I am currently visiting Appalachia but the internet here is too shitty to post the photos I took today. I will be in the area for the next week. Would anyone like to read a liveblog? If that guy who uh poverty travels can do it, maybe I can too. But only if y'all want it. I don't wanna make waves. I guess I can start with some text. I'm staying near the Cane River which feeds into the Nolichucky River which then feeds into the Tennessee River, reaching Chattanooga in I dunno 150 mi of twists and turns and the mighty Mississippi in many more. The Nolichucky River damn famously came close to getting btfo during Helene. This area got shrekt by Helene. The river is currently flooded by Isaias-remnants, but you can see the river is less than half as high as it was during Helene from the scar on the bank. Looks like they must have rebuilt much of the road to get here, and I had to cross a one lane bridge where the other lane got partially wiped out by Helene (assuming) and they are still rebuilding it 2 years later. Tomorrow I head west towards the Georgia border.
Oh and I've been away from "Appalachia proper" - visiting Michigan, New York state, and New England instead to escape the heat - my last trip to Appalachia was to Ohio (yes part of it is strictly Appalachia (low plateau geologically)) and eastern Kentucky - a strange place I highly recommend. Tennessee has a lot more money than Kentucky. And it's a lot more religious. I passed a freewill baptist church today - they are sorta like the amish I think because a central tenet is adult baptism - like the swiss-german pietist sects of mennonites and church of the brethren and german anabaptist-descended theologies in general, but they believe sins committed after the baptism are unforgivable (I think). I was in WV (oh yeah i was in Appalachia in August during a cool spell), but only for 4 days and I didn't really do much hiking so it doesn't count) and a local lady (methodist) told me she hated baptists cuz they shout during services and its very fire-and-brimstone condemnation-type preaching
>>2915626>>2915625I'm a mulatto zoomer here in Appalachia. One thing I've noticed lately is the influx of half Indians. It seems like Indian Father / Appalachian Mother is the new wave. It used to be Black Father / Appalachian Mother. As a mulatto I feel like we are getting replaced. Are you getting those vibes too here?
>>2915625Yeah, post pics and talk about travel.
>>2915638the internet here is shit won't be any pictures till tomorrow evening
Appalachia baby! Fall!
>>2915639What a Third World shithole.>bridges wrecked years later because it rained one time>no public transport>obese medicated slobs on disability everywhere you look>hot girls nonexistent>lousy internet>scraggly forests raped by centuries of clearcut logging>dead towns, franchise slop is the only place there is activity>it's all weird-looking unfriendly people in cars, rampant dysgenia from the loser trash of the UK and Ireland all mutted together
>>2915625appalachia is for normie "travelers" there's much better out there
>>2915692Ok, about to check out of 1 night airbnb. It was ok. Tiny home on someone's property. You have to go one way into their driveway all the way to the tiny home, then back out halfway and turn around - dreading that. Airbnb driveways are often not a great situation in various ways.As are showers. There's just a bathtub with a hand sprayer attached so the water goes everywhere lol. Didn't dare wash my hair, will do that tonight. Knocked a cheap plastic curtain rod over while pooping. So now I have to inform the hosts. I hate the feeling of being scrutinized for every minor mistake or spill, compared to a hotel, but I do like these quirky handbuilt airbnbs - this is a cinder block shack with reclaimed wood trim (not sanded properly in all places though)The road to get out of here is very narrow and you could easily go off the side of it trying to get out of here in the dark so maybe I have to wait until sunrise to leave. It is quiet here though except for a bird that kept at it right outside for hours at night. >>2915692I mean this is pretty extreme rain. And where I am it's a canyon with steep sides - rain gathers where it can. Helene brought 20+ inches of rain to some parts of this area. Humans aren't really meant to live here permanently. I mean if you had to cross the river to access this land you would just die. Even with a boat, when it's flooded like this, impossible to get across without a bridge. Bridge goes out, you are stuck until a helicopter comes.
