Lora's John Muir Trip

Lora recently took a 14 day 156 mile hike on the John Muir trail.

My great adventure on the JMT

August 24th

Got off work, picked up my gear from home, said bye to the dogs and off to Nashville for the EARLY morning flight. California here we come! Thank you Diane and Zvi for sharing your lovely home for our sleepover. We had breakfast at the Dallas/Ft.Worth airport then flew into Fresno, got picked up, quick stop at REI for fuel and then the drive to Yosemite National Park. Beautiful scenery driving to Yosemite Valley; we drove thru a tunnel and then WOW look at those peaks! What a preview of what we would be going up. At the campground we met Zvi and got some supper at the store. Rode a shuttle to the camping area and found our campsite for the night.



Day 1

Went to bed early, woke up way too early, still on Tennessee time.

A trip to the bathhouse to charge my phone and call Craig. Came out and Hey there’s a bear! It was taking an early morning stroll around the campground going in the direction I needed to go. He minded his business and I stayed out of his way.

Everybody up, pack up, here we go! 12 miles to our campsite at Clouds Rest. Wonder why they named it that? Uphill all day. Amazing views of the backside of Half Dome and Nevada Falls. Stopped for lunch at Nevada Falls where Zvi had a swim. Up Up Up. Wow I’m out of breath and light headed. Why can’t I catch my breath? What happened to all of the oxygen? Is California short on oxygen? Might need some shipped in from TN. Spotted some baby grouse with mama watching close by. Saw stellar jays, chipmunks and lots of squirrels, and a deer. Pretty wildflowers, Indian Paintbrush. Pretty campsite next to a creek. Beautiful sunset.

7 miles



Day 2

No problem sleeping last night. Early start this morning. Left camp to go to Half Dome. Thought I would feel stronger after exercising my lungs so much yesterday. Oops, still huffing and puffing up the trail. Hope there’s more oxygen at the top.

I would like to applaude whoever cut out all those steps climbing up the subdome. Impressive work. Pyramid experience? When we finally made it to the bottom of the cables, I looked up at where we would climb to and said “We’ve got to be crazy! It’s straight UP! Where’s the steps? Footholds?” Picked out a mismatched pair of gloves and followed Tony up the Dome with Diane and Ann right behind me. Good upper body workout hanging on for dear life as you pull yourself up. Tony disappeared and I thought he was at the top. Nope just over a rise. Keep climbing girl. All the time going up I was wondering how in the world would I get down. At the top you yell WOO HOO!!! 360 degree views on top. What a view. And Windy! Diane and I decided to decend backward going down the cables. You can feel your feet sliding on that big ol rock. We had to let people climbing up pass us. A group of about 10 coming up made me want to get out of their way. I sat down on a small crevice outside the cables and held on as they passed. The last one stopped to chat. Nice to meet you Andrew. He said they hiked up from Yosemite Valley that morning to come climb Half Dome. I was impressed and so glad I’d hiked that part yesterday.

Met the nice Ranger checking permits as we got to the bottom. Permits checked. Back to camp. In the campsite I thought I would make a quick trip to the woods. Started out the little path I had used the evening before and stopped real quick when I saw Mr. Black Bear sitting in my spot. I yelled BEAR and Tony and Zvi came running. Zvi took a picture and Mr. Bear took off. I really didn’t have to go anymore. He can have that spot.

Pack up and on up the trail we go 6 miles to Sunrise Creek to our camp.

11 miles



Day 3

Hot breakfast and UP we go! Sunrise Mountain has gorgeous views with lots to see and say Wow and OH my and that’s so pretty! We walked under Jeffrey Pines, Red Fir, White Pine, juniper and lodgepole pines. We kept spotting pretty red berries that I think were currants and wanted to eat some. Not knowing for sure what they were I didn’t eat them. Where’s Randy Hedgepath when you need him? Long Meadow was a welcome break from UP and DOWN. The High Sierra Camp was here and Tony went up to inquire about the weather. There was a cold wind blowing and the extra clothing came in handy. Weather report says winter storm possible next two days in high elevation (like our next camp). When we made it to the beautiful Cathederal Lake we met Ranger Becky and her horse Dusty. The Ranger comfirmed the weather report for lows of around 20 with snow showers. A quick vote added a few more mils to Tuolumne Meadows to get us lower than the snow. Pretty campground. Store with food. Charged my phone and called home. Hey everybody! Love you! Miss you! Still alive and well. Thanks Tony and Zvi for the warm fire. At dark there was a campfire ring with a Ranger giving a talk on black bears. Ranger Jack gave a fine talk about people being the most dangerous animal in the park. Very entertaining story and the guitar and singing were a plus. Good job. Stars were incredible.

