Lower Mt. Camerer

5/25/15  Today we hiked the Lower Mt Camerer Trail from Cosby Campground to Campsite 35, with a short side trip to Sutton Ridge, for a total of 7.4 miles.  Although long, it was a fairly easy trail.  The mountain laurel were in full bloom, and I don't think I've ever seen so many of them.  It was like walking through a tunnel of flowers. 

The ladies; Gina, Vicky, Alice, Mary Ann

The hammock garden at the backcountry campsite.  If we take a long hike, we definitely stop for a rest in the middle of the day.  One tree had 3 hammocks attached to it.  Gina in front, Vicky on left, and Alice on right.  Mary Ann is in the background

Squaw Root.  Although considered a wildflower, it is parasitic and has no chlorophyll.  It's one of the first things to come out in the spring, and is an important food source for bears. 

Mountain Laurel tunnel.

Gina & Vicky in front, back l-r :Hank, Mary Ann, Alice, John, Larry, Steve

How many people can you get in  a selfie?

My thanks to Gina for the last 2 pictures.

Appalachian Trail to the Jump Off

5/12/15 I have no idea why they call this the Jump Off, but it sure is beautiful! This trail starts at Newfound Gap, and goes north along the Appalachian Trail for a couple of miles.  It is very rocky and rugged, and mostly uphill.  Eventually you come to the small trail to the Jump Off, which is shorter  but more steep and rocky.  The view is certainly worth it!  Plus it's downhill on the way back!

I was not expecting to see wildflowers on this trail.  It was really too late for most of the spring wildflowers, but we were at a higher elevation, so spring comes a bit later.  These are fringed phacelias, but we also saw red trillium, violets, spring beauties, and many others.

This grouse was in the trail, and was in no hurry to leave.  We thought it was a pretty bad place to build a nest, but what do we know?

Meigs creek to Lumber Ridge to Tremont.

5/28/15  We started out on Meigs Creek trail, which has over 20 small creek crossings.  Last summer when we hiked this trail, I managed to slip and fall in the water, but this time every crossing was uneventful.  When we came to the intersection of Curry Mountain, Lumber Ridge and Meigs Creek, where we planned to eat lunch, there was a large hiking club there doing the same thing.  They were very friendly, and we enjoyed some nice conversation. We also met some of the trail maintenance crew, and expressed our appreciation for the hard work they do.

 Since the trail was going to be pretty crowded, we decided to take the manway, (an old unmaintained trail) down to Tremont.  That proved to be a good decision, in that it was not crowded, but unmaintained is the word of the day.  It was a good challenge for all of us.  We ended up at Spruce flats Falls, then at Tremont.

Galax blooming

Steve and our friend Hank

Spruce Flats falls.  The last time we were here, it was very crowded, and we never did get a decent picture.  It's only a short way up to Tremont (where the car was ) from here, but what a climb!

Andrews Bald

June 9, 2015  Steve and I, along with Hank Dye, hiked to Andrews Bald.  This trail starts at Clingmans Dome, and goes down 1.7 miles to the bald. That means an uphill climb on the way back, which I dislike, but the bald was so pretty that it was worth it.  The flame azaleas were starting to bloom, and were just beautiful. The view wasn't bad either! 

Old Settlers Trail

5/20/2015  As we have done more hiking, we keep discovering new trails to explore.  The Old Settlers Trail is in the Cosby area, and is not heavily used. In fact, the 5 (Steve & I, Hank, Grady and Sam) of us didn't see another hiker the entire day. 

The mountain laurel were in full bloom.

There was lots of evidence of prior homes, rock walls, and other signs of the community that was here before the park was formed.

The entire trail is about 15 miles long, and we only hiked about 2.5 miles of it.  Eventually, we'll get to the rest of it.

Gatlinburg Trail

 November 3, 2014

After sending our thru-hiker (He finished! if you are interested in reading more )on his way, we decided to do a short walk on the Gatlinburg trail.  This trail is really more of a jogging/biking trail, and is one of the more level trails in the park.  Pets are also allowed, so we saw a lot of dogs and all were well behaved!  We began at the back of the Sugarlands Visitor center, walked 2 miles to Gatlinburg, had lunch and walked back.  Definitely one of our easier hikes, but still enjoyable. 

As we returned to the visitor center, we came across this monument to the CCC.  In our hikes, we have come across the remains of a lot of CCC camps, and learning the pre-park history of the area is very interesting to me.  My grandfather was a supervisor in the CCC near Morristown, TN, so seeing these remains always reminds me of him. 

Charlie's Bunion hike

Funny name, great hike. We had a group of 8 today, 2 women and 6 men.  This is one of the harder hikes that I've done.  It's 8 miles total, with some pretty significant elevation change, and a very rocky trail.  I was thankful for my hiking poles!   Most of the hike was along the Appalachian Trail, with a short side trail to the destination.
The story is that this rocky area was named by Horace Kephart, one of the early park rangers, in honor of the state of his friend's feet after a long hike.  It started out as a joke, and the name stuck.  I have to say that my feet were very tired and sore after this hike but they sure didn't look that bad!

 This rock cliff is almost vertical.  Very rugged country.

 Steve at the tip of the bunion.  It's straight down from there!

 It was a warm day, so we were all hogging the cool spot.  Steve, Sam and John, contemplating climbing out onto the rocks.

 Some amazing lichen.

Our intrepid group.  From left, Larry, Larry, John, Hank (orange shirt), Sam (dark shirt), Gina (in back) Vicky, Steve 

Indian Flats Falls

Oct 24, 2014  Steve and I decided to hike to Indian Flats Falls, near Tremont.  These falls are not marked on any of the park maps, for some reason but most of the locals know the way.  The trail is actually an old railroad bed, leftover from the logging days before the park was formed. Now it is a horse/hiking trail.  Although it is an 8 mile round trip, it is a very gentle climb and follows the river most of the way.  There are numerous small waterfalls and cascades along the way and it was a very pleasant hike.  We saw several horse groups(usually we only see their "calling cards")  We will definitely hike this spot again.

We hiked this far with our grandson Eli last spring.  We sat on this bench and ate a snack before heading back.  Eli had just turned two and hiked over two miles that day.  Let's just say he took a real good nap!

We think this was from one of the logging camps.  There was a stone wall surrounding this chimney that we think was the foundation of the building.

Steve is looking at a stovepipe, and a rail from the railroad.

The falls!  This would be even more wonderful on a hot summer day.

Oct 13.  My mom came to visit us for a couple of days, and we took her to Cades Cove, one of her favorite places.  We did a hike to the John Oliver cabin, about 3 miles total.  A volunteer ranger was at the cabin, and he was a fountain of information about the people that once lived here. 

 

 We had lunch at this "hidden" picnic area in the cove.

The view from Rich Mountain Road, looking back into the cove.  This is one of my very favorite views.