Ok well that was kinda a hellish day. Tons of narrow roads, aggressive asshole drivers (so much for friendly south), lots of wrong turns, turning around on said narrow/wrong roads) and morning drizzle to make the roads slick and that much more annoying.I am somewhat jealous of people whose vacations involve someone else driving them - though I realize they don't have the freedom I do to go anywhere and change itineraries on a whim. I had to reverse, in the dark, to escape the airbnb, and it was a narrow gravel driveway, with a steep hill on one side, and the owner-family's junk on the other which I nearly hit. Had to reverse a little, look out with my phone flashlight (I need to get a real one) and repeat that. Then the road itself was slick, a couple asshats who wanted to tail me esp cuz I was going slowly to avoid dying on this winding slick narrow road and there were super brightly lit schoolbuses on the route - at 6am those kids must travel far for school it's gotta be at least 45 min to the nearest town. But I made it to airbnb 2 - here for a week, I wanted to stay in Georgia appalachia but the options were kinda too far south (away from the center of the mountains) or too expensive. As usual this cabin is only accessed via a steep rough gravel driveway (this is a recurring airbnb theme for me) and would be perhaps a nightmare in winter. I hope to get winter tires soon.
Oh so yeah I'm in North Carolina smokies but on the south side of the main GSMNP park. I think a lot of people stay in sevierville/pigeon forge and I assume those are a bit more expensive, as well as being further away from some of the things I want to see. But that's certainly where the highest density of rental properties is. This current cabin was built in the 90s by the host's parents who assumedly are now dead (fought in ww2) but it has central AC and it's not big but it has everything I need (wish there was a king bed but alaaas) including laundry which definitely matters for longer stays. I got totally lost trying to find this cabin, ended up in two random people's driveways, including one that was giga-steep and very hard to escape from. Appalachia feels like a puzzle, a mystery. There's a lot of life here - granted there's plenty of evil rotting boomers and genx'ers but it's less moribund than New England was which felt like a ski resort for the dying. I'm happy to be back, but it still is quite hot here and sunny - which doesn't make for good photos. Getting cloudy but non-rainy non-foggy days is hard but mostly cloudy skies 100% make for the best photos. I had a ton of people today refuse to let me turn, merge onto the highway, tail me for trying to get into the passing lane when they were 100 ft behind but going faster than I go, and other reminders that America is an aggressive confrontational place.
After a harrowing escape from my airbnb in the dark, it started to get light as I got to main roads/civilization, headed east in the wrong direction for a coffee shop that I thought might have good pastries - fox and the fig in spruce pine nc - but they didn't really have much food other than bagels - but the bagels were actually great. I've had so many shitty travel bagels, including a mysteriously dry/dense bagel from an otherwise great bakery that I am blanking on the name of somewhere near Linville I think.Crispy outside, tender inside, good flavor, slightly too much cream cheese - though they aren't the worst I've seen - I've gotta learn to ask for less cream cheese. The bathroom at the coffee shop was out of order so I went outside and around to a sparsely occupied large gravel lot to pee and when I came back my bagels were toasted and ready. Lots of young white workers here - the gas station was all jeets but that's typical. You are only in real appalachia if the gas stations are staffed by whites and that requires being away from civilization - which I am kinda but not really as the smokies is one giant tourist trap.
My main morning goal was to see a waterfall - there's a gorgeous waterfall that is well beyond my low-mobility grasp - driving on these winding wet roads takes most of my strength. Culver falls - https://ncwaterfalls.com/waterfalls/cutler-fallsI would like to hike to sometime, I bet it was beautiful this morning with all the rain, but it's 1000 vertical feet up a hill from the bottom - although I saw a video on youtube that made it look like there's somehow a newly made road (not driveable) that you could walk or bike up to it that went almost right to it - though I'm not sure if that connects to the road downhill. But, not far is the roadside fall branch/plum creek falls 36.031834, -81.986969parking was not great, I went past it and it kept going uphill - steeply, with no easy turnaround so I did a scary road reverse and then parked just downhill of the falls. It's one of those falls where the road goes over the creek and the uphill flow of the creek above the road is a waterfall. I guess comparing the photo on nc waterfalls they got it at even higher flow - the main rivers here are almost flooded but the smaller streams are not and its been dry before this. The area it was in had good foliage, but the mountains are mostly green - it hasn't been cold enough for full fall color yet. I know, it's not much, but it was nice in person and it was interesting to drive on 19 - the major east-west road east of Asheville and see the morning light and the miles of generic strip-mall forever by the roadside.
