Anthony Creek Trail GSHAG

Sunday hike with the Great Smokies Hiking and Adventure Group for Suzan to finish her map. She needed the segment of the AT between Spence Field and Russell Field. 15 hikers gathered for this one. It was 35 degrees in Cades Cove when I got there. I was early, got up at 4:15 and 29 degrees, glad I remembered my gloves and toboggan. The gates were still closed for the loop road and cars were starting to line up. They usually open the gates at daylight. It was a few minutes after 8 when the guys came with the keys. As all the other hikes arrived there was a colorful array of puffy jackets and hats, scarves and gloves. We started up the trail, climbing of course, up to the Bote Mtn Trail. Closed for rehab, but the group had gotten permission from the Park to hike, so we ducked under the tape and kept climbing. They've been cutting limbs off the rhododendron and limbs were everywhere for a couple hundred feet. There are deep trenches in the trail still, but tools were still there to keep working. Hope.

The cold temps froze the timber on the ridge side, frost all over the undergrowth.  Beautiful and the sunshine was making everything sparkle. When we got to the ridge top the breathing was easier. As we neared Russell Field shelter, Suzan waited for everyone to catch up. We lined up to make a raised hiking pole ceremonial finish line. Suzan arrived and touched up her lipstick, then finished with a winning smile.

Lunch in the sunshine, then down the Russell Field Trail to Cades Cove. Beth and Laura presented Suzan with a 900 miler cake and we headed to Townsend for the Finish party at the Barn.
Suzan's family was there from Houston, and lots more of the Group. Good food and drinks, and camaraderie.

Pictures:

Noland Divide

Day One: 8.8
Noland Divide 7.8
Noland Creek to #61 1.0


Day Two: 8.9
Noland Creek 1.0
Pole Road Creek 3.3
Deep Creek 0.5
Martin's Gap 3.0
Indian Creek 0.7
Deeplow Gap to # 51 0.4

Day Three: 11.2
Deeplow Gap 1.1
Thomas Divide 4.6
Stone Pile Gap 0.9
Indian Creek 0.5
Deep Creek 0.1
Deep Creek Horse 2.0
Tunnel to Noland Creek 1.0
Noland Creek to #65 1.0

Day Four: 10.1
Noland Creek 3.1
Springhouse Branch 7.0

Day Five: 5.1
Forney Creek 1.3
Whiteoak Branch 1.8
Lakeshore 2.0

Total Miles: 44.1

Thanksgiving break, time to get some more trails in the Smokies marked off my map. I planned a 5 day backpack, waiting for Craig to come home from a five day trip with the Outcasts. The NP sent an email two days before our trip warning COLD TEMPS for the higher elevations. Never got that before!

We got to the Noland Divide trailhead in Deep Creek about 1:30. This part of the trail was new for me. Only 8.8 miles to our first campsite, all uphill and it gets dark fast. There was light snow on the shady sides of the mountain and we could see the heavier snow on the peaks. We know that Mt. LeConte had gotten two inches last night. We had to hunt firewood with our headlamps. It was supposed to get downright cold tonight, 19 degrees they said. We got a good fire going for the night and watched the bright stars.

Day Two:
We had ice in our water bottle and bladder hoses. I guess it got cold last night. We got a fire going first thing before trying to pack up. After breakfast we headed out on our steep climb back to the ridge.

New trail today was Martins Gap. No hikers seen today at all. Beautiful clear skies as the temps kept climbing. Lot's of rock hopping today. When we got to camp we had time to collect firewood, filter water, and still had daylight. The temps started dropping so we got the fire going. We heard some big animal coming up from the creek raking the leaves as they walked toward us. We couldn't see it through the rhododendron, and then we heard no more. Not sure what it was. We enjoyed another night around the campfire looking at the stars. We got to see a sliver of moon for a short period tonight.

Day Three:
Not too cold this morning. We still got a fire going for breakfast and breaking camp. Headed up to Thomas Divide so that we could climb some more. We saw our first hiker, Sweaty, when we started downhill. As we got closer to Deep Creek campground we saw more and more people. We took a side hike to Juney Whank Falls which was popular today. Just above the falls we saw a doe and fawn who were checking us out. A segment of Thomas Divide and the Deep Creek Horse Trail were the new trails today.

When we got back to the car, instead of camping at Deep Creek campground, we decided to head over to the tunnel and camp at the closest campsite. We had to drive past an ice cream store so of course we had to stop. From there we drove to the tunnel, hiked down the road to Noland Creek and then to campsite #65. This campsite is a horse camp so it had a few picnic tables. Had to do some climbing of the hill side to get firewood. We had enough to keep us warm all night. Another beautiful night.

Day Four:
Springhouse Branch is a pretty trail and a good climb. When we got to the trail junction with Forney Ridge, we actually saw another backpacker. We asked him what he was doing out here and he didn't know either. Foreign guy it was. First half of Springhouse Branch was new trail.

When we got to campsite #71 it had been completely plowed by hogs. Dirt was turned everywhere covering all the area that was flat. We were wondering if they would be back and before dinner we found out. There was a funny noise coming down the side of the mountain. When we saw black we thought bear, but when he slowed down we saw hog. This one kept on going by and stopped for a drink at the creek. A few minutes later and some more noise coming down the mountain. The next thing we know we have "Pumba" staring at us. We stared back. Until Craig reached for the camera and then it was hog heading straight back up the mountain side. He must have told his friends because we saw no more hogs.

We had a working fire tonight. The wood was damp and we had to keep working it to keep it burning. Another good evening.

Day Five:
Frost on the tarps this morning. I guess it dropped a bit last night. We got the fire going for warming and eating around. Today we were heading out. We saw our first hikers about a mile from the tunnel.

