Sentimental Journey | Part 4, Time to Read

Vacation Level Unlocked: Master

In recent years, I have realized that I habitually try to do too much on vacation. This is a trap that I willingly fall into far too often. While worthwhile adventures are definitely an important part of my definition of a successful vacation, they need be balanced with some amount of rejuvenation, too. For me, rejuvenation is most easily summed up as having time to read. 

I was always a reader and, as a kid. I poured myself into books so thoroughly that I could shut out the world around me entirely. (This used to really irritate my mother.) As a middle aged adult, I simply don't have time to read like I once did. If I can overcome my own instinct to overprogram vacations and simply spend quality time outdoors quietly reading, that is the next level of success for me. I am happy to say that I achieved it on this trip.

And so, the round trip flight to Vero Beach ("Sentimental Journey | Part 3, Vero Beach") was the last aviation-related side adventure for SurnameFest 2026. Warrior 481 spent the last half of the week snug in her pajamas at Pickens County Airport (KJZP). In this case, letting the airplane sit was the whole point of the journey.

Mystery of the Moon-Eyed People

From Higher Ground, we made two visits to Fort Mountain State Park located near the Cohutta Wilderness. ("Cohutta Wilderness" sounds to my ear more like a Star Wars placename than a real location in Georgia.) As group activities that led to exercise for me and indulged our shared love of hiking and outdoor photography, both excursions satisfied multiple goals. Fort Mountain is best known for an ancient 850 foot long stone wall placed near its summit sometime between 500 and 1500 CE. Cherokee lore holds that it was built by the Moon-Eyed People, a race of slight, fair-skinned people who could see better at night than during the day (time travelers with night vision goggles?) that were driven from Appalachia by the Cherokee.

Our first visit to Fort Mountain happened the same day I left for Vero Beach. Our intrepid band included a college student (The Bear), a rock star (Stephen), and a Dungeon Master (Pam). I specifically wanted to get this photo to immortalize the wonderful shirt that Stephen was wearing. Vigilant readers may recognize The Bear's likeness on this shirt, specially made for Pam and Stephen's visit with her at college earlier this year (for maximum embarrassment in the most loving way possible, of course). As for The Bear's pose on that shirt, let's just say that she was "trolling". 

One of our goals that morning was to give Pam's new prosthetic leg with its wonderous hydraulic ankle a work-out. At the risk of spoilers, mission accomplished! While having the rights tools always helps, Pam is simply amazing.

Long time readers of this blog may have noted a running gag of The Bear pretending (yes, pretending) to be a creepy troll near caves and other shadowy places. This is a family in-joke dating back to a 2000 trip to Alaska several years before The Bear was born. We were in Juneau and encountered a dank little cave on the side of the road and I remarked something to effect of, "Wouldn't it be funny to take a picture of Stephen acting like a creepy troll outside that cave?" Always game, Stephen posed for a picture that inspired a couple of decades worth (so far) of callbacks. Here, I present both new and OG trolls.

We chose the easiest path along the face of the mountain that day, but the geology of the place was bursting out all over.

After a while, I began to feel like they were trolling me.

Ultimately, we came to the West Overlook and did some looking over.

Stephen, The Bear, Pam, and a Chemistry Nerd.

"Hey, you photobombed my photo!" cried The Bear. I turned around to see that in my rush to get a photo, I had walked right in front of her.

Me photobombing The Bear. Photo by The Bear.

The Bear studied the display on her camera. "Actually, it's kind of a cool picture."

After our successful hike, the big blue Durango returned us to Higher Ground.

Lisa and the Argonath

Later in the week, The Bear and I returned to Fort Mountain with Lisa and Nate to explore other trails on Fort Mountain.

In short order, we discovered the remains of the mysterious rock wall that predated Cherokee civilization on the mountain.

In 2026, it is not much of a wall, but it is also clearly not an accident of nature, either. As a ruin on top of a mountain whose origin remains unclear, a Spinal Tap quote from the Stonehenge scene comes to mind. "No one knows who they were...or...what they were doing."

Intrepid adventurers reach their goal.

We followed a trail that wrapped around the east and north faces of the mountain and eventually led us  upward to the restored stone fire tower originally constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

From the top of the four story tower, fires up to 40 miles away could be spotted.