14.8





Day 4

38 degrees. Cold start. Easy day hiking thru the meadows into Lyell Canyon. Pretty wildflowers everywhere. We spotted what looked like a prairie dog. Got to camp early enough to do some laundry and enjoy the sunshine by the creek, too cold for a swim here at the end of August. I’m sure it’s in the 90’s at home. We gathered firewood as we watched storm clouds move across the mountain peaks and settle there blowing cold winds across the camp. Thanks for the warm fire Firemaster. Cook fast need hot food. Storm clouds disappear and stars popped out.

7 miles



Day 5

Woke up at daylight to a frozen tent. Tony got our fire going so we could warm up to eat. Walked thru Lyell Canyon-absolutely beautiful. Started climbing from 9000 feet up to Lyell Forks at 9600 feet. On the way up we saw trail maintenance being done on the stone steps-nice work. We saw glaciers on some of the peaks. The water in the lakes being fed by the glaciers—no thank you to swimming here. Zvi doesn’t seem to mind the icy water. Then UP 4 miles to Donahue Pass at 11,060 feet—whew! What a climb. I thought my lungs had decided to go home to Tennessee to find oxygen. Fortunately the wind was blowing really hard to help me out with that. Saw my first marmots on the rocks going up the Pass. We set up camp by Rush Creek. Carried some water to the top of the rocks where the sun was still shining to take a quick bath. Thanks again guys for a warm fire. 3 guys came in and set up camp by us. Sky came over to warm up by the fire. A very nice young man; enjoyed hearing about his studies in India. Incredible star show tonight.

12 miles



Day 6

Tony restarted the fire and it felt good. Sky and his 2 friends Nick and Will gathered there too Nice to meet you guys; happy hiking. Hiked UP again to Island Pass. The rocks here looked a lot different, volcanic rock instead of granite. Lots of marshy tarns up here and pretty wildflowers. 10,205 feet. Now we’re on the other side of the crest where all the water runs into the San Joaquin River. Down we go to 1000 Island Lake. It’s really dry here, we’re walking in lots of gritty dirt. Remember Pigpen from the Charlie Brown cartoons? That’s how we look as we hike along the trail. Beautiful views of Ritter Range and Banner Peak. We ate a good lunch at Garnet Lake where Zvi took a dip. I soaked up some warm sunshine. Passed 3 more really pretty lakes. We camped at Trinity Lakes at 9045 feet. Got a cell signal and picked up txt messages, called Mom and Dad, Nick and Sissy and Craig. That was the highlight of my day. Thanks Zvi for the lovely music at supper. The star show was awesome.

12.7 miles



Day 7

Today is re-supply day. Got up at 5:30 for an early start to run down the mountainside to get to Red’s Meadow at 7700 feet.On the way we stopped at Devil’s Postpile National Monument. Cool rock formation. At Red’s Meadow Campground we made good use of the hot showers at the bathhouse. Heated spring water washed about 2 lbs of dirt off, clothes clean again. Opening the resupply boxes revealed I packed too much food. I donated to the Hiker Supply box inside the store. Charged my cell, called Craig to say I miss home, ate a great tomato/cheese sandwich with a root beer. Yummy. Oh my gosh my backpack is heavy! And guess what? We’re climbing UP out of Red’s Meadow. I need a nap! Got a blister on my heel. Dr. Ann (Patches) fixed me up. Lovely views of granite top peaks and Red Cones. Upper Crater Meadow had beautiful wildflowers. Up and over Mammoth Pass.

Set up camp at Deer Creek at 9100 feet. As we ate supper so did the mosquitoes.

12 miles



Day 8

Left camp at 8:30. Climbed 4 miles to Cascade Valley. More pretty flowers. Blister worse-tired feet. Saw lots of birds, chipmunks and squirrels. Lunch at Duck Creek then UP we go again, down to Virginia Lakes, where we decided to keep going to Tully Ho. Cool Bridge. Saw a giant cedar today. Great sandy campsite. No phone signal all day! Lost the zip off portion of my pants. Too far back to go look for. Stars were awesome.