Five days, five new trails marked off on my map!

Pictures:

Hyatt Ridge

The Chattanooga Hiking Club planned this hike. I met Jamison and Ashley in Hixson and rode to the Oconoluftee Visitor's Center where we met Barbara our hike leader and the other 12 hikers. We loaded up and drove to Straight Fork Road and left a couple of cars at the Hyatt Ridge trailhead and drove on the the Beech Gap Trail. Four hikers took off for their 16 mile day, and the rest of us hiked uphill to campsite #44 where we had lunch. This campsite doesn't look as pretty as it did 6 years ago. Hogs have rooted up the area and the grass was high around the bear hangers. A couple hiked by and told us about a man-way that goes by the spring and continues on from here. Will have to check it out sometime.

Five of us left the campsite with all the car keys so we could collect all the cars and get them to the Hyatt Ridge trailhead. Joyce and I got to see a snake but it wiggled away too fast for me to get a pic. And no I didn't scream..... We saw lots of wildflowers; painted trillium, Southern red trillium, umbrella leaf,  wild ginger and more Solomon's seal than I have ever seen.

We moved all the cars and hung out until everyone came down the hill. I rode back to Chattanooga with Boe and Monty after a scenic trip around Big Cove and Cherokee.

It was a great hike and a fun time with CHC.

Pictures:

Beard Cane

Day One:6.8
Gold Mine Trail 0.8
Cooper Road Trail 2.4
Beard Cane Trail 3.6
Day Two:6.8
Beard Cane Trail 3.6
Cooper Road Trail 2.4
Gold Mine Trail 0.8
Total Miles: 13.6

A quick trip to the Smokys for an overnight trip. Lora needed to hike the Beard Cane trail to mark it off her list.

It was a warm weekend and there was a little sweating going on. The Gold Mine trail and Cooper Road trails are both old road beds. Beard Cane is a path which follows the Beard Cane creek even through the creek bed a few times. There is a section where campsite #11 used to be that the tornado had gone through. There is still a marker there, but you couldn't get off that section of trail for nothing. It is a bit grown up there as all the trees are down and lots of sun get to the trail.

These are great trails to hike if you want to see lots of wild flowers. Beard Cane is even good for picking up ticks. We saw white and yellow Trilliums, Dwarf Crested Iris, Wild Geraniums, Shuttleworth's Ginger, Tea Berry, Pink Lady Slippers, Pussytoes, Chickweed, Maple Leaf Viburnum, Galax, Foam Flower, Dog Hobble, Flame Azalea, Mountain Laurel, Magnolia, Tulip Poplar, Trumpet vine, and Honey suckle. Even got to eat a few berries off the Tea Berry.

Got to see a Turkey, Blue Heron, lots of lizards and butterflies. One lizard tried to hitch a ride on my pack. Luckily I saw him before I put it on my back. Saved a heart attack.

At campsite #3 we enjoyed getting into Hesse Creek to cool off. We had one day hiker come through that we visited with at camp an a couple we visited with on the way up Gold Mine.

Pictures:

SMHC Backpack

I drove to Maryville to meet up with the SMHC for a backpack/trail maintenance day. We were ready for the drive to Newfound Gap and then to Smokemont to drop off a car. Steve and Tim brought tools for the four of us. Tim carried the loppers, Steve carried the weed whacker and a saw, Amanda had clippers and a folding saw, I had clippers. Ready for battle. We got stopped right away by a group wanting to take our pic and give us trail snacks. They were with the Tremont scavenger hunt team and thought we were thru hikers. There was a lot of traffic between Newfound Gap and Charlies Bunion. We started our maintenance after the Bunion, leaving the crowd behind. Clipping with stitches in my hand from a week ago was challenging (builds character) and sawing limbs left handed was not as easy as I hoped. We managed to wrestle some trees out of the trail but a few are going to have to wait for the chainsaw crew. We cleared trail all the way to Pecks Corner.

There were beautiful views all along the way and we had to stop and soak up as much as we could of all those gorgeous mountains. The Sawteeth always are impressive; Tim pinpointed Bradley's View.

It was supper time by the time we got the shelter. It was a full house with tents all around. I claimed my spot inside but was willing to go hang my hammock if necessary. Evidently hammocks are a no no around the shelters per the head Ranger. With all the thru hikers it's necessary for tents to be allowed. I don't understand how the hammocks would be worse.... The hiker next to the wall was already in his sleeping bag when I got there. Early midnight for him I guess.

I heard a lot of comments from some of the NOBOs about coming back to the Smokies after they finish the AT; they want to see more of this beautiful place. They were all in bed by 7. Thru hikers midnight. It poured down rain during the early morning. It was a good time to sleep in, but two hikers were up and ready to go before daylight, must have been the 23 miles per day pair.  By daylight most of the rain was gone. We cooked, packed, and then started cleaning up around the shelter. One of the thru hikers got a bag and started picking up trash, old socks and things people had left. We filled up the mulch buckets for the privy, and picked up everything but the tissue blooms, that's above and beyond what we do even with gloves on. Tim tied the trash onto his pack, the other guy must have carried the bag out with him (many thanks) after thanking us for all we were doing. This was my first work trip with the club. The rest of the AT maintainers are the hard workers. Read their work reports, you already see their efforts where you hike and sleep and get your water. Their work goes on all year long.

We left with our rain gear on and started up the hill, noticing a couple of hammocks hanging a little ways from the shelter. Then I heard the thump thump thump of a grouse, then a woodpecker laughing. and later another grouse thumping. There sure was a lot of uphill going down Hughes Ridge, getting the 2.6 miles segment I needed for my map :) The rain stopped and it got warm.

