Wide Wednesday

Yesterday was a classic picture-perfect day in Cades Cove.  I nearly had to be dragged out of the fields kicking and screaming. But I'll be back....

Laurel Falls (again)

On Tuesday we headed over to the National Park for a little snow hiking. Along the way we passed a herd of turkeys all fluffed up against the cold. Temp was about 15F degrees with wind chill around 10F.

We decided to hike out to Laurel Falls (again) because the sub-freezing temps were sure to have created some interesting ice formations. We'd last been out about a month ago to see the high water volume after heavy rains.
The Falls trail was fairly busy, being one of the most hiked trails in the park and a short 2.6-mile roundtrip paved outing. But with the cold it wasn't as crowded as usual.

Ice flow, created just like cave formations... except waaaay quicker.









Below the Falls the river was freezing over.









Here are a couple comparison shots, taken at the overspill below the Falls, one after heavy rain and one in snow/ice:

















And now a comparison of Laurel Falls itself, heavy rain vs. snow/ice:












As usual we hiked on past the Falls and the crowd thinned out, but not completely. There were other groups headed toward the old fire tower... more traffic on the trail likely due to roads being closed around the park and thereby limiting hikers' trail choices. We turned back before reaching the trail junction as we got too cold, about 2.6 miles out.

Rainbow Falls hike

A couple Sundays ago we hiked out Rainbow Falls Trail in the Smokies. As many times as we've traveled along the Roaring Fork Road (which is a LOT), this was our first time out to the falls because we generally try to avoid crowds.
Already having visited Laurel Falls, Grotto Falls and Abrams Falls (along with various less popular Smokies falls) we decided to finally bag this busy one.
The distance is 2.6 miles from trailhead to falls, with an elevation gain of about 1500 feet.



We started early and enjoyed our typical hiking weather - cloudy with sporadic showers. At one point we broke out the ponchos but after about 5 minutes it slacked off.

The trail is very heavily traveled with many eroding 'shortcuts' at switchbacks along the way, probably caused mostly by kids.


Lots of neat things to see if you're as obsessed with observation as I am.... I kinda feel sad to see others plod along viewing mostly their feet the entire way. I'm not gonna name any names or claim that I LIVE with anybody like that. Uh-uh. (Uh-huh.)



The obligatory tree-beats-rock photo :-)





That's a big tree, right there!
I think the ones on Ramsey Cascades trail are larger but this one is quite impressive nonetheless.

We overtook several groups along the way including several people wearing flimsy footwear and most were carrying no water.


You're probably saying, "seen one log bridge, seen 'em all".... well look, here's another!






We reached the falls. The water was low due to a dry spell; just a couple days after a great deal of rain caused some flooding around the park - I'd imagine the falls were fairly strengthened then.

One other group had arrived just before us and we observed as they frolicked about the place (see them in the photo for scale). We decided to hike a little farther up the trail in hopes they'd leave and we could enjoy some quiet at the falls. With luck on our side it worked out perfectly and when we returned they were gone. I enjoyed 10 minutes of bliss exploring and photographing before the next hikers arrived.



And another video from underneath the falls.

On the return trip, many people we passed asked if we'd made it all the way to the falls and of course, the most-asked trail question ever: "How much farther is it?" A lot of the folks we talked to said everyone else they'd met coming down before us had turned back before they'd reached the falls..... much to our surprise, as we've built up to 8-mile round-trip hikes and we felt the 'shortness' of this one in comparison. Hey, for sure we huffed and puffed going up, too. After all, it is uphill all the way....

I counted: we passed 140 people while on the trail (+/- 5)

Upon return to the parking lot, there was commotion over a mother bear and 2 or 3 cubs foraging. We've seen bears within that same area (far end of the Rainbow Falls parking lot) on several occasions. People crowded around much too closely (IMO) and one teen boy had even fled to the roof of the family mini van after the mother bear hissed at him.... last year a young boy was attacked by a bear near the start of Rainbow Falls Trail. Park rangers shot and killed a bear there shortly thereafter.

Ramsey Cascades Trail

On Sunday we hiked out Ramsey Cascades Trail in the Smokies. A really interesting trail, lots to see along the way. It is a 4-mile hike to reach the falls with an elevation gain of about 2,200 feet. The most strenuous section is within the last 1/2 mile of the falls.... due to combination of steady incline and tiredness of legs :-) But definitely worth the effort - the falls are spectacular!

The trail starts as an old gravel roadbed. After 1.5 miles, you reach a turn-around loop.... the unnamed footpath branching off left of the loop heads up toward Greenbrier Pinnacle. The falls trail continues on at the back of the loop.


The first log footbridge is about the halfway point. We hiked up here this winter but turned back due to snow and ice, which made the log slick as a sheet of glass.






Erosion along the trailbed.... thousands of feet and countless storms have exposed the root system.
Paying attention is high priority, one small misstep can lead to a twisted ankle or a tumble.





Beautiful bee balm was spotted along the trail in several places.
Lots of rhododendron in bloom .



Traveling onward, the trail winds by three of the biggest trees I've ever seen - pass through two huge sentries to the hall of the giant king, of record proportions!
Cross over another footbridge, just rebuilt in May and still smelling fresh of sawdust (one of my favorite aromas).

Finally after some diligent rock scrambling, the roar of the falls could be heard. As they came into view, so did a grim reminder of the dangers associated with waterfalls. A fun day of enthusiastic exploration can turn deadly in a second..... and so often we witness foolish or careless acts within view of such signs.


