900 miles

Birthday Hike - Twin Creeks Trail

2011-12-26T15:48:00.000-08:00

New Trail Miles Completed: 1.9
Total Trail Miles Hiked: 3.8
26 Dec. 2011

Today is my birthday! So I gathered up my boys (18 and 11 years old respectively) and we headed down to Gatlinburg. I wanted something nice and easy for today - just a chance to get out and spend some time on the trail with my sons.

Twin Creeks trail is just under 2 miles long and parallels Cherokee Orchard Road just inside the park from Gatlinburg. We started our hike at the trailhead near the park boundary, just as Cherokee Orchard Road enters the park. The trail travels along an area that was heavily settled before the park, and you can see numerous reminders of the previous inhabitants in the form of rock walls and fallen-down chimneys.

The trail also parallels LeConte Creek for much of the way and it was full of water and joyously noisy today.

Along the way we almost ran into (literally) a doe that seemed completely unperturbed by our arrival. All three of us walked to within 5 feet of her and she just stood and watched us and then meandered away.

The Twin Creeks trail passes by the fairly new Twin Creeks Science & Education Center. This is a great facility that helps park and associated scientists both do research within the park and share that research with area students.

Finally, the Twin Creeks trail runs into the Noah "Bud" Ogle Nature trail that leads back toward Cherokee Orchard Road and the Noah "Bud" Ogle Cabin. This little plot contains both a cabin (which appears to actually be a hybrid of 2 cabins stuck together) and a barn. Both are typical of the construction of the Smokies from the 1800s.

After exploring the cabin and barn we turned around and headed back down the trail to the car. The elevation difference between the upper and lower ends is pretty small (~ 600 feet) and while I never really noticed the elevation gain as we went up, it seemed like we were flying down the trail on our way back. Overall this is a pleasant trail - the proximity to the road is strange, but the cultural history that the trail encompasses is pretty rich, and walking along LeConte creek is very nice. The weather was great - the sun peeked in and out during the day, and the temperatures in the mid-40s were perfect for hiking. Best of all I got to hang out with my boys - something that happens more rarely now that Jesse is in college.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day! Til next time, happy hiking.

Anthony Creek Loop

2011-11-27T09:20:00.001-08:00

New Trail Miles Completed: 8.7
Total Trail Miles Hiked: 13.2
26 November 2011

I've had my eye on this loop for a while... I had actually intended to do it as an overnight backpacking trip, but decided on the spur of the moment to make a day-hike out of it on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

Anthony Creek Trailhead @ Cades Cove picnic area

The loop starts out on the Anthony Creek trail in the Cades Cove picnic area, hooks up with Russell Field trail and follows it up to the Appalachian Trail at Russell Field, traverses the AT over to Spence Field, down the Bote Mtn trail to hook up with Anthony Creek trail again and complete the loop. At 13.2 miles it makes for a fairly long day-hike (at least for me) and the hike from Cades Cove up to Russell Field gains about 3000 feet in elevation.

I have to start out by saying one thing about this loop - there are a LOT of ROCKS on these trails! Rocks the size of marbles, baseballs, footballs, soccer balls, Volkswagens... I spent a lot of my time watching my footing to avoid turning an ankle. This entire loop is also a horse trail, so there are a lot of places where the trail is pretty beat up and muddy.

The trail follows Anthony Creek for much of the first part, and there were several creek crossings (mostly with footbridges). The water was running high so that loud chatter of rushing water was a constant companion.

Anthony Creek trail winds its way up along the creek slowly gaining elevation as it wends its way between Leadbetter Ridge and Allnight Ridge. After 1.6 miles it reaches the junction with Russell Field trail at the base of Anthony Ridge. Anthony Creek trail continues on to the left (east), while Russell Field trail turns right (south) and ascends the flanks of Leadbetter Ridge on its way up to the AT.

Anthony Creek - Russell Field trail junction

I took the Russell Field trail up, and I do mean UP. As soon as you get onto this trail the elevation gain starts to kick in. It gains about 1200' over the first 2 miles, has a nice 0.5 mile stretch of flat ridge-top walking, and then gains another 700' over the last mile up to the AT.

Typical section of the Russell Field trail.

About a mile up you come to Backcountry Campsite #10. All I can say is "ugh." This is a rationed site due mostly I suspect to its size. It's a tiny site directly off the trail and there is really only 1 flat spot, and it was a muddy mess. Maybe it's nicer in the summer (the little brown book says nice things about it), but I was glad I wasn't staying there.

As the trail heads up Leadbetter Ridge there is a nice flat section of ridge-top walking where you are staring straight ahead toward the ridge that you will ultimately be climbing up.

View of McCampbell Knob and the main ridge of the Smokies from Russell Field trail

After climbing around the western slopes of McCampbell Knob the trail dead-ends into the AT at Russell Field. The area had been cleared of trees by Russell Gregory (for whom it, and also Gregory Bald are named) to graze cattle during the summers. Most of the area has been overgrown with trees again, but there's one small area that is still clear that you can reach by taking a side trail once you near the top. At the Russell Field - AT junction is the Russell Field shelter. This is a very nice shelter, and has been upgraded in the last few years. There are cooking & eating benches and tables around the front, a skylight over the sleeping area, and a tarp has been hung over the front to keep the wind out. I stopped here for a few minutes to rest and have a snack.

Russell Field shelter

Sleeping area & skylight inside Russell Field shelter

Russell Field - Appalachian Trail junction

From here I headed east (north) on the AT toward Spence Field. This stretch of the AT is 2.9 miles and reminded me of many of my early days of hiking.

These white blazes marking the Appalachian Trail mean a lot to me. My first real backpacking trip took place in October of 1985 when I was a freshman in college near Johnson City, TN. For fall break some friends and I backpacked a short section of the AT near Roan Mountain. And I was immediately captivated, both by hiking and backpacking, and by the AT itself. I've been a member of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy ever since, and still dream that one day I'll be able to do a thru-hike. It felt great to be back up on top of the Smokies - there's nothing quite like the feeling of walking along the top of a ridge and looking down in to North Carolina on one side and Tennessee on the other.

The 2.9 miles from Russell Field to Spence Field went fairly quickly. About this time the sun started to peek out occasionally from behind the clouds giving the whole landscape a nice glow. Spence Field still has a lot more open area than Russell Field which makes it quite picturesque.

The Appalachian Trail running through Spence Field

Just 0.2 miles down Eagle Creek trail from Spence Field is the Spence Field shelter - a twin to the Russell Field shelter. I dropped in here for a break and to eat some lunch and met some other hikers who were settling in for the evening (despite the fact that it was only 1:30 pm).

Self-portrait at Spence Field shelter

Here in Spence Field is where the Bote Mountain trail meets up with the AT, and this was to be my path back down.

Appalachian Trail - Bote Mountain trail junction

Once on the Bote Mountain trail I again had to contend with the rocks... But at least I was headed down instead of up this time. The trail is pretty steep here - drops about 1200' in 1.7 miles to where it junctions with the Anthony Creek trail. There were lots of Beech groves along this stretch. I love Beech trees in the winter because they hold on to their golden brown leaves throughout the winter giving some really nice color to the landscape.

Beech grove along the Bote Mountain trail

The junction with the Anthony Creek trail put me back on my original trail, just 3.5 miles from Cades Cove, but still had to contend with the rocks. This section continuously follows Anthony Creek and the trail is often on a ridge well above the creek providing some amazing views. I stopped several places just to contemplate the beauty of a rushing mountain stream and the many little waterfalls.

Beautiful little waterfall on Anthony Creek

Along this section you come to Backcountry Campsite #9. In contrast to site #10, this one was quite pleasant. It's fairly large with a couple of nice fire pits, a wide space, and sits just above Anthony Creek. Definitely someplace I'd love to come back to.

Backcountry campsite #9

Shortly thereafter I got back to the Anthony Creek - Russell Field trail junction and retraced my steps back to the Cades Cove picnic area. It took me just about 6 hours exactly to make the loop, including a couple of breaks for food. Pretty good time for me, especially considering the elevation gain over the first 5 miles. It was a great day in a lot of ways. The loop was challenging, but not overly difficult. The weather was great - temperature around 45-50 degrees most of the day, with some nice sunshine. I alternated between hiking in just a t-shirt to a t-shirt + polypro long underwear shirt to t-shirt + polypro + fleece jacket + stocking cap depending on the wind and the sun. Met lots of other hikers too. One guy who had been out for a solo backpack, a guy out on his horse, a family who was out for an extended backpacking trip, and a couple of guys who were staying at the Spence Field shelter. Not to mention several sets of day-hikers.

This was another good hike for me in terms of making connections too. I had done the first little bit of Anthony Creek trail a couple of times before. Once with my family and my brother, his wife and a friend on New Years Day, 2000. I seem to remember that it was about 60 degrees then! And Duncan and I had hiked the 0.2 miles between Cades Cove and the Crib Gap trail a couple of years ago. I had also been to the Bote Mountain - Anthony Creek junction earlier this year, and remember plotting to do the Anthony Creek loop at the time. Best of all, I had previously done the whole AT from Newfound Gap to Fontana Dam many years ago - it was one of my first backpacking trips in the Smokies not too long after we moved here. It was great to retrace those steps and stop in at the shelters where I had visited before.

This is a great time of year to be out on the trails, so don't let the cooler weather scare you off. Be prepared with some good layers, but head on out there! With the leaves off the trees the views are often spectacular. Til next time, happy hiking!

Grapeyard Ridge Trail

2011-10-28T10:58:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 7.6
Trail Miles Hiked: 7.6
26 October 2011

Autumn is, without a doubt, my favorite season for hiking. The temperatures are ideal, the fall colors are amazing, the views are outstanding... Add in some good company and you've got an excellent combination. Today I had the pleasure of hiking with a friend who's also working on hiking all of the trails in the Smokies. Margie and I started our quests independently, but at nearly the same time (Dec. 2009). We met at the annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in the Smokies several years ago and got reacquainted through our mutual interest in hiking in the Smokies. Margie blogs about her hikes here.

Today's trail was the Grapeyard Ridge trail - a 7.6 mile trail that connects Roaring Fork and Greenbrier. I arrived at the Greenbrier trailhead at about 8 am so we could leave a car there (our ending point) and then shuttle up to Roaring Fork where we would start our hike. I had a few minutes alone just as the sun was starting to peek over the top of the ridges. Early morning is a magical time in the mountains.

Sunrise over the Little Pigeon River

Our hiking party: me, Allen, Clarence, Margie and Susan

The Roaring Fork end of the Grapeyard Ridge trail starts out with about a 1 mile section with a steady elevation gain of about 600 feet, and then it's (mostly) downhill from there. The first 3 miles or so of the trail skirt the northern edges of Mt. Winnesoka and travel through beautiful mixed woods - lots of hardwoods and the occasional patch of pines as well. The tree color was great - the maples and tulip poplars in their yellows, and the sourwoods in the scarlet.

There's not a lot going on wildflower-wise this time of year. A few asters are still flowering, but most everything else is settling in for winter. There were patches of the showy gentian still in flower here and there that were quite beautiful! I didn't get any good pictures, but Margie had her awesome camera and got some nice shots.

The trail is named for the proliferation of grape vines in the area, and I have to say I've never seen more grape vines or bigger grape vines any place else. Some of the vines were as big around as me!

REALLY big grapevine climbing up a tree

About 4.4 miles from the Roaring Fork end of the trail you come to the site of Backcountry campsite #32 which is a little ways down a side trail. While we didn't take the time to visit the campsite, you could see it from the trail above and it looks to be in a nice flat spot with a nearby creek for water.

After the trail rounds the base of Mt. Winnesoka it crosses over Grapeyard Ridge proper and then drops down into the creek bottoms of Injun Creek and then Rhododendron Creek. Depending on which book you consult, the name Injun Creek either comes from the Native Americans that lived in the area, or from the wrecked steam engine that still lies in the creek ("Engine Creek" thus became "Injun Creek"). The steam engine was being used by a lumber company in 1920 when it went off the road and crashed into the creek. It was too big to remove so there it is still, over 90 years later.

The last mile or so of the trail follows Rhododendron Creek and crosses it several times. There are no bridges and several of the crossings are 5-10 feet across so it was game of rock-hopping to make it across. Water is low this time of year, so it wasn't any problem, but I could imagine it could be challenging in the spring. Somewhere in this area is a side trail that leads to the Dodgen-Rayfield Cemetery. It's supposed to be marked by a pile of rocks, but despite keeping an eye open we somehow missed it. There are apparently a LOT of old homesites, etc. in this area near the Greenbrier end of the trail. I look forward to going back sometime and exploring off-trail in this area more. We did run across a single gravestone just off the side of the trail. No discernible writing on it - just one lonely grave marker.

Shortly thereafter we made it back to Greenbrier Road and my car. What an absolutely gorgeous day to be out on the trails! Thanks to Margie for the invitation, and to Margie, Allen, Susan and Clarence for the great company. I look forward to more opportunities to hike together.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Cooper Road - Gold Mine - Cane Creek Trails

2011-10-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 5.3
Trail Miles Hiked: 16.2
7-8 October 2011
Campsite #2

Autumn is upon us, and what better time of year for hiking is there? This weekend was an opportunity to get out and enjoy fall and take care of some trails in the extreme western end of the park for me. I've been up the first part of Cooper Road trail (out of Abrams Creek Campground / Ranger Station) MANY times, but had never done the Gold Mine or Cane Creek trails, both of which dead-end at the park boundary. This means they are by necessity up-and-back sorts of trails. I had originally intended to make a bit of a loop at the end of the hike by taking Hatcher Mountain trail, but it remains closed due to the tornado that went through the park last May.

Cooper Road trailhead

So I took off from this familiar trailhead Friday afternoon and re-hiked the Cooper Road trail from Abrams Falls Campground up to Gold Mine Gap and the junction with Gold Mine trail. I didn't expect much from the Gold Mine trail - some trail descriptions I'd read are less than complimentary - so I was surprised by how pleasant it was. It's short (just 0.8 miles) and has some steep ups and some fairly rutted parts, but it's not difficult and it runs through very pleasant woods. The trail dead-ends at the park boundary near Top of the World and you can see evidence of civilization just beyond the end of the trail.

Trail marker at the park boundary

Old barn just outside the park boundary at the end of the Gold Mine trail

Coming back down the Gold Mine trail

After arriving back at Gold Mine Gap I headed 0.6 miles further up Cooper Road trail to Cane Gap. Here the Cane Creek trail leads 2.1 miles to the northern boundary of the Park, and the Cooper Road trail continues east toward Cades Cove.

Trail marker at Cane Gap

I took the Cane Creek trail north to my destination for the evening, Campsite #2, which is just 0.6 miles north of Cane Gap. Again, I wasn't expecting much from this trail or this campsite. The little brown book says that #2 is one of the least used sites in the park so I didn't expect it to be very nice or well-maintained. But it is a wonderful campsite! Not especially large, with room for 2 or 3 tents at most it lies in a nice flat clearing with a great fire ring / sitting area, it isn't far from the water source (Cane Creek), and firewood was abundant. It seems very well-maintained.

It was nearly dark when I arrived so I put up my tent, gathered some firewood and got a nice fire going before cooking dinner. I spent a wonderfully relaxing evening just enjoying the fire. The moon was beautiful that evening and the moonlight made amazing patterns coming down through the trees.

The temperature was perfect for camping. Cool enough in the evening to enjoy the fire, but warm enough for comfortable sleeping. I finally climbed out of my sleeping bag on Saturday morning to a crisp 40 degree morning, but feeling very refreshed and ready for a 10-mile day.

Trail marker for Campsite #2

Fire ring / sitting area at Campsite #2

My first task for the day was to head up & back down Cane Creek trail. It's about 1.5 miles from Campsite #2 up to the park boundary. I left my pack hanging from the bear cables at the campsite and just took some snacks and water with me. The trail is an old road and is wide and rutted, but passes through beautiful woods.

Cane Creek trail

About 0.7 miles north of campsite #2 is the Buchanan Cemetery up on a slight rise to the west of the trail. Like most of the cemeteries within the Smokies it's small (probably no more than 20 or 30 graves), many of the grave markers are simple stones that either never had anything written on them or the writing has faded with time, and most of the occupants are from a single family. This particular cemetery is clearly still maintained - the weeds are down and it's decorated with numerous plastic flowers.

Buchanan cemetery

The gravestone above was especially sad to me. Two children from the same family, born 17 years apart (1892 & 1909), both of whom died when they were less than a year old. The top of the marker reads "Our darlings together in heaven." It's not uncommon to see infant graves in Smokies' cemeteries, and it always makes me think of how hard life must have been for the settlers who lived here over 100 years ago.

The end of Cane Creek trail is at the northern park boundary, and it's quite clear that one should go no further. I've heard that there is a manway that connects the Cane Creek trail with the Ace Gap trail further to the north and east, but it lies on private property with No Trespassing signs clearly placed.