Then Chasteen Creek where we went straight down watching for a spur that we somehow missed, seeing beautiful cascades and enjoying the creek views. Stopped at campsite 48 for lunch and resting our feet from the rocky trail. Then to Bradley Fork and out to Smokemont. We piled into Tim's vehicle and started up the road climbing into the rain cloud. I rode back to Maryville with Amanda and managed to leave my shoes in her car. I didn't notice it until I was 30 minutes away. I sent her a message and she sent back one saying she also found my poles and water bottle. Oh my! She said she would mail them ASAP.

She did and the box was at my garage on Tuesday evening. I think she sent a drone to deliver so quickly :)

Pictures:

Cades Cove camping weekend

Herb set up a Slackpacker weekend and welcomed me to the group. I drove to Cades Cove after work Friday and found the group of campers around a roaring fire. I don’t think I have ever seen that much firewood at a campsite before. I was invited to a table full of food topped off by Judi’s delicious lemon cake. Plans were discussed for the next day’s hikes, what trails needed to be marked off maps; Judi working on her SECOND map!!! With a full belly I slept well under the stars, just the hammock, no tarp. I woke up to the sounds of a crackling fire, Firemaster Herb and master trail coffee barista Dwight already working hard. Pumpkin bread (made by Judi) and hot chocolate by the fire, packs ready to go, Gene, Judi and Garnett heading for the Rich Mountain Loop, Dwight for a scenic drive, Amy, Gloria Dale, Herb and I started for Rainbow Falls Trail. With a two wheeled U turn in the middle of downtown Gatlinburg we got biscuits from McD’s, (thanks to Gloria Dale) The trailhead parking was already packed so Herb was instructed on parking procedures going the wrong way on a one way road and we secured a spot. We headed up, and with a lot of wardrobe changes, made it to the Falls which was little more than a trickle. Further up we had two youngsters ask us how far to the Falls, Herb and Gloria Dale pointed them back down the trail. They must not have recognized the trickle they passed. We saw a spur trail that led to an overlook and Amy and I made an executive decision that it wasn’t necessary for map marking. We found the junction for Rainbow Falls and talked to a trailrunner that had passed us earlier and gone up to the lodge and back and was heading down Bullhead to finish his 3 hour run L Amy led us down Bullhead looking back along the way trying to see the Bull. I didn’t see it on the previous trip even with all the other ladies pointing out the obvious to me. We made it back to the trailhead and headed down the road towards Gatlinburg but got stopped by a bear jam. Bear sighting #1. We followed the crowds thru town, then managed to miss our turn by Sugarlands, With more informed directions Herb did another amazing U turn in the crowds of cars to get us on the right road. We marveled at all that traffic trying to get into Gatlinburg. Never seen it that crowded. At the entrance to Cades Cove we got in another bear jam and saw the full grown bear munching in the leaves on the hillside, not ½ mile from our campground. He must have found enough to eat, we didn’t see him after that.

We arrived to another food filled table with hot soup and cornbread (made by Judi) ready for us. We shared our hiking stories and Dwight’s drive and waited for Amy’s dance. We studied maps and planned Sunday’s hikes, shared cough medicine around the fire and watched the stars show up. The coyotes woke us up sometime thru the night, and Gloria Dale’s noisy neighbors finally settled down. I snuggled into Craig’s down quilt and enjoyed another night in my hammock. 

Sunday morning I woke to the sound of a crackling fire. The extra hour for the time change gave Judi enough time to rise and bake coffee cake for breakfast. I am loving this slackpacking getogether! Amy was heading to Rich Mountain Road to finish Indian Grave Gap, Gloria Dale was going to Anthony Creek to get a few miles in, Gene and Judi had to pack up the RV, Dwight and Herb were packing up, Garnett and I were on our way to Round Top Trail. We left her car at the Y and drove to the trailhead on Wears Valley Road. We snagged a parking spot .1 miles from the trailhead. Round Top is a pleasant trail, not a popular one according to the Little Brown Bible. We found one tree in the trail, and a big downhill slide that must be a re-route gone bad and was startled by a big bird. When we got the Little River crossing Garnett scouted out a good spot to cross. It was cold and knee deep and felt refreshing. In the parking lot we were applauded and cheered by two ladies who had watched us cross. Garnett took me back to my car and we stopped traffic for a short time, no U turns, all 4 tires on the road, no horns blaring. A great weekend of beautiful weather with good friends and new friends.

Pictures:

Cades Cove Hiking Weekend

I had a weekend of hiking planned: Deep Creek area, Cades Cove area,  and camping in Cades Cove.  One hike got cancelled, the other one changed. Plan B, hike in Greenbriar Sat, hike with Lillian Sunday. Greenbriar got cancelled/changed. Plan C Hike with Lillian Sat/Sun. Good to go!

I stopped along my route to Townsend at Look Rock Tower. Had a 360 degree view of clouds. Explored a couple of backroads and drove to Townsend Y, found a pretty place by the West Prong Creek to eat my lunch in the car in the rain. Found Lillian at the Y and we started up the Chestnut Top Trail to finish the 2 mile section she needed to mark off her map. The early spring wildflowers were all gone but we saw some interesting ones and lots of ferns. Everything was washed clean by the showers. The temp had cooled off but the humidity was there. We saw the big tree marked by a bear and the views of Thunderhead. Lillian found her turnaround spot and we headed back to the cars and on to Cades Cove where we set up camp.