13 miles



Day 9

Started uphill today for something different Awesome views and more lakes today. Zvi takes another dip. Just can’t make myself go in that freezing cold water. We stopped for lunch at Silver Pass at 10,700 feet. Then down, down down, and yes my feet hurt! Crossed a cool bridge to campsite. Pretty creek to take a bath in. Sat down to start my Jetboil and discovered a yellow jacket nest by my feet. Think we’ll move over a ways. Went for a potty break and found a little spring bubbling up in the dirt. No it wasn’t black gold, Texas Tea. At the campfire we were waiting for the stars to pop out and saw a huge bright light in the sky. Ann’s binoculars didn’t help us figure out what it was but it was sitting on top of that big mountain. Another incredible star show thanks to a really dark sky. Feels like you can reach up and touch the Milky Way. Wish my true love was here with me. I miss home!

13 miles



Day 10

Slow start for me, taping up toes and heels. Feet sore. Good day for a pity party. Uphill the first 5 miles. On the way up Pee Wee from Portland, Oregon stopped me to say she got a cell signal on Bear Ridge and for me to try mine when I got there. That make climbing the mountain easier thinking I could call home at the top. No such luck-no service for Verizon customers. Pee Wee had AT&T. Glad you got to talk to your boyfriend, nice meeting you. Stopped for a potty break, told Ann to go on and I’d catch up. The rotting topless tree I picked to squat behind was evidently being used by something else as I started hearing scratching noises that got louder in just a few seconds. Get the heck out of here! Didn’t hand around to see what might climb out of that big stump. I’m sure it’s bigger than me. I stayed behind everybody all day, climbing up and down, up and down, up for the view, down for the lakes. Lunch by a beautiful creek. Made camp by beautiful Marie Lake. Wanted to swim but we couldn’t have a fire up here-over 10,000 feet. Not sure what you would burn up here. Maybe the sign post saying “No Fires over 10,000 feet.” Everyone ate supper in the cold wind and went to bed. I stayed up for the star show. Above tree line, wide open sky, just a hint of a moon, perfect for star gazing. Are you watching too Baby?

12.9 miles



Day 11

Only 1 mile uphill to start the day. Seldon Pass. Then down 5.9 miles, my knees are saying HOWDY. Brakes needed on my shoes. Saw lots of giant cedars and pines. Met some really nice ladies on the trail that were staying at Muir Ranch and enjoying day hikes. They were telling us about the wonderful food and the spa options available at the Ranch. I think I want to go with them. Oh well. Met Ranger Doug in McClure Crossed into Kings Canyon. Piute Pass Junction. Set up camp and jumped in the creek. Once you’re numb the water feels great. Washed all the trail dirt out of my hair and dried it in the warm sunshine. Everyone crashed after a good supper. I hung out by the fire and dried my socks for the next day (don’t know how they get so dirty?) and waited to the stars to pop out. Another beautiful starry sky.

10.4 miles



Day 12

Happy Holiday Labor Day

Bandage both heels and three toes. Here we go! A gentle assent to River Canyon. Beautiful day of hiking. Had lunch watching a waterfall spilling from the top of the canyon wall. Need another nap. Stopped to catch my breath (again) and met Steve from Oregon hiking the opposite way. We discussed the virtues of California vs. Tennessee. (Paradise vs. Garden of Eden) He lightened his pack by giving me a bar of organic dark chocolate. Yumm! You made my day so much better. Thank you!

As we hiked thru McClure Meadow we spotted the Ranger Station and looked in awe of the giant of a mountain called the Hermit on one side of the meadow and several mountain peaks of the Evolution Basin on the other side. Along the way we met Ranger Doug from McClure Meadow who shared the weather report and signed our trail pass. I asked about phone service and he kinda smiled and said not till Bishop Pass unless I had an URGENT message to get out. Just tell my MOM I’m still on the trail. Met a hiker named Kurt from Switzerland and talked about blueberries. Saw him further up the trail where he was studying his trail map and I asked if he could see Tennessee on it. NO? Shucks. We hiked into Evolution Valley and Tony and Zvi started the search for a camp spot and decided on a spot by one of the beautiful lakes. Cool winds blowing and sun not warm enough to convince me to jump in. Let’s just wade. Another starry night with a few shooting stars thru the night sky. Awesome.