No Trespassing sign at the end of Cane Creek trail

From here I retraced my steps back to the campsite to retrieve my pack, and then headed back to Cane Gap in order to jump back on to the Cooper Road trail. This section of Cooper Road trail (from Cane Gap to the junction with Beard Cane & Hatcher Mtn trails) is 1.8 miles long and gains about 500 feet in elevation. The uphill is pretty steady with just a few flat areas to give your lungs a rest. It's rarely very steep, but it gave me a workout. It was here that I saw the only other trail users of my whole trip - 3 trail runners coming down the trail as I was heading up. The trail is pretty rocky (and fairly eroded and rutted in many places) and climbs up a dry, sandy ridge that offers some nice views to the west, looking back toward Chilhowee Mountain. At about 2000 feet in elevation the fall color was starting to take hold. The dogwoods and sourwoods were turning scarlet, the sassafras orange, and the hickories and maples bright yellow.

Fall colors along Cooper Road trail; Chilhowee Mountain in the background

After what seemed like significantly more than 1.8 miles I finally reached the junction of Cooper Road trail with the Beard Cane and Hatcher Mountain trails. Both of these trails remain closed due to downed trees that resulted from the tornado that ripped through the area last May. I stopped here for lunch and rest and pondered when these trails would be cleared.

Self-portrait at the Cooper Road - Beard Cane - Hatcher Mtn trail junction

This was the end of new trail for me on this trip. I packed up after lunch and headed back down the Cooper Road trail the 5-ish miles to Abrams Creek Ranger station and my car. Luckily, from here it really is almost all downhill and the hike out was quite pleasant. In addition to the beautiful fall colors, the New England Aster and Goldenrod were in flower all along most of the trails, and there was a lot of an interesting pale blue mushroom (some kind of Lactarius I believe). And I ran across what I think is a wild turkey tail feather.

Turkey tail feather?

New England Aster & Goldenrod

Lactarius?

All in all it was a wonderful backpack. Fall is my favorite season for hiking, and it was luxurious to get to spend a night alone in the wilderness with a roaring fire and cool night air. I'm also happy to have gotten a few of the "dead-end" trails finished off from this section of the park. A couple more loops and I'll have the whole Cades Cove / Abrams Creek section of the park finished (assuming they ever open up Beard Cane and Hatcher Mountain trails again...).

I'm looking forward to another hike again soon. My friend Margie who's also working on doing all the trails in the park (see her blog here) is coming over in a couple of weeks and we're going to tackle the Grapeyard Ridge Trail. So - get out there while it's still autumn and check out the fall colors!

Til next time, happy hiking!

Roundtop Trail

2011-08-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 7.5
Trail Miles Hiked: 7.5
27 August 2011

The little brown book says that this trail is one of the least used in the whole park - having hiked it (finally) I can't imagine why it's not more popular! What's not to love? It's a great length for a day hike (7.5 miles; assuming you can set up a shuttle), it's not too strenuous on either the ups or the downs, and you end up at the Townsend Y where you can jump right in and cool off! It's the perfect summer hike.

My hiking partners - Sarah & Duncan

We had to run some errands and take care of some business this morning, but by around noon we were on the road headed to the Smokies. We arrived at the trailhead near Metcalf Bottoms around 1 pm after first dropping car #1 at the Townsend Y. I love the sign at the trailhead: "Townsend Wye 7.5 (No Bridge)" :-)

The first part of the trail gains about 800 ft of elevation over about 2.5 miles. It's never really steep or difficult, just a series of uphills and flat sections. From a spot near the beginning of the trail you get a great view of Roundtop Mtn. I think it scared Sarah a little when I pointed it out, thinking that we had to climb all the way UP there. Luckily the trail doesn't go over the top of Roundtop, but skirts the southern edge.

View of Roundtop from near the beginning of the trail.

From about the 2.5 mile mark on the trail generally descends (there are still a few ups left, but not many) and so the going gets easier. The elevation loss from the hight point to the end over the last 5 miles is about 1500 ft. As the trail generally follows a south-facing ridge, it tends to be fairly dry and dominated by oaks, pines & laurels. For much of the way the trail is fairly narrow - wide enough for one, but no more. It really doesn't seem to be well-used - it's kind of overgrown in places and just doesn't have the well-used look of some other trails.

Along the way we saw lots of evidence of wildlife. Large piles of bear scat were evident all along the trail, and we heard a deer crashing through the woods at one point. Duncan spotted a Black Snake (I wasn't quick enough with the camera to catch him) and we saw dozens of funnel web spiders. But the highlight of the day had to be the Rattlesnakes...

So I'm in the lead with Duncan right behind me and Sarah bringing up the rear. I'm cruising along the trail when I hear Duncan yell "Whoa... There's a snake!" I stop in my tracks, and slowly turn around to ask him where. He points to a spot I had just cruised past to see not one, but two Timber Rattlesnakes not a foot off the trail. Lucky for me (1) Duncan has good eyes and (2) the Rattlesnakes were way too enamored with each other to worry about any of us... They never even rattled their tails. These are the first rattlesnakes I've ever actually seen IN the GSMNP, and they were gorgeous! (Duncan thought they were way cool. Sarah, not so much)

There are lots of spots along this trail where you can look out over the trees to the south for nice views of Lumber Ridge and Meigs Mountain. I always take pictures of views like this, but they never capture the real depth of the Smokies...

View to the south from Roundtop Trail

Ultimately the Roundtop Trail ends up just above the Townsend Y. As you approach it you start to hear the tell-tale sounds first of cars, then of water, and finally of people. The views down into the Y are quite nice as you're on a relatively sheer cliff above the Y looking down onto it.

When you finally reach the Y you're on the "wrong" side of the river and must ford across. The end of the trail just kind of fades away into a myriad of trails leaving you several options for crossing. Today the water was fairly low given the time of year and the lack of rain so we just headed straight across toward the parking area. We stayed a while to swim at the Y - the water is still refreshingly cold and it felt wonderful to dive in after a long days hike.

It was a wonderful day to spend with a part of my family. Grand adventures and beautiful views. A good challenging hike, but not too much. And top it all off with a nice swim in the river. I highly recommend this trail - lots of fun without too much pain.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Cooper Road Trail

2011-08-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 1.7
Trail Miles Hiked: 6.2
20 August 2011

Some days you just have to get out and hike. It may not be a big mileage day, and it may not lead to an amazing waterfall or astounding mountain-top view, but sometimes you just have to go. Last Saturday was one of those days. For a variety of reasons I felt like there was a pretty big weight on my shoulders last week. And Sarah needed some quiet time to get some things done. So Saturday morning I gathered up my youngest son and we hopped in the car and headed up to Abrams Creek Ranger Station. It's only about 30 minutes from my house to the ranger station / campground so it's a good spot for us when we want (or need!) a quick hike.

Cooper Road trail runs from Abrams Creek out to Cades Cove. On this day we planned to just to a little chunk from Abrams Creek up to the junction with Gold Mine Trail at Cane Gap. I had done the first mile (up to the junction with Little Bottoms trail & campsite #1) several times before but had never been beyond campsite #1.

Duncan at the trail head

The trail is pretty uneventful. It wanders through moist areas where creeks cross (or are part of) the trail, and up through drier, piney ridges as well. From Abrams Creek campground up to Cane Gap the trail is interspersed with short rises and flat spots. Despite the heat of the day it was fairly cool (but quite humid) along the trail. Along the way we stopped at Campsite #1 where we stayed last year for Duncan's first backpacking trip.

Duncan at the fire ring in Campsite #1

Toppled tree near where we camped last year

We ultimately arrived at Cane Gap and stopped for a snack, drink and to take some more pictures.

After a short break we turned around and headed back down hill. We considered going ahead and doing the short (0.8 mi) Gold Mine trail too, but were afraid we were running out of time so decided just to head back.

Despite the fact that the Cooper Road trail is not terribly exciting, it was a fantastic day. For one, I really needed to just get away. Hiking is such a primeval pursuit - there's just you and the trail and the forest. Cares and worries seem to just slip into the background out on the trail. Secondly, it's always great to get to do something with Duncan. He's so chipper and enthusiastic. I can't tell you how many times he said "I just love to hike..." Music to my ears. He chatters and jumps and walks on fallen trees and peers under rocks and up hollow trees. He points out cool plants or bugs or piles of animal poop (we saw a dung beetle with his ball of poop) and asks what plants are called. His enthusiasm for the simple beauty of the time and place is infectious. And I needed that.

Til next time, happy hiking. And when the world has you down, go for a hike. It'll help - I promise.

Brushy Mountain summit via Trillium Gap Trail

2011-06-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 2.1
Trail Miles Hiked: 6.6
25 June 2011

A group of guys from church do hiking trips once in a while and this weekend we had a trip to Brushy Mountain planned. Up early and at the Grotto Falls parking area by 7 am! On the way in we saw a young black bear ambling across Cherokee Orchard Road. And then as we were getting ready to hit the trail we saw another black bear down by the garbage cans at the other end of the parking area. This one was BIG, and didn't seem at all perturbed to find mere humans in his domain. In fact, he apparently found us quite interesting...

After rattling the lid on the garbage can trying (unsuccessfully) to get it open he wandered over toward us. He was getting closer and closer and we were about to jump into the cars when he decided to turn down into the woods. Phew - nothing like a close encounter of the bear kind to get your blood pumping early in the morning!

Here's our crew getting ready to hit the trail: Greg, Duncan, Emery, Jack & Brad

We headed up Trillium Gap trail and made good time up to Grotto Falls. This early in the morning the light was dim and misty and the falls had an ethereal quality to them. We took the required pictures of folks behind the falls :-) and then headed on up the trail.

Duncan & Emery behind the falls.

Trillium Gap trail between Grotto Falls and Trillium Gap is a nice winding trail, in places flat and sandy and in other places rocky and tree root-laced. It moves continually up, but relatively gently and is never really steep. It winds through some nice big old trees and often crosses or follows creeks so it's a very pleasant trail.

Trail sign at Trillium Gap. We were taking the Brushy Mountain trail up the summit of Brushy Mtn.

Trillium Gap apparently used to be called Grassy Gap, which is a much more apt name. It's a saddle between Brushy Mountain and one of the lower ridges of Mt. LeConte and is full of grass, but apparently devoid of Trilliums. Regardless, it's a pleasant spot to sit and rest a few minutes before tackling the last 0.4 miles up to the summit of Brushy Mtn.

As the trail climbs up toward the summit of Brushy Mtn. the plants change dramatically. At Trillium Gap we see some spruce trees starting to appear. On the dry hike up Brushy Mtn. the trail is lined with Mountain Laurel and Galax (both still in flower at this higher elevation) and some unusual higher elevation species start to appear. These include Sand Myrtle and Rugel's Ragwort, the latter a Smoky Mountain endemic species found only at higher elevations. The top of Brushy Mtn. is devoid of trees and instead covered with laurels, rhododendrons and sand myrtle. This allows some fantastic views around all sides. To the north we could see Pigeon Forge, to the east Greenbrier Pinnacle and to the west the lower ridges of LeConte.

We stopped here for lunch and took in the amazing views. Definitely a place worth visiting - I think I'll have to come back here for a view of the trees in the fall.

Heading back down was considerably easier simply because it was all down. The boys did a good job coming up the trail although it taxed their stamina at some points. On the way back they were again full of energy. We stopped again at Grotto Falls so they could climb and jump on the rocks and play in the water. By now (about 2 pm) the falls were packed with people.

And they were also beautiful in the sunshine!

This was a really nice hike overall. The weather today was perfect - cool temperatures, yet sunny. Getting an early start was great since we missed the throngs of people on our way up the trail and had the falls nearly to ourselves the first time we passed them. The trail is in good shape for most of the way and has interesting plants, creeks and views. The hike up Brushy Mtn. was really nice - fantastic views and cools plants. Definitely someplace to go back to!

Til next time, happy hiking!

Baskins Creek and Trillium Gap Trails Loop

2011-06-22T10:58:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 5.0
Trail Miles Hiked: 7.9
21 June 2011

Happy Summer Solstice! The beginning of summer seemed like a great excuse to go for a hike, so I headed down to Gatlinburg to the Cherokee Orchard / Roaring Fork area. Given that it was the longest day of the year I figured I'd have a little extra daylight and didn't leave my house until about 5 pm. What I forgot to take into account is Sevierville/Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg traffic... I didn't get to the trailhead until almost 7 pm! Undaunted I forged ahead. My loop started at the lower trailhead for Baskins Creek Trail (on Roaring Fork) and went up Baskins Creek trail to Cherokee Orchard where I hopped onto Trillium Gap trail. I did the 0.7 mile section to the west (junction w/ Rainbow Falls trail) and then back again and continued on to the east to the Grotto Falls parking area, and then road-walked back down to my car.

The Baskins Creek trail is very nice, and at 2.7 miles in length, a very reasonable hike. Baskins Creek Falls is roughly in the middle, and is at the lowest point on the trail, so either way you go in you're going to go down and then back up. I started at the Roaring Fork end, and just a little ways in you pass an old cemetery with a sign that says it's being renovated. The signs that say it's being renovated look like they need to be renovated, so I'm guessing this has been going on for a while...

The trail passes through prototypical Smokies deep, dark forest (I kind of felt like I was in Fangorn Forest in Middle Earth). It's dark and damp, the trail lined with rhododendron and hemlock. The Rosebay Rhododendron are just about at their peak right now, so I was walking under a ceiling of flowers and on a carpet of fallen flowers. Absolutely gorgeous!

The side trail to Baskins Creek Falls appears about mid-way through the hike. I'd guess it's about a quarter mile from the main trail down to the falls, with the last little bit being very steep and rocky down to the base of the falls. The falls themselves are impressive - there is a very wide rock rim with the falls spilling over one little section into a rocky pool at the base. A salamander was sitting on a rock looking at me when I arrived, but unfortunately he dove for the water as soon as I reached for my camera. This would be a lovely spot for a picnic on a hot summer afternoon.

From Baskins Creek Falls the trail steadily gains elevation on its way up toward Cherokee Orchard. The trail follows Falls Branch much of the way, and there are some really pretty little cascades and cool rock shelters along the trail as well. Along the way there is another side trail, this one leading to Baskins Creek Cemetery. About a quarter mile hike takes you up to a small clearing with a dozen or so graves, almost all of them marked with roughly shaped pieces of slate as gravestones. While you can make out some writing on some of them, they are all so worn that they are illegible.

As the trail nears the top it comes out on a drier side of the ridge and the mountain laurels abound. There are some nice views here out toward Mt. LeConte and points further west. The trail ends at Cherokee Orchard Road, and I arrived at about 8:30. It was starting to get fairly twilightish by now - a combination of the late hour and the clouds.

From here I took the little spur trail that connects Baskins Creek trail with Trillium Gap trail. I took the Trillium Gap trail west 0.7 miles to its junction with Rainbow Falls trail, and then turned around and headed back up Trillium Gap to its junction with the spur trail that leads down to Roaring Fork Road at the Grotto Falls parking area. This particular section of the Trillium Gap trail parallels Roaring Fork Road and is not often used during the summer. But it's a nice trail - fairly level with just a few ups and downs, and the trail is remarkably flat and generally free of rocks and tree roots. Which is a good thing, since by now it was getting full dark and I was still hiking. At one point the winds started howling and rushing through the trees - a pretty amazing feeling to be hiking through! Ultimately the rain started in, but luckily not terribly hard, nor for very long. I discovered (happily) that my rain coat is big enough to cover both me and my daypack, which is a good thing since I didn't bring my pack cover.

About a half mile from the Grotto Falls parking area I finally had to dig out my head-lamp - it was so dark under the trees that I couldn't even pretend I could see the trail anymore. So I finished the hike up via head-lamp and made it safely back to Roaring Fork Road. The evening finished up with a 1.2 mile road walk back down to my car.

All in all it was a neat hike. Baskins Creek Falls and the Baskins Creek Cemetery are both well worth a visit, and the Baskins Creek trail in general is quite nice. Plus I got to finish off the lower section of Trillium Gap trail to complete the loop and I was surprised at how pleasant a walk it was. I'll be back in this area soon - going up Trillium Gap trail to Brushy Mountain with some friends from church on Saturday!

Til next time, happy hiking!
(and don't forget your raincoat and headlamp)

Gregory Ridge and Gregory Bald trails

2011-06-04T14:57:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 12.3
Trail Miles Hiked: 17.3
3-4 June 2011

I've always heard amazing things about Gregory Bald while the Flame Azaleas are flowering. This weekend was unexpectedly free, so I called my buddy Shane who was game to join me for a backpack. It's a little early in June for the azaleas to be flowering (they're usually at peak about the 3rd week of June), but I was hoping that since we've had an early spring they'd already be started.

We started at the Gregory Ridge trailhead at the end of Forge Creek Rd in Cades Cove.