The campground was full and we got there too late to buy firewood so I scouted the picnic area and found enough to last the evening. Just as we were turning in for the night, an owl talked to us. The birds singing the next morning woke us up. The plan for today was contingent on how Mill Creek was flowing. If low we would hike Rabbit Creek Trail to campsite 15; if too high-shuttle car and hike Goldmine-Cooper Road. The water was no more than knee high so we hiked Rabbit Creek Trail. We met a pair of backpackers who had seen the Abrams Creek crossing at the Hannah Mountain Trail and decided it was too high and swift to cross and had to change their course. We told them the crossing to get out was good, they didn’t know they would have to cross to get off the trail. We got to 15 and took a snack break. The campfire on the hill was still smoking. Rabbit Creek is right there so I don’t understand why folks don’t get water to pour on their campfires when they get ready to leave. After a snack we hiked back to the trailhead, stopping to change our boots to water shoes to cross Mill Creek again. A family with two young kids and a German shepherd were playing on the other side of the creek with the dog jumping and splashing and barking. He was on a leash, but I yelled across the creek and asked if the dog was friendly, because we had to cross. The man said yes, he’s just a puppy, and Lillian asked if he could keep the dog from shaking water all over us. They moved over to let us cross and the dog got excited at strangers getting too close to his family.  Safely across and at the kiosk I looked to see if the “No dogs allowed on trails” was still posted. Yes it is but bless the dog’s hearts, they can’t read.

The parking lot was packed by this time, and so was the loop road. We exited onto Hyatt Lane and saw several folks out of their cars with zoom lenses pointed at a bear crossing the field. We crept thru the bear jam and back on the loop road. We exited onto Rich Mountain Road. I had never driven out this way. 7 miles of gravel road to go to Townsend with a couple of overlooks to stop at. We stopped at Indian Grave Gap Trail and hiked the 1.1 miles to the junction with the Rich Mountain Loop trail. The mountain laurel was in full bloom on the trails today, this trail had trillium and bloodroot leaves that were HUGE! Back to the cars and across the mountain to come out at the Ace Gap trailhead.

Thank you Lillian for being my hiking and camping partner for the weekend!

Pictures:

Hazel Creek - Smoky Mountains

Day One: 5.0
AT to Silers Bald

Day Two: 15.0
Welch Ridge trail
High Top trail
Cold Springs Gap Trail
Hazel Creek Trail

Day Three: 8.0
Hazel Creek Trail
Welch Ridge Trail

Day Four: 5.0
AT to Clingman's Dome
Total Miles: 33

We left straight from Nick's graduation party to Clingman's Dome. The road had opened that afternoon and when we got there it was thirty eight degrees and three to four inches of snow on the ground. Just another Outcast type of start. It was five pm.

The walkway to the lookout tower was packed down ice to make for an exciting climb. We passed the volunteer ranger and he said that he had seen between thirty and forty thru hikers today. We never even though about them going through this late.

When we got on the AT, the first critters we saw were mice scurrying across the trail. I guess they were looking for bread and milk. When we passed the Double Springs shelter there were lots of hikers and two tents set up. We passed one more on the trail, who was suffering from a tooth ache. He told us that there were at least ten people at the Siler Bald shelter. We decided to make camp before the shelter.

Day Two:
The next morning we headed down the Welch Ridge trail. We hiked from snow, to early Spring, to late Spring as we descended in elevation. On this hike we saw every kind of Spring flower they make. Lora even got to see a wild hog which took off down the mountain side.

We took the side trail to High Rocks where there used to be a fire tower, which is just a wonderful view of Fontana lake and a keepers cabin is still standing. We explored the cabin and ate lunch enjoying the view.

We took a break at the Cold Spring Gap trailhead, where I dug up a salamander from the leaves. This trail is nothing but rocks. A lot of it looks just like a creek bed including the water. It is in the most beautiful area of the park. We had a couple of creek crossings before we got to the big one at Hazel Creek. It was knee deep and about twenty feet wide.

When we got to the Hazel creek trail we went South to campsite #83 which had about seven tents set up with fishermen everywhere. After taking a break we headed up to campsite #82 on Hazel Creek for the night which we enjoyed all alone. When we got to camp, there were five turkeys in camp heading up the hill side.

We enjoyed the campsite and creek while we ate dinner and took cough medicine. I did manage somehow to hear an owl over the noise of the creek sometime in the night. We left our tarps off and watched the stars.

Day Three:
After our fifteen mile day yesterday, we took it easy with an eight mile day today. We climbed the mountain and crossed Hazel Creek about a dozen times. The weather was warm and the creek felt good. Beautiful trail! There is a horse coral set up just before the trail turns from road bed to trail and the only bridge over Hazel Creek.

You really earn that last mile of trail going up to Welch Ridge. We set up camp the same place as our first night. Tonight the black bear came walking up towards our camp. We saw him about the same time as he saw us. He turned and ran back down the mountain.

During the night, I got woke up by Lora screaming my name. She had heard something walking just uphill from our hammocks. I guess it was as scared as I was, because I didn't see anything when I got up. We did get to listen to more owls after that.

Day Four:
We got up and continued our hike up Clingmans mountain. As we got close we started seeing hikers again and squirrels. We had not seen anyone except the fishermen since we left the AT. Beautiful hike.

Flowers we saw: Trillium; Red, Large flowered, Painted, Bent; Columbine, Foamflower, May apples, Anemone, Trout Lily, Blue Bead lily, Canada Mayflower, Mandarin Fairybells, Indian Cucumber root, Spring Beauty, Rattlesnake Plantain, Wild Geraniums, Bluets, Solomon Seal and False, Bellwort, Wild oats, Toothwort, Brook Lettuce, Squaw Root, Dutchmans Britches, Squirrel Corn, Dwarf Crested Iris, Violets: Pale white, Blue, Long spurred; Umbrella Leaf, Smooth Meadow Parsnip-purple and yellow, and a few different buttercups. Witch hazel was blooming and Mountain Laurel had started blooming.

