Amongst the paperwork I did, I finally had a chance to sit down and record my log of campsites that I’ve stayed at/been to. This way I have at least some written record of what I’ve been past, and whether or not it’s worth going to the site. You’ll notice that most site descriptions say the same thing. I tend to have very few details about the sites that were good, but not overly memorable. The sites that I remember the most are the bad ones, or the really good ones. If I say something is really good, or really bad, it meant that it was enough to stick in my head and that makes it either worth visiting (Campsite #13), or worth avoiding (Campsite #16).

My Trail History and Campsite Log. There are two tabs at the top for the respective topics.

Have a great week!
LB

Our trip wasn’t just a hike up to the Bald, but was actually a two night, three day backpacking trip. I had Friday afternoon off work, so we left around noon to head to Cades Cove. Our trip took us up Rabbit Creek Trail to Scott Gap. From there we took Hannah Mountain Trail to Campsite #14 where we stayed the night on Friday. Saturday we got up and continued on Hannah Mountain and then up Gregory Bald Trail to Campsite #13 for the night. We got up early on Sunday and made our way up to the Bald itself where we had breakfast and watched the sun come up. After that it was all downhill (literally) to the road. From there we hitched a ride back to Cades Cove Loop road and finally to our car. It was a really fantastic trip with a lot of neat things to see and experience.

If I had to pick a theme for this trip, it would probably have to be the heat. It was hot this weekend in the Smokies. Like, really, really, hot. I think there were a couple of times while climbing up to the bald that I could be found sprawled out on the ground with a bandanna over my head. Looking back it was fun, but I can remember some points of pure misery during the trip. Couple this with water sources that were few and far between, and it made for some tense moments. Julie and I were both out of water by the time we got to campsite #14, and by all signs, we weren’t expecting to find any at the local sources. Fortunately the last spring we looked at had enough that we could filter it. The same thing happened on the second day too. It wasn’t until we were within a 1/8th of a mile from Campsite #13 that we came upon the spring. It definitely makes me rethink the 2 liters of water that I carry. I may have to invest in a new three liter bladder.

If I had to pick another theme for the trip, it would be that Julie hates hammocks. You see, this trip Julie decided that she wanted to try hammock camping as well. So I loaned her my spare ENO Doublenest with rainfly and away we went. By 11:45 pm on Friday night, she was pretty darn miserable. So miserable in fact that she spent a good 10 seconds screaming at the cicadas to be quiet. I’ll leave the profanity laden content out of this entry, but needless to say I was both happy no one else was in the campsite and trying hard not to laugh at the situation. Fortunately she was a good sport and made it through the rest of the weeknd. Either way she’ll probably be getting a new single person tent in the near future…

I think one of the most exciting parts of the trip for me, aside from the bald, was the number of campsites we passed on the trip. I enjoy knowing things about the Smokies, and knowing what the campsites look like is great when someone says “hey, where should I go?” I got to go past 5 different campsites this weekend: 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. I can say without a doubt that campsite #13 is one of the coolest sites I’ve ever seen in the Smokies. The grassy ground, the old trees, and the bald are just amazing! Campsites #12 and #15 were also very cool sites. They’re much easier to get to and have large creeks flowing directly past them. I would gladly go for one of those when I’m looking for a nice easy site. Site #14 was also a nice site, though very small. It definitely couldn’t house more than 2-3 tents, though it can handle quite a few hammocks. Site #16, well, I can’t really think of a good reason to stay here. With site #15 being only 1.1 miles away, I can’t think of a reason not to go there instead!

Though one thing of note about site #16, is that Hannah Mountain Trail, which goes right past it, is absolutely amazing. It is easily one of the nicest trails I have hiked in the Smokies. It doesn’t have a lot of amazing views, and there isn’t anything special about it like waterfalls, but it’s just an enjoyable trail. I can understand why it’s referred to as “the softest trail in the Smokies.” It is!