The first mile or so gains elevation, but fairly gently, until it reaches Campsite #12. This is a fairly nice site - right near a creek and with a nice fire ring area, but not too many good tent sites, and the best one is right next to the fire ring and bear cables. Might be good for a small group. There is an upper tenting / fire ring area too, but a lot of downed trees up there.

From Campsite #12 the trail immediately climbs a steep ridge over to the west side of Gregory Ridge and stays steep the rest of the way up (it's about 5 miles from the trailhead to the junction with Gregory Bald trail). We were huffing and puffing all the way up, and made many more rest stops than I'd care to admit. In the upper reaches of the Gregory Ridge trail we started seeing a lot of flame azalea and mountain laurel in flower - they were absolutely gorgeous! The trail is in pretty good shape despite its steepness. There is one area where it's fairly badly rutted, but for the most part it was good trail.

We reached the junction of Gregory Ridge trail with Gregory Bald trail and decided to spend an extra hour or so to do the 2 miles of the eastern end of Gregory Bald trail out to Doe Knob on the A.T. This is a nice little trek that meanders up and down - there were lots of flame azalea and mountain laurels on this trail in full flower.

Reaching the junction of the Gregory Bald trail and A.T. made another connection for me. I had hiked the A.T. from Newfound Gap down to Fontana Dam about 9 years ago - one of my very first long-distance backpacks in the park. It was cool to come back to this place and know that I had been here before.

From here we turned back around up the Gregory Bald trail up to Gregory Bald itself. The 0.6 miles from the Gregory Ridge - Gregory Bald trail junction up to the bald itself were rough - partly because it's pretty steep, but mostly because we'd already hiked 9 miles, most of them uphill... But it was SO worth it. Gregory Bald is an amazing place - covered with blueberry bushes, blackberry brambles and flame azaleas. A few of the flame azalea were flowering, but you could see the buds on all of them - in a week it will be an amazing carpet of yellow-orange-red flowers!

The trail goes straight across the top of the bald, and there are gorgeous views in all directions. We were there late in the afternoon and the sun was slanting downwards giving everything a warm glow. Unfortunately in the throes of exhaustion and wonder I forgot to take any panoramic pictures... But trust me - it's well worth the climb. We found the USGS marker at the top: 4,949 feet!

And also got to see a deer amble across the bald. She knew we were there, but didn't seem perturbed.

After soaking in the views for a while we headed down over the other side of the bald about 0.5 miles down to Campsite #13. This is a beautiful campsite. You have to make a reservation to camp there since it's heavily used, but it's really nice. It's in a fairly level area, and there are about 4 or 5 tent sites, all nicely spaced so every group can have some privacy. There were deer wandering all through the campsite for most of the evening, and a herd of them woke Shane up in the middle of the night.

After setting up camp we ate and chatted the night away, finally getting to bed around 11 pm. In the morning we were up and around by about 7 am, had breakfast and broke camp. We were both a little stiff and sore from the day before, but that quickly wore off. Campsite #13 sits at the junction of Gregory Bald trail and the Wolf Ridge trail which comes up from the North Carolina side of the park around Twentymile.

We continued on the Gregory Bald trail which terminates at Parson Branch road. Parson Branch roads leads one-way out of Cades Cove and dumps out on U.S. 129 on "the dragon" (318 curves in 11 miles). We turned down Parson Branch and back to the trailhead - about a 3 mile road walk. This is the trail marker sign for Gregory Bald trail at its junction with Parson Branch road.

Along the way down we saw many nice plants still in flower including some mountain laurel in full flower. This is one of my favorite flowers - my sweet daughter Laurel is named after it.

There are some big trees in this section - I can imagine it would have been very difficult to log up in the upper reaches of this area given how steep the terrain is. Here's Shane standing by a really big old tulip poplar.

We arrived back at the car around noon, tired out but happy. This was a very challenging hike, but very well worth the effort to see Gregory Bald. Some day I'll have to go back at the right time to see all of the flame azaleas out in full flower on the bald and spend some time just lazing among them.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Ramsey Cascades Trail

2011-05-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 4.0
Trail Miles Hiked: 8.0
6 May 2011

There seems to be some debate about the spelling of this trail name. The little brown book and old maps have it as "Ramsay," while the new maps and the park service sign have it as "Ramsey." Some info suggests that it is named for the Ramsey family that lived in the area, so I'm going to go with that spelling...

Things at school are winding down for the semester - classes are over and it's finals week so I have a little flexibility with my time. My buddy Shane works four ten-hour days and so has most Fridays off and he was game to come along with me today.

The Ramsey Cascades trail is in the Greenbrier section of the park and leads to one of the tallest waterfalls in the park. For most of its length the trail parallels either the middle prong or the Ramsey prong of the Little Pigeon River. With the wet spring we've had the river was running strong.

While wildflower season is starting to wind down, there were still several nice flowers out along the trail.

Foam flower

Clinton's Lily or Speckled Wood Lily

Bluets

Red Elderberry

For the first 1.5 miles the trail follows an old road, and while it gains elevation slowly and steadily it's quite an easy trek. From the 1.5 mile point on, the trail becomes steeper, rockier and the footpath laced with tree roots. But it's a beautiful trail! Because it follows the river you can always hear the rushing of water, and the trail passes through and around some huge boulders, especially as you get closer to the cascades. AND - this part of the trail is true old-growth forest - never been logged. These are some of the biggest trees I've ever seen in the park.

Shane on the trail as it passes between two ginormous Tulip Poplars

The falls themselves are amazing! The area around the falls is all big boulders piled on top of each other, and the falls are almost 100 feet high. There was a fair amount of water coming over them and there are great rocks to sit on or climb around on. We stopped for lunch and chatted with a very friendly guy who had gotten there just a little while before we did.

Before we set out on this hike I read several other folks' accounts of this trail. They ALL mentioned the danger of trying to climb up the falls and that at least four people have died here. The park service clearly wants to drive home that point...

After taking some time to lunch and lounge we explored the area around the falls and then headed back down the trail. It was considerably easier going down (it's about a 2000 ft elevation gain from the trailhead to the falls) and with the sun out, the river rushing and the good company it flew by.

This is definitely a trail I will go back to some day. It's challenging enough to be interesting, but not so challenging as to be intimidating. The trail itself is beautiful and the huge rocks and trees just made it even better. The Ramsey Cascades are well worth a visit. All in all, another great day in the Smokies!

til next time, happy hiking!

Finley Cane - Bote Mountain - Lead Cove trails

2011-04-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 5.7
Trail Miles Hiked: 9.5
22 April 2011

This loop has been on my list to do for quite a while, and today was "Spring Recess" (aka Good Friday) at school so I took the day to go hiking. Out of bed at 7, in the car a little after 8, and at the trailhead a little before 9.

I did the Finley Cane trail a few years ago with Jesse on another loop, but I needed to do the Bote Mtn trail (up to Anthony Creek tr) and Lead Cove trail to help finish off this section.

Finley Cane trail starts at Laurel Creek Road about 3/4 of the way from the Townsend Y to Cades Cove. This particular spot has the trailheads for Finley Cane, Lead Cove, Crib Gap and Turkeypen Ridge trails. Going up the Finley Cane and connecting to the Bote Mtn and Lead Cove trails makes for a good loop hike.

Finley Cane trail is a very nice easy 2.8 mile trail that winds up and down through beautiful Smokies forest. The total elevation gain is only 200 feet, and it's never steep. This time of year it's an amazing carpet of wildflowers. There are huge patches of dwarf crested iris, several different Trillium species, more Squawroot than I've ever seen anywhere in the park, and dozens of other spring wildflowers, not to mention the flowering dogwood, silverbells and magnolias.

It's also both a horse and hiking trail, and the trail was in pretty rough shape from the horses (not to mention the ever present piles of horse crap). But it's a really pretty trail with several small stream crossings.

About 2 miles in there's a wide spot in the trail where horse folks can tie up their horses and take a break, so I decided to as well.

The Finley Cane trail dead-ends into the Bote Mountain trail. Stepping onto the Bote Mtn trail the atmosphere immediately changes.

While Finley Cane wends its way through rich woodlands, the Bote Mtn trail is a dry ridge-side walk up along the eastern edge of Bote Mountain. The trail was originally a road used to reach Spence Field at the crest of the Smokies, presumably to graze cattle in the open meadows at the top of the ridge. The little brown book tells how the Cherokee workers who were helping to build the road chose this ridge rather than the one further east for the road, but since they couldn't say the letter V they "boted" for this ridge, hence its name. The alternative ridge became known as Defeat Ridge.

The section of Bote Mtn trail between Finley Cane and Anthony Creek trails is about 3.7 miles long but has 3 distinct sections. The first mile is unrelentingly uphill and it about kicked my butt. Luckily there were several great places to stop and look across the valley to Defeat Ridge so I had a good excuse to stop and rest.

The middle 1.5 miles is a nice ridge-top stroll with relatively little elevation change - just some meandering up and down. The final 1.2 miles (from the Lead Cove trail junction up to the Anthony Creek trail junction) goes back to tough uphill slogging (and presumably the final 1.7 miles of the trail up to the A.T. are also pretty steep). I enjoy seeing the different kinds of trails in the Smokies. Finley Cane is dark and damp and the soil is rich and loamy. Bote Mountain on the other hand is dry, rocky and sandy due to the underlying sandstone and the lack of appreciable accumulation of organic material.

The next waypoint on the trail is the junction with the Lead Cove trail which would be my path back down to my car after I went the 1.2 miles up to the Anthony Creek trail junction.

As I was approaching this intersection I was startled out of my reverie by a doe jumping across the trail not more than 5 feet in front of me - apparently I startled her as much as she startled me! She didn't go far though, so after I settled down to watch she tentatively came back up on to the trail and let me get her picture.

I stopped for a snack and a drink here before heading the last 1.2 miles UP to the Anthony Creek trail junction.

The wildflowers were very nice along this section of the trail too, with more big patches of dwarf crested iris and a variety of other spring ephemerals. I finally reached the Anthony Creek trail junction and stopped for lunch.

It was all downhill from here. I retraced my steps back down to the Lead Cove trail and turned down back toward Laurel Creek Road and my car. This trail is not long (~ 1.8 miles) but is steep (1200 foot elevation change) so I was happy to be going down instead of up. Lead Cove trail was also graced with beautiful wildflowers, small creek crossings and beautiful trees. More Trilliums, Violets, Dogwoods and Magnolias.

At one point the trail skirted a recent blowdown - the root ball of the tree was so big that when it went down it took a chunk of the trail with it.

About 1:30 I made it back to the trailhead and my car. I finished the 9.5 miles in about 4.5 hours which included LOTS of wildflower watching and photographing and snack breaks. All in all it was a fantastic day to be out in the park, and the wildflowers were amazing! I especially recommend the Finley Cane trail for wildflowers - it's got a lot of diversity and is an easy and pleasant trail.

I plan to go back to this area soon - I want to do the Anthony Creek - Russell Field - A.T. - Bote Mtn - Anthony Creek trails loop as an overnight backpacking trip. I love getting up high in the Smokies and spring is a great time to be out.

til next time, happy hiking!

National Geographic Trails Illustrated Explorer 3D Software review

2011-04-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Last summer I saw a post by "Little Bryan" that showed a nice map image with the trail outlined and an elevation profile of his hike. When I asked how he had created it he told me about the National Geographic Trails Illustrated software. I finally took some time to research it and was pleased to see that it was both Mac and PC compatible (since I'm a Mac person). The few reviews I found online were just so-so... Their were complaints about the speed of the program, and about it's coverage. The version I got is specifically for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and that's all it covers. But it wasn't terribly expensive (about $20 including S&H) from the National Geographic store so I figured it was worth a shot.

The day it came in the mail I was very excited. I immediately loaded it onto my computer and started playing around with it. The first thing I did was use the embedded menu option to check for program updates which told me that my software was up to date - no new versions available. And I was deeply disappointed. It was VERY clunky, very slow, and none of the control buttons along the top of the map were actually functional. Using keystrokes I was finally able to get it to actually create a map for me, but then there were huge black boxes along the trail that obscured big chunks of the map. Practically useless. I was all set to write a scathing review and send it back when I did a little looking on the support page. It turns out that actually there IS an update for the Mac version to make it compatible with the latest operating system (Snow Leopard, Mac OS 10.6) despite the fact that the program told me that there were no new updates. Once I installed this update, things started working like they should. The menu buttons are there and they work. The trail shows up like it should with small yellow diamonds instead of huge black boxes marking waypoints along the trail.

Here's an example of what I was able to create - a map of a hike I took a couple of years ago up the Middle Prong - Lynn Camp Prong - Miry Ridge - Panther Creek - Middle Prong trails. I like it because it not only shows the actual route, but also provides an elevation profile.

Ok - so it works like it's supposed to now. And I'm able to create the kinds of maps I wanted to, and the route finder actually follows the existing trails (rather that having to try to trace them by hand as in the really old versions). BUT, I'm still not exactly thrilled with it. First, it's still slow and clunky. There are long delays between clicking a function button and being able to do that function. Second, it's not perfect in its tracking of trails. If you look closely at the picture above you can see regions of the trail that it cuts off (and thus don't get included in the mileage or elevation profile). And as far as I'm aware there's no way to export the maps / elevation profiles as anything other than pdf files or files read by the Trails Illustrated software. So to get the pic above I had to (1) create the map, (2) export it as a pdf, (3) capture the screen image from the pdf, (4) convert the captured screen image from a tiff file to a jpg file. Kind of a long process that should be easily done from within the program itself (e.g., "export as .jpg").

There are a number of other things the program does. You can do "flyovers" - see a 3D rendering of what the trail will look like as you hike it (also slow and clunky and not especially useful). You can "find" particular features (trails, lakes, etc.) using the Gazetteer feature. You can import/export GPS data (I haven't tried this feature yet).

So, I think I'm going to keep it and I'll use the clunky work arounds to produce pics I can put up on here, but if you're looking for a really seamless and easy-to-use program, I'm afraid this isn't it. But as far as I'm aware it is about the only software option out there. I'd be interested in other users thoughts on this program and/or alternatives.

Grotto Falls - Trillium Gap Trail

2011-03-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 1.4
Trail Miles Hiked: 2.8
19 March 2011

My wife Sarah and I traditionally spend a weekend in a cabin in Townsend, TN (the "quiet side of the Smokies") some time around our anniversary. We spend the Saturday of the weekend out on a hike, and then head back to the cabin to soak in the hot tub after eating dinner out (this year we ate at Miss Lily's Cafe in Townsend - it was fantastic!). This year we decided on a short and non-strenuous hike (in previous years we had done the Chimney Tops trail and the Old Sugarlands trail), but wanted to see something neat so we decided to go see Grotto Falls.

Grotto Falls is on the Trillium Gap trail which is in the Gatlinburg area off of Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. I had been in this area before when I did the Rainbow Falls - Bullhead trail loop up to Mt. LeConte, but I'd never been on Roaring Fork before.

We arrived around noon and the parking areas were absolutely packed, as was the trail. It was warm, but grey and cloudy and the trail was wet and muddy from recent rains.

We'd been moving up the trail for probably 10-15 minutes when a guy came running down the trail asking if we had cell phones with signal... Not a good sign. We moved a little further up the trail to find a gentleman who had slipped on a wet log, fallen and broken his leg. The guy running down the trail and his wife were the first folks to come across this guy after he'd fallen (he was hiking alone). We stayed with him and tried to get him as comfortable as possible, keep him warm and keep him talking while the other guy went to get help. Luckily he was able to get cell signal and call in the rescue squad. All in all we probably stayed with the guy for about an hour until the rescue squad got there and got him prepared to be evacuated. A number of people stopped to try to help, pray or commiserate with him and he was in remarkably good spirits for someone who was clearly in tremendous pain. I happened to be wearing my Boy Scouts sweatshirt and he had been a long time scout leader so we talked for a long time about scouts. It was particularly sad because he'd just had knee replacement surgery a couple of years earlier and was worried that this break might end his ability to get out on the trails that he loves. On the off chance that you ever read this blog Ray, I hope you're doing ok and that the docs got you fixed up! Maybe we'll see you out on the trails again some day.

We headed on up the trail after the rescue squad asked people to clear out to make room for the evacuation, but were in a bit of a somber mood. The trail and the clouds seemed to match our mood. The trail is well-worn and was very muddy. If the day we were there is any indication then it is a WELL-traveled trail. It winds along and up a ridge through some nice old-growth forest. As you come around a corner you get your first glimpse of Grotto Falls from well below.

We stopped a little further up the trail along the creek for lunch and then continued on up to Grotto Falls, which was every bit as crowded as Laurel Falls might be on an average day.

Grotto Falls is a big attraction because not only is it close to the trail head (just 1.4 miles of pretty easy hiking), but it's unique in that the trail actually passes behind the falls.

It really is a pretty area and the falls are well worth seeing. From here we turned back down and pretty soon the sun came out and warmed us up, both inside and out. Here's a view of the trail after the sun came out.