Pictures:

Pretty Hollow - Smoky National Park

Day One: 9.6
Pretty Hollow Trail: 1.6
Palmer Creek Trail: 3.3
Balsam Mt. Road: 0.7
Balsam Mt. Trail: 4.0

Day Two: 9.8
Balsam Mt. Trail: 0.3
Mt. Sterling Ridge: 3.9
Pretty Hollow Gap Trail: 5.6
Total Miles: 19.4

We started in Cataloochee getting to the trailhead around 1 pm. We got to see some Elk on the way to the trail. There were lots of people in the valley and quite a few on the first half mile of the trail. After that we saw three backpackers, two hikers, and two people leading their horses. After that we had the mountains to ourselves! Yes, I told the horse people that I was proud of them for wearing out their horses as you don't see that very often.

It was a beautiful day for hiking and we got a good breeze most of the way to Laurel Gap Shelter. The Shelter has been reworked and looking good! Knowing that we were to have rain tonight, we gathered wood and started our fire in the fire place in the shelter. We had a nice evening around our fire place and no visitors except the resident mouse. He picked on us most of the night climbing around the bunk and packs.

One quick story: I had just fallen asleep and was snoring quite well. Lora had to get her earplugs out of the Ziploc bag. Hearing this I woke up thinking something was in our food bag and yelled "HEY!" and clapped my hands. As I was trying to get out of my blanket, which held me tight, Lora was yelling "What? What?" As I leaped to the floor, I told her that something was getting our bearbag and I was shining my light through the fog at the hanger. After not seeing anything around the bag, I was explaining to Lora that I heard something wrinkling plastic and she explained what she had done. OK, so maybe I worry a little bit too much about my food......

The rain had stopped the next morning and we had a beautiful hike back down the mountain.

Pictures:

Smoky Mountain weekend

Smoky Mountain weekend.
My hiking friend Lillian and I met at the Big Creek Ranger Station for a day of hiking some trails I wanted to mark off my map. Chestnut Branch starts out with a steep climb to test your lungs, then becomes a little more of a gradual climb. Old home sites had rock walls and pieces of wash tubs. The colors were beautiful today. reds, yellows, orange, and peach and light greens contrasting with the pines. And the young tulip poplars were so pretty; straight and tall.  Stopped at the junction with the AT then back down.

We drove to Baxter Creek trailhead to look for a chimney Lillian knew about. She found it. It's supposed to be the largest standing chimney in the park.

The drive to 321 along Mt. Sterling Road was spectacular! Winding our way up the ridge on a narrow  road pulling over for oncoming cars. We had to hunt for the trailhead for Maddron Bald Trail. Google says Laurel Springs Rd, which we could not find. I drove out 3 roads before finding the trail sign on Baxter Road. I only needed to hike 1.2 miles of this trail. We stopped at the Willis Baxter Cabin to take some pictures. The cabin is dark inside. No windows. We rested at the junction and talked with a local lady hiker who was as excited about the fall colors as we were. We hiked back to our cars, Lillian needed to head home. I headed to mom and dad McBride's to spend the night. I got good directions to avoid the crowds of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge getting to Townsend. The drive across the Foothills Parkway to their house was so pretty with fall colors. I had to stop and look at the view of the mountains in the evening light. The McBride home was decked out with spooks and witches for the Halloween season. Boo!

Dad McBride and I headed out Sunday morning to hike the Rich Mountain trail. That is a cool road to drive too, going from Townsend toward Rich Mountain Road. We had a good climb up the ridge. We were almost to campsite 5 and was surprised with a bear with his nose stuck in a rotten log. He did glance up at us and then went back to grubbing. He was right by the campsite which had a big log that something had shredded. We sat at the trail junction to eat a snack and heard a crash up on the ridge and saw the bear jump away. It had pushed a dead tree and made part of it fall. As we started to walk back down 2 ladies riding, one on a horse, one on a mule were watching the bear. We stopped to watch and noticed a second bear up there too.

When we got back to the trailhead, we walked down a path to see Bull Cave, (evidently someone's bull fell into the cave)

Thank you to both my hiking partners for a beautiful weekend of hiking in the Smoky Mountains.

Pictures:

Kephart Prong

Day One: 8.0 Miles
Kephart Prong Trail 2.0
Grassy Branch 2.5
Dry Sluice Gap 2.9
Cabin Flats 0.6
Campsite #49

Day Two: 9.0
Cabin Flats 1.6
Dry Sluice Gap 2.9
Grassy Branch 2.5
Kephart Prong 2.0
Total Miles: 16.8

Lora and I headed out to cover some more trails in the Smoky's that we have not been on.  We got an extra half hour delay at Metcalf Bottoms waiting on the rangers to clear a tree off Little River Road. We got to our trail head at 3pm Eastern time.

We started at Kephart Prong and took in what is left from the CCC camp that was there 1933-1942. The trail description says that "your ascent is so gradual that you rarely sense a climb." They lied! The only flat spot is crossing the Oconaluftee river on the bridge. The only place we saw people was between the trail head and the Kephart Shelter. A common day hike.

From the shelter we started through the different levels of spring flowers. We saw the azaleas, the mountain laurels, and Rhododendron blooms among others. We also kicked up our first grouse on this section. The climb warranted us to cool off in all the springs along the way.

We finally, 2600 feet later, made it to the top where we found the only Rhododendron that I know of that grows straight up. You could actually walk through it if you wanted to. After a little break we started our 2200 foot drop down to Cabin Flats on the Dry Sluice Gap trail. We were excited to see that this trail was freshly weedeated. Just after starting down we kicked up our second grouse which messed up our pacemakers among other things as he was at head level about six feet away.