13 miles



Day 13

Tape feet for the day ahead. It’s an uphill climb out of Evolution Valley to the stone shelter at Muir Pass. It was a cold climb and a tough one. I know at this point I was praying God get me off this pile of rocks! Another pity party for me, grumbling about tired feet, blisters, my shoes were griping about walking so far, my pack was griping about being carried so far, tired of rocks, tired of dirt, homesick, whine whine whine. Finally found enough oxygen to get up to the shelter and inside out of the wind at 11,980 feet. Dropped my pack and said hi to Kurt from yesterday who was having a snack inside the shelter. He generously offered us Swiss chocolate and YES I want some! We shared the bar and then he offered more and guess who of course said YES GIVE IT TO ME! So much for my pity party. Thanks Kurt! Now it’s downhill slip and slide on the rocky path 6.5 miles to LeConte Canyon where we found a pretty camp spot by the Ranger Station. The Rangers came over for a chat. We gathered water and cooked supper and enjoyed Zvi’s music (thank you Zvi for the country music). I sat by the last campfire of this trip and watched the stars pop pop pop. Last night under the starry sky of California.

12.5 miles



Day 14

Zvi set his alarm for 4:30 am. Packed up under the light of our headlamps and Tony restarted the fire to warm up our cold fingers. Quick breakfast—lets go home! We have to hike 6.5 miles straight up to get to Bishop Pass. On the way up we met Smudge who has been on PCT since April. You GO Girl!!!! We leap frogged thru the day. She passed me on the way up the pass. Our group was spread out over the side of the switchbacks as we watched big black and gray clouds gather in the sky that had been so blue every other day but one. The wind gusts were blowing me and my pack around till I thought it would blow me off the side of the mountain. Plant your feet on each step up thru the loose sandy gravels(?) what is this stuff? Finally made it to the pass to find Smudge at the top by the sign letting you know you survived to make it this far. Picture time! Get over the top and out of the wind! NOW we can go down 6 miles. Thought the down would be easier—wrong. That’s some trick footing on those switchbacks as it looks like it’s in the middle of an avalanche spot. How do those pack animals make it up this? Oh here’s a sign saying don’t go this way-slide area. Walk softly thru this section of boulders balancing on pebbles. Don’t sneeze! Wow! After 9 miles of hiking we finally made it down under the tree line and stopped for a quick lunch out of the wind. Just down the hill Diane found a spot with a cell signal and called our shuttle lady to make sure we had a ride to Bishop. Cell signal????? Call Craig! I’m coming home baby! Hiked past South Lake to the parking lot. It started spitting snow as we took off our packs and put on the goose down jacket, gloves and wow it’s cold. Ann and Tony caught a ride with Kurt and his friend to Bishop. Victoria got there a few minutes later and it felt so gooooooooood to get in her SUV with a heater and soft, luxurious seats and NOW I can take a nap.

12.6 miles



Bishop has a wonderful bakery where I had to go preview our breakfast for the next morning. Samples! Ate a nice dinner at Whiskey Joe’s to celebrate our 156 mile (?) journey on the JMT. Public transportation back to Reno the next day. Shopping at REI, Sierra Trading Post, and Patagonia. Then a night in Reno at the Atlantis with a huge buffet supper. Up the next morning at 5 to catch our flight back to Nashville and Zvi’s flight to the Mexican Riviera. Thanks to Garnett for our ride back to Diane and Zvi’s. Thank you Diane for all your planning and organizing this trip of a lifetime. You’re awesome! Diane, Zvi, Tony and Ann you’re great to backpack with. Thanks for inviting me to go with you. I had a wonderful time.



This Tennessee mountain girl is glad to be back home!

Pictures:

Michigan 2010

We had some new faces up at the cabin this year. I brought my twin brother Marco and my girlfriend Lora. Melanie brought her boyfriend Jagon. A good time was had by all.

We loaded up Marco's pop up trailer and headed North. We had a good trip. We stopped by Uncle Greg's for firewood and got to the cabin around seven. So we started out the visit with a bonfire and some cough medicine.

The next day we started on Granny's to do list. The usual cabin and yard clean up. That pays for our rent. Then out came the canoes and swimsuits. Life is good.

Jagon showed off his cooking the first night smoking chicken and Marco followed up the next night with a good old southern style meal. With the sliders, homemade soup, goulash, and fish fry, we didn't go without food.

We did the traditional river canoe trip which of course always provides it own entertainment. There was also some hiking, card playing, corn hole, and fishing done. We celebrated Betty's 80th birthday and managed to keep her from dancing on the table.

Another great vacation.