We made it back to the car (and talked a lot about Ray and wondered how he was doing) and prepared for the drive around the rest of Roaring Fork. I was really pleasantly surprised! In many ways Roaring Fork is a lot like Cades Cove - it was a thriving community and many of the cabins and homesites are still there and are being preserved by the park. It's different in that it's set in a beautiful and pretty narrow hollow made by the Roaring Fork instead of a wide valley like Cades Cove, but it has a lot of the same feeling.

We stopped by the Ephraim Bales homesite which was occupied from the late 1800s - early 1900s. A two room log cabin (one living area, one cooking area), a barn, smokehouse and hog pen, all situated near the banks of the Roaring Fork (which really was roaring with all the recent rain!).

I look forward to going back to Roaring Fork someday with the kids and exploring it more! I was a beautiful river and all kinds of cool cabins and houses along the way. From here we headed back to Townsend, dinner and hot tub.

As an aside, this morning we decided to go for another short hike before heading home. We headed up to the Middle Prong trailhead intending to meander up the Middle Prong trail for a while, but ended up being adventurous and taking the Thunderhead Prong-Defeat Ridge manway that leads to the right at the trailhead. While we only hiked a mile or two up the trail, it was easy to follow and led through a beautiful river valley. Definitely someplace we want to go back to and take the kids, and maybe one day I'll try the whole trail up to the A.T. on Thunderhead Mtn (although from what I've read about it, it sounds pretty daunting).

It was a great weekend with my sweet wife of 22 years, and a nice couple of days on the trails. Spring is definitely springing around here, and it's a great time to be out in the park.

til next time, happy hiking!

Meigs Mountain & Lumber Ridge Trails

2011-03-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 10.1
Trail Miles Hiked: 11.0
16 March 2011

First off - I have passed the 25% mark! I've now completed over 200 miles of trails in the Smokies. My map has lots of blue lines covering the trails I've finished (most of them in the northwest corner of the park) and I'm excited about the upcoming months and getting a bunch more trails checked off.

Now - today's hike was actually supposed to be an overnight backpack trip, but the weather intervened with rain most of Tuesday, so I decided just to take a long day hike today. The Meigs Mountain and Lumber Ridge trails connect Elkmont with Tremont. While the distance is a little over 10 miles it was a pretty easy day. There's not much elevation change, just some nice meandering up and down.

I cashed in one of my birthday coupons and had Sarah help me shuttle my car to Tremont and then drop me off at Elkmont. She and Duncan then hiked with me up the Jakes Creek trail to see the Avent Cabin.

Duncan liked my new trekking poles and decided he wants a pair himself. With all the rain we've had recently the creeks were all running high which made for some gorgeous little waterfalls all over the place.

Duncan took this picture of Sarah & me in front of the waterfall.

I got out my map and showed Duncan exactly where we were, and where I was planning to hike.

The hike from the Elkmont parking lot up Jakes Creek trail to the Avent Cabin is only about 0.8 miles. It's a beautiful little cabin I visited for the first time last month and I was excited to share it with Sarah & Duncan.

After looking over the cabin we hiked back down Jakes Creek trail to the Meigs Mountain trailhead where they left me and I started out my hike at about 11:45.

Meigs Mountain trail runs about 6 miles due west from Elkmont towards Tremont. Right off the bat it crosses over Jakes Creek (which was FULL of water) on a log bridge.

It then winds through an area that was fairly heavily settled before the park came into existence and you can still see the evidence of old rock walls, pieces and parts of machinery, and of course the daffodils (seems like everyone who ever built a house in the Smokies planted daffodils).

A little less than 2 miles from Elkmont the trail comes to backcountry campsite #20. This campsite is one of the "reservation required" sites, and sits at the confluence of several little creeks. It's pretty flat and open and has several good tent sites and fire rings, along with a few old pieces of machinery lying around. I stopped here for a snack and a drink. This would be a good site to come back to with a big group - not too far from the trailhead and a nice big open site.

From here the trail continues to meander up and down, mostly along ridge sides of the mountains it traverses. There are several creek crossings (easy rock hops, even with the high water) and it's a good trail. Lots of pretty cascades and the sound of rushing water to accompany you. This part of the trail is mostly on the north-facing side of the slope so it's cool and wet - lots of rhododendron and hemlock.

After about 4 miles you come to the junction of the Meigs Mountain trail with the Curry Mountain trail that comes up from Little River Road. Jesse and I did the Curry Mountain trail in Dec. of 2009 and it was neat to come back here and remember our hike together. When we were here before there was a blanket of snow everywhere!

From this juncture it's a short trip to couple of other points of interest. Just 0.2 miles past this intersection there is an old mountain cemetery just off the trail. It's very small, but still looks to be maintained. Almost all the headstones are simple flat pieces of rock that either never had names on them, or the names have faded away. There was only one "normal" headstone, for a woman, Polly Huskey, who lived from 1866-1909.

Just another 0.2 miles beyond the cemetery you come to backcountry campsite #19. This is apparently an old homesite, although where one would put the house, barn and smokehouse that were supposed to be here is beyond me! It's a fairly small campsite and situated on a pretty steep bank, but would make a really nice spot for a small group or solo camp (this is where I had intended to stay if the weather hadn't been rainy). There was a guy camping here and I also met the Adopt-a-Trail volunteer who covers this trail as well as campsites #19 & #20.

This is also where I stopped for lunch and a break at about 2 pm. Hot & Spicy ramen noodles - yum!

About 1.5 miles beyond campsite #19 the Meigs Mountain trail ends at Buckhorn Gap where it meets the Meigs Creek trail (coming up from Little River Road at the Sinks) and the Lumber Ridge trail (coming up from Tremont). I did the Meigs Creek trail last fall, so this was another deja vu moment for me. There is also an unmaintained trail ("manway") that leads from here down to Spruce Flat Falls near Tremont. I just read someone's description of that the other day and I look forward to giving it a try myself someday (sounds like a good summer trip with lots of water crossings).

From here I jumped on to the Lumber Ridge trail to take me the last 4.1 miles down to Tremont and my car. The trail immediately veers onto a south-facing slope and you can immediately tell the difference in the vegetation. South-facing slopes tend to get more sun and are thus drier, so you get a lot more pines and mountain laurels and fewer hemlocks and rhododendrons. At several places along the Lumber Ridge trail you can see the recent devastation wreaked by the pine bark beetle. Lots of areas of standing dead and downed pines.

Heading in this direction the Lumber Ridge trail stays fairly level for about the first mile and then starts to ascend Lumber Ridge. This was the only tough part of today's hike - an elevation gain of about 500 feet over the course of 0.5 miles.

The trail peaks near the top of Lumber Ridge at a place called "the saddle" which is exactly what it looks like. I stopped here for another snack and drink.

From here the trail descends about 1300 feet over about 2.5 miles to Tremont. The trail weaves back and forth between north-facing & south-facing slopes, and the drop-off the side of the trail gets much steeper. There are a number of great vantage points along here where you can look out and see the mountains close by. I took a picture, but a photograph can never capture the true subtle beauty of the smokies...

By now it was getting late in the day - around 4 or 4:30 - and it had been pretty grey all day. It was a good temperature for hiking, but I missed having some sunshine. Then all of a sudden the clouds parted and the sun came out! I was so happy I took a picture just because the light looked so nice slanting through the trees!

The trail switchbacks down the mountain toward Tremont and in places you can hear the roar of water below and catch glimpses of the road. At one point, maybe a mile above Tremont I came across this post in front of a side trail that looked like it was leading down toward Spruce Flats. Anybody know where this trail leads or why it's marked with an "M"?

I finally strolled into Tremont right at 5 pm, so it took me about 5 hours 15 minutes to cover the 10.1 miles and that included several stops for lunch, snacks, drinks, etc.

I highly recommend this hike either for an easy overnight backpack trip or a long day hike. The terrain is pleasant and not terribly challenging. There's lots of cultural history to be seen, and it seems to be pretty good for wildflowers as well although it's still quite early in the season.

It was a great day to be out in the smokies, and thanks to Sarah and Duncan for helping me shuttle and hiking up to the Avent Cabin with me!

til next time, happy hiking!

Jakes Creek Trail

2011-02-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 3.0
Trail Miles Hiked: 7.2
Elevation Gain: 1600 feet
20 Feb. 2011

Phew! It's been over 2 months since my last hike, and I can't tell you how much I've been itching to get out. I had planned to take a couple of day trips over the Christmas holidays, but the weather got in the way. We had a lot of snow here in December and January - and it's not that that snow scares me away from the trails - it's that the roads in and around the park close when there's snow.

In contrast to all the snow of December & January, the last couple of weeks have been positively spring-like. Temps in the 60s and beautiful sunshine. So today I FINALLY decided I just had to get out. I took off this afternoon and arrived at the Jakes Creek trailhead around 2:30 to head up the Jakes Creek Trail.

I'm very familiar with this general area having previously hiked the Little River and Cucumber Gap trails, and having camped at Elkmont with my family on several occasions (it definitely ranks as my favorite Smokies campground, especially the sites right along the river). The park has recently renovated the parking areas here, and it was a much-needed improvement. There are now plenty of designated parking areas, so folks don't have to park on the side of the road (and muddy up the banks), and it looks much better! You might say "they paved paradise and put up a parking lot" but in this case it's a good thing!

Jakes Creek trail starts at the upper edge of the Elkmont cabin community and basically follows Jakes Creek up-valley to Jakes Gap (between Blanket Mtn & Dripping Spring Mtn) where it meets up with the Miry Ridge and Panther Creek trails. The operative word here is "up"... The trail gains about 1600 feet in elevation over its 3.6 miles (or 3.7 if you believe the sign instead of the map). That might not sound like much, but it was a steady up - no flat spots, just up, up, up... And I haven't been out hiking for 2 months so I'm probably out of of shape.

Regardless, it was a beautiful day to be out and there was a feeling of expectation in the air. While it's still winter and most everything is brown and bare there was a hint of spring. Jakes Creek was full of melted snow and was rushing along quite happily.

The trail follows an old gravel railroad bed for about the first third. This area was logged prior to the establishment of the park, and the railroad was used to extract the logs. It makes for easy hiking - the trail is wide and level so one can look around rather than constantly having to watch the trail for rocks or roots waiting to snare the unwary. At the end of the gravel the trail crosses over a creek (Newt Prong) that drains into Jakes Creek.

I love these log bridges - the just seem so perfect. And they usually offer outstanding views up and downstream of the beautiful mountain streams they cross. From here the trail becomes more typical - narrower and full of rocks and tree roots so you have to watch your step. The up, up, up continues through beautiful rhododendron and hemlock forest, and there are a lot of Magnolias along the trail as well - the trail was littered with last year's fruits. It must be gorgeous in the April and May when they're all in flower.

Near the top of the trail is backcountry campsite #27. Jakes Creek trail is both a horse and hiking trail, and campsite 27 is apparently pretty heavily used. There are several tent spots and a few fire rings in addition to the designated one. As you come into the site from the trail there's a huge rock right near the entrance, and the designated fire ring is right in front of it.

I stopped here for a rest, snack and a drink and surveyed the campsite. Like many backcountry campsites, this one shows the signs of abuse. There was a lot of trash, both in and around the fire rings and the fire ring was full of ash. The water source is presumably Jakes Creek, but that's a bit of a hike downhill to get to the water. Overall I'd give this campsite just a moderate rating.

I've finally figured out how to use the timer on the camera, so I can get some shots of myself when I go out for solo hikes. Here's me sitting in front of the fire ring at campsite 27.

While I was here I took a photo of two new backpacking toys I got for Christmas/birthday: a Kelty Redwing 3100 pack and a pair of Leki Makalu trekking poles.

The pack was a birthday present I bought for myself :-) My old day pack is probably 10 years old and was purchased at Wal-Mart... It served me well, but as I started to carry more stuff even on day hikes (lots of water, food, extra clothes, rain gear, the "10 essentials", etc) I was getting sore shoulders because it didn't have a belt. So I bought myself the Redwing to serve as a large daypack and I love it! It's very comfortable - I got the 3100 (instead of the smaller 2650 cubic inch version) because I'm tall and have a long torso so i needed the extra height. The trekking poles I got as a birthday gift from my brother, sister-in-law, my mom and her husband. We were in Charlotte, NC and they gave me some cash to spend at the local REI store! I've been wanting trekking poles for a while and was happy to be able to give them a try. Overall I'm quite happy with them - they're comfortable and were really useful on both the uphills and downhills of Jakes Creek trail and over the several rock-hops over creeks. One of them needs some adjustment (the bottom section kept slipping), but I'm sure it will be easy to take care of and I'm happy to have the extra support and balance they offer.

From campsite #27 it's not far to the top of the trail at the junction of Jakes Creek, Miry Ridge and Panther Creek trails. (and here's another self-portrait)

One of the things I love about hiking all the trails in the Smokies is coming back to places I've been before, and this was one of those times. I loop-hiked the Middle Prong-Lynn Camp Prong-Miry Ridge-Panther Creek trails a couple of years ago and so passed by this trail junction before. I remember the morning well. I met a group of hikers here, and one of them was wearing a Philmont hat. Our Boy Scout troop was planning a Philmont expedition so I talked with him quite a while about his experiences at Philmont and Boy Scouts in general. I remember thinking at the time that someday I might be back to see what was down that other trail... And there I was today!

One last surprise for the day: while I was taking my snack break at the campsite I got out the map to see how far it was to the top of the trail and I noticed something on the map I hadn't seen before. Not too far up the Jakes Creek trail was supposedly a footbridge across Jakes Creek to the Avent Cabin. I hadn't noticed anything on the way up, but decided to keep my eyes open on the way down. Sure enough, not far down from the log bridge on Jakes Creek trail I spied a footbridge. I should point out that Jakes Creek trail is on a ridge well above Jakes Creek for most of the way, and you only get occasional glimpses of the creek from high above, so it's really NOT obvious. I bushwhacked downhill for a ways toward to bridge and then came upon a trail leading to it. I followed the trail to the bridge which led across an absolutely gorgeous section of the creek.

Across the creek and up the bank there was the Avent Cabin - an absolutely phenomenally beautiful little log cabin. Set right above the creek with lots of big windows - just one room on the bottom floor (with a fireplace), a loft, and a great front porch.

Although I first didn't recognize the name, once I actually saw the cabin I realized that I HAD heard of it before. In fact, less than 2 weeks ago William Britten's photo blog that I follow had a blog about it! I recognized it as the same cabin as soon as I saw it. Definitely someplace I want to take the family back to see. The funny thing is, it's not easy to find unless you know it's there. The trail to it is not marked, nor is it obvious from the main trail (there are some makeshift steps leading down the first little bit that you might notice if you're looking for them). The Little Brown Book doesn't mention it (at least not the 2001 edition I have). But now that I know it's there and how to get to it I'll definitely be going back.

So overall it was a great trip. I'm worn out from the hike - need to get out more and get back into shape! But it was a great day with beautiful weather and a good trail. Can't ask for much more than that. All told it took me about 3.5 hours to make the 7.2 miles roundtrip.

til next time, happy hiking!

birthday present :-)

2010-12-26T16:25:00.000-08:00

what do you get for a hiker who has most of the gear he needs? just ask my wife - she found the perfect birthday present.

I got five of the coupons pictured below for my birthday today. now all I need is some free time and I'll be off to the mountains!

yes - she IS the best wife ever. thanks darlin!

1 Year Anniversary

2010-12-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

It was almost a year ago that I made the decision to try to hike all 800 miles of trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I've always been an avid hiker and backpacker, and have long dreamed of through-hiking the Appalachian Trail, but living just 20 minutes from the Smokies it made sense to set my sights on something a little more local and doable within my current time constraints...

Since last December I have:

spent 19 days on the trails in the Smokies
taken 3 overnight backpacking trips in the Smokies
completed 80.8 miles of new trails
hiked a total of 137.6 miles of trails

Making the decision to do this has changed the way I think about hiking, mostly for the good I think.

For example, I'm less likely to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon slugging on the couch or mindlessly playing games on Facebook, and I'm much more likely to get my butt out of the house and out on to the trails. I'm also much more likely to go someplace new. In the past I've often gone back to the same trails over and over again because they're easy to get to, or have a neat waterfall or view. But now I'll look at my map and try to find someplace I've never been and it's made me explore parts of the park that I probably wouldn't have gone otherwise.

The downside is that I'm starting to exhaust the trails that are relatively close to my house. With the exception of a few trails in the Cades Cove area I've done most of the trails in the northwestern part of the park. This means I'm going to have to be more deliberate about planning and will have to range further from home to complete new areas.