When we got to Cabin Flats trail we saw that they had also weedeated it. This area has some old growth so we were blessed to see some extremely large trees. When we got to camp, we had it all to ourselves. Lora collected the water and noticed that she forgot to pack the hose for it while I started collecting firewood. We got camp set up and ourselves cleaned up before dark.

As we set next to the fire Lora noticed some flashing in the woods. Upon further investigation we noticed that the synchronous fireflies were putting on a show for us. So we spent the evening enjoying a private showing. Later that night we got to hear an owl as well.

I woke up to the screaming of my name! Thinking I was dreaming, I heard it again. Lora had a deer visit her at her hammock. Of course it took off with all the screaming, but I tried to make an emergency exit of the hammock which is never pretty.  Other than that we had a calm night.

The next morning after breaking down camp, we took the Cabin Flats trail down across the metal trestle bridge to the connection with Bradley Fork trail to claim this trail done. We turned around and started our steep climb back up Dry Sluice. On the way up we saw another grouse, but this time we watched him cross the trail and climb up the side of the the mountain. Much more peaceful!

When we got back to Kephart shelter there was a man from North Carolina that we visited with, then a Father Son from Lexington Tennessee. We got to talk trail with them and give them some suggestions on things to see in the Smoky's.

Another great backpack!

Pictures:

Turkeypen Ridge

We went over to Maryville to celebrate Mother's Day with my mother. The next day we did a hike of Schoolhouse Gap to White Oak Sinks and after checking out the sinks we took Turkeypen Ridge Trail to the road. Lora needed to complete the Turkeypen trail.

Pictures:

Wilderness Wildlife Week

I had two days off  so I drove to Pigeon Forge to hook up with Craig's mom and dad. They volunteer for this event so Carol wanted to show me around. There were so many programs to choose from! I listened to Stephen Bales from Ijams talk about identifying local birds of prey. Carol found me after that so we went together to TWRA's talk about their successes and challenges managing Tennessee's wildlife.

Next was winter nature observations by Joel Zachery, who was very entertaining. Then we checked in on the Beginning Clogging class by the 80 something year old instructors JK and Doris Patton. Carol is going to help out with tomorrow's class. Phew! just trying to keep up, we ran on to listen to retired Ranger Joe Kelly tell us GSM History you May Not Know. Really good! Then we found Jim in time for the Hike Sign Up. This is a lottery system to be fair for folks wanting to go on the hikes and bus trips.

Then a quick bite to eat and on to the night time show. Store Britches, a historical comedy that was first performed in 1936, celebrating our Appalachian Heritage.
Since the ice cream shop was already closed by then, we headed to the hotel for a much deserved good night's sleep....after mapping out the next day's itinerary.

Wednesday

I had signed up for a 13.5 mile hike to Sugarland Mt, led by Marty Silver. If you get the Tennessee Conservationist magazine, this month's cover shots are his. He is a Ranger at Warrior's Path SP. Since Newfound Gap road was closed due to snow, plan B for the hike was Rocky Top. Since that road was also closed this morning, Plan C is now Cosby and Mt. Camerer, since that road IS open. 7 hikers and 2 Rangers, 11 miles and lots of snow. It was a beautiful winter wonderland. Ranger Marty led us onward and upward, pointing out tracks in the snow, moss, lichens, trees. Wonderful hike, glad to meet new hiking friends.

Back at the LeConte Center, I found Carol at the clogging event to let her know I was off the trail and heading home. I am so glad I finally made it to the Wilderness Wildlife Week. If you haven't been, you should put it on your calender. Next year it will be in May instead of January.

Pictures:

Curry Mountain Trail

Jan 17
Smoky Mountains 2 day hiking trip

Day 1: Curry Mt...3.3, 
Meigs Mountain...1.9,
Lumber Ridge...4.0, 
the 'M' trail...0.3,
Spruce Flat Falls...2.0.  
Total...11.5

Day 2: Jakes Creek...0.4,
Meigs Mountain...6.0,
Meigs Creek...3.5
Total...9.9

I met Lillian in Townsend for 2 days of hiking adventures. We drove to the Smoky Mt Institute to leave a shuttle car, then on to Metcalf Bottoms to start day one. The Curry Mountain Trail follows an old logging road thru different types of forest, even a rhododendron tunnel. We saw some stone walls and piles of rocks, old chestnut stumps, lots of vines twining and twisting up into the treetops. After the junction with Meigs Mountain trail we stopped at a cemetery then to the Lumber Ridge Trail. It started as a pretty level walk then uphill to Lumber Ridge. As we hiked down the ridge toward the Institute we watched for a trail to Spruce Flat Falls. We found a trail labeled M and decided to investigate. It turned into an obstacle course with trees to climb over and around and a skinny little path that narrowed as we went along. When it started to drop steeply down we decided to turn around. This must be a training course for the more adventurous. The closer we came to the Institute the more folks we saw on the trail. We laughed when we saw the sign for the falls. Lots of folks on this trail. Short walk from the Institute, good trail, pretty waterfall. After we collected the car from Metcalf bottoms we headed toward Townsend and the McBride Bed and Breakfast, and supper, and a shower, and some cough medicine. 