After plum creek falls, I went to the grovewood gallery (again), I was in the area in the spring just for a few days and liked this gallery. It's located next to a big resort so it's pretty confusing to navigate and it seems like you are somewhere you aren't supposed to be like a hotel and a residential neighborhood but there is a gallery, as well as an adjacent car museum and local history museum that I have yet to see. Its not local-art-only, as the best shops are, they carry work from places outside North Carolina, I got a ceramic small tray with a crystalline glaze - I wish they had a larger one with these colors. The one I got was made in Indiana. It's sort of like a free museum, except you can touch most of it - they have clear signs for the pieces they don't want you touching and a flamboyant gay guy (just like me!) comforted me when I accidentally knocked over a mini-vase (it didn't break thank god) while carefully trying to extract a ceramic tray to look at. I hate places that are weird about you touching stuff or taking photos - this is fine with both. You don't have to buy anything, gift shops/art galleries are free museums for the poor. And they have furniture upstairs - gorgeous and expensive. The 4000 dollar painting I like and would love to get for my mom is still there. I think it might sell if they cut the price. I mean, it's been there for 6 months at least- do you want to sell it or not. They have woodwork, paintings, ceramics, glass (though less than I would have liked) as well as leather goods and jewelry. I got pic related for myself. There's probably other art galleries in Asheville I should visit, but they seem like they will be super expensive. Sadly my internet here is also kinda shit or I would more easily post photos.
After the gallery, I got bbq food to go (I recall the hush puppies as being excellent and not getting enough last time so I got 4 orders) from Big Nick's BBQ in Sylva, then checked into my cabin. That's about it for today. I really like how this photo turned out.
Bonus: potato salad reviewits not bad, its not greatthe best potato salad I got, minus there being raw chunks of onion in it which I don't like was somewhere near charlottesville va in sw va and I forget where I've gotta find that place again. A lot of places really royally fuck it up - I've had ones where the potatoes are undercooked, not enough mayo, way too much herb flavor (dill blast) or too much mustard can ruin it too. This is fine, it has bacon, it has sour cream - it's the loaded baked potato style (except without chives I think I had a potato salad once that did have chives), but there's no sweetener at all, its too tart - I will add the honey I bring on trips, and its a bit too gloopy - too much mayo - but it's not toooo bad and its edible so good enough. The potatoes are in like large slices which is fine I guess they are cooked ok.
the airbnb has a garbage disposal, which they almost never do (like 5% maybe tops)I had one in the spring that had one in NW PA almost makes up for the slightly funny tasting water, low water pressure, suicide driveway, and noisy hvac but honestly better than 75% of airbnbs
>>2915853Supposedly Transylvania County, NC has more waterfalls than any other county in the US.>narrow roads with no pullouts or turnaroundsVery common in the eastern states. Western states usually have tons of places to pull over. >>2915846And yes, the eastern roads are all full of impatient rural wagies hurrying 30 miles to their cage every single day. They are non-sentient beings who don't even notice the verdant beauty of their surroundings, all they feel is the frustration of being a low value wagecuck who has to spend 20% of their income on transport to and from the wagecage. But there are so many other kinds of non-wagecuck lives tucked away in those woods behind "Private Property" signs. As a traveler you can only guess at what their secluded forest-dwelling lives are like, because they hardly ever go outside their property anymore. The country has changed so much, with formerly quiet remote areas now frenetic with economic activity, but the woods still go through the same familiar natural cycles.