My goal for the upcoming year is to complete at least 100 miles of trails. The biggest change I'll have to make to accomplish this is to do at least a couple of long-distance backpacking trips. The majority of my hikes over the last year have been day hikes that checked off less than 10 miles of trails. I can get a lot more bang for the buck by doing some multi-day backpacking trips that cover 20 or 30 miles of trail. This makes sense anyway because I'll be doing more trails that are farther away from my home. If I'm going to take the time to drive over to the eastern or southern part of the park I might as well stay for a couple of days and do some major mileage.

Til next time, happy hiking and happy winter solstice!

Porter's Creek Trail

2010-12-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 3.7
Total Miles Hiked: 7.4
10-11 Dec. 2010

Our Boy Scout troop has a tradition of taking an early December winter backpacking trip. This year we chose the Porter's Creek trail up to campsite #31. This hike is in the Greenbrier section of the Smokies. I haven't spent much time in this section of the park, but it strikes me as not nearly as developed or visited as the Cades Cove and Elkmont areas that I'm more familiar with. Porter's Creek trail is famous for its spring wildflower display, but it was really gorgeous in the snow too!

We got to the trailhead around 3 pm and set off. The first part of the trail winds through an area that was heavily settled before the park. You can still see evidence of human habitation like rock walls and stairs, and there's the Ownby cemetary that's still maintained by the family.

The trail crosses the creek several places, but the last log bridge across the creek presented us with an obstacle. The narrow log was still in place, but part of the rails had gotten pushed over (high water? falling tree?), and the bridge was a good 10 feet or so above a deep and quick part of the creek with no obvious places to ford in sight.

So we carefully inched our way across the bridge on our butts - it took a while, but we all made it safely across!

From here the trail winds its way up the valley until it dead-ends at Campsite #31. Since we were going up hill and it was starting to get dark it SEEMED like we'd hiked more than 3.7 miles, and some of the boys were starting to worry that we'd hiked too far and that maybe we'd missed the campsite in the dark. But we finally arrived, and set up tents and cooked dinner by head lamp. Most of the available wood was crusted with snow, so our campfire was small and pretty pathetic, but at least it added a little light and warmth to the evening. It was pretty chilly out so we were all cozy in our sleeping bags by about 9 pm.

The morning was clear and sunny and we all finally climbed out of our warm bags and set about making breakfast. Oatmeal, fried spam and Starbucks instant coffee for me :-) (in the picture below that's our scoutmaster, Shane on the ground cooking, and one of our scouts enjoying his oatmeal)

The morning was spent eating breakfast, filtering water from the creek to refill our water bottles, and packing up camp. There is a water source that's close to the campsite entrance, but it's a shallow muddy little spring, so we opted to hike down a steep bank to Porter's Creek. It was absolutely gorgeous in the snow!

Before we got completely packed up a snow-ball fight broke out, so there was much running to and fro and dodging of icy projectiles. Eventually we got the tents taken down and packed up and ready to head back down to the trail head.

In the light and (relative) warmth of the morning (not to mention going down hill) the 3.7 miles didn't seem nearly as bad as they had coming up, so the boys were all in good spirits. We passed Fern Branch Falls - a nice tall cascade down a flat rock face just uphill of the trail. While you can't see it in the picture below, there were rows of icicles hanging from the rock faces that flank the falls.

We stopped for lunch at the broken bridge and then made quick work of getting back over it.

The rest of the trip down passed uneventfully, and we were back home by late afternoon. It was a great backpack, and I was really proud of our scouts! Not only did they deal well with the cold and the snow, but also the unexpected challenge of the bridge. It's a great group of guys and I always enjoy backpacking and hiking with them (and especially with our scoutmaster Shane). I look forward to going back to this trail again in the spring when the wildflowers are out. But I'm learning more and more how much I love winter hiking and backpacking! Since Christmas break is coming up soon I'm looking forward to some more hiking soon.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Rich Mountain & Indian Grave Gap Trails

2010-11-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 3.4
Trail Miles Hiked: 8.4
27 Nov. 2010

Back about 10 years ago when Jesse was 7 years old and a Tiger Cub Scout we hiked the Rich Mountain loop, but that left a chunk of the Indian Grave Gap trail un-hiked, as well as the Rich Mountain Trail. So on this weekend after Thanksgiving I got out to finish off these two little pieces.

Rich Mountain trail starts at Rich Mtn. gap where Rich Mtn. road comes out of Cades Cove and down into Townsend. From the gap the trail rises 1500' in 2.3 miles up to meet Indian Grave Gap trail near campsite #5. From there I took Indian Grave Gap trail southwest to where it meets up with Rich Mtn road - an elevation loss of about 1000'. And then I turned around and went back...

There were a few cars at the trail-head when I arrived around 9:30 am - some bicyclists who were going down the Rich Mtn road, and some horse folks who were going up the Ace Gap trail, but I had the Rich Mtn. trail all to myself most of the day. The trail starts rising right off the bat and is pretty relentless all the way up. The trail skirts the northern border of the park for much of its length and there are some good views down into Dry Valley on the Townsend side.

It was hovering right around 32 degrees when I started out this morning and there were some cool "ice flowers" along much of the trail. I also saw a cool Earth Star (a puff-ball-like fungus).

The trail crests near campsite #5. This is a small campsite in a narrow draw - probably not room for more than 2 or 3 small tents, but with a nice campfire area.

Just up the trail from the campsite is the junction of the Rich Mtn. trail with the Indian Grave Gap trail. I had hiked the 0.8 mile section of the Indian Grave previously, but needed to re-hike it to get to the 1.1 mile section between the Rich Mtn loop and Rich Mtn road.

Indian Grave Gap trail drops 1000' over 1.1 miles, and travels along some nice open ridges with great views down into Cades Cove.

There were lots of grape vines in the trees through here, and the trail was littered with fallen grapes. I'm surprised the bears didn't get to them.

In one spot you could really see the devastation from the Pine Bark Beetle that has killed off large swathes of pine trees in the park.

The trail dead-ends at the Rich Mountain road. I stopped here for a snack and a drink and to soak in some sunshine. The temp was around 45 degrees here at about 12 noon.

From here I turned around and retraced my steps. The hike back seemed a lot easier, and I was back home by 2 pm. A great way to spend a Saturday morning, and nice to get back on the trails.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Gabes Mountain Trail

2010-10-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 2.2
Trail Miles Hiked: 4.4
7 Oct. 2010

Fall is definitely in the air around here. Chilly nights and warm sunny days. And it's fall break at UT so we decided to go for a one-night camping trip last night since we've got other obligations coming up this weekend.

We've been camping at the Cosby campground in the Smokies a couple of times before, and really enjoyed it. Compared to our usual haunts (mostly Elkmont, occasionally Cades Cove) the Cosby campground is lightly used, and last night was no exception. While there were other campers around we didn't see or hear much of them.

We got a nice fire going, fixed our hobo meals, and mostly sat around the fire relaxing and talking. That was something Sarah & I both really needed after some long, stressful weeks. The night was chilly, but we were snug in our tent and sleeping bags and after a breakfast of pancakes & sausages we packed up and got ready to hit the trail.

There are several trails in the Cosby area, and I've never been on any of them. When I saw that the Gabes Mtn. trail led to Henwallow Falls in just 2.2 miles I thought that would be a perfect family hike.

The trail head is near the entrance to the Cosby campground. The trail winds gently (for the most part) up about 800 ft in elevation gain to the side trail to Henwallow Falls. It's a beautiful trail - lined with rhododendrons, magnolias, hemlocks, and maples, and has several creek crossings on log bridges. The weather was perfect - cool, but sunny - great hiking weather!

About half-way to the falls you reach an area that "Hiking Trails of the Smokies" describes as a "traffic loop" - apparently an old road used to come in from Cosby and Henwallow Falls was a popular destination for an afternoon drive. There's a sign here telling you how far you are from either end of the trail.

The book also mentions that there were some homesites in this area and that chimneys and foundations can still be found. We looked, but didn't find any old home sites, but I did find something odd. Not far off the trail was what looked like a grave marker - a small stone marker that just said "Jennifer" - no birth or death date, or anything else. I'm very curious why this is here and who it's for.

From here the trail gets a bit steeper, but in just over a mile you find yourself at the spur trail that leads down to Henwallow Falls.

The trail down is steep and full of rocks and roots. At the bottom of this spur trail you come to the falls.

It's a very pretty place, and was a great spot to stop for lunch and a rest. Good rocks to climb on for a 9-year old, and some good rocks for sitting on for the rest of us.

The trip back was mostly down hill and went quickly. It was really nice to get away from everything for a couple of days, and a fantastic hike with the family. I look forward to seeing what the other end of the Gabes Mtn. trail looks like someday soon, and exploring more of the trails around Cosby eventually.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Meigs Creek Trail

2010-09-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 3.5
Trail Miles Hiked: 7.0
6 Sept. 2010

Happy Labor Day! What better way to start off a holiday than with an invigorating hike? I hopped out of bed bright and early this morning and got to the Meigs Creek trailhead at the Sinks by about 7:15 am. Despite the fact this it's a holiday there weren't many folks out and about that early, and I only saw two other pairs of hikers on my hike.

Meigs Creek trail winds up and over a western ridge of Curry He Mountain, and then up a fairly narrow draw following the banks of Meigs Creek which ultimately drains into the Little River. The Little Brown Book says that this is a good trail to practice your rock-hopping skills, and suggests that the many creek crossings can be difficult or dangerous when the water is high. It's been hot and dry for a while now, so the 18+ creek crossings were no problem for me today. Here's an example of one of the lower crossings.

The trail leaves the newly renovated Sinks parking area (which is VERY nice compared to what it used to look like) and rises fairly steeply over the first mile as it skirts a ridge of Curry He Mountain. It's an interesting contrast of north-facing vs. south-facing slopes. The first mile as you're going up the ridge is a north-facing slope and is damp, cool and shady with plants like rhododendron, maples, hemlocks and lots of ferns. As you cross over the ridge and begin to descend down to Meigs Creek you move onto a south-facing slope that is considerably drier and more exposed and has more pines, oaks and mountain laurels.

You can hear Meigs Creek before you actually get to it, and it's a typically gorgeous little mountain creek. Lots of rocks and little pools, with the banks overhung with rhododendron & hemlock (although sadly many of the hemlocks are dead or dying from the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid infestation). There are no bridges across the creek, and I counted 18 crossings ranging from around 8 feet across to less than 2 feet. But the water was low today and there was no problem rock hopping.

The trail follows Meigs Creek from here up a fairly narrow draw, so there wasn't much sunlight and it was a gorgeous cool, dim, misty morning. There's a beautiful little waterfall right off the trail - probably 15 feet high - cascading down a mossy face.

This is quite a ferny hike - lots of New York fern, and one of my favorite ferns - the northern Maidenhair fern.

Meigs Creek trail dead-ends at Buckhorn Gap where it meets the Meigs Mountain and Lumber Ridge trails. I stopped for a quick break and a snack before turning around to head back to the car. Sitting there enjoying my snacks I looked up to see the sun filtering through the trees. It was just plain gorgeous!

The trip back down was uneventful. It took me a total of 2 1/2 hours to make the 7 mile round trip hike - a pretty good rate. I was home by 11 am and energized for the rest of the day. I'd definitely recommend this hike - it's short, not too strenuous and Meigs Creek is beautiful!

So til next time, happy hiking!

Alum Cave Trail

2010-07-30T14:27:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 5.0
Trail Miles Hiked: 11.0
30 July 2010

Alum Cave Trail is just one of several routes to the top of Mt. LeConte. I had previously hiked a chunk of this trail, but didn't make it all the way up to the top to finish it off. My friend Tim had informed me earlier this summer that if we didn't get to go hiking together sometime soon then our friendship was over :-) So I talked to Tim at a pool party Wednesday night, looked at my calendar on Thursday and said "What about tomorrow?" Tim said "Sure!" so this morning off we went. We wanted to get an early start, so I set the alarm for 5 am, and was actually up before the alarm went off. Picked Tim up and we left his house around 6:30 am, and got to the trailhead around 7:30 am. (for those of you who know me well, you will realize that this is an amazing feat all by itself).

Alum Cave trail starts out near Newfound Gap Road about 1/2 way up from Sugarlands to Newfound Gap. It's a VERY popular trail for several reasons, and the parking lots are nearly always full to overflowing by early morning. It's the shortest trail to Mt. LeConte, Alum Cave Bluff is an amazing sight in its own right, and there are a lot of great views from this very rocky trail that hugs the side of the mountain.

The weather today was perfect: cool, yet sunny this morning; warming up as the morning wore on, but with great weather and views from the top of LeConte. One of the first interesting places on the trail is Arch Rock which is exactly what it sounds like. The trail goes up a stone stairway under the arch.

Today there was water EVERYWHERE! The trail was wet, the rock faces along the trail were seeping and running with water, and the creeks along the trail were full and loud. It was absolutely beautiful. My previous trip on this trail was in the fall - October I think - and it was very dry, so it was a pleasant surprise to see so much water.

The next attraction is Alum Cave Bluff itself. It's not really a cave - more like a very tall overhanging rock wall. Below is a view of the bluff - that's Tim taking a picture for some friendly folks at the bluff.

There was a constant rain of water coming down from the edge of the bluff - it was so cool to stand at the bottom and look up at the cascade of droplets raining down. The picture below doesn't do it justice unfortunately, but if you look closely you can see some of the water droplets.

From Alum Cave Bluff the trail up the rest of LeConte gets rockier and slicker since it was wet, and in many places there are cables attached to the rock face to give hikers a hand-hold so they don't go sliding several hundred feet down the side of the mountain. There are some AMAZING views down into the valley from here.

Unfortunately, sometime shortly after this last picture my foot slid on a wet rock and I fell down - right on top of the camera that was in my pocket... The camera is now kaput, but luckily I wasn't hurt.

We arrived safely on top of LeConte and stopped at the LeConte Lodge picnic tables for a snack and a drink, and to enjoy the sunshine. After a rest we headed a little further up the trail to see the Mt. LeConte shelter and then took the side trail to Cliff Tops to see the view (which was awesome). From there we headed back down the trail. It was absolutely packed today with folks going down from the LeConte Lodge or heading up to the LeConte Lodge or just taking a beautiful day for a hike. It was great to spend a day in the mountains with my buddy Tim, and I look forward to more hikes with him in the near future.

I think that Alum Cave Trail may rate as one of my all-time favorites in the Smokies thus far. The trail is challenging but beautiful and the many views are well worth the effort. This is the second time this summer I've been up LeConte, and I'm excited about taking a trip up sometime to stay the night.

Til next time, happy hiking!

So... really, how many miles of trails are there?

2010-07-28T13:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so confused... When I started this journey I had it in my head that there were approximately 900 miles of trails in the Great Smoky Mountains N.P. (hence the blog name). I guess that number came primarily from the "900 miler club" - their web site says "Within the boundaries of the GSMNP are about 900 miles of maintained hiking trails..." On the other hand the GSMNP official website says "Choose from over 800 miles of trails..."

This past Father's Day I got Liz Etnier's excellent book "Day Hikers Guide to All the Trails in the Smoky Mountains" (which I highly recommend!). In the appendix of her book she lists a total of 791.4 miles which she compiled from the 3rd edition of the Hiking Trails of the Smokies book and the 2003 version of the trail map. Because this is just the way I am, I sat down with my 2001 2nd edition copy of Hiking Trails of the Smokies and added up all the miles of trails listed in that book. I came up with a total of 794.4 miles.

SO - it looks like my 900-mile quest has turned into an 800-mile quest. I have modified my "odometer" accordingly (it only affects the percentage of the trails I've done). I don't plan to change my blog name though, since in order to finish all 800 miles of trails in the park I'll easily have to hike well over 900.

Regardless of whether it's 800 or 900 miles, the quest to finish all the trails in the Smokies has become a passion (my wife might say obsession). I've already seen so many new parts of the park and enjoyed many trails I might never have taken that I'd say it's already been a success. I've got a couple of hikes in the Abrams Falls / Cades Cove area percolating around in my head to finish off that section of the park sometime this summer. Maybe I'll see you out on the trails.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Laurel Falls and Cove Mountain Trails

2010-07-21T19:45:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 12.5
Trail Miles Hiked: 12.6
21 July 2010

When I decided to hike all of the trails in the Smokies, I knew that meant I'd have to go back and hike the Laurel Falls trail again, which I did NOT relish. For those of you not familiar with it, the Laurel Falls trail is probably the most hiked trail in the whole park (at least the first 1.3 miles of it). It's paved, always crowded, and (in my humble opinion) leads to a very mediocre water fall...

But in order to finish the trail and get to the Cove Mountain trail, I had to do it again. Sarah agreed to help me shuttle my car to Sugarlands Visitor Center and then took me up to the Laurel Falls trailhead. She and Duncan joined me for the first part of the trail (up to the falls) and it was a nice day for a hike. There were zillions of people, but almost all of them stopped at the falls and then turned around to go back to the parking lot.

From the falls the trail winds its way up to the crest of Cove Mountain. There's an elevation gain of about 1500 feet from the parking lot to the top of Cove Mountain over a 4-mile stretch of trail. It's a fairly steady climb, but rarely steep except for the last 1/2 mile.