Another thing probably worth mentioning was some of the wild life we saw on the trip. Not once, but twice we got a little too close to a bear we didn’t know was there. Just outside Campsite #16 on Hannah Mountain Trail we came over a ridge and scared one in the middle of the trail. It was about 30′ away when I saw it. Fortunately it was just as startled as we were because it immediately started running up the ridge. The other bear was about 25 yards from campsite #13. It was just off in the brush and we didn’t see it until we were about 10′ from it. Both times we were too close for me to safely get pictures. Unfortunate, but I’d much rather remain a safe distance from bears!

Overall it was an amazing trip. Pictures are below. If you’re wondering which campsites are which, the order we passed them and the order with which they’re shown in the photos are: 15, 16, 14, 13, 12.

Enjoy!

Gregory Bald Backpack 7-26-2010

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Viewing images 1-109 of 109

I had originally posted this backpack as a group event, but only 4 people signed up, myself, the-woman-who-currently-puts-up-with-me (TWWCPUWM ), and a couple of guys from the hiking group. For various reasons others dropped out until it was eventually just my girlfriend and I. The backpack was down in the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains, in the Deep Creek Area near Bryson City.

The backpack got off to an amazing start when there, not far from the trail head, sat a little baby black bear. A small group of people had already begun to gather, and it was obvious that they were creeping closer, and closer. My first thought was “where’s mom?” After a few minutes I grabbed my camera out of the car and took advantage of my nice zoom lens to get some pretty good shots of the little guy/gal. After a few minutes we went back to the ranger station to let them know what was going on. It was kind of fortunate we did all of that, because we had actually been at the wrong trail head!

With all of that excitement we started our backpack. Since I knew we would staying the night near Deep Creek, and it was just the two of us, I had decided to pack my tripod in with my good camera. As such my pack was about 8 lbs heavier than it usually is. Of all the hikes to pack in extra weight, I would pick one as insane as going up Noland Divide!

Truth be told my pack was relatively light even with the tripod. I know I’ve carried far more when backpacking, so i don’t really know why I felt like I was dying the entire time. I couldn’t go more than a 1/4 mile without having to stop and catch my breath. Maybe it was allergies? The pollen has been rather brutal this year. Either way, the 11+ miles it took to get to the campsite took us just under 7 hours, which is certainly not my usual pacing, even on exceedingly hard terrain.

All-in-all though, the hike was enjoyable. The views from the ridge were quite impressive, and it was nice seeing the birds of prey floating on the wind. The area suffered significant damage to the hemlock population which was quite sad, and the bridge from Pole Road Creek Trial to Deep Creek Trail was out which made for an exciting (AND COLD!) crossing in Deep Creek. It was all worth it though because we had a beautiful campsite right next to the river (#56) completely to ourselves. Actually not completely to ourselves, there was a little field mouse that kept popping up occasionally to say hello and search for crumbs. It was very peaceful, and very relaxing!

The next morning we took our time getting up and going. TWWCPUWM enjoyed some morning yoga by the river while I got to play around with some slow shutter speed shots. Unfortunately the morning sun was a little too bright to get many good ones, but with the help of some deep exposure, I did manage to get a few nice looking shots. Before setting out for the day we rearranged our packs so that I would carry more of her gear, and she would take my tripod. Despite equivalent weights, my pack felt much better and I was able to handle the terrain with no problems. I can only conclude that the manner I strapped my tripod to my pack was causing me to be lopsided. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. After we got back to the car we stopped in Bryson City at a little place called Anthony’s Italian and Pizzeria. It had a nice front porch that looked out over an historic train yard. Their pasta was divine! I had spinach manicotti, and TWWCPUWM had Chicken Parmesan. Her’s was much better than mine, but they were both very good. With that, our weekend was concluded and we made our way back home. I did discover something interesting during the drive. We calculated the mileage from my apartment to the Deep Creek parking lot going through Sevierville on the way there, and going via Little River Road/Maryville on the way home. Sevierville is 99.3 miles, and Maryville is 100.7. There’s less than 2 miles physical distance between the two routes. Definitely handy to know in the future!

Lotta pictures, I hope you enjoy them.

Nolland Divide 4-17-2010

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Viewing images 1-113 of 113

Update: I forgot to apologize for the quality, or lack there of in the pictures. These pictures were taken with my former camera that I am returning. You can read about that in my other blog post.

