Jakes Creek Trail

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 :-)

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

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

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

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

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

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!