Pictures:

South Rim Trail

Lora and I headed out to the Savage Gulf to do a little hiking. We planned to do the Day Loop trail and swim at the Savage Falls since it was only going to get to 100 degrees today. After we got on the trail we started talking about the only trails that Lora hadn't hiked yet, so with a quick change of plans we hiked the South Rim trail to the Stage Coach campground and then back to the falls for a swim. So instead of a six mile hike we did a 12.2 mile hike.

Just another day of hiking.....life is good!

Pictures:

Girls

Lora and I had the girls visit this weekend. We had a great time with them and they got to enjoy the pool and playing on the mountain.

Pictures:

Bandy Creek Camping

Lora and I met my Mom and Dad at Big South Fork and camped at the Bandy Creek campground. Breadon went with us. We enjoyed the pool both days and we got in a hike along the BSF Cumberland River on the John Muir trail. Breadon has moved up to a five mile hike.

I have also attached some pictures of Breadon fishing at home.

Pictures:

Graduation 2010

Mom, Dad, and I went out to Oregon for my two daughters graduation from College. We had a wonderful trip. I'm proud of both of them. We also got some time in to visit with some more family and time to spoil my grandchildren.

Pictures:

Breadon's Hike

Lora and I took Breadon to the Smokies to see the synchronous fireflies at Elkmont. We took Breadon swimming at the "Y" in Townsend and then met Mom and Dad for dinner. Then we drove to the Sugarlands Visitor center where you catch the bus to Elkmont.

This is something that you just have to see to appreciate. There are millions of fireflies that all light up at the same time and all go out at the same time. They don't do the usual one flash, they all flash around ten times really fast and then go out. It is a wild light show. Sometimes they do waves, sometimes one side will do the opposite of the other side, and sometimes they all do it at the same time. Really Cool. We went back to the Ponderosa for the night.

The next morning after church we went out and hiked to Lookrock tower on the Foothills Parkway. Then we went to Tremont and hiked to the Spruce Flat falls where Breadon got to swim again. He was tickled at being in a water fall. My little grandson got in three miles of hiking and was a happy boy.

Pictures:

Walls Of Jericho

Day One….3.4 Miles to camp
Day Two….0.5 Mile to Walls
3 Miles to Alabama trailhead
1.5 Miles to TN Horse trail
0.5 Miles to Hiking trail
3.6 Miles on Mill Creek Loop
.25 Miles to Blow Hole
0.5 Miles to Parking lot
Total Miles…13.25

Lora and I headed to Bear Hollow Mountain WMA after church on Sunday. We stopped for lunch in Sewanee and got on the trail shortly there after. We hiked from the Tennessee trailhead down to what we thought was the Primitive campsite in Alabama.

A quick note to anyone hiking in this area; the map on the computer, the map at the TN trailhead, and the map at the Alabama trailhead are all different. None of them show all the trails.

Lora was excited about the hike. I picked up on this as soon as she jumped because a part of someone’s sunglasses was lying in the middle of the trail. It would have been a small snake. Anyway, right off the get go you hike to an overlook. From there we took the main trail to the campsite. It is all down hill on the way there. It is 2.4 miles to the state line and another mile to the campsite. You drop 818 feet just to the state line.

When we got to the bottom and crossed Mill Creek on the bridge, we came to the horse trail. You cannot ride horses to the Walls of Jericho, so they have a hitching post for the horses there. Well there are also fire rings here in a mowed part of the field. So we figured “campground” and set up camp. Our timing was good as the rain came in as soon as the tent was up, so we climbed in the tent.

After the rain cleared we went for a swim in the creek. Ya, it was COLD! After we thawed out, we went back to camp and cooked dinner. We watched the sun go down and then got to watch the firefly’s do their thing.

In the middle of the night it was bathroom time. I got up as well as Lora and hiked to the woods. As I was standing there, I could see something glowing on the ground between me and the tent. I shined the light on it to see what it was and I couldn’t see it. I figured that I must have dropped something. So I walked over to look at it. It was a glowing grub!!!!!! Now that’s cool! I called Lora over to check it out.

The next morning we got up and made breakfast. Then we hiked toward the Walls. The first thing we came across was the campground, woops. There of course was a sign in the middle of it stating “Campground” incase you couldn’t figure it out on your own. There was also a sign pointing to the South Rim trail. This trail was on neither of the maps we discovered so far. (On the Alabama trailhead map it shows this trail to be .5 miles that over looks the walls) There is no sign showing what way to the Walls. The trail is actually behind the grave yard that is next to the camp. After finding the trail we headed to the walls.