Along the way up Laurel Falls trail I passed the junction with the Little Greenbrier trail. I can vividly remember the January day I hiked that trail, and imaging when I might be back. That's one of the neat things about doing all the trails in the park - seeing how they all connect with each other.

According to the little brown book, the area above Laurel Falls was never logged or burned, and represents true old-growth Smokies forest. I can believe it now, having seen the trees. There are some of the biggest trees I've ever seen in the park in this area - particularly the Tulip Poplars. The one pictured below was easily 6 or 8 feet in diameter at the base, and it was just one of many really big trees.

The trail winds up the ridge and ultimately terminates at the top of Cove Mountain where the Laurel Falls trail and Cove Mountain trail meet.

My way down was to the right (east), but first there was a short (0.1 mile) up to the old fire tower which has been converted to an air pollution research station. You can climb about 1/3 of the way up the tower, but that doesn't get you above the trees so there aren't any good views.

From here I headed back down the Cove Mountain trail which ends at the Park Headquarters near the Sugarlands Visitor Center. It's a different kind of trail from the usual Smokies trail. It looks more like an old road, complete with tire ruts, than a trail. It also looks like it's not used very often as it was quite grassy.

Cove Mountain trail winds along the northern boundary of the park, and slowly descends from the summit of Cove Mountain (4000 ft) to Sugarlands (1500 ft) over 8.5 miles. There's not much along the way to break up the hike - no trail junctions or overlooks - just hiking along. There were some cool plants though.

Stump sprouts of old chestnut trees

Turk's Cap Lily

Downy Rattlesnake Plantain Orchid

Yellow fringed orchid

Blackberries, blueberries, and huckleberries, all almost ripe

And while I didn't actually see any bears, there are clearly a LOT of bears in the area because the whole trail was covered with piles like this:

The trail is so close to the border of the park that in many places there are roads and houses that are very close to the trail. This amazing house was literally 5 feet from the trail. There was a sign on the tree that said "Forget the dog, beware of owner!"

As the trail approaches Sugarlands there's a waterfall called Cataract Falls. I don't know if it's just because there hasn't been much rain lately, or what, but it was pretty pathetic looking. [*see note at bottom of post]

The trail ends up at the Park Headquarters, just down the road from Sugarlands Visitor Center where my car was parked. After 12.5 miles it was a nice sight to see, although I could hear the traffic from about a mile up on the trail. (Note that the trail mileage on this sign differs from the sign on top of Cove Mountain by 0.2 miles - I'm not sure which one is more accurate, although this sign is clearly newer)

All in all it was a good day on the trail. I'd love to go back to the Laurel Falls trail and spend some more time looking at the big trees, and the wildflowers on the Cove Mountain trail were great. It was a nice solo hike - lots of solitude and time to think.

Til next time, happy hiking.

*note added 2 March 2011: apparently Cataract Falls is NOT always pathetic looking... just saw a recent picture of the falls overflowing with water and it was quite beautiful! for example check out the picture here. my photo was from the height of the dry season (mid-summer) while the falls seem to be best observed in spring when the water is really moving.

Duncan's first backpacking trip.

2010-07-16T11:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so this post has nothing to do with me completing all the trails in the Smokies, but it is a milestone nonetheless. Duncan and I just got back from his first ever backpacking trip! He's 9 years old and we have done a LOT of car camping and hiking in the Smokies as a family, but he's never gone backpacking before.

I recently purchased a used backpack at a garage sale that fits him well, and Sarah and Laurel are out of town this week, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to take to the trails. To break him in gently we picked a hike from Abram's Creek campground to Campsite #1 along the Cooper Road trail. The total distance is about 1.5 miles, and the trail is relatively flat, so it's perfect for a first backpack.

Campsite #1 is a nice big open site, with 3 different fire rings / tent areas, but we were the only ones there last night. Kingfisher Creek runs at the back of the site, and we set up our tent on the other side of the creek.

We explored, played in the creek, ate dinner, made Jiffy-Pop popcorn, and had a campfire. We enjoyed just sitting around and chatting for most of the evening until heading to bed around 10 pm.

This morning we got up and cooked breakfast - pancakes with powdered sugar.

After breakfast we packed up camp and got ready to head back.

On the way back we stopped at a spot on Abram's Creek for some swimming and exploring. The water was cold, but refreshing, and the creek is deep enough to enjoy swimming, but also shallow enough to climb on the rocks and relax.

While exploring we came to a rock and Duncan said "What's that?" I turned around and saw what I thought was a dead snake - then I moved toward it and it moved too! Turned out to be a young copperhead sunning himself on a rock. Glad I didn't sit on him!

We decided to make lunch there by the creek, so Duncan played while I cooked. Mac & cheese for him and tuna & crackers for me. Nothing like cooking lunch sitting on the bank of a creek in the Smokies!

After lunch we lazed around for a little while before packing up and heading the last little bit down the trail.

It was a great trip with my little buddy, and I have a feeling it will just be the first of MANY backpacking trips we'll take together. I think he had a good time and I know I did.

Til next time, happy hiking!

Rainbow Falls and Bullhead Trails

2010-06-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 12.9
Trail Miles Hiked: 14.2
Elevation Gained: 4,000 ft!!!
23 June, 2010

I've been wanting to do some longer hikes and to get up high in the Smokies, so yesterday I did both. I've never been to the summit of Mt. LeConte before and the combination of the Rainbow Falls trail up to LeConte and the Bullhead trail back down made for a good loop hike.

I hit the trail at the Rainbow Falls trailhead around 10:15 am. Despite the fact that it was a Wednesday morning the trailhead parking lot was already full, and there were lots of folks on the trail. Many were just going up to Rainbow Falls and back down, but many were hiking all the way up to LeConte to stay at the Lodge. Rainbow Falls trail has all the things I love about the Smokies - it follows LeConte creek so there's always the sound of running water in the background, it's got BIG rocks and waterfalls, a great diversity of plants, and a good trail. The fact that it gains 4000 ft in elevation from the trailhead to the summit of Mt. LeConte just makes it a wee bit more challenging that your usual trail...

2.7 miles up the trail you come to Rainbow Falls. It's a tall waterfall with a narrow falls over a wide rock lip. I can imagine how amazing it might be right after a big rain! Supposedly on sunny days you can see a rainbow from the mist of the falls, but i was pretty overcast when I was there, so no rainbow. It's a beautiful spot nonetheless.

From here on up the trail continuously ascends along the flanks of Mt. LeConte. The uphill is relentless, although rarely steep. As you climb you enter into the higher-elevation vegetation and start to see the spruce trees (smells like Christmas!).

This side trail led to a nice overlook - at least it would have been a nice view if the entire mountain hadn't been wreathed in clouds. Still - it's cool to stand on the edge of a cliff and look out into white nothingness and realize you're standing on the side of a mountain!

As you get closer to the top you reach the junction of the Rainbow Falls and Bullhead trails. The Bullhead trail was my return route, so I turned left up toward LeConte (the sign here says is only 0.6 miles, but it sure felt like more than that!).

There are several different trails that one can take up to Mt. LeConte: Rainbow Falls, Bullhead, Trillium Gap, Alum Cave, and the Boulevard. They all approach from different sides, and of course they ultimately meet somewhere near the summit. I had actually intended to take the Alum Cave trail yesterday with my friend Tim, but he had to bail at the last minute so I promised him we'd hike it together a different day.

Coming up the Rainbow Falls trail the first sign that you're reaching the top is LeConte Lodge. It's a collection of small cabins with a dining hall and office, and one can make reservations to stay. It's a privately run organization within the park. I don't know that much about it, but I did find it sadly ironic that there are park service signs all over the place telling people to stay on the trails so they don't damage the fragile high elevation ecosystem, yet LeConte Lodge takes up several acres of the fragile ecosystem with buildings and trails of its own.

Continuing on up the trail toward the summit one comes to yet another trail junction: this marks the end of the Rainbow Falls trail where it meets the Trillium Gap and Boulevard trails. To get to the summit of LeConte you have to head about 0.5 miles up the Boulevard trail.

Along the way you'll pass the Mt. LeConte shelter. This is the only hiker shelter in the Smokies that is not on the Appalachian Trail* (see below). It's a typical shelter with two levels of bunks (accommodates 10-12 people) with areas for cooking, eating and gear storage. Fires are not allowed at this shelter any more because apparently people were chopping down the Fir trees for firewood... I stopped here for a lunch of tuna & crackers, trail mix and beef jerky.

About half-way between the shelter and the summit there is an awesome view down into the valley looking back toward Sugarlands. The exposed spruce trees and rhododendron along the ridge are all stunted and windblown (a condition known as krumholtz - thank you Dr. Wallace - I remember that term from your Ecology class that I took almost 25 years ago).

The actual summit of Mt. LeConte (aka "high top") is actually not all that impressive. In an attempt to raise the height of the mountain people have stacked rocks on the summit over the years. I added my own and thus raised the summit of the mountain by approximately 2 inches.

From here I turned around to begin the journey back down. Along the way I took another side trail to the Cliff Tops.

There is a loop trail that leads out to the Cliff Tops, and it's supposed to be an amazing place to watch the sun set. My views were limited unfortunately by the ever-present clouds. It was neat though to look down from the sheer cliffs.

The trail on the upper reaches of LeConte is rough and rocky. Those are the perfect sized rocks to turn your ankle on, so I spent a lot of time looking down at the trail instead of around me. It's rough on the feet and ankles, but well worth it.

The return trip took me back down the same trail to the Rainbow Fall - Bullhead trail junction where this time I turned down the Bullhead trail. The "Smokies Trail Bible" says that the Bullhead trail is the least used of the trails to LeConte. Having hiked it I can see why, and you can see evidence of how rarely it's used.

This is what much of the trail looked like - yes, there IS a trail under all that vegetation! In many places it is narrow and deeply rutted and the plants seem to be winning the battle. I felt more like I was wading through plants than hiking! I don't have a whole lot to recommend about the Bullhead trail. It has the primeval feeling of the deepest, darkest Smokies which is neat, and I met absolutely NO ONE else on the trail. There are some neat rock formations including huge rock walls and a couple of rock houses (shallow caves under overhanging rocks). It doesn't have many good overlooks or other interesting features though so I was just kind of slogging along to get back to the car.

One neat thing on this trail is "The Pulpit" - a rock structure probably 4 feet high x 6 feet wide that was built by the CCC guys that also built the trail. I'm not clear on WHY they felt the need to build it, but there it is. Right about the time I passed the pulpit it started to rain. At first it was just a light drizzle and I rarely even felt a drop being under the trees, but ultimately it started absolutely POURING, complete with thunder and lightning. Luckily I did bring a rain jacket and had all my stuff in plastic bags. They always say it can rain at any time in the Smokies (it is a temperate rain forest after all), and you should always be prepared for it. Luckily I was this time, because I had to hike the last 3 miles in a downpour.

The Bullhead trail empties out at the Old Sugarlands trail about a half mile from the Rainbow Falls parking areas. After over 14 miles of hiking including a 4000 ft elevation gain I was tuckered out (not to mention soaking wet from the waist down) and glad to get back to my car at about 5:30. But it was a great hike and a beautiful day to be out, and I'm glad to have finally made it to the top of LeConte.

So, til next time, happy hiking!

* After posting this and looking at my maps I realized that the LeConte Shelter is NOT the only shelter in the Smokies that's not on the AT. In addition there are the Mt. Collins and Kephart shelters that are close to the AT, and the Laurel Gap shelter (where I had previously stayed!) that's on the Benton MacKaye Trail.

Ace Gap Trail

2010-06-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 6.3
Trail Miles Hiked: 12.6
18-19 June, 2010

Phew... I can't believe it's been two and a half months since my last hike! The end of the semester, my son's Eagle Scout and high school graduation ceremonies, Cub Scout twilight camp - all of this conspired to keep my off the trails in May & early June. But finally I had a chance to get out. This trip was with my buddy Shane and 3 boys from our Boy Scout troop.

The Ace Gap trailhead is at the park border where the Rich Mountain road comes out of Cades Cove, although we arrived from the Townsend side. The trail leads along the northwestern border of the park for its entire length until it dead-ends at Ace Gap into the Beard Cane trail which leads directly south. Campsite 3 is the first campsite on the Beard Cane trail and was our destination.

Here's Shane (our Scoutmaster) and the 3 scouts who accompanied us. It was a HOT and HUMID weekend (temperatures in the 90s with what felt like 150% humidity)! The trail meanders up and down gently along the ridge. It's a dry ridge, with a lot of pine and mountain laurel. There are numerous houses just outside the park and a number of unofficial trails that lead into the park from outside, but luckily most of the houses were obscured by the trees.

The trail passes two campsites (#4 & #7) that are no longer in use - probably because of a lack of water availability. Campsite 4 (above) was a nice open and fairly flat site. We stopped there for a snack on our way in and then for lunch on our way back out the next day. Campsite 7 is really just a wide spot in the trail with no real good tent areas.

Ace Gap trail dead-ends after 5.6 miles at Ace Gap where it meets the Beard Cane trail. From here it's just about 0.7 miles downhill to get to Campsite 3 which was our final destination.

Campsite 3 is a really nice site - flat and open with several good tent sites, and situated right at the confluence of Beard Cane Creek and Hesse Creek. I love a campsite that sits right near a creek!

When we arrived we noticed that the fire ring was in pretty sad shape. It was FULL of ashes and the rocks were all falling into or out of the ring. So after we got set up and before we enjoyed the creek we decided to clean up the fire ring. We scooped out all of the ashes and scattered them around and rebuilt the stone ring. Here's a before and after picture:

We enjoyed a nice fire in the evening and the next morning to get our day started off right. After a lazy morning of breakfasting, playing in the creek, and just generally lazing about we packed up and headed back to the trailhead. The hike back seemed to have considerably more uphill than the way in had, although the real elevation difference is only 500 ft. It was hot and humid again on Saturday, but luckily a thunderstorm blew through and provided a nice breeze and dropped the temperature considerably without dumping on us. We had an uneventful hike back, and made it safely back to the car.

All in all it's a nice trail. It seems to be pretty lightly used - we met only one other person during our entire two days out. It's both a horse and hiking trail, but horses don't seem to have done much harm to the trail as they do in other parts of the park. There aren't any spectacular views or waterfalls on this trail, but there were a lot of neat plants. You could see the basal leaves of the Pink Lady Slippers all over the trail - they probably finished flowering a month ago. It was a good length for the scouts, and not too much steep up or down which makes for pleasant hiking.

Hopefully it won't be another 2 months til I get out again! Until next time, happy hiking!

Chestnut Top & Scott Mountain Trails

2010-04-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 9.0
Total Miles Hiked: 18.6
Elevation Gain: 2200' (ugh...)
2-3 April, 2010

I've been doing lots of short day hikes over the last few months, but haven't had a good overnight backpacking trip in a while. With the long Easter weekend and no school on Friday it seemed like a good opportunity to get out. I called my friend Shane and he was game to come along. He's also working on completing all the trails in the park and hadn't completed these trails so it worked out well for both of us.

Chestnut Top trail starts at the Townsend Y, heads west and parallels the park border to Schoolhouse Gap where it ends. Here the Scott Mountain trail picks up and continues west along the park border. Campsite #6 is near the top of Scott Mountain trail where it meets up with Indian Grave Gap and Crooked Arm Ridge trails that make up part of the Rich Mountain Loop. Chestnut Top trail is known for a fantastic wildflower display in the early spring, and there were a lot out like the sharp-lobed hepatica (Hepatica acutilobula) shown above (and no, those leaves do not go with those flowers).

Chestnut Top trail (4.3 miles) meanders up and down rising along the ridges of the park boundary. It goes back and forth between moist, shady rhododendron and dry, exposed pine-laurel woods. The trail ends 0.2 miles from Schoolhouse Gap where an old road from Townsend comes into the park (the road still exists outside the park and the Schoolhouse Gap trail follows its course inside the park).

At Schoolhouse Gap there is a house that sits literally just a few feet from the park boundary. It's a nice little vacation cabin that appeared to be unoccupied as we stopped to rest.

From Schoolhouse Gap we took the Scott Mountain trail 3.6 miles further west and higher up. This trail also parallels the park boundary and rises steeply and steadily. Shane and I are both pretty experienced hikers, but this trail about kicked our butts... The nearly continuous climb was rough, but there were some beautiful views into Townsend on one side and Cades Cove on the other. Because most of the trees haven't leafed out yet we could see a long way through the trees. And there were lots of wildflowers starting to peek out.

By the end of the day this campsite sign was MOST welcome!

Campsite #6 is a nice little ridgetop site, with room for just a few tents and a nice fire ring for sitting beside. We got our tents up in a jiffy and made dinner (ramen, spam, trail mix & granola bars) then sat around the fire and chatted.