>>2915862It doesn't look like a welcoming place at all. Being mobile and sheltered in your car would feel pretty good; being out walking after dark, nuh uh. Even worse than careless indifferent driving is the fake friendliness from christkeks who need to check off their good deed of the week checkbox.>Asked a stranger if he needed help: CheckWithout some form of taxable private property out there, you are nothing. In fact your existence alone is criminal. Free country my ass.
>>2916027>Very common in the eastern states.I just don't get it. You would think there would be a bit more effort to have proper paved pullouts every so often. >all they feel is the frustration of being a low value wagecuck well maybe we should have communism thenI think the biggest issue is having a feudal over-class exploiting the poor for labor - appalachia is a history of poor people selling their land to the rich and not getting paid the value they produced with their labor, as well as a lot of union-busting > As a traveler you can only guess at what their secluded forest-dwelling lives are likeit's kinda fascinating, I see these properties with driveways that seem impossibly steep and wonder what it must be like in the winter - I guess you just put chains on - the locals told me they used to run studded tires but I assume they mean in the 80s and 90s perhaps and there's places here that are just so hard to get to >>2916029some countries have right to roam, america could change if people collectively expressed disdain with the current system of violent defense of "owned" landthere was a time before "no trespassing" which I believe emerged after the civil war as a concept
I hiked to Huckleberry Knob today. Last time I was in the area - driving east from Chattanooga I was trying to get to Clingman's Dome so I didn't stop to hike and I also didn't know where to hike. Not sure if this was the best view in the area - but it is the highest point ~ 5600 ft compared to ~ 6600 for the highest hills in appalachia motorcycles made noise the whole time, cherohala skyway was just boomers on cycles as far as the eye can see, and one twink who was biking uphill and forgot his sunglasses and came back for them. Also lots of annoying people in fancy Porsche's and BMWs and a boomer polishing his admittedly nice looking soul red Mazda Miata at a picnic stop. I had to park in overflow parking for the hike down the road. As I got there some teens with maybe their dad were taking electric mopeds up the trail I was gonna do - I asked them later they said they didn't ride up to the top - but you absolutely could have even though "motorized vehicles are illegal on national forest land" (f u forest service)As I was road-walking towards the hike two slightly older women in a BMW convertible driving as fast as they can asked me if this was the area for Huckleberry Knob. I nodded; they then asked which way to the parking and I pointed with my trekking poles. They talked obnoxiously the entire hike as many women do. I wonder what it's like to be a hypersocialized female (I'm just a lowly hermit).
>>2916102>Waaaah I deserve your land waaaaaaah
>>2916446It's more you don't deserve to get violent when others want to share valuable natural resources. I am not asking people to share toothbrushes. I saw signs saying vote republican, end socialism, or something like that (as if republicans would ever do away completely with medicare and social security)and then right nearby a sign in spanish for free public clinicthat about sums up this area
>>2916452So you get to just steal their land? And they can't try to stop you? That's crazy talk .
>>2916455>sharing is stealingI want to live in a less violent, less confrontational world.
>>2916456I guess you wouldn't mind if I share your car, bussy, and put you to work cleaning up the trash the last commie left behind (his corpse)
>>2916459you aren't being reasonableI just think we should be less focused on private propertyfor instance when I travel there are rarely enough well-advertised public bathrooms in small towns or on the sides of roads - some places don't really even have gas stations - I just mean port-a-potties or MAYBE standalone flush toilets in slightly less rural areas but America is too focused on keeping people out and not building any sense of community.
the grassy summit of huckleberry knob 5630ft
>>2916459Cars should be public use in cities, just like those goofy scooters. Sign in, drive, and then return it to any parking lot. Strange that Communist China hasn't rolled out this concept. Private car ownership is so bourgeois and wasteful, it sits around 22+ hours a day uselessly hogging up space.>>2916455You don't have a right to claim God's country as your own, you iniquitous boomer sodomite. Nor do you have a right to harm any forest creature who crosses an invisible line on a survey map. >>2916524That sure looks like perfect weather for a hike. The car dilemma: you always have to return to your car, so you can't thru hike. But if you don't have a car, how do you get to and from the trail?