A stone circle near the tower's base contained a familiar element to stir the soul of any navigator...

...a compass pointer. I whimsically pondered the impossible logistics of dragging Warrior 481 up Fort Mountain to swing her compass there.

Replaced by a metal tower on an adjacent peak, the stone fire tower was largely abandoned after the 1960s and the wooden cab at the top burned in 1971. Though the facility was completely restored between 2014 and 2015, we were unable to explore it. The tower entrance was closed and locked (I checked) the day we visited.

Lisa and the Argonath.

"Giants they seemed to him, vast grey figures silent but threatening. Then he saw that they were indeed shaped and fashioned: the craft and power of old had wrought upon them, and still they preserved through the suns and rains of forgotten years the mighty likenesses in which they had been hewn. Upon great pedestals founded in the deep waters stood two great kings of stone: still with blurred eyes and crannied brows they frowned upon the North. The left hand of each was raised palm outwards in gesture of warning; in each right hand there was an axe; upon each head there was a crumbling helm and crown. Great power and majesty they still wore, the silent wardens of a long-vanished kingdom. Awe and fear fell upon Frodo, and he cowered down, shutting his eyes and not daring to look up as the boat drew near."

- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring.

"Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba / Sithi uhm ingonyama" ("Here comes a lion, Father / Oh yes, it’s a lion.")

- The Lion King

Clearly, we have a lot of family in-jokes that lend themselves well to photography in natural settings.

AvNerd, Nate, Lisa, and The Bear.

Though we came at it from a different direction than earlier in the week, we found our way to the West Overlook again.

A vertical panoramic shot to capture the lush valley, the active clouds, and the deep blue Georgia sky as observed on the way back to Higher Ground from Fort Mountain.

One Serious, One Silly

On our final night at Higher Ground, we captured the obligatory group photo.

When did Izzy arrive?

Once upon a time, when The Bear was wee, she despised being photographed. As enticement, a "silly picture" was necessarily traded as payment for a nice picture. Nearly two decades later, a silly picture is something that all adults can agree upon as mandatory.

July 25: Reverse Convergence

On the final full day of SurnameFest, my attention always returns to weather forecasts, ForeFlight, and the charting of an airborne route home. In general, weather forecasts promised a benign atmosphere, but past experience indicated that low weather at Pickens County Airport in Jasper was likely in the morning and, as in 2023, I studied the airport's obstacle departure procedure (ODP). ODPs are intended to provide a safe path airborne in an obscured atmospheric sea where mountainous reefs lurk invisibly below.

Moreso than instrument approach procedures, ODPs make me nervous. In many ways, ODPs are simply the reverse of instrument approaches, intended to safely guide airplanes away from the ground instead of to it, though they are less precise. It is not the lack of precision that causes my anxiety. Instead, it is the requirement of many to maintain a minimum climb rate to successfully avoid cumulogranite (i.e., slamming into an obscured mountain). Sometimes these rates are beyond what is achievable for a fully loaded Warrior II. Fortunately, Pickens County's ODP for runway 34 had an achievable climb gradient. I set a ceiling of 300 feet as my departure minimum, chosen because it would allow an about face back to the airport on the instrument approach if necessary.

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
25 Jul 2026	N21481	JZP (Jasper, GA) - IDI (Indiana, PA)	4.6	3210.0

I originally filed a flight plan to Carroll County Airport (KTSO) in Ohio to take advantage of the on field diner and an absurdly low fuel price. However, late the night before we departed, a NOTAM appeared declaring the airport to be out of fuel. It was the week of EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh when the mass movement of general aviation locusts across the continent tends to strip airports of reasonably priced fuel. I should not have been surprised.

I changed our destination to Jimmy Stewart Airport (KIDI) in Indiana County, PA. Their fuel was not as much a bargain, but at least they had it and the Riziki Cafe is good.

When we arrived at Pickens County Airport that morning, the weather had lifted to 1 mile of visibility and a 500 feet ceiling. Though it was still IFR, my departure criteria were met and we were good to go. I could not immediately return the Durango key to the FBO because the temporary FBO tailer was unstaffed and locked when we arrived. While waiting for the line crew to reappear, we readied the airplane and performed a preflight inspection while I mentally cycled through whether Warrior 481 would manage the climb gradient in IMC out of Jasper. No matter how much I dwelt on it, the math never changed. We would be fine.

