Adrenaline Activities

Posted on Apr 20, 2022

🧳 Map of Cities Touched

⛰️ Hikes

These are only the hikes in US. My hikes in India and Europe aren’t included.

Name Location Roundtrip Length Notes
Alum Cave Tennessee, US 4.4 miles Amazing views; easy hike; if you choose not to hike up to Mt. LeConte, you can return from the caves.
Mt. LeConte via Alum Cave Tennessee, US 11.0 miles

Great views; gets successively harder beond Alum Cave.

There is a lodge at the top for overnight stay.

Virginia Creeper Trail Virginia, US 34.3 miles 10/10 recommended bike trail; you’ll get dirty, so prepare accordingly.
Mouse Creek Falls / Midnight Hole North Carolina, US 4 miles Easy trail; lots of space for party. Small cliffs to dive as well.
Ozone Falls Tennessee, US 1 mile One of its kind waterfall where you can go behind the waterfall. Length is short but its rocky and straight downhill so takes time.
Cade’s Cove Tennessee, US 10.5 miles Famous for wildlife; I didn’t see any 🫠
Charlie’s Bunion Tennessee, US 8.0 miles Delivered what’s promised; loved it
Shuckstack Fire Tower North Carolina, US 6.6 miles Uphill is tougher but the views from tower are worth it.
Lacamas Creek Park Vancouver, Washington State 3.5 miles Easy hike with beautiful sceneries
Dry Creek Falls Hood River County, Oregon 4.4 miles Mountainous terrain, fire-parched trees, beautiful waterfall
Clingman’s Dome North Carolina, US 1.3 miles Easy walk, beautiful views. Paved roads. Highest point in Smokey Mountains.
Grotto Falls, Trillium Gap Trail North Carolina, US 2.6 miles Good hike, very crowded though
Norris Dam Park (River Bluff Trail) Tennessee, US 3.0 miles Alright — not great
Rocky Top Tennessee, US
  1. 4 miles
Flagship for UTK people, steep rocky. It is hard with okay views.
Brushy Mountains, Trillium Gap Trail (via Grotto Falls) Tennessee, US 11.2 miles On Mondays you can see porters with Llamas, crowded till Grotto Falls.
Cape Disappointment Trail Long Beach, Washington 1.9 miles Easy but beautiful trail passing through Lewis-Clark Observatory and Lighthouse
Arches National Park Moab, Utah 30 miles Astonishing views of the arches. Make stops and get an e-bike.
Cades Cove - Biking NC 15-20 miles Wednesdays are vehicle-free days in Cades Cove, perfect for biking. If you are lucky, you may see bears too!
Walker Creek Trail Asheville, NC 4.2 miles Good hike, not a major waterfall. Natural atmosphere.
Triple Falls Trail on Bruce Creek Carryville, TN 1.9 miles Wonderful hike! Beautiful waterfalls right from start and the mountain top views are breathtaking.
Abrams Falls from Abrams Creek Campground TN 13 miles Very strenuous hike but beautiful waterfall.
Middle Prong Trail Townsend, TN 8.3 miles Night hike to see fireflies. Watching synchronous fireflies was beautiful.

🥾 Hiking Wishlist

  • Big south fork
  • Bald falls
  • Max Patch
  • Stone Mountain
  • Rock city Chattanooga
  • Sound of music
  • Falls creek falls
  • Grayson Highlands

đźš´ Bike Rides

Since I got my VanMoof, I’ve been going on bike trips every so often.

Name Location Notes
Baker Creek Preserve Knoxville, TN First mountain bike experience.
Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway Vancouver, WA Easy and simple ride.
Salmon Creek Trail Vancouver, WA Great scenery, spotted a deer.
Lewis-Clark Discovery Greenway Vancouver, WA Passes through some cool architecture.
Waterfront Loop Portland, OR 11/10.1
Third Creek Greenway Knoxville, TN Easy, close to UT
Neyland Greenway, Cheerokee Farmway Knoxville, TN Absolutely beautiful; never crowded.

🪂Adventure Sports

Sports Location Review
Skydiving The Netherlands best adrenaline rush ever
Rafting (still-water, white-water)

Jawahar Ghat, Jharkhand

Manali, HP

too hyped; waves make things hard but also more fun
Kayaking

Jawahar Ghat, Jharkhand

Ijams, Knoxville, TN

Lake Merwin, WA

relaxing if water is calm; else tiring but fun
Para-sailing Jawahar Ghat, Jharkhand fun; kind of like roller coaster
Para-gliding Manali, HP runway to start and landing are best parts
Skiing Latvia easy to learn; difficult to master
Surfing Gokarna, Karnataka nothing like it; waves hit you hard
Scuba-diving Fort Dickerson Quarry, Knoxville not great unless you have clear water
Mountain Biking Baker Creek Trail, Knoxville, TN amazing trails (easy, medium and hard); artificial ramps for skating and biking are great too
Bungee Jumping Pacific Northwest Bridge, Amboy, WA jump is scary; everything else is fun! the high only lasts for a few seconds though
Paddle-boarding Ijams, Knoxville, TN use paddle board for diving; paddle-boarding is boring by itself :)

🪣 Bucket List

  • Rafting in Rogue River, Oregon
  • Scuba diving with Bull sharks in Beqa Lagoon and Yasawa Islands, Fiji
  • Whale swimming in Tonga
  • Marsa Shagra, Egypt - untamed diving in the Red Sea
  • Learn Mandarin
  • Visit 50 countries of the world (currently at 23) — must do at least 25% in this life
  • Omakase in Japan
  • Ajanta Ellora in India
  • Visit all seven continents (currently at 4)

  1. Bonus point for Dea’s company.↩︎