The Devil You Say

OK guys we are gonna start out at 1900 feet and hike up above 3300 feet in roughly 2 miles. The Devil-you-say! The Devils Den, I say! Many moons ago (2011) I hiked up to Devils Den with Ben Bacot and Mike Maples. We continued up to the Jeep trail and tower on the Pinnacle. We came down the Catstairs and out via the Barnes place. A few years later, enter Mike Poppen, who does a little research and hikes to several home places below Devils Den. Now at first, I thought Poppen said that Beetle Baily lived at one of these home places. I figured, Poppen being the funny guy that he is, was trying to pull a fast one on ol’ Gourley. Instead, he had indicated that several Whaley’s inhabited the area which included 5 home places. There are some differing ideas as to the exact ordering of names, but much of the land surrounding Devils Den was originally owned by Ira Whaley. Some time passed as Gourley and Poppen awaited for the proper lunar alignment that made a journey up the mountain possible. 2020 would be the year and January 5^th the day. The Mike’s would be joined by Craig, Erica, some bloke named Kevin, and some guy Poppen referred to as “Sands.” David Sands is somewhat of a lightweight hiker who occasionally writes blogs about his easy hikes. As for the history of this area, Mike Poppen is the guy to write that   blog.  

Now our journey begins at the Ramsay Cascade trail head. Only we did not head for the trail, but rather the opposite direction down the road. Crossing a bridge over the river, we darted off into the woods and found an old trail heading up the ridge. It did not take long for the monkey business to commence as Sands wanted to play hide and seek!

We dropped off the ridge to the first home place where we found Sands hiding behind a pile of rocks.

Now, we began a climb to four more home places in what seemed to be less favorable conditions for homesteads.

As we climbed, we entered a netherworld covered with a white powdery substance

Soon we came to the second home place. For Gourley, this was home place number 999 in the National Park. Would he make it to 1000?

Yes, he would soon reach the thousandth home place

And what would be a celebration without good friends along!

Of course, Gourley being the homesiteaholic that he is, hurried off to begin work on another 1000!

Poppen kept vigilant lookout for the next home place

It did not take him long to deliver the goods. 1001 and counting! Only 999 more to go for 2000!

As we climbed higher, we began to get some nice winter views

Alas, we came to the last home place below Devils Den. The terrain was steep, tough and rocky.

We all pondered what possessed someone to live up high in such an area.

After a break, it was time to move on. We still had a few hundred feet to climb to reach the top of Devils Den. Craig was not so sure about Sands proposed route.

The onlookers below were not so sure either

It became every hiker for themselves as some chose to go up the saddle to the top, while some decided to climb up the rocky crag to the top

A fallen tree across the summit makes for a nice bench

Sands chose the crawling route to the top!

Poppen was impressed!

We did not find the Devil on Devils Den, rather it was being guarded by an evil snow demon!

And while Snow Demons, Rock Climbers and Crawling hikers was impressive, Gourley quickly reminded the group that he was the Home Place master! With his blessing the hike would continue down the ridge!

Gorgeous views!

Steep terrain made it like hiking with the brakes on!

Soon we came to a large slab of earth known as Buzzard Rock. There was one who could not contain his excitement and dashed off to scurry up the promontory wonder. 

As I stood gazing at the dark figure, I swore I could hear a song dancing through the trees…

“I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning,
Very, very frightening me.
(Galileo) Galileo.
(Galileo) Galileo,
Galileo Figaro
Magnifico-o-o-o-o.”

We knew it wasn’t a bird or an aeroplane. Rather it was just some lunatic named Sands!

Apparently, Sands forgot his meds that morning, so Craig and Poppen had to talk him down from the bluff.

We all did Yoga breaths with Sands and the hike would continue

The views on the way down were amazing

As we reached the lower portion of the ridge, Poppen asked Gourley if he had been to a home place the next ridge over. A quick glance at his GPS apparatus showed that Gourley had not been to said home place.

Thus, we big farewell to the group and the two Mike’s headed off for Home Place number 1003! Thanks to Mr. Mike “the Man” Poppen for leading this wild and crazy bunch to some of the more remote home places in the Brier.

All kidding aside, the people that I have the pleasure of hiking with are a great group of folks that I am blessed to know. We all have differing interest and skill levels, but we use that to our advantage to do some serious hikes with a zany twist of delightful fun. We know there is a price to pay for leaving the beaten path and we pay it gladly. But while we pound our bodies into the dirt of Mother Earth, we have a ton of fun doing it. Humor and Mother Nature is an awesome combination. It is my happy place where I feel connected to my Maker. For those I have travelled with past, present and future – I truly love y’all and am honored to share a bit of life on and off the beaten path with you!