Indian Flats Falls hike

A couple weeks ago we hiked in the Tremont area of the Smokies in effort to check another waterfall of our list. There'd been a hard rain previously, the day was mostly cloudy and we anticipated showers and good water flow at the falls - we weren't wrong.
The access to Indian Flats Falls is via Middle Prong Trail, an old railroad bed which parallels Lynn Camp Prong. It is just under 4 miles to reach the Falls, but if you don't want to go the whole distance there are many attractive little cascades to enjoy along the way.
Heavy rain had contributed to a fresh rock slide near the beginning of the trail.... that large rock is about the size of a bean bag chair.












A nice bench to view Lynn Camp Prong Cascade.





Rain did fall, slowly at first then progressed to a steady downpour then sporadic showers - we broke out the ponchos and continued onward.



Some serious force to pile these huge rocks.



A small creek falls on the right of the trail, runs under it and feeds into Lynn Camp Prong.







By now it was really raining hard and as we approached from a distance I saw the handrails of this bridge and thought maybe we could shelter underneath it until the downpour slacked off.... then again, maybe not.





When you get to the downed log across the trail, look for a well-worn footpath to the right for viewing the old car.

At 2.3 miles is the intersection with Panther Creek Trail, which branches off on the other side of the swiftly flowing Lynn Camp Prong... one would get majorly wet crossing there on this day.


A brick chimney still stands.




Old fire ring behind a tree growing on top of a rock in a wide clearing. Iron rail is nearby.


Occasional bursts of color punctuate an otherwise green and brown landscape.





The trail bed becomes quite rocky along the way and by the return trip I'd developed a stone bruise on my left arch, which was uncomfortable but not unmanageable.

A wooden bridge crosses the river at about 3.5 miles, then you climb a few switchbacks to a wide muddy spot with a scraped tree (probably from horses being tied to it). To the back and right of that tree is the narrow footpath to Indian Flats Falls. Use caution as the footing is a little treacherous in spots, especially when wet.


The falls are quite wonderful and have a nice little area to spread out and enjoy the atmosphere. We spotted a crawfish in the shallows. I took off my shoes and waded for a couple minutes until the icy waters made my feet numb.... yeah, in August. Then some aggressive honey bees discovered us and sent us packing along.

Video at the falls - showing the main/upper portion of 4 drop-offs, then panning over to the second drop-off.

We encountered several groups and an individual moving toward the falls as we headed back. Always pays to get an early start, as we are finding it more common to encounter folks on nearly all trails lately. Summertime + the most-visited national park = running into others is just about inevitable these days.

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.

Skunk

This evening I was in the backyard messing with my plants.... when I looked up for a moment there was the skunk. I almost trampled myself trying to get inside before he noticed me. Then, whilst running to grab the camera to snap the little stinker because I can never get a decent pic of him, I almost broke my toe on the stairs. By the time I made it back out, he'd traipsed across the street. Little fink.
So I didn't do all that in vain, I present for your viewing pleasure the crappy skunk shot:

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.

Box turtle

About a month ago, I looked out the window to check on the rain (we'd been having a lot) and I spied a box turtle trundling around in the street. We don't get much traffic here but there are a couple resident speed demons who'd likely mow down a turtle and not even notice.... so I embarked on a mini rescue op to get it off the road.

Having done this a few times in the past, I was fully prepared for the inevitable peeing that goes along with carrying a turtle. I brought it onto the patio for a few photos before moving across the road in the direction I assume it was heading - the retention pond. Poor little thing was caked up with red clay from the empty lots next door.

Very enjoyable to examine such a beautiful creature so closely.
Here's a video that displays the turtle's locomotion, watch those little legs go!

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.

Family visit

Mom and Dad (and Zippy the wonderdog) are in town visiting for a couple weeks and house shopping.... we're having a good time and hopefully they'll find a place to make a home base up here!
At least they are enjoying our cooler weather, low-to-mid 80sF is *much* more pleasant than upper 90sF. Ugh. That's why WE moved away. Don't get me wrong, I love LA and the Gulf Coast.... the food is amazing and the people are great, and it will always be "home", but sweating like pig 10 seconds after going outside (and that's just standing there, not even working!) is not my cup of tea. I'd rather be partially frozen :-)