Ocoee and Thunder Rock

Ever been so exhausted you want to cry? The third week in May did that to me. Two county visits at the Chattanooga end of the region and two days touring Huntsville, AL to plan a nursery tour kept me on the road from Monday to late Friday evening. Oh, and I got the flu that week too - so badly I couldn't talk at all on Thursday and Friday. But I had made plans earlier to camp in the region before coming home because I wanted to take every opportunity to explore surrounding trails when convenient. I even ordered a new tent and had it shipped to a store in Chattanooga so I could spend the weekend camping in the area - I couldn't back out! And actually, by Friday evening, the thought of driving 3.5 hours back home sounded a lot worse than setting up a tent in Ocoee half an hour a way. So I slept at Thunder Rock Campground in Ocoee that night.

I actually felt a bit better the next morning - I think there is something about mountain air that clears you up. I was still pretty sick (and would be for another week), but well enough to go for a short hike. It was also nice not to feel like I needed to complete a 5 mile run and just take things easy. So I made it a photography day instead.

It was overcast and threatening rain. I was actually surprised that I didn't get rained on because I was expecting to have to pick up my tent in the morning and go home. But it held off until after noon, and the cloudy sky made for some very pretty lighting on the trails.

Date of Trip: May 17th, 2014

Warning: Several of these probably look exactly the same to you. Sorry, but I just thought they all looked pretty and I couldn't choose!

f4.0, 1/320, ISO 80

The area is full of hydroelectric power, and the Thunder Rock campground was at power house and dam #3. I like this view because of the variety of components both up close and far away (especially the mountains in the back). The trail system nearby was supposedly pretty extensive but for some reason I couldn't find the ones on the map I wanted to take. I blame the Dayquil. So I can't tell you the name of this trail, it's just one I found.

f2.0, 1/60, ISO 200

I liked how the canopy was dense enough so that the sky wasn't too brightly showing, and light bouncing off the wet leaves and plants actually made the trail "glow" in these pictures. As a result, the trail is more vivid, and you can see further down the trail than usual also.

f2.0, 1/60, ISO 250

f2.0, 1/60, ISO 250

f2.0, 1/60, ISO 200

I especially like this one. The extra vegetation and ferns as well as the scaly bark of the tree add lots of texture.

f2.0, 1/60, ISO 200

f2.0, 1/60, ISO 80

Playing with some macro settings on a flower spike.

f2.0, 1/400, ISO 200

I wanted so badly to find a fern frond unfolding but I couldn't. So I picked an axillary bud on this plant instead. Can't tell you what plant it is though. Again, Dayquil.
 
There you have it! I had to run out of the woods as the wind was picking up because I didn't want to get my camera rained on. This is definitely a place I'll be coming back to.