Campsite #20 lies in the Western Smokies on the Meigs Mountain Trail between Elkmont and the Curry Mountain Trail. I have yet to stay overnight at the campsite, but explored the campsite quite a bit while hiking Meigs Mountain to The Sinks one bright Saturday afternoon. I liked what I saw and will definitely be planning a trip there as soon as I have a weekend open. Unfortunately that probably won’t happen until Spring of 2012. Yikes! On to the specifics…

• Roominess: This campsite is quite roomy and open. I would enjoy it as a nice option for larger groups of people. There’s enough room for 3-4 tents near each fire ring and that still allows some distance from any neighbors
• Firewood: There wasn’t an abundance of firewood at or in the near vicinity of the site, but I did some walking on the outskirts and saw enough burnable wood that it shouldn’t be difficult to get a good fire going.
• Water Source: There is an unnamed creek flowing immediately to the east of the campsite. It isn’t the Little River, but it’s more than enough to safely filter out of. It’s also close enough that you can hear it as you’re falling asleep which is something I’m very fond of.
• Scenery: It is very pretty at Campsite #20. The day I was there the sun was shining down through the branches of the tall trees in the area making for a very eye pleasing and peaceful surrounding.
• Seclusion: As I mentioned above, the area is very open. You’re likely to see your neighbors, but fortunately there’s probably enough room that you won’t have to hear them.
• Getting There: The route that we took was Meigs Mountain out of Elkmont. Aside from a little bit of uphill right at the beginning it was on the easier side of things. Some other options include taking Curry Mountain to Meigs Mountain, Lumber Ridge to Meigs Mountain, or if you’re in the mood for massive amounts of water crossings, Meigs Creek to Meigs Mountain. From that list the only trail I haven’t hiked is Lumber Ridge. For the rest I can they are all excellent hikes.
• Hammock Trees: The tall trees in the campsite make for some excellent hammock options.

Conclusion: Overall Campsite #20 is a high class campsite. The general roominess of the site makes it ideal for larger groups while the scenery and peacefulness of the creek would also make it ideal for a lone trip with a hammock and a book. I’m looking forward to going back and staying at Campsite #20.

Campsite #24 lies in the Mid-Western Smoky Mountains approximately 5 miles from Elkmont Campground. It sits next to (practically in) the Little River. It’s a reservation only campsite so if you are planning to take a trip, I would highly recommend calling early. One important thing to note is that this campsite closes quite frequently due to aggressive bear activity. Given it’s close proximity to Elkmont this shouldn’t come as a surprise.

• Roominess: This campsite is quite roomy for a reservation only campsite. It has 5 sub-sites, 4 of which have fire rings. There is definitely more than enough room for the max number of people allowed on reservation only sites.
• Firewood: Given the popularity of this trail and it’s easy-to-get-to nature I was expecting little in the way of firewood. I was dead wrong in every aspect of that assumption. if you were willing to cut there were so many good dead trees around that 5 campfires a night would be hard pressed to use it in a year.
• Water Source: The only thing more abundant that firewood was water. Little River provides a wonderful water source and some nice nature music when trying to sleep.
• Scenery: When I sit in my office cubical thinking about the mountains and laying back in a beautiful area relaxing, this is the kind of place I envision. It is absolutely GORGEOUS here.
• Seclusion: There is quite a bit of seclusion in this campsite. The 5 sub-sites are all blocked from each other so if you’re looking for some relative peace, this is actually a pretty solid option.
• Getting There: There are several options for getting to #24 ranging from sublimely easy to insanely hard. The most direct route is to take Little River Trail directly there. Some of the other options include Cucumber Gap to Little River, Husky Gap to Little River, Rough Creek to Little River, or even Goshen Prong to Little River. All in all this campsite is an option for just about everyone.
• Hammock Trees: The one thing I can’t rate this campsite highly on. All of the exploring I did only yielded two reliable trees for hammocks. This is very disappointing for someone like me who lives by the Hammock!

Conclusion: This is a wonderful campsite with a lot to offer. It’s easy (or very hard) to get to, there is plenty of firewood, and it’s quite beautiful there. All in all this is a campsite that I will definitely be returning to (July 20th in fact).