The trail to the walls is very narrow and very slick after a rain. There is a rope to help you up and down on one hill. After you get to the end of the trail you cross the creek and go past a large pool with a waterfall. There is a small trail that leads you up on top of the falls where the walls are.

You can continue to climb further up two more levels to a large cave like opening that drops down and the creek runs through it. The creek runs underground around to the left and then comes out through the rocks like a large spring. There were pools all around that were full of tad poles and we found a large crawfish in one. There were lots of wild flowers all along the walls.

We hiked back to the campground where Lora showed me another snake dance as there was a copperhead in the middle of the trail. After her nerves calmed down, we ate a snack on the park bench at the campground.

After lunch we hiked the trail up to the Alabama trail head. For some reason it was all uphill. When we got to the trailhead, we stood under the kiosk looking at the maps while it rained. This is where we noticed all the differences in the maps. It stopped raining so we hiked to the campsite by the trailhead and ate lunch under a large tree while it rained again. When it was done raining we got up and hiked the horse trail to the TN Horse trail parking area.

The horse trail is an old roadbed and we came across a puddle that covered the entire road. Right in the middle was the top of a shell. We poked it with the hiking stick and verified that yes, it is a snapping turtle. He will be so embarrassed when he finds out that this is not a pond.

From the TN horse trail we hiked back to the hiking trail, headed back down to the bottom of the Mill Creek Loop trail. While we were hiking the horse trail, we came across a batch of wild raspberries that were ready for the picking. And picking we did. They were good. I heard an awful scream and away Lora went again. She had just about stood on a large rat snake in the berry patch. I had to hand her the rest of the berries as she would not come off the trail.

The Mill Creek Loop trail has a side trail that leads off to the “Blow Hole”. This is where the creek comes out of a cave and flows into Mill Creek. It is very beautiful to look at, but another muddy goat trail to get there.

From the Blow Hole, we hiked back up to the TN trailhead for the completion of another wonderful hike. Yes, Lora did jump again when we passed the parts of someone’s sunglasses on the trail again.

Pictures:

Chimney Top

Chimney Tops Trail…4 Miles
Road Prong Trail…4.8 Miles
Total Miles….8.8 Miles

Lora and I went over to the ponderosa for the night. We got up the next morning and headed out with Dad for a hike to the Chimney Tops.

The Chimney Tops trail is considered a strenuous trail due to the elevation change. You gain 1300 feet over two miles. At the top you do some rock climbing for a spectacular view. There is some competition as this is one of the most popular trails in the park. Get there early. There were five cars there when we started and a line of them when we got done.

We hiked up to the Chimney Tops, but did not climb the rocks all the way to the top because they were wet and slippery. From there we hiked back down to the Road Prong Trail and hiked it to the Appalachian Trail and Clingmans Dome Road.

The Road Prong Trail used to be an old toll road in the 1920’s. It runs from the Chimney Top Trail to Clingmans Dome Road, A gain of 1500 feet over 2.4 miles. There are a couple of areas that you can still see the road bed, but for the most part it is a single path trail along Road Prong. There are some areas that you actually hike in Road Prong so you would not want to hike this in high water.

We did see some bear sign; A fresh pile of scat that would make any bear proud and some trees and stumps tore up.

Both of these trails are beautiful hiking trails and full of wildflowers in the spring.

Pictures:

Mt. LeConte Hike

Day One:
Alum Cave….5 Miles
Rainbow Falls…..0.1
Day Two:
Boulevard…5.4
Myrtle Point…0.4
Jump Off…..1
AT……………7.7
Hughes Ridge….0.4
Day Three:
Hughes Ridge…..0.4
AT…………….9
Snake Den………0.7
Maddron Bald…1.5
Day Four:Maddron Bald…..4.5
Old Settlers…..9.2
Day Five:
Old Settlers….6.6
Total Miles..51.9

DAY ONE:
After getting off shift I headed home to pick up Lora. We headed to my folks house in Maryville and had a wonderful lunch at the ponderosa. After lunch we headed out to drop off our car at the Old Settlers trailhead in Greenbrier. After that we headed to the Newfound Gap Road to start our hike at the Alum Cave trailhead. We didn’t get on the trail until 4pm.

The Alum Cave trail is a beautiful trail with many wonderful sights, not to mention all the wild flowers this time of year. You hike along the Alum branch of the Little Pigeon River.

