Mt. Sterling

Day One: 8.25
Mt. Sterling trail 2.7
Mt. Sterling trail 0.4
Mt. Sterling Ridge trail 1.4
Pretty Hollow Gap trail 3.75
Campsite #39

Day Two: 10.65
Pretty Hollow Gap trail 0.25
Little Cataloochee trail 5.2
Little Cataloochee trail 1.1
Long Bunk trail 3.6
Mt. Sterling trail 0.5

Total Miles: 18.9 miles

Lora and I headed out to knock out some more trails on her map.  We started off NC 284 at the Mt. Sterling trailhead.  We like to start out with a good climb so we did the 1900 feet in 2.7 miles.  At the tower we saw the only two people we saw on the trail this hike.  The views from the tower were great.  Then we hiked back to the Mt. Sterling Ridge trail to start our hike down to Campsite #39 for the night.  It was a pretty uneventful hike on a beautiful day.  We did have to do a three water crossings in crocks as the water was up from all the rain.

When we got to camp, it was getting dark so we jumped into hunting firewood.  This was the first time that I have been here that there was firewood all over the place.  Usually it looks like someone vacuumed the area.  We got camp set up and a fire going.  It was a clear night and soon the very bright moon shined on us.  It was supposed to get down to 25 degrees tonight.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast around the fire.  We packed up and headed out for Cataloochee.  We did kick up a flock of turkeys on the Little Cataloochee trail.  Once you get over the ridge, you start getting into the cabins and a church.  It is always cool to see stuff like that and wonder how life must have been at that time.  We took the trail all the way to NC 284 to mark it off on the map.  We ate lunch and then hiked back to Long Bunk trail.

On the Long Bunk trail, we got into snow up at elevation.  We could see the snow on the mountains that morning as we looked up at them.  It had sleeted a little bit last night.

When we got to the Mt. Sterling trail we found a group of tree limb cutters with a four wheeler and trailer.  They were clearing the power line up to the tower. Of course they were amazed that anyone would stay out last night in that weather.

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Baxter Creek - Smoky Mountains

Two days off and Craig had to work. Hooked up with Amy and we headed for the mountains and Big Creek Ranger Station in the GSMNP. There were lots of cars in both parking areas, the campground was still closed. Our trail crossed the creek and went uphill. And up, and up and up. The elevation profile looked almost vertical, from 1700 ft to 5820 ft. 6.2 miles. We saw a few violets blooming and the leaves and buds of trilliums. This trail is filled with ferns and moss. And some of the rocks were covered with really large lichens. We did see a few huge trees. Then we really started climbing. We saw a huge rock that looked inviting for a lunch spot but two guys with chain saws had the best seats so we kept going until we found another sunny spot. Then we really started climbing. We had a view of the valley below, looked for the power plant, only saw a tower. We did see a HUGE chestnut stump and some giants that had fallen. Higher up we started seeing red spruces. There were blackberry briars further up but I don’t think I would want to do this climb when it’s hot enough for the berries to be ripe! We kept thinking we were at the top and the trail would turn and we kept climbing. We met some folks coming down the mountain. One man and 3 young ladies from Indiana on their first backpack ever. And they picked this trail, and it rained on them last night. They were still so happy to be there and I find that very cool. They said they would definitely be back.

 Then we really started climbing. We passed the trail to the water source and knew we were near the camp. The Firetower greeted us at the top. We looked around for a flat spot to set up our tents, most areas are somewhat slanted except at the tower and that spot was taken. We set up and then climbed the tower. The views were incredible. Thankful for clear skies. We hiked back .2 miles to the water trail. We found a small stream, where it was running over and down a rock Amy started collecting water. I hiked on down to find the pipe. It was a trickle. The better source was where Amy stopped. Back at camp the wind had picked up. And then it howled, and howled, and ……we cooked our supper, potato soup for Amy and pinto beans with roast beef for me. We decided against building a fire in the howling wind and walked up to warm up at our neighbor’s fire. The sparks and smoke chased us around for the few minutes that we could stand it. We gave up and went back to camp. We were going to hang our food at the bear cable but there was a tree laying on it and only one cable was usable. And it was being used. We found a limb for our food bag, tied the rope to a stick and the fun started. I made a half dozen efforts. Makes me remember playing ball with my nephew when he was 5 and telling me “Aunt Lora you throw like a girl” so Amy tried tossing the stick over and got it on her first try! Unfortunately the rope wouldn’t pull over the spur in the limb. Back to the start, a few more tosses and picking the line out of the bushes and it finally went over in just the right spot. We just hoped the wind wouldn’t take it down. Bed time. Couldn’t tell if we had any wildlife visitors or owls talking thru the night. I had to use earplugs to block out the howling noise. The little brown book says this is one of the highest campsites in the park, and I believe the coldest because of the wind.  

