An Overnight Trip with Gabe and Emilie
LyttleBryan June 10th, 2009
This weekend I had the pleasure of taking two friends, Gabe and Emilie, on their first backpacking trip. I had been trying to get them into the back country for some time, but this was my first successful go at it. I spent quite a bit of time on planning this trip because I wanted the campsite to meet several specific criteria.
- It had to be next to a rushing stream
- It had to be a relatively easy backpack, I didn’t want to kill my friends or turn them off to backpacking
- It had to have plenty of trees as this would be my first hammock-only trip
After a bit of research and digging through the LBB I decided that campsite #24 was the go-to site. When I called the back country office for reservations I was informed that the site had just been reopened because of bear activity. Given it’s close proximity to Elkmont, I wasn’t surprised. I decided it was worth it anyway and made reservations for the three of us.
For the hike up to #24 we took the Cucumber Gap Trail out of Elkmont. I hadn’t been on Cucumber Gap before and was pleasantly surprised. Aside from a rather steep incline the first .3 miles (actually on Jakes Gap Trail) the trip was a nice pleasant stroll through the Smokies. It eventually met with the Little River Trail which we would take straight up to #24. Right before the convergence of the trails I ran into another friend (and fellow hiking group member) Lisa who was out for a stroll. After chitchatting with her for a while, we continued on to Little River Trail.
A mile or so into Little River Trail we saw the trail head sign for Husky Gap Trail with an indication that Campsite #21 was a short half mile round trip hike off the Little River Trail. I figured I had never been to #21 before so it would be worth a look for future reference. Unfortunately, I have to say I wasn’t that impressed with it. The area seemed relatively rough and on a noticeable incline. I didn’t see what looked like many good flat spots for tents. I did notice that there was a great abundance of firewood though. All-in-all given it’s close proximity to #24, I would probably opt for #24 if I was looking for something in that area.
Once back on the Little River Trail it wasn’t long though before we came to a relatively difficult water crossing. It wasn’t anything too difficult, but trying to rock hop was probably harder than just fording across. The campsite was right after the crossing so even if you take a dive you won’t be hiking wet for very long. While setting up we had a solo hiker join our little area who introduced himself as Nate from Kentucky.
After an uneventful (though peaceful) evening we found ourselves sitting around a dying fire. It wasn’t long though before we noticed the fireflies and I quickly realized that it was that time when all fireflies would blink in synchronized manner. This amazing visual display only happens once a year in two places globally, here and China. It was truly amazing to see such a spectacle and made me so glad I’d chosen that weekend to visit Elkmont! I will post more information on campsites #21, #24, and the trails to get to them in later posts.
-Lyttle Bryan