When we arrived a guy named Daniel from Michigan (that's him and his tent in the picture above) was already there and we shared the fire and talked with him most of the evening. He was an interesting guy - traveling around and doing software development work with his laptop, he'd been all over the eastern U.S. since January and was getting ready to head back home to Michigan soon.

We conked out pretty early and the next morning got up, had breakfast and broke camp. We walked the quarter mile to the end of the Scott Mountain trail (trail junction sign above) to finish it off and then saddled up to head back down. Going back DOWN the Scott Mountain trail was considerably easier than coming up it the previous day. We quickly covered the 3.6 miles back down to Schoolhouse Gap where we stopped for lunch (mac & cheese, tuna & crackers, more trail mix & granola bars).

In addition to doing the Chestnut Top & Scott Mountain trails I wanted to finish off the Schoolhouse Gap trail. Jesse and I had done part of this trail on a previous trip (from Turkeypen Ridge trail to Laurel Creek Road), but I was missing a 1.1 mile section. Shane suggested that instead of just walking down the trail and then back up that we take an old trail (not on the current map) from Schoolhouse Gap down into White Oak Sinks and get onto the Schoolhouse Gap trail from there. I'd heard of, but never been to, White Oak Sinks before and it sounded like a great plan to me. (I could go on for a while here explaining the geology that resulted in this unique formation, but I'll spare you the details - basically, it's a big hole in the floor of the Smokies where the limestone base layer has been exposed and is full of caves)

The pictures above really don't do justice to the place - it's truly astounding. The walls are sheer and high, and the floor is as level as a baseball field in places. There are cracks and caves and waterfalls all over the place. Entry into all caves is forbidden now to prevent the spread of white-nose syndrome that's killing bats all over the eastern U.S. The last place Shane took me before we headed out is called "the grotto" and has a really nice waterfall spilling over a ledge and down into a cave opening (see below).

From here we headed up (again...) and out to the Schoolhouse Gap trail right near its junction with the Turkeypen Ridge trail.

At this trail junction we met a group of 5 or 6 campers who looked like they didn't have a clue what they were doing. They were carrying their gear in duffle bags, had on jeans and T-shirts, and asked me "where's a good place to camp around here?" I asked if they had a trail map (no) or if they knew that you can only camp at designated sites (no). I got out my trail map and showed them where they were and where some good nearby campsites were. I hope they found their way ok... I was a little worried we might hear about them on the news the next day having to be rescued.

By now it was mid-afternoon so Shane and I headed back down Schoolhouse Gap trail (1.1 miles) to get back on to Chestnut Top trail and back to my car waiting for us at the Y. Those last 4.3 miles really took their toll on both of us, and we were happy to get back to the car. I was pretty sore Saturday night, but very happy to have completed another 1% of the trails in the Smokies and visited a new part of the park. I want to go back to White Oak Sinks in a week or two and see it once the wildflowers are out in full force. It was a blast to have a weekend with Shane - we've hiked and camped a lot together with the Boy Scouts, but rarely just the two of us and I really enjoy his company.

So, til next time, happy hiking!

Old Sugarlands Trail

2010-03-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Trail Miles Completed: 3.9
Total Miles Hiked: 7.5-ish...

Sarah and I have a new tradition of spending a weekend in a cabin near the Great Smoky Mountains around our anniversary. It began last year with our 20th anniversary and we had such a good time we vowed to do it every year. Last year we hiked the Chimney Tops trail - it was rough, but a lot of fun. This year I chose the Old Sugarlands Trail. I had actually hoped to go to one of the waterfalls like Rainbow Falls or Grotto Falls, but the Cherokee Orchard Road that leads to these trailheads was closed for construction.

The trail starts just north of Sugarlands visitor center and winds its way south along the banks of the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River paralleling Newfound Gap Road, but you can neither see nor hear the road from the trail. Sarah took this picture early on, and while it may LOOK as though I'm trying to figure out where we are, I REALLY did know... I just have a thing for maps, and I love to look at the map as we hike along and figure out exactly where on the trail we are, or what creek we're following, etc.

The first of MANY trail junctions we came to was this one. Our hike took us to the right along the Old Sugarlands Trail, but we eventually looped back around to this junction via the Grassy Branch trail.

This area was apparently heavily settled in the times before the park. Horace Kephart spoke of the Sugarlands as being a wild place, full of moonshiners and ne'er-do-wells in the early 1900s. It's named for the Sugar Maples that grow here. The trail goes past lots of old homesteads and the location of some of the CCC camps from the 1930s. The men in the CCC were responsible for a LOT of the park development, including trail building, fire tower construction, and bridge & road building. The pictures below are of a marker installed in a bridge built by the CCC, and of the area where the CCC camps were.

Shortly after this the trail starts to wend its way to the east, up and away from the river and along an old road bed that leads from Sugarlands to Cherokee Orchard. The road climbs steadily, but not steeply and passes many old home sites. You can see some of the rock foundations, boundary fences, and plants like daffodils and yuccas that were planted by the settlers.

We also passed an old boar trap. Feral hogs are a terrible problem in the Smokies. They destroy native vegetation and disturb the ground with their rooting, and they prey on native animals as well. The park has an ongoing program to control the population by hunting and trapping them, but at times it seems like a losing battle.

As the trail continues to climb up to Cherokee Orchard it meets junctions with several other trails including the Twomile Lead Trail, the Twomile Branch Trail, and the Bullhead Trail. The Twomile trails are horse trails used by folks coming up from the stables down near Sugarlands, and are not on the official park trail map, so they don't "count" in the 900 miles. They're also hard to figure out because they're not on the maps so it's difficult to figure out exactly where they go and how long they are (hence the guesstimate of our total final mileage for the day).

Almost at the end of the Old Sugarlands trail it crosses LeConte creek, splashing down from the slopes of Mt. LeConte. It's been a wet winter so there was lots of water in the creek and it was beautiful! The trail crossing is over an old log bridge about 10-12 feet above the creek.

The trail dead-ends shortly thereafter at the Cherokee Orchard parking area which contains the trailheads for Trillium Gap and Rainbow Falls trails. We could see the ongoing road construction from here.

We stopped here for lunch on a sunny rock overlooking LeConte Creek, and then turned to head back down. Being adventurous and wanting to explore more trails I suggested we take the Twomile Branch trail back down instead of re-tracing our steps. According to the guide book it's a shorter trip. And maybe it is, mile-wise, but it's a rough trail. Rocky and muddy with lots of blow-downs that have yet to be cleared. AND, as noted above, I wasn't exactly sure how all these trails came together since they're not on the map... We eventually made it down, and I was very happy for the excellent trail signs at all trail junctions to keep us going in the right direction.

Ultimately we used the Grassy Branch trail (which is not listed on the map OR in the book) to get us back to the beginning of the Old Sugarlands Trail. But not without having to circumnavigate several blow-downs including this REALLY big old pine tree.

All in all it was a good hike. It's always neat to see evidence of the people who lived here before there was a park, and imagine what their lives were like. We also daydreamed together about a cabin that we'd love to have near the park someday... The weather was beautiful - sunny and warm, and the companionship was excellent. And man did it feel good to get into the hot tub at the end of the day!

Happy Hiking!

"Strangers in High Places"

2010-03-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

After reading Horace Kephart's "Our Southern Highlanders" I wanted to pick up the other classic book on the Smokies: "Strangers in High Places - The Story of the Great Smoky Mountains" by Michael Frome.

Published in 1966 it provides a great complement to Kephart's book. I borrowed a copy from our library, but you can purchase a copy here. This is definitely another book I'll be adding to my bookshelf.

"Our Southern Highlanders" was a very personal account of Horace Kephart's life and adventures in the land that would become the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It describes in beautiful and humorous terms the land and the people of the area as they existed in the late 1800s / early 1900s.

"Strangers in High Places" on the other hand is a historical account of the land and people from the early settlement of the area by whites and the natives they encountered, through the concept of the national park and the political wrangling that took place to achieve it, and finally to the current state of affairs (as they existed in the 1960s), with final notes on what Frome saw in the future for the park. Admittedly I struggled to stay awake through parts of the book. It is much more text-bookish than Kephart's with numerous characters who were sometimes hard to keep track of. But it gave me a much deeper understanding of the area and the historical development of the park. It also left me with deep respect and gratitude for some of the players in those early days... Had it not been for folks like Arno Cammerer, Stephen Mather, Horace Albright, and John D. Rockefeller, there might very well not be a Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Frome divides the book into two major sections: "The First Half-Billion Years" and "The Civilized Age." The first section describes the geological history, early explorers and settlers of the area and the dealings with the Cherokee who lived here for thousands of years before white folks arrived. The second section describes the state of the area in the early 1900s at the beginning of the push for a national park. The politics and players, the $5 million donation of the Rockefeller foundation (approximately 1/2 of the cost of the land that makes up the park), and the residents of the park (both human and animal). Like Kephart's book there's a lot about the moonshiners (or "blockaders" as they called themselves) and the bear hunters.

One of the chapters I enjoyed the most was chapter XXIII - For Tomorrow, a Ballad. Here Frome muses about the 1960s pressures the park faces and contemplates its future. He notes how the number of visitors to the park had risen substantially from 1-2 million per year in the early years of the park to projections of up to 10 million a year by the 1970s. These projections have come true with over 10 million visitors to the park last year, more than twice as many as any other national park. There was pressure to build more roads to allow more people to get more places in the park. Traffic jams and car-induced smog was becoming a problem as was trash and the problems of bears becoming habituated to humans (and their food). Some of these problems have been alleviated to a large degree. A major educational focus on eliminating trash and keeping food away from bears has helped.

The problem of traffic congestion, however, remains a major problem. Local wisdom says that 90% of people who visit the park never get more than 50 yards away from a road. This saddens me because the real beauty of the Smokies lies deep in its wilderness, accessible only by trail. Anyone who's visited Cades Cove on a Saturday in October can attest to the insane traffic and constant "bear jams" or "deer jams" that occur when people stop in the middle of the road to goggle at the wildlife. Frome conjectures that public transportation into and around the park is something that must be introduced. Over 40 years after Frome's book was published there's still debate about whether we could or should do this.

All in all this was an outstanding book that gave me important insights into how the Great Smoky Mountains National Park came into being. I highly recommend it anyone with an interest in the Smokies.

Little River Trail & Cucumber Gap Trail Loop

2010-03-08T17:51:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 5.1

Total Miles Hiked: 6.2

It's Spring Break around here so I'm taking advantage of the free time to get some good hikes in. Today found me on the Little River Trail and Cucumber Gap Trail near Elkmont. Spring has been in the air the last few days and it was supposed to be warm and sunny today. It was (mostly) warm and (occasionally) sunny out on the trail, but it was in the mid 60s when I got back home and beautifully sunny!

Elkmont is a neat area in the park. Former logging camp and then vacation home area prior to the formation of the GSMNP in 1934. The Little River runs right through here and there's an excellent campground where we've spent many beautiful nights. In mid-June every year there's an astounding display of synchronously flashing fireflies.

Today's trail starts near the Elkmont campground at the Little River trailhead. The total trip took me up the Little River Trail to it's junction with the Huskey Gap trail, and then backtracking for about 0.4 miles to hop onto the Cucumber Gap trail which takes me back to Elkmont.

Little River trail follows the bank of the river and is a wide even path which is a former road and/or rail line used by the logging company. Despite the warm weather there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground and parts of the trail had a thick coating of slushy ice making for some precarious hiking.

The river was beautiful as always - swollen with recent rains and melting snow it was moving pretty fast.

The trail follows the banks of the river with big rock cliffs on the right hand side and the river on the left for most of it's length. At about mile 2.0 you cross over a plank bridge that spans Huskey Branch as it cascades into the Little River. While a pretty small waterfall it's very picturesque, especially with the snow and ice surrounding it.

Shortly thereafter I reached the junction of the Little River and Cucumber Gap trails. While I planned to take the Cucumber Gap trail back to Elkmont I went on the extra 0.4 miles to the Huskey Gap trail to finish off this section of the trail.

I stopped for a break and a snack at the Huskey Gap trail intersection. The trail crosses the river over an old bridge here and there was a nice sandy bank to sit on to eat.

Back in my raft-guiding days all the guides used to build towers of rocks on the banks of the river. The story goes that you pile up all your bad karma with the rocks and then when the river washes the rocks away it takes your bad karma with it. I guess old habits die hard :-) And I took it as a good sign that as soon as I finished my little tower the sun came out.

Here's the view upstream of where I sat to eat lunch.

After lunch I headed back down to jump onto the Cucumber Gap trail. This trail is more typical of the Smokies. A "long, green tunnel" of rhododendron and hemlock trees and the floor of the trail twining with tree roots and jutting rocks. There was considerably more snow here as I was moving up in elevation through a narrow shaded draw.

This trail winds up a draw and then up and over Cucumber Gap - named for the Magnolias ("cucumber trees") that grow there, and then back down into Elkmont. Here in the gap I met a trio of backpackers who were on Spring Break from the University of Connecticut. They had driven 14 hours from CT down to Knoxville to spend the week backpacking in the Smokies. Not sure they were expecting this much snow and they were planning to go up high to the Appalachian Trail where the snow is probably still 1-2 feet deep! (we, of course, got into a heated debate about who was more likely to win the women's basketball NCAA tournament, UConn or the Lady Vols)

From Cucumber Gap the trail drops back down into Elkmont and dumps out at the Jake's Creek trailhead just up from Elkmont.

Here in Elkmont you can see the remains of many of the cabins that made up the summer vacation homes for wealthy folks. While the park was formed in 1934 apparently the leases on the property for these homes didn't expire until 1992, and they've been in limbo ever since. Some folks wanted them preserved as they were as an exhibit of what life was like in the early 1900s, while others wanted them torn down so the land could return to it's natural state. I believe that the park system has finally decided to renovate some of the older historic cabins and remove the others. Interestingly most of the cabins are in terrible shape - sagging porches and caved in roofs; but some of the older log cabin building are still solid and in fairly good shape.

It was a beautiful day to be out and a great way to spend my first day of spring break. This is a great loop of reasonable length for a day hike. Great scenery that ranges from rivers to rocks to waterfalls to historic cabins.

Til next time - happy hiking!

Crib Gap Trail

2010-03-07T19:03:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 1.6
Total Miles Hiked: 4.0

So... it was Sunday afternoon. I was full from a big lunch. The kids were happily watching TV and playing video games. We were all resting and relaxing. What's wrong with that on a Sunday afternoon, right? So why did I feel guilty slugging the day away? Probably because it was a beautiful day, warm and sunny with spring in the air, and I just couldn't succumb to the sluggardliness.

So I grabbed my Smokies map and looked for a short trail that was relatively close that we could get to and hike in just a few hours. Voila - the Crib Gap Trail! This is a short (1.6 miles) trail that connects the Turkeypen Ridge Trail with the Anthony Creek Trail that leads into Cades Cove. Jesse and I had done the Turkeypen Ridge trail on a previous hike, but I've never been on this little connector. I collected Duncan (my youngest son, 9 years old) and said "You wanna go for a hike?" He turned off the Wii in a flash and had his boots on ready to go in just a couple of minutes. He doesn't care where we're going, or if there's going to be scenery or impressive waterfalls - he just wants to go :-)

The trailhead for this hike is right on Laurel Creek Road in between the Townsend Y and Cades Cove. Traffic was light today because the Cades Cove loop is closed for repaving for the next couple of months. We were at the trailhead in 45 minutes and ready to go.

To get to the Crib Gap Trail you have to go north on the Turkeypen Ridge Trail for 0.2 miles. From there the Crib Gap Trail heads pretty much due west towards Cades Cove.

To be brutally honest there's nothing special about this trail compared to the rest of the Smokies. It winds through hemlock-rhododendron woods and up over Crib Gap and then down through a drier pine-laurel forest towards Cades Cove. There's no beautiful creek to follow, no outstanding views, no huge rocks to climb... BUT, to say "there's nothing special" when you're in the Smokies is an oxymoron - it's ALL special. And it's even better when you have someone to share it with like a 9-year old who can't stop saying "it's so beautiful here!"

There was a little bit of snow left on some of the shadier banks, but most of it had melted and much of the trail was a muddy mess. This trail is apparently frequented by horses which tears up the trail pretty badly when it's wet.

The Crib Gap trail ends at its intersection with the Anthony Creek Trail that leads south out of the Cades Cove picnic area and up to the ridge line and Appalachian Trail. We took the extra 0.2 miles down to the picnic area for a snack and a break.

There's nothing quite like sitting on a big rock in the middle of Anthony Creek eating licorice...

By now it was around 4:30 pm and likely to get dark soon so we turned around and headed for home. The return trip was uneventful other than a few extra stops to rest a pair of weary little legs. As we approached the trail head I convinced Duncan to walk an extra 0.2 miles to go see the trail that leads UNDER Laurel Creek Road. This is a short trail that connects the Turkeypen Ridge Trail on one side of the road to the Finley Cane Trail on the other side. And yes - this really is the trail, even though it looks more like a creek.

