Map Check 2024

Field Notes II.L: A review of the past year's photography and adventures and where things are headed from here.

Welcome to Field Notes!

Every so often we have to pause and lift our focus. This forest we wander through is dense and dark, wild and unexplored. Though the trail ahead might seem obvious, the path is unique to each of us and we are all finding our own way. It is important to gain a perspective. We must break our gaze from our own footsteps on the ground just ahead to see the terrain around us.

We must look back once in a while. Not only can we then see how far we have come, but we also should recognize what that trail looks like in reverse. There is always a chance we have gotten off course and will need to back-track.

The high ground is a good spot for this pause. Maybe from up here we can see the landscape. We can identify the distant peaks we aim for and shoot an azimuth with our compass. And, hopefully we can see some of the crevasses and deep valleys we will have to navigate around, or cross, to move forward.

I am writing, of course, about our path through life and our creative endeavors; of what we’ve accomplished and what we would like to do. The trail is a perfect metaphor. The end of the year is an ideal time to review how things have gone and where things area headed next.

It is time for a map check!

2024 was so filled with adventure that I don’t know where to begin. The obvious choice would be a chronological re-cap. Well, we try to find alternate routes than the obvious here in Field Notes. And anyway, that re-cap was getting way too long to be reasonable. The archives are there for that purpose.

A word of warning- I’ll use Substack’s photo grids here. I try to avoid these because they present differently whether you are looking at this on line, in an email, or in the app. My suggestion to you would be to view it on line where you can see the condensed grid but still click each image to see the full photo.

Water

I took a lot of waterfall photos this year! To be honest, I’m really happy with how my waterfall photography has progressed. This is pretty amazing to me, considering that as I look back at my old photos I see that I only took two waterfall photos in all of 2022.

In February I went waterfall chasing at the Canyon of Five Falls and at Long Creek Falls, both along the Chattooga River, forming the border of Georgia and South Carolina. Then, March provided a visit to the sea with a family vacation to the Florida Panhandle-

In the later part of spring I found many waterfalls to photograph along the Panthertown Valley route in North Carolina and on the Foothills Trail in South Carolina. In June I took a cheap kayak out onto a local lake and photographed with my GoPro.

Water and waterfall photos took a pause over the summer, but I returned to it vigorously in the fall. I found waterfalls locally, at Jack’s River Falls in the Cohutta Wilderness of North Georgia, in the Smokies at the start of my trip to Mount LeConte in Tennessee, and along the Pin-Chin-Sky Loop in Alabama in November.

Land

Surprisingly, I didn’t spend quite as many nights on mountaintops as I did in 2023. The trips I took tended to have other focuses. I did start the year with a frigid night on Blood Mountain in early January to test out some new cold weather gear. Later that month I took my mother to Middle Georgia on a pilgrimage.

I went on a great backpacking trip to Panthertown Valley, NC in early April. A highlight of that adventure was the rare opportunity to be out exploring a backcountry area while experiencing a solar eclipse!

In late summer I began to realize the dearth of mountain peaks among this year’s adventures and began making some epic plans to correct that. However, in September all of these plans were swept away by Hurricane Helene. I scrambled, looking for alternate locations to visit. Fortunately, I was still able to make a first time visit to Mount LeConte in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Quickly following that, I found a great route over in Alabama that I otherwise might never have considered- the Pin-Chin-Sky Loop.

Epic Adventures

2024 was also a year for some epic adventures. The more I progress with backpacking, the more I look to the ultralight realm. The real purpose of trying to go ultralight is just to offset the weight of all of my camera gear that I carry on these trips. But, ultralight backpacking is entwined with thru hiking: long multi-day or multi-week journeys that begin one place and end elsewhere.

The more I learned about thru hiking, the more this type of journey began to fascinate me. I have definitely gotten hooked on the idea. In May I set out on my first true thru hike… the Foothills Trail in South Carolina. I finished this 76 mile route in 5 days, with the first and last being 1/2 days, and I can say with confidence that it changed me forever!

In July came Honduras. I had the chance to accompany a mission trip to a foreign land I had no connection to, whatsoever. Of course I jumped on it without hesitation, and I’m so glad that I did!

I made some good friends. I met some fascinating people. And, I believe our efforts helped spread some good in the world.