>>2916459Oh look, I got your picture in my phone. Fat old manlet thinking he's some hot shit. Funny how your kind are so chickenshit in public, you can't even look a brown man in the eyes.
>>2916541>That sure looks like perfect weather for a hike.It was actually too sunny and very hot - I mean ALMOST heat exhaustion inducing but not quite but not good for Oct and esp not good for 5000 ft. Also, there were two campsites at the top. It's national forest so I think you could have easily brought a tent and stayed the night if you wish. And you could have taken a bicycle there too. Also when I got to the summit there was a whole vanload of baptist church peoople - mostly young parents and little kids making as much noise as possible but thankfully they cleared out after I sat for a few minutes. Some places in the Smokies have shuttles - the main GSMNP area does for popular hikes.
>>2916541My land my choice.
>>2916542Still seething that Timmy rejected your advances?
>>2916553So the place I am staying it's like a compound on a hill - there's homes hundreds of feet higher further up the hill I'm not at the top like 1/4 of the way up with a shitty poorly maintained gravel driveway and an annoying plastic carport that blocks me from turning around so I have to reverse to get out but this was the owners parents vacation house and the dad I guess did some mechanical work and he had multiple out-buildings shops with tools but it looks like when they died the daughter just let it all rust out - didn't demolish it or clear it like literally just left a bunch of metal equipment to rust out where it lays (the most appalachia thing possible imho is leaving junk on your lawn)but when I got home last night a fluorescent bar light was on INSIDE the abandoned shop, as if someone was inside working - the host/daughter lives up the hill in the same area - there's a network of crisscrossing little roads - it was very creepy. It was built in the early 90s and they haven't bothered to update some of it at all - original showerhead and sink faucet that both suck and distort the water spray - I get the feeling hosts never stay in their own properties so they are genuinely unaware of issues they have - or just outright neglectful and greedy. Its actually pretty good overall for an airbnb - there's central air and heat - which - while loud and rattly (of course sigh) at least is potent cuz its been both super hot and cold - it will get up to near 90 this week and then down to near freezing. I guess mini-split in bedroom + main area is the best possible HVAC option but they only work marginally better than heat pumps in cold weather - you really need a radiator for true cold weather or you will be blasting forced air at all hours.
>>2916606oh, but it's whisper quietthere were gunshots from far away on the day I got here (staying a week), and someone mowing their lawn but nobody RIGHT next to me so it's very quiet, and no road noise.The last place I stayed a week at there was both road noise AND there was a family with young kids living next door AND above me and that was misery. I learned my lesson - and they did disclose there would be young kids.I stayed in a place in another town in Western North Carolina last fall where I was in their basement and they had young kids and it was totally fine because their kids were not loud annoying brats...I would say maybe half my stays are in people's basements with private entrances but this time I got my own cabin and its a little dinky and older but damn its nice to have you own space.
I got two vases. Raku pottery apparently isn't food-safe so it doesn't really matter that's it a non-functional shape - I otherwise prefer things you can display food or drink out of - but it was really nice - I should have crouched down to get this picture I will next time I didn't do the colors justice but basically it's iridescent-glazed pottery. Made by the woman who sold it to me. Prices were reasonable - not low but not jacked up either.
second piece I gotalso took pictures of lots of other artworks I didn't buy if anyone would like to see those - there's lots of nice art in North Carolina but prices are higher here than in say Kentucky or West Virginia or Northern PA. I have yet to enter a cheesy native-themed gift shop. Lots of places promising authentic native crafts and "chainsaw art" but I just didn't have time. There are actual native people here - not a lot but some - and there's a rez bordering GSMNP.
This airbnb has the best installed ceiling fan of any I've been in. Usually they don't latch the blades smoothly and there's a bit of tilt and it makes lots of noise - this is well greased and screwed in tight and the only noise is the blades whirring - and it is pretty hot - hopefully the last time its in the 80s for a while. I stayed with family for a night last time I traveled and she turned on the ac for me (it otherwise would have been off lol) but there was no fan in the room and it was miserable. Won't do that again.