Up early next morning, wind was still blowing. But the sun was shining! We broke camp and started across the ridge on the Mt Sterling Trail to the connection with Mt Sterling Ridge Trail. It’s a beautiful ridge walk. We went down the Swallow Fork Trail and Amy found it much more pleasant this time. Last time she walked up it in cold rain. We had some beautiful views from this trail and lots of streams. We also ran into several hikers, one that we thought was a news guy from the network political scene. When we started down the Big Creek trail we saw the devastation from storms. So many trees had come down from the tornado last year it must have taken weeks for the chainsaw crews to get thru here. As we got closer to the campground we started seeing lots more folks on the trail. This is a beautiful creek trail. It will be full of blooms in the next week or two. We saw some of the yellow trilliums opening in the sunshine. The parking lot was full again. This is spring break week for a lot of schools and the young people were out in force. Good to see so many young people out on the trails. Back on the road, I took Amy to her car in Crossville, she headed to Nashville and I headed home.

Beautiful trails and a great time in the mountains.

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Father / Son Trip 2012

Day One: 9.3
Mt. Sterling Trail 0.5
Long Bunk Trail 3.6
Little Cataloochee Trail 4.1
Palmer Creek Trail 0.8
Pretty Hollow Gap Trail 0.3
Campsite #39
Day Two: 8.4
Pretty Hollow Gap Trail 0.3
Palmer Creek Trail 3.3
Balsam Mt. Road 0.7
Balsam Mt. Trail 4.1
Laurel Gap Shelter
Day Three: 8.7
Balsam Mt. Trail 0.2
Mount Sterling Ridge Trail 5.8 to tower
Mt. Sterling Ridge Trail 0.5
Mt. Sterling Trail 2.2
Total Miles: 26.4

We started out with the family get-to-gather at the ponderosa.  The ladies didn't wait for us to get on the trail this year.  They started early heating up the credit cards.  Steve and Dad were doing chores before I arrived and somehow I missed out on the work.  We ate lunch and discussed how we could make a simple hike difficult.  We had two hikes on the books this year and they had settled on a loop hike.  I had figured a good loop with a big climb on the front end and the rest down hill.  Who would have thought about doing it backwards.......well I mean besides Dad?

We headed out on Thursday for the Mt. Sterling Gap trailhead.  After we shook off Dad's van racing, we hiked up the Mt. Sterling trail to the Long Bunk trail.  The first people we passed were an older couple who were doing a sixteen mile day hike.  That was only about the same as our first two days.  They were the heroes today.  When we got to Little Cataloochee trail we got to tour a few buildings and grave yards.  They have restored a couple of cabins and a church from a former life.  It is always fun to see history in the Smoky's.  Somewhere along this trail Dad mumbled something about not remembering this trail being so steep.  As we were climbing we heard and saw two Hawks flying overhead.  That was followed by an owl doing some talking.  Towards the end of the trail, on a down hill section, a turkey walked across the trail dragging his beard.

Just before we got to our campsite we met the older couple again heading down the trail.  They might have made it out before dark, but not by much.  When we got to camp there was a woman camping alone.  She went by the trail name "Sunshine".  She visited with us around the campfire that night.  She had a history of hiking including a thru hike of the AT.  She was a nurse from the Asheville North Carolina area.  She was going to meet up with her boyfriend at the Laural Gap shelter the next evening.  Surprise, that was where we were going.  We had a clear night with lots of stars. 

Sometime in the night a very strong wind came through.  I woke to my tarp beating my hammock.  I heard Steve getting up to adjust his tarp.  I got up to cover my pack as I figured the rain would be blowing hard soon.  The wind died out and later we got a light rain which was all done by the time we got up.
We got up and headed out after breakfast.  Sunshine caught up to us and hiked with us for a time before heading on.  For some reason there was alot of climbing today.  We hiked up into the clouds and the scenery was limited.  We had a good climb up to our shelter.  When we got there Sunshine and her boyfriend Chris were there.  We did some searching and came up with enough fire wood.  Slowly but surely people started showing up.  We ended up with 12 in the shelter and three pitched a tent.  We were entertained with lots of stories and with a beginner hiking trio.

We had two retired police officers from Atlanta to tell stories.  They had a son in law with them.  The three hikers from Chicago were fresh to hiking.  We tried to help them out with some tips for their next trip starting with some real clothing.  They had eaten granola and jerky for the first two days.  Tonight they were going to try Mountain House meals.  They pulled out their two liter nonstick stove top pan and started trying to make a fire.  Someone finally felt sorry for them and heated some water on the stove for them.  They were trying to save weight by not bringing a stove.  The other one pulled out a full size bottle of Gold Bond to cover his feet.  They had blisters on their blisters.  They pulled out their pocket knives to use as spoons, but they really were impressed with Mountain House.

After a night of rolling from one sore spot to the next, like shelters make for some reason, we got up and headed out.  We hiked the Mt. Sterling Ridge trail up to the tower on Mt. Sterling.  We got some good views from the tower and then ate lunch at the base.  We saw another couple as we headed back to the Mt. Sterling trail and down to the car.

We stopped for a celebration ice cream in Wears Valley and headed home for the pizza celebration at the ponderosa.  After dinner we had a serous card game while we waited for Marco and Natalie to show up.  Then we celebrated their wedding with another party.

The next day we headed out to Metcalf Bottoms for a hike and picnic.  Lots of people were out enjoying the wonderful fall colors of the mountains.  We enjoyed the love of family.

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