After breakfast with Mom and Dad McBride we scraped the ice off our windshield and headed back to the Park and Little River Road. We left a car at the Sinks, then on to Elkmont to our trailhead, only we missed the turn??? and turned around at Sugarlands and headed back to Elkmont to our trailhead. We walked past the old homes on the Jakes Creek Trail then on to Meigs Mountain. We passed a couple of campsites and a couple having a glass of wine at one of them. The book says one campsite used to be an orchard and a garden. We saw some old iron pieces that could have been from an engine or maybe a tractor. The other campsite used to have a house, barn and smokehouse here. Then on the the Meigs Creek Trail. It didn't take long to find the first of many creek crossings. The first two weren't too bad, the third, I changed into my water shoes. Lillian make it across, crossing thru rhodo branches on both sides of the creek and rock hopping. On the fourth crossing, she pulled off her boots and did an old fashioned foot washing; barefoot hiking to the next crossing. Boots back on her cold feet, she managed to rock hop the rest of the 18 crossings. I kept my crocs on until no more creek crossings. My oh my that water was COLD! A little uphill to get us warm again, then down, down to the Sinks. There were 4 young people playing around the creek at the bottom of the hill. One guy had a squiggly black salamander to show for his muddy digging. We made it to the trailhead in good time and back to Elkmont to get the other car. 

Two beautiful days of hiking in the Smoky Mountains. 

Pictures:

Little Greenbriar Trail

8.6 Miles total for out and back

Lora and I decided to take a day hike since we were in the area.  Another trail off of Lora's list.  We drove through Wears Valley to the trailhead.  This is an easy trail, but is also uphill one way and downhill on the way out.  We had a good time even if the views were hidden in the cloud.  Lora provided entertainment for me when she looked up and jumped.  She thought that a tree root was a snake.

Pictures:

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.

Pictures:

Low Gap - Cosby

Day One: 5.4
Low Gap Trail 5.4
Day Two: 10.4
Big Creek 1.0
Camel Gap 4.1
AT 2.4
Low Gap 2.9
Total Miles: 15.8

Lora and I headed out to the Smoky's for my birthday.  We started in Cosby and took the Low Gap trail up across the AT and back down the other side to campsite #37. We met about ten hikers coming down Low Gap, but the only other people we saw were two guys at the campsite.

The weather was great for our steep up and down and the clouds were hanging out at mountain top level. We knew, being a popular campsite, that there would be no fire wood around the camp.  The two guys that were there before us were scampering around picking up anything that looked like wood.  When we picked our spot they were even eyeing up some wood by our fire ring, before I asked if they were taking all of the wood.  After setting up our hammocks, we had to go down the trail a bit before finding anything to burn.

This was Lora's second night of sleeping in a hammock and she is liking it.  We had a good fire to sit around for the evening, but no stars to look at.  It started snowing while we were hanging out, but not enough to get us wet.  Sometime in the night I got up and it was so dark I couldn't see inside my hammock.  Later, I could see the moon behind the clouds.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast around the fire before packing up.  We headed up Big Creek and took Camel Gap trail up to the AT.  Camel Gap is a very beautiful area to hike.  We took our lunch break up on the AT in a sunny spot.  There are lots of views and pine forests in this section.  We hiked by Cosby Knob shelter and then headed back down Low Gap trail which seemed alot steeper on the way down.  The knees said ouch!

It was a beautiful hike a great Birthday present.  Thanks Baby.

Pictures:

Deep Creek in Smoky Mountains

Craig was going on a 5 day backpack with the Outcasts while I had a couple of days off and I got jealous. So I sent out messages to some folks to see who might be crazy enough to backpack in the Smokys in December. Judi answered with a YES. She and Gene were up for it. I got off work at 6:45, went home, slept 2 hours and hit the road to Bryson City, NC. Deep Creek Campground was our meetup spot. Judi and I got our packs on and headed up the Deep Creek Trail. Gene was planning to hike in the next morning to meet us at the second camp spot. Since daylight hours are short this month, we took off at a brisk pace.  We left Deep Creek trail for Indian Creek Trail. Pretty trail following the creek with its cascades. Martins Gap Trail was next with campsite #46 just a little ways in.

The camp sign looked new.  The camp is on a slope but we managed to find a couple of level enough spots to put our tents. We gathered our water and wood and made a good pile for the fire. I was testing a new water filter system on this trip. Craig had bought a gravity bag and wanted to send it with me to test. I was skeptical and at the last minute took it instead of my old familiar one. Only I didn’t pick up the little cover for the end of it. I had to leave the clean hose attached to the filter while gathering water. Since Craig had shortened the hose, it was challenging to hold it and the bag and keep it out of the creek, or off the ground while rolling the top of the bag closed. It worked fine at filtering.

We were just starting our campfire at dusk when we heard voices and horses. Company coming. 2 cowboys rode up to the camp, right up to our fire. Those poor horses can’t read the sign that said “NO HORSES” so they didn’t know not to invade the camp. The cowboys wanted to know what in the world we were doing staying out on this cold night. And where we had started and where we were going. And boy were they loud. When we asked where they were going, we hoped they weren’t planning to  camp here. They were headed back to Deep Creek, and with  loud Yee Haws headed their horses down the trail. They sat there with their buddies for a little while before heading on. We got that fire going great. Plenty of heat. The stars came out and put on a show.

I left the water bag out that night, it still had a lot of water. Since I had to leave the hose on to keep it from all draining out, the hose froze during the night. 22 degrees. Fun stuff. We got our fire going that morning, ate, packed up and started uphill. Always right after you eat. Uphill. Martins Gap to Sunkota Ridge, to Thomas Divide. Once up there it was ridge walking with pretty winter views both ways. We didn’t find any good open spots for pictures of the surrounding mountains. But we did find bear prints in the snow.  We got off the ridge at Deep Low Gap. This trail is a rocky roadbed with lots of downed trees, seeps, water running down the trail. We were glad to see the camp sign. We were also glad to find Gene already there, set up with water and wood gathered. Now that’s a treat. He got Judy a hot drink, collected water for me, and then got supper going. My sweetheart had packed my food for me so I had noodles with meatballs. Tasty stuff. Lots of chocolate for dessert. We had a nice fire, the stars popped out. We were tired and well fed and headed to bed. It wasn’t as cold tonight, but I warmed up my feet and socks before heading into the tent.