This newfound interest in hiking long trails entranced me moving toward autumn. In September a possibility quickly congealed into a plan to thru hike the Bartram Trail. This trek would take me 100+ miles from the Georgia/South Carolina border into North Carolina. I would have to figure out a re-supply in Franklin, NC along the way. Well, as I touched on above, this plan was cancelled the evening before I was set to leave because of the hurricane. That was frustrating, for sure, but probably for the best.

Other Stuff

There is so much more from this year that I would like to include, but we’ve already gone on way too long. In personal milestones, I shipped my son off to college and began teaching my daughter to drive.

I began studying philosophy with more focus and was invited by

Brittany Polat

to present a lightning talk video presentation at this year’s Stoicon, an annual event created by Modern Stoicism that preceded Stoic Week 2024.

And, I simply had several opportunities to take some photos I’m really proud of from my local stomping grounds!

For all of the curve balls 2024 threw at me, it was an epic year! Where do I go from here? I don’t have it all planned out, but I do have some ideas.

As an alternate destination when Helene came through I looked at visiting Cumberland Island on the Georgia coast. I think that is a cold weather destination, as there are a ton of ticks there in the warm months and I don’t like the idea of tent camping in sweltering heat. The backcountry areas of Cumberland were also closed in the fall of ‘24 due to the hurricane, but it is a possibility for the winter of 2025.

I am also eagerly looking forward to trying the Bartram Trail again. It has been cleared of blown down trees, from what I’ve read on line. I’m thinking maybe in late March or April.

Beyond that, its up in the air. I would like to re-visit some places I’ve been before. Perhaps Gregory Bald in June when the flame azaleas are blooming. Maybe Joyce Kilmer in October for the fall foliage. The Shining Rock Wilderness always calls to me. Perhaps I’ll chase some more Catawba Rhododendron blooms there?

Some things didn’t quite go as planned last year. I had some interest in portrait photography after the Honduras trip. I tried putting some effort towards that in ‘The Human Element’ part of my photography, but it just hasn’t materialized. I’m still open to it. We’ll just have to see what happens.

I attempted some ‘how to’ issues in 2024, but I just didn’t feel confident suggesting to anyone how they should do things. This fell to the wayside and I don’t know if I’ll pick it up again.

I’m thinking of backing off of film making. I do like the films I have created and I have footage from Mount LeConte and The Pin-Chin-Sky Loop that I still have to put together. The ability to grab selfie shots from the footage to accompany my writing is very valuable. But, starting with the Jack’s River Falls trip I realized I was getting pretty irritated with the filming process while I was backpacking. And then, the actual creation of the films takes an enormous amount of work. I’m just not sure it is worth the returns.

Here’s a goal for 2025- to create something more tangible with photography and writing. I’m not ashamed to say that I love my photos. However, they feel only half fulfilled as digital images. I really want to make more prints and perhaps present them at a local craft fair or a local exhibit. Maybe I can create some type of zine or photo book of some of these adventure stories. 2025 might be the year for that.

Having said that, I think I will no longer offer prints of my photos for sale on line. I’ve only ever had one person purchase one (thanks

Niki Elle

!). The real problem is that it is highly inefficient. Any print shop I work with has their production costs, the platform charges their fee, the credit card companies charge their fees, and the shipping costs are absurd. I set things up to make minimal profit from any print sale, but the cost to you is still prohibitively expensive. I may have found a better way, and I’d like to unveil that next week in the first post of 2025.

Let me wrap this up by saying I’m super excited for 2025! I’m counting Field Notes seasons by calendar year, so January begins Season III!

Ok, I got antsy about how long this post is, with all of the included photos, so I ended it. But, I want to ask you all what specific parts you like the most in Field Notes. Anything you want more of? Anything that makes you think ‘not this again!’? To summarize, I’m thinking of

• Backing off of film (but probably not quitting entirely)

• No more ‘how to adventure’ posts

• More thought pieces and philosophical hatchetwork (possibly even with some cop related stuff, but this is so far off from the theme of Field Notes that I’m very hesitant)

I’d be grateful if you thought for a moment about the type of content here. Agree or disagree with what I’m thinking- I want to hear it. Leave me a comment about your favorite stuff or what you don’t like (trust me- you won’t hurt my feelings).