The first land formation that you come across is the Arch Rock which there are stairs going through. After that you get to inspiration point where there is a beautiful overlook of the mountains all around you. There was lots of Sand Myrtle growing in this area. As we were enjoying the view, Chong and his girlfriend came hiking up the trail. The guy looked like Chong of Cheech and Chong. He had the long hair and the white wide bandana thing going. They were wearing flip-flops carrying a bottle of water and their car keys. They hiked right behind us up to Alum Cave Bluffs where they dumped the water out and headed back down the trail. While we were standing at the bluffs a Falcon flew up to a nest over the bluffs.

After enjoying the view at the Bluffs we hiked on up to Mount LeConte lodge and on to the shelter where there were six others already gathered. It was 7:20pm so we claimed our bunks ,ate a snack, and headed to the Cliff tops to watch the sunset. There were a lot of people from the lodge there and more were gathering. After a while it got so noisy that we hiked back to another lookout to get some peace. The skies were overcast and the sunset into the clouds instead of over the mountains.

We hiked back to the shelter and started dinner. The others had already eaten and were settling into their bunks for the night. After dinner we were ready for bed. I woke up in the night for a bathroom break and the stars were shining so bright that I didn’t need a light. It looked like they were on the tree tops and you could see billions of them. It was so cool.

DAY TWO:
We got up the next morning and got everyone else in the shelter going. You can’t really sneak out of a shelter. We ate our breakfast and hiked to the lodge to fill up our water bladders. First thing in the morning everyone that stayed at the lodge was hiking to Myrtle Point to watch the sunrise.

We packed up and head out on the Boulevard Trail. We took the side trail to Myrtle Point because it was there. You get some wonderful views from the point. The Boulevard and AT are fun trails to hike in this area because you can look back and see where you have hiked. It’s like a large bowl that you hike around and has the most rugged sections in the Smokey Mountains. We stopped on the side of the trail for a snack on the ridge and took in the sights.

After lunch we encountered the bird. The bird came down from the high side of the trail and walked in front of us. I brought it to Lora’s attention and we watched it walk until it left the trail. We went through the list of birds in the mountains and all we could come up with is “Chicken”. It looked like a chicken, it walked like a chicken, and it didn’t match any bird that we knew were in the Smokies. Not very impressive to tell people about, but that is what we saw.

The next side trail that we added on was to the Jump Off. This is a tough trail, but worth the hike for the views. The Jump Off is a rock that drops straight off the mountain. You can see the Appalachian Trail, Charlies Bunion, Sawteeth and Mt. Guyot from here.

We hiked on to the Appalachian Trail and made a stop at Icewater Shelter. Hiking along Mt. Kephart you get some good views of Charlies Bunion before you get to it. Once there we did the photo shoots and took turns taking pictures of others that were there. We climbed on the Bunion and ate lunch with the spectacular view. While we were eating a large rock fell from the knob above the Bunion and just missed a young couple that was eating lunch below. I almost had to go to work.

Parts of the trail over Sawteeth according to the bible are only ten yards wide. The measurement that Lora and I got was about ten foot wide. We also saw a grass hopper that was about five inches long. From here we hiked on to the shelter at Pecks Corner. This was our stopping place for the night and we were greeted by our four new friends that were already there. Two of these guys were from England and two from Indiana. They had a fire going in the fire place for some unknown reason. It was 80 degrees.

Once at the shelter, we headed down to the spring for a bath and then some drinking water. We visited while we made and ate dinner. The English guys had hiked for 8 hours without eating. Why? They arrived famished and worn out. Surprise! Lora was asking them if they saw all the wild flowers. What flowers? She told them about the Spring Beauties, the Bead Lilies, the Trilliums both white and painted, and the Violets. She told them about our hike from LeConte and they said that it took them two days to hike that.

At dark everyone settled in for the night. The stars were shinning that night and the owls were talking. The only noise we heard that night were when I kicked the shoes off the top bunk and they hit the bottom bunk.

DAY THREE:
The next morning we got everyone up and ate breakfast. We were the first to head out. We stopped for a snack before climbing Mt. Sequoyah. The two English men caught up to us and stopped to eat as we got up and left. They caught up to us at Tricorner Knob shelter where we stopped for lunch. There was a bear warning sign up there. We talked about the privy there that faced the shelter like being on a stage. We filled our water bladders and continued on.

After climbing Mt. Guyot we had completed our top three highest mountains out of the four highest in the Smokies. Clingmans Dome was not on this hike. The second highest is Mt. Guyot followed by Mt. LeConte, and Mt. Chapman.