This coming week is spring break at UT, so I will be taking at least one more hike soon. Planning to do the Little River Trail - Cucumber Gap Trail loop tomorrow, so look for another update soon.

Happy Hiking!

"Our Southern Highlanders"

2010-02-09T20:44:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to read this book for ages... It's supposed to be the quintessential study of the southern Appalachian people and places in the late 1800s / early 1900s. It was written by Horace Kephart who lived in the Smokies in the early 1900s and wrote about its people and places.

I'm only about a hundred pages in so far, but thus far I've been amazed. I expected a relatively dry narrative in history text-book format, but what I got was... beautiful! I was reading last night and this quote hit me:

"The foreground of such a landscape, in summer, is warm, soft, dreamy, caressing, habitable; beyond it are gentle and luring solitudes; the remote ranges are inexpressibly lonesome, isolated and mysterious; but everywhere the green forest mantle bespeaks a vital present; nowhere does cold, bare granite stand as the sepulchre of an immemorial past."

I'm looking forward to reading more, and highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the Smokies. The copy I'm reading now is one I borrowed from the library, but I fully intend to buy myself a copy. If you're interested you can get it here.

Happy Hiking!

ps - I know it's been a couple of weeks since I've blogged about a hike, but it's been busy and rainy around here. hopefully I'll have a chance to get out and about again soon.

West Prong Trail

2010-01-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 2.0
Total Miles Hiked: 4.0

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. Day so we didn't have school. It was also a nice warm (50 degrees) and sunny day after a soggy weekend. So - what better to do than go for a hike?

Caleb is one of Duncan's best friends and spent the night on Sunday, and they both joined me on this hike. It's a good trail for little legs to get some practice hiking. The total trail runs from Tremont to the Bote Mtn. Trail (2.7 miles), but we only hiked from Tremont up to Campsite 18 (2.0 miles).

On a previous backpacking trip Jesse and I had stayed at Campsite 18, but had come to it from the other end of the West Prong Trail, so I only needed the Tremont end of the trail to complete the whole thing.

It was a really beautiful day for mid-January. Warm and sunny and while the trail was pretty muddy in places due to recent rains it was in pretty good shape overall. The trail rises a few hundred feet over the first 1.1 miles as it skirts the edge of Fodderstack Mtn. There were lots of good views to the north along this section. From there to Campsite 18 the trail descends gently. All in all it was both gentle and challenging enough for a 9 & 10-year old.

The boys were, of course, always looking for someplace to climb and this little draw fit the bill perfectly. We spent about 15 minutes here as the boys climbed on the mossy rocks up above this tiny waterfall/pool and got thoroughly muddy and happy.

Near the crest of the trail (about mile 1.1) we came across this stump - you can see the top of the tree behind the boys. It was clear this tree had been chopped (not sawn) down - you can still see the axe marks. They pretended to be beavers chewing the tree down :-)

We counted the rings and figured the tree was about 70 years old when it was felled, which looks to have been a pretty long time ago.

Our final destination was Campsite 18. This is a really nice site. It sits right on the banks of the West Prong and is large enough to accommodate several groups. There are tent sites on either site of the creek and an old log bridge across it.

When we got there Duncan & Caleb pretended to be exhausted, but really they were just waiting for me to get the beef jerky out. We stayed and played and explored the campsite for about half and hour, and saw the spot where Jesse and I had camped a couple of years ago. We ate up our rations of beef jerky, trail mix, donuts and licorice before heading back.

My two little troopers - they did a great job!

On the way back down we took a side trail to an old cemetery that is close to Tremont. It is still maintained and used, and the headstones ranged from folks who had died in the late 1800s to the 2000s. It was a strange sight to see all those plastic flowers in the middle of woods surrounded by an old split-rail fence.

Duncan took this picture of me while we were on our way back down. We made it back to the car just as it was starting to get dark. A couple of tired but happy little boys, and one tired but happy big boy.

Happy hiking!

Little Greenbrier Trail

2010-01-06T15:02:00.000-08:00

Trail Miles Completed: 4.3
Total Miles Hiked: 8.6
Elevation Gained: 1800'

Well school starts again in about a week so I wanted to get in one more hike. The Little Greenbrier Trail runs from the Metcalf Bottoms entrance of the Smokies along the northern boundary of the park and then up the side of a ridge to Cove Mountain where it intersects with the Laurel Falls Trail.

It's been a cold week here in Tennessee, and today looked like the best weather to get out - highs around 30 degrees, but bright and sunny. The trail rises about 400' in elevation over the first 1.9 miles, and then another 1400' over the last 2.4 miles. It's a good trail though - well graded and never really steep. There was a dusting of snow as I started up and on the south-facing slopes it nearly disappeared, but the higher I went the more snow there was. Probably 3-4" by the time I got to the top.

The first part of the trail skirts the northern park boundary and you can look out to the north and see down into Wear's Valley.

You can occasionally see the park boundary markers, and the first part of the trail is actually outside of the park in a few places.

When I started my hike this morning I was the first one on the trail since the last snow probably 2 or 3 days ago. That is until I realized the wildlife are also using the trail. This is a set of turkey tracks that were perfectly preserved in the snow.

This was my first view of my ultimate destination: Cove Mountain (actually the Laurel Falls trail junction is 0.9 miles south of the Cove Mtn. summit). It was a little intimidating to look up from the bottom of the trail and realize that I would be climbing up that.

The first trail junction I came to was the Little Greenbrier Trail-Little Brier Gap Trail intersection (1.9 miles from the trailhead). The trails in the Smokies are incredibly well marked. Every intersection has a sign with the trail names and mileage for nearby places. I met a group from the Wednesday Morning Hiking Club here. From here the trail started to seriously gain elevation (and snow). There were a few downed trees from the snow, but for the most part the trail was quite passable.

Here's a view of Cove Mtn. from about 1/2 way up the trail.

I need to improve my self-portrait skills...

Pictures can hardly begin the capture the beauty of the Smokies in the snow. Every tree was covered with a thin layer of snow that was slowly drifting down to the ground. It looked like it was constantly lightly snowing.

Higher up the snow got deeper. Usually in the Smokies you think about hiking through a "green tunnel" of Laurel & Rhododendron. This time of year it's more like a "green & white tunnel"

This was my final destination: junction of the Little Greenbrier Trail with the Laurel Falls Trail. It was an amazingly beautiful hike - I love the Smokies in the snow.

I'll leave you with this one final picture:

Birthday Hike

2009-12-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

First off, I want to recommend a book. Probably everyone who is serious about hiking in the Smokies already has this book, but if you don't - you should get it!

It's got everything you need to tackle the trails in the park - elevation profiles, trail descriptions, accurate mileage and great natural and cultural history. Plus it's small and lightweight enough to fit in your daypack. If you don't already have it you can get it here.

Now - on to the business of the day. Today is my birthday, and what better way to spend one's birthday than to go for a hike? Jesse had to work, but Sarah, Laurel & Duncan were all game to go with me so we picked out a good hike that was relatively close and short. We started at the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic area and took the Metcalf Bottoms trail and the Little Brier Gap trail from Metcalf Bottoms up to the Walker Sister's cabin. Trail distance of 2.1 miles (= 4.2 miles roundtrip); elevation gain of about 500'.

The trail starts just on the north side of the bridge over the Little River at Metcalf Bottoms and leads first to the Little Greenbrier School in just about 0.7 miles.

According to "Hiking Trails of the Smokies" this log school building was built in 1882 with all of the area residents pitching in materials and/or labor. It was also used as a church building and there is a cemetery next door with many gravestones from the late 1800s / early 1900s.

From the Little Greenbrier School the Little Brier Gap trail winds about 1.1 miles to the Walker Sister's cabin, and then 0.3 miles further on it dead-ends into the Little Greenbrier Trail.

The trail follows an old road and is wide and even. It follows a branch (aka creek or stream) for most of its length and is bordered by mountain laurel and rhododendron. Along the way we stopped for a few rest breaks and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day.

The Walker Sister's cabin was really cool. The "Hiking Trails of the Smokies" tells the story of the 5 Walker sisters who grew up in this cabin and stayed even after the National Park was created in 1934. The last one, Louisa, lived here until she died in 1964. The cabin is very simple - two floors, each with one room, and attached building that served as the kitchen. No electricity, no plumbing, and only a fireplace for heat. The only outbuildings that remain are the corn crib / tool shed, and the spring house.

While Sarah and the kids stayed at the cabin I hiked the remaining 0.3 miles of the trail up to its junction with the Little Greenbrier Trail at the very edge of the park.

Looking down over the ridge you can see down into Wear's Valley on the northern border of the Smokies.

There's really something spectacular about the Smokies in the winter. While the laurels, rhododendron, hemlock and pines stay green, all of the hardwoods have lost their leaves and you can see much more deeply into the forest than usual. The way the light trickles through these bare tree branches is mesmerizing.

All in all it was a great hike and beautiful day. Mostly it was just great to get to spend my birthday doing what I like best with the people I like best.

Happy Christmas!

2009-12-25T08:41:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas! Look what I got :-)

Looks like in addition to hiking more new trails in the park this year we'll be going on some Scavenger Hunt hikes too!
Read more about the book here.

Chimney Tops Trail

2009-12-24T07:19:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I hiked this trail on our 20th anniversary weekend. We'd always wanted to do this trail, but it's not recommended for small kids because it's a VERY strenuous trail (straight up) and because the rock outcrop at the top of the trail is dangerous. So our anniversary weekend when we were all alone was the perfect time to tackle it.

It was a beautiful early spring day - sunny and warm - and the trail was busy. Amazingly we saw LOTS of people with little kids struggling to make it up. The hike climbs steeply up a draw and then skirts around a ridge to ultimately end up at the Chimney Tops formation - a bare rock slab that goes STEEPLY up to the top.

As you come around a corner on the ridge you can see the Chimney Tops in the distance. It's a pretty imposing formation.

The sign at the bottom warns of the dangers of climbing to the top. It's pretty scary looking up from the bottom. Sarah opted to stay below while I climbed up.

This is a view back down the Chimneys from about 1/2 way up. Yep - it's as steep as it looks.

Another hardy hiker took my picture for me once I made it to the top. The views were outstanding in all directions and it was definitely an adrenaline rush to have made it up!

After the hike Sarah and I headed back into Townsend for dinner at Deadbeat Pete's - a great little Mexican restaurant that sits right on the Little River. And then back to our cabin for an evening of relaxation in the hot tub. All in all a great hike and a great anniversary weekend!

miscellany

2009-12-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

A couple of details to take care of:

1. Thanks to Laura for the suggestion of adding an odometer of sorts to keep track of my mileage (see the sidebar directly under my photo). I've listed both the trail miles hiked (the sum of which will eventually come to 900) AND the actual miles hiked (because often one must backtrack or re-hike trails). I'll be curious how many ACTUAL miles I've hiked once I reach the magic number of 900 trail miles.

2. thanks to Sarah for the header. not only is she my wife, best friend and biggest cheerleader, she's also quite talented in all things blogging.

Happy hiking!

Curry Mountain Trail

2009-12-22T19:43:00.000-08:00

Today's hike was the first deliberate hike geared toward completing the 900+ miles of trails in the Smokies. As a family we go to the Smokies often, but we have a tendency to go back to our favorite places over and over again. Because, well... they're our favorite places! There's a spot in Cades Cove where we go most springs to sit among the daffodils and picnic. The nature trail at Chimney's picnic area is another favorite short hike. We've hiked the first couple of miles of Middle Prong trail numerous times. I've been back and forth from Cades Cove to Abrams Falls over and over. You get the picture.

But after deciding to try to complete ALL of the trails I knew I'd have to start branching out. Part of the deal is that our younger kids are not yet up to 6, 8 or 10 mile hikes (or maybe they are and I just don't realize it) so most of our family hikes are short, partial trails. Jesse is a great hiker and is almost always game for a long hike, so he is often my companion.

So with Christmas break upon us I got out the map and looked for a decent length trail that we could day-hike (Jesse rejected my first proposal of a 13 mile trek...). The Curry Mountain Trail is close by (we can get to the trail head in about 40 minutes) and only 6.6 miles round trip. The trail gains a little over 1000' in elevation over 3.3 miles.

I had hoped that there would be snow, but wasn't sure how much there would be... There was plenty.

The trail head is just down from the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area.

Down low the snow was thin and melting fast, but the higher up we got the deeper the snow. It was a beautiful sunny day and we quickly shed our fleece jackets and wool sweaters.

Curry Mountain trail dead-ends into the Meigs Mountain trail here at this junction. The snow here was a good 8-10" deep and as the sun rose over the ridge it was starting to melt from the trees and fall to the ground.

We stopped here for lunch and a rest before turning back toward home. The trip up took about an hour and a half; the trip back down just over an hour.

While completing the 900 miles in the park is a goal, it's not the real goal. Mostly it's a way to explore more of this amazing place called the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I am amazingly blessed to live so close, and I intend to take full advantage. In fact, I'm already getting out my maps and guidebooks and thinking about my next hike.

here we go...

2009-12-22T15:40:00.000-08:00

These pages are to document my plan to hike all 900+ miles of trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

I'm starting this blog in Dec. 2009 so first I'll list the trails hiked since I moved to Tennessee in 1999 til now. Our family did lots of short hikes and partial trails during that time, but I've only listed completed trails below.

1. Spring, 2000. Jesse was a Tiger Cub Scout and our Pack did the Rich Mountain loop in Cades Cove. I was impressed that Jesse (who was only 7) was able to hike the whole thing! Total mileage hiked: 8.7

2. July, 2002 (I think). Solo hike of the Appalachian Trail from Newfound Gap to Fontana Dam. I did this over the course of 4 or 5 days. Sarah (and the kids and her friend and her friend's child) had to drive over Deal's Gap (affectionately known as the Tail of the Dragon - 318 curves in 11 miles) to come get me. Jesse puked in the back of the van... Total mileage hiked: 35

3. December, 2004. Ed Lickey and I hiked a loop consisting of Big Creek Trail - Gunter Fork Trail - Laurel Gap Shelter - Mt Sterling Ridge Trail - Baxter Creek Trail. It was a beautiful weekend and relatively warm for December. I remember lots of creek crossings - we finally ended up hiking a big chunk of the trail in our boxer shorts and sandals to avoid having to keep taking off our boots and pants every time we had to cross a creek... I also remember the guys we shared the shelter with had fried spam for breakfast, and that we saw some of the biggest trees I've ever seen in the Smokies along the Baxter Creek Trail. Total mileage hiked: 22.5

4. April, 2005. As a volunteer leader with the Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage I've led walks from Cades Cove to Abrams Falls on numerous occasions. This is a beautiful hike in the spring when the wildflowers are out. This is one of the places in the park where one can find gaywings (Polygala pauciflora). Total mileage hiked: 5

5. Fall, 2005. Abrams Creek Campground - Campsite 17 - Abrams Falls. This was Jesse's first real backpacking trip. It's a short hike (around 2.5 miles) and a great campsite near Abrams Creek. The next day we left our packs at the campsite (safely suspended on the bear cables) and day-hiked up to Abrams Falls, then returned to pick up our stuff and back to the campground. I recently redid this hike with our Boy Scout Troop in December 2009. Low temperatures in the 20s... Brr! Total mileage hiked: 10

6. Fall, 2007. Schoolhouse Gap Trail to West Prong Trail to Campsite 18 to Bote Mountain Trail to Finley Cane Trail to Turkeypen Ridge Trail to Schoolhouse Gap Trail loop. Jesse and I did this together. It was a nice campsite - right along the creek. I remember going to bed REALLY early because it was dark and cold and we couldn't get much of a fire going. Total mileage hiked: 9

7. April, 2008. Again with the Annual Wildflower Pilgrimage I've hiked the Deep Creek Trail from Newfound Gap Road to Deep Creek a couple of times. These have been with my good friends Joey and Ed and a passel of "pilgrims" - it's a fun hike (all downhill), but a long day. Total mileage hiked: 14.2

8. Fall, 2008. Middle Prong Trail to Lynn Camp Prong Trail to Miry Ridge Trail to Panther Creek Trail to Middle Prong Trail. Spent the night at Campsite 28. There were several other people at the campsite, and dire warnings about bear activity, but it's a large campsite with several spots and I found a nice, cozy spot away from everyone else and never saw a bear. It's a nice loop. Total mileage hiked: 13.9

9. March, 2009. Chimney Tops Trail. We had been wanting to hike this trail for a long time, but hadn't found the time. So - when Sarah and I spent the weekend in Townsend for our 20th anniversary we decided to go for it. While it's a short hike, it's almost entirely UPhill and pretty steep. The rock outcrop at the end was well worth it though. I climbed to the top while Sarah sat at the bottom and averted her eyes, sure that I was going to plunge to my death... Total mileage hiked: 4