We were the first to reach the falls that day and were lucky to enjoy them all on our own for about 10 minutes, until the rest of the hikers started trickling in.
One girl hiked the entire 8 miles in flip-flops. Yeah.
All said, we passed roughly 35 people while on the trail, and our hike-time was 4.25 hours.

Meigs Mountain Trail to Campsite #20

On July 12 we hiked one of my favorite trail sections in the Smokies: Meigs Mountain Trail, from Jake's Creek Trail to just beyond backcountry Campsite #20. It is a relatively easy footpath through some nice forest with a brief, steep descent to the camp.


We've been this way several times before, but only in the 'dead' seasons. It is always something of a surprise how different the same place can look during each season.







An eye-popping burst of color along the way, tiny orange mushrooms just over an inch tall.






This area was historically home to about 20 farm families and logging communities. Some evidence of their presence along the trail..... a stone foundation or wall, and a metal can.




After about 2 miles we reached campsite #20. We've not encountered anyone camping out during our visits, and in fact today we didn't see anyone at all along the trail.
I hope we'll camp here someday.



Someone has done a bit of debris hunting since last we were here. They unearthed a rusted fry pan among other things....







An intact metal wagon wheel rim... where did they find that hiding, I wonder? The railroad wheel has been uncovered for some time.
I love this photo.




Following the trail beyond the campsite, there are a few more stream crossings and more interesting debris to observe.
This looks to be a railroad piece leftover from the logging era.



Closer inspection revealed the part came from Knoxville. Not a surprise!





Hungry, we turned back with thoughts of lunch on our minds.

Our only wildlife encounter of the day was a great one.
After hearing a couple crows in the distance, I got out my trusty crow caller and 'spoke' to them briefly.... the response was excellent! They flew in like stormtroopers and the warrior of the tribe (the loudest and with the most ragged feathers [maybe that's who the cast-off belonged to]) buzzed us at a mere 15 feet. They set up a perimeter and watched us from a fair distance as we finished the hike out. Must have thought I was smuggling a crow in my backpack :-) As always we depart empty-handed, but with my heart full of joy and a few photos to share.

Finley Cane, Bote Mtn, Lead Cove Trails loop hike

On May 25, we made a loop hike of Finley Cane, Bote Mtn, and Lead Cove trails near the entrance to Cades Cove in the Smokies. The 7.1 mile loop covers a variety of terrain. An article from Knox News describes the loop with a little history.

We started off on Finely Cane trail, which is relatively flat and shaded most of the way. It had rained heavily the days before and the trail was very muddy in areas. Not to mention horses had just been through and left some hoofy bogs and plenty-o-poop.

We saw *lots* of these millipedes along the beginning of Finley Cane. Really beautiful. As long as they don't touch me.

An amazing patch of Indian Pipe within the first mile. I believe this is the largest grouping I've seen, there were several patches in this area but this one topped them all.
Also known as Corpse Plant, Indian Pipe has no chlorophyll to make it green.

We reached the cane patch for which Finley Cane Trail is named. It is pretty narrow through this stretch. We passed a handful of ladies on horses here. They had just turned back in a wide spot ahead, so after that the trail was less stirred and muddy since they hadn't been there.

After 2.8 miles we reached the intersection of Finely Cane and Bote Mountain Trails. We debated heading over to backcountry campsite #18 (a beautiful, flat, stream-side camp) via West Prong since it was getting hot, but we've been there before and I was determined we were going to do this loop.

Ok, there are some beautiful views here and the absolute best display of mountain laurel I've ever seen, but this stretch of the Bote Mountain Trail (under sunny conditions with heat, high humidity and abundant bees) was rough. It covers a length of 2.5 miles with an elevation gain of about 1,000 feet, hardest of which is made within the first mile along the very rocky old roadbed.


We did this trail "Eco Challenge style," if you ever saw that tv show. Full-on, flat-out, don't-stop-unless-you're-gonna-die (or take a picture) mode. Note the haze in these photos caused by the film of sweat on the camera lens.
Halfway up Bote Mtn, my other half declared himself retired for the rest of summer, aside from evening firefly hikes and tubing. [Edit: 8.31.09 - we haven't even taken one weekend off from hiking this summer! So I win :-) ]


But wow, it was worth it. How beautiful is that?!

The roadway narrowed and leveled out (kinda) and became less rocky, more sandy. We followed what looked to be coyote prints along the trailbed for about 1/10 mile.



More clouds moved in with a nice breeze, a bit of cooling and welcome relief from the sun. So quiet up here.
Back and forth along the mountain ridge, a few more brief ascents.


A stunning patch of flame azalea greated us at Sandy Gap. I don't recall seeing any before, maybe I just never noticed or appreciated it..... I earned seeing it today and enjoyed it fully.


The uphills are behind us now. Here at the Gap is the intersection with Lead Cove Trail (named for the mineral mined in the area) . We met a backpacker coming up that way. He headed off toward the Appalachian Trail and we headed down Lead Cove.... almost all downhill, for 1.8 miles back down to the parking area.


The beginning of this stretch looks and feels like a tropical jungle. It was great, and it felt so wonderful to be in full, cool shade. Back into muddiness again, though.



Some nice specimens of galax along the way.









I love vine twists in the mountains and this was a great one along Lead Cove.


By this time, we were glad to be nearing the Jeep.
Made it back at 3:45pm.

We'd started out at 12:20pm, so it took us 3 hrs 25 minutes to complete the 7.1 mile loop.