Woke up to Gene getting the fire going. Sweet. We ate and packed up. Judi and I headed out while Gene finished packing up. We had a few miles to hike out and I had to work tonight. We hiked Indian Creek Motor Trail, nice roadbed, not rocky, not too steep but all uphill.  Back to Thomas Divide and mostly downhill to the car at Galbraith Road parking lot. This is the southern trailhead for Thomas Divide. Just a little way from Deep Creek Campground. I got a pic of Judi with her 900 miler sticker on her car. I plan to have one of those one of these days. She took me to my car and then back to pick up Gene.

I headed to Bryson City to pick up lunch to go. Back to Tennessee…..not jealous anymore of my sweetheart still out on the trail somewhere.

Beautiful hike with good friends.

Pictures:

2014 4th of July Trip

Lora and I headed out to do some trails on her to do list.  It was a great few days that we got to spend with Dad and Mom as well as celebrate our United States Independence.  Of the 150 trails in the Smoky Mountain National Park, Lora had 67 more trails to hike.  After our three days out her new number is 71     trails to hike.  Doesn't add up very well, but you will see why.

We started out at the Sugarlands visitor center.  We hiked the Old Sugarlands trail from the Headquarters building out to Bull Head trail.  After we got going we found the Two Mile Lead trail.  After we hiked to the Bull Head trail we headed down the Two Mile Branch trail which is also not on the map.  We took it to the Grassy Branch trail , which is not on the map, back to the Two Mile Lead trail.  So we completed one of her trail and added three.

After we got off the trail we called Dad and Mom who were working the Patriot Festival in Pigeon Forge. We got to Pigeon Forge Patriot park in time to catch the last three bands playing.  We got us some dinner and were extremely upset to find that there were no cotton candy vendors anywhere.  Anyway the concert was great and there ended up being around 60,000 people there.  The main band was Lonestar and towards the end of their concert we could see Dollywood's fireworks going off.  After the concert, Pigeon Forge put on their fireworks display with music to accompany it.  It was amazing to hear 60,000 people singing America the Beautiful at the same time.

With every large gathering, the exit took quite some time.  We wondered around for a while and then walked up to Dad and Mom's car which was still sitting in line in the parking lot that they started at.  We visited a bit longer until the traffic started moving.

Day two, we got up and took Dad with us.  We dropped off a car at Greenbrier at the Grape Yard Ridge trailhead.  Then we headed to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature trail for the other end of the trail.  We did some exploring of the local neighborhood, before finding the wrong end of the one way nature trail.  We then found the right road and followed the many many cars heading around the loop and squeezing between parked cars to the trail head.

We hiked a couple of miles and stopped for lunch.  Mom had made us some mighty fancy trail sandwiches which were really good.  We met up with some hikers looking for the locomotive parts just up from Campsite #32.  We showed them on the map that they were at the wrong point.  We went to check out the campsite and the others followed us and then kept going down the trail.  Well we followed them looking and not finding the same site.  When we got to the end of the trail we were at the wrong trailhead.  We had taken the Injun Creek trail, which is not on the map, and ended up at the ranger station in Greebrier.  So between the three of us experienced? hikers, none of us had read the signs at campsite #32.  We had to hike the two miles of road to the car.  Dad showed us where the Rhododendron Creek trail was which also, not on the map, goes up to the Grape Yard Ridge trail.  Thus, we had completed one half of a trail and added two more to her list.

Day three, after church, we headed to the Top Of the World and the Gold Mine trail.  This was Mom's hike and another trail.  We hiked down to the Cooper Road trail and took the Cane Creek trail.  This finished Lora's Cane Creek and we didn't add any trails this time.

Pictures:

Forney Creek

Day One: 7.9

Forney Ridge Trail 0.5

Forney Creek Trail 7.4

Day Two: 10.8

Jonas Creek 4.1

Welch Ridge 2.4

AT 3.8

Forney Ridge 0.5

Total Miles: 18.7

Lora and I headed out to Clingmans Dome for an overnighter.  As always the Dome's parking lot was full of cars and people.  We started down Forney Ridge and got rid of all the people when we hit Forney Creek. We saw one couple on this trail.  Forney Creek is a steep down hill with lots of beauty.  We experienced Spring again as we went down the trail.  Early Spring flowers at the top and late Spring flowers on the bottom.  There is some good creek crossings which the last three were waders.  There were a couple of guys at campsite #69 and a group of high school students from Wisconsin at campsite #70 where we stayed.

We listened to the owls talking as we sat by the campfire.  The guy from #69 had talked to some through hikers the night before and they had been in half inch hail two days ago and snow the day before.  It was really nice weather for us.

We got up the next morning and hiked Jonas Creek trail up to Welch Ridge.  We walked the first half in Crocks for the water crossings.  The second half switches back and forth up the mountain.  Lora did a spectacular fall on the way.  She made it across all the creeks and a huge tree across the trail only to fall over a small rock and into the mud.  She got some bruises from that.

We stopped along Welch Ridge for lunch and then continued the climb to the AT.  There was lots of bear sign on Welch Ridge.  We saw are first person of course on the AT.  You never the hike the AT by yourself and we passed lots of people on the way to Clingmans Dome.

We felt that we have not climbed a mountain in a while as our baby cows got a good workout!

Pictures: