Some photos of Clear Creek

I've had this blog for what, over a week? and I haven't posted one single picture yet. Well, here are two pictures from about three weeks ago. Above is a typical sign posted along the High Point Trail, which is accessible by car if you don't care too much about your shocks or oilpan or tires and are an idiot.

I do almost all of my hiking in the Clear Creek area since it's basically in my back yard; it's more commonly known as the Norris Watershed, adjacent to the Norris Dam area (where I also sometimes hike). It's lovely out at Clear Creek with well-kept trails, not rugged or very challenging, but it has the benefit of being close to my house. Really close. I step out my front door and within five minutes I'm on the trail.

I've set my current book--you know, the one with running-away-from-bad-guys-through-the-woods-also-the-main-character-likes-to-hike-and-camp that I started this blog partly to talk about--in my own town. I figure it'll make the book more realistic, particularly the parts that take place on the trail. I've hiked in Clear Creek on and off for the last quarter century, and while I'm sure there are lots of people out there who know the area better than I do, they're not writing this book.

But it does feel weird to write about landmarks I've known all my life. I feel like I'm cheating. If I need to know how to stage a scene, I can go there and look over the setting. I expect I'll need to do some artistic-license tinkering with the real Clear Creek trails before I'm done with the book, but so far it's working out just fine. Go me.

Above: the Red Hill Cemetery off Red Hill Trail, which has gravestones from the late 19th century through to around the 1930s. Some of them are hand-carved.