I called Atlanta Center on the ground for IFR clearance just moments before a second aircraft outbound from Jasper did the same. First come, first served. We received our clearance for immediate departure and took runway 34. This runway is downhill, which aided our takeoff roll. Airborne with a positive rate of climb established, I monitored the vertical speed indicator to assure myself that we met the necessary climb gradient. We did. Within a minute of breaking ground, we were in the clouds. 

Whoosh.

Our time in that initial layer was short lived. When we broke out, only the tops of the nearby mountains projected above.

We proceeded northwest on runway heading until reaching the MADOL intersection over the Georgia-Tennessee state line, then turned northeast direct to Jimmy Stewart Airport. This westward excursion helped us avoid the tallest Smoky Mountain peaks.

At 7,000 feet, we cleared the Smokies handily. A line of weather stretched across our path and Atlanta Center helpfully steered us between a pair of cells before clearing us direct to our destination. The ride was smooth, though the visibility cycled between unlimited and nil. I switched on HAL, who was unperturbed by the poor visibility and steered us toward home with precision.

I am always dazzled by the wonderous environments one can explore with an instrument rating, places I would have never dared go when I was VFR only.

Over West Virginia, the clouds began to break up.

We descended toward Jimmy Stewart Airport on an instrument approach, but broke off once I had a visual on the field. We arrived later than planned, only 15 minutes before Riziki Cafe closed. On the way into the terminal building, I noticed an unexpected weight in my pocket. With great dismay, I realized that I still had the Durango key. Our trip home from the Williamson-Sodus airport that afternoon would mean a stop at FedEx to ship the key back to Jasper, GA.

At Riziki Cafe, we ordered promptly, enjoyed our sandwiches, and hustled out so they could close up.

Tyke Squadron

Deployed outside the Indiana County terminal building was a small fleet of pedal planes: a Mustang, a T-6 Texan, and a Cub. Each one had a powerplant rated at 1 kidpower.

I particularly enjoyed the small details on each and flashed back fondly to when The Bear was obsessed with pedal planes at Oswego County Airport during their monthly summer pancake breakfasts.

Warrior 481 and a low-profile grumpy Bear at the Jimmy Stewart Airport.

The Bear was not enthralled by these particular pedal planes and unwilling to dwell in nostalgia. Rather, she was still sulking after an argument we had prior to departing Pickens County Airport that morning.

Exercise

Date	Aircraft	Route of Flight	Time (hrs)	Total (hrs)
25 Jul 2026	N21481	IDI (Indiana, PA) - SDC (Sodus, NY)	1.9	3211.9

The remaining flight home was mostly in IMC and I hand flew through the occasionally bumpy clouds for practice. Like any good exercise, my performance improved once I settled into a rhythm. I could feel my scan and control of the airplane tightening up as the flight progressed and ended the journey back to Sodus quite satisfied with my performance. 

Wrap-Up

Round trip flight from Sodus to Vero Beach and back. Plotted in Google Earth.

Another SurnameFest completed. Another set of group photos where we are all a little older, but still capable of being silly. It was a week of pleasant strolls and lush vistas on Fort Mountain, renewed connection, and time to read. There was even a turtle. It was all a success in my book.

From a flying perspective, I logged 24.1 hours, including 3.4 hours in IMC. I planned around (and a little bit through) wildfire smoke. We saw our friends Brent and Jackie in Tennessee and I met up with Pierre in Florida. Five new airports were added to the map (4/5ths of them planned!), including Warrior 481's birthplace of Vero Beach. I was humbled on the radio at Knoxville and learned from it. I got to see the glorious nighttime lighting array serving as a welcome mat to Jacksonville International’s 10,000 foot long  runway. Who knew that the hemispheric rule does not apply in Florida? I saw how airplanes like mine are built and, while I did not get the T-shirt from the factory, I certainly got the hat. Tropical Storm Bertha was both a hindrance and a help, depending on the day. I flew three instrument approach procedures, but could only log the one in smoke at Allegheny County. And I acquired a lot of new weather flying experience. As a pilot, this was a week of learning, building experience under non-ideal conditions, and creating great new memories. After nearly 24 years of flying as a certificated pilot, taking to the air remains deeply satisfying.