the grey blues of the sky. The sun rose in a curious way where it appeared to rise from fully below the horizon line. I descended from the peak after it got too bright and took the Craggy Gardens Trail up across some bald rolling hills until I reached the picnic area and Snowball Trailhead.

I felt like the only person for miles, and probably was, and at times I hummed parts of any song I could remember in hopes that the local bear population was not a fan of music. Other than myself, the only noise cutting through the vast silence were the incessant yet endearing flies who kept me company up the elevation. I am somewhat terrified of bugs touching me without permission, but they always respectfully maintained their distance and let me know of their presence with the stereotypical bzzzZZZzz...zZZzzzz...zZZZ.

I dragged my tired legs up and up and up the rocks and manmade stairs, and decided once I reached Hawksbill Rock that the posted "Snowball Fire Tower: 2.2mi (handwritten: No Tower)" was probably not a good idea at the time, because it felt like I would need what energy I had left just to safely descend from the rock. I gingerly crept around for selfies without tripping or falling, then made my way back down the Snowball Trail, then again over the Craggy Gardens. On my way back, I spotted a flash of bright blue in the dirt and yelled out to the empty forest how excited I was to find an Oil Beetle that I had researched for a little animal game recently. Oil beetle! Oil beetle!