When we got to the Deer Gap Creek Helipad we met the trail runner, Scott. He asked about our hike and told us about his job, which included hiking back and fourth along the AT helping people out and reporting trail conditions. He felt like he was a glorified trash collector. He told us that a large male black bear had taken a hikers backpack at Tricorner Knob a month ago and that is why it is still posted. He also told us the correct pronunciation of Guyot that neither Lora nor I can remember.

From there, we hiked on to Snake Den Ridge trail. We took a break at the trailhead and the guys caught up with us again. We talked for a little while and then headed out. As we hiked down Maddron Bald trail, we had a little blue bird jump up next to us. As we looked down where it had flown up from we found a nest with four little eggs in it. This happened another time as well. As we neared campsite #29 we came across Lady Slippers, Foam Flower, and Toothwart.

We were the only people at campsite #29. That didn’t last long. As we set up our tent a couple of guys hiked in and picked the far campsite. Shortly thereafter, a group of four girls and a guy came hiking in. We had the creek there to clean up and fetch some water. After dinner it started to rain lightly. We got in the tent and it quit shortly after. We got out and did the bathroom break thing. It was dark by then and we called it a night. Then the rain came. It poured down so hard that it was splashing back up high enough to mist in the tent under the rain fly. It didn’t last very long and later that night the stars were shining.

DAY FOUR:
The next morning one of the girls, Mandy, came over and wanted a picture of us. They were beginning hikers and she was pregnant. They were from Cincinnati and the guy was the only experienced hiker. She wanted the picture for her scrap book.
We ate breakfast, packed up, and headed up the trail. We saw Rhododendron, Mountain Loral, and Magnolia blooming.

When we got to the Old Settlers Trail, a couple of guys told us that they had seen a bear when they came in that morning. This was the last people we saw on our hike. The Old Settlers Trail has a lot of history on it as we came across many rock walls and chimneys. We took a lunch break by the creek where we came across the first rock wall. The humidity was extremely high and we really appreciated it every time the wind blew.

After lunch we had a Baird Owl fly through the woods and landed on a branch in a tree next to the trail. We walked up slowly with the camera in hand to catch it on film. It was expecting us to be walking a little faster as it crapped on the trail in front of us, then flew off before we got the picture. We also got to see a humming bird, a small dark blue bird with a yellow spot on it, and a salamander.

According to the trail description, after you walked through a rock wall and saw signs of a settlement on the other side of the river, there was suppose to be a side trail to a barn that was still standing. We crossed over the river and searched the area over. Then we backtracked on the trail and read the description about four different times. Finally we just hiked on. Down the trial was a big trail sign that said “BARN” and had an arrow pointing down the trail. OK, we found it. It was a cool old barn that they had kept in good shape.

After that we started coming across a lot of bear sign. There was scat, turned over rocks, trees tore to pieces, and tracks at the creek crossings. The trail is overgrown in some areas and we started to get some light rain. We covered our packs, but the humidity was too much to put the ponchos on. Even though we heard a lot of thunder, it never did rain hard.

We finally crossed the creek into campsite #33. One site actually has an old rock chimney in the campsite. There are three sites there, but only one had bear bag holders. With all the sign we saw that day, we wanted to use them for sure. We listened to the woodpeckers and laughing bird until it got late enough to watch the fireflies. We got a good nights sleep that night with peace in the woods and no other campers.

DAY FIVE:
The next morning we got up and headed down the trail. There were a lot more rock walls and chimneys to see that day. At one point Lora started talking in a foreign tong and backed up four feet into me. I grabbed the hiking stick and was ready for what ever was coming down the trail. It turned out to be a copperhead snake laying in the trail. It was not interested in us or anything else. After trying to get it to move, we decided that we would just hike around it.

Another fifty yards and Lora started with the “bla….bla…..bla….” I looked around her and saw a five foot black snake on the trail. I helped her out with pronunciation of “Black Snake”.

So now that Lora was studying the trail that we were hiking, she didn’t see anything else on the trail including the extremely large black bear that jumped over the rock wall in front of us and ran across the trail down to the creek. I got her attention and tried to get the camera ready. The bear started up the mountain on the other side of the creek. He stopped and looked back at us then head up the mountain.

We stopped back by the Ponderosa and had dinner with Mom and Dad and some family friends from Ohio that had stopped by.

Another great hike!

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