Easter in the Great Smoky Mountains/April 3rd and 4th

Day #1: Hiking Ace Gap Trail off of Rich Mtn. west of the better portion of GSMNP, the trail begins with a slight incline as we amble 5.8 miles mid/late afternoon, passing mountain homes scattered along the park boundary, deciduous trees yet to bud. I am incredibly psyched to be hefting at least 20 light lbs. of overnight gear. Cloud cover shifts and shades the trail, strong winds blow through the bare treetops. Will it rain? No hats, no coats, wearing shorts…the temperature is better-suited for late May, but raingear is packed (always!). Once reaching intersection of Ace Gap and Beard Cane Trail, we descend between high soft ridges, fallen leaves gold on the ground as the sun breaks through. This long hollow becomes a creek bed, remains so with mysterious forks of water forming and combining, currents changing direction out of sight. Rhododendron and white pine provide green color along the walk. Not much later, trillium buds rise from the ground but stand tight and unbloomed. Described as “marshy” by a friend, I can imagine in a rainy season, when foliage is full, this walk would probably be a lot wetter and muddier, perhaps cooler. Pit-stop at #3 for afternoon coffee and gathering water is delightful. Nice and clean with lots of flat space. I put on waterproof socks AFTER a major spill prior to arriving at campsite, not a bad tactic, but almost forget my Smartwool and liner socks drying on a tree branch. The abundance of small stream crossings, as well as blowdowns, make the 2.0 (approx) to #11 tricky, nonetheless a peaceful early evening. Shared #11 with a young couple from Louisiana who are out on a multiple-night excursion; they’d been fishing near Abrams Creek earlier, good company. Fatigue and hunger after 8.8 miles make setting up camp a slightly woozy experience, but once the fire is set and food cooked, I find a perfect lounging spot against a tree, quite snug on a fat root. Stars shine all night, moon settles on the tent not much before dawn.




Day #2: Easter Sunday in the Smokies, what a treat! Slow moving out of camp, the sun filters down, temperatures still agreeable. Much more uphill hiking today (“real hiking”--ha!) climbing up and over gaps, around shady brooks and bends, to Hatcher Mtn. Trail which is fairly strenuous but glorious, high views transmuting into a smooth riverbed walk, meeting Little Bottoms Trail. Wildflowers are clearly opening here, different varieties from yesterday, some seemingly shocked by the heat. At #17, a father and two small children are playing on a grassy spot beneath large trees. I say, “Looking for the Easter Bunny?” and Dad remarks they’d rather be here instead of church. No kidding! Upon reaching Abrams Creek Campground, activities are calm for a holiday weekend in GSMNP. I nap on a sunny picnic bench while partner goes another 0.5 to find our ride, generously offered. The wonderful variety of trail and landscape changes, my first overnight hike of the season (2010) has me feeling enthusiastic and seriously considering round-trip from Cades Cove to Hannah Mtn. Trail, back around to Gregory Bald for return, sometime soon.

Rich Mountain Road

I began this casual walk up Rich Mtn.rd. from the parking area for the Ace Gap trail and Rich Mtn. trail access coming in from Dry Valley. The only sign of humans were some day old bike tracks left in the snow over the 3 miles or so I walked in. It was a very pleasant walk up easy to moderate inclines most of the way with views through the trees at several points of parts of Cades Cove way in the distance. A hike I hope to do again when I'm looking for an easy afternoon walk, before the cove loop re-opens in May. Peace

Hiking New Paths

New trails, for me, was what this hike provided (28.8 mls). It started at the Rich Mtn. parking accessed from Dry Valley, atop Rich Mountain. With the normal to slightly above normal precipitation over last few months, water was available throughout the hike described in this entry.
I followed Ace Gap trail 5.6 mls, to the junction w/ Beard Cane trail at Blair Gap and Hurricane Mtn. The difficulty of this section of the hike was easy to moderate w/ several drops and gains along the way. The campsites #4, and #7, which sits in Ace Gap (1680'), I passed along this trail are now closed due to lack of consistent water and property disputes w/ a developer. A few new, large, vacant, houses border the park between these closed sites.
Ace Gap trail ended w/ what appeared as a "man way" continuing straight on to Hurricane Mtn., though I was going down to the left following the Beard Cane trail. This began with, and continued a descent for .9 mls, and brought me to campsite #3. After crossing Hesse Creek, which could be difficult had there been recent rains as it is wide and slippery. Hesse Creek merges w/ Beard Cane Creek nearby.
This campsite was "way cool"! Plenty of room and lots of wood found on the ground for firewood. More to see here next time I travel this route.
Monday morning I woke late, and was in no rush to move on. After enjoying the "quiet noise" of the streams and the wind in the Hemlocks. I finished packing up and moved down Beard Cane trail past campsite #11, and to the intersection w/ Hatcher Mtn. trail at 1900'. The 3.5 mls+- on the Beard Cane trail from #3 had a seemingly slight incline; though towards the end this was more apparent, also crossing a creek of the same name 12+ times, which it pretty much paralleled the distance. This would make for tough going w/ melting snow or on rainy days because of the mud and almost bog like appearance it had. This section of trail also looked like a great area for a hike in the spring to see blooming wildflowers and a variety of wildlife I'd bet.
I continued from this intersection w/ Hatcher Mtn. and Cooper Road trails, along Hatcher Mtn. trail until it ran into the Little Bottoms trail (2.6 mls), at which point I went to the right. In less than a mile I reached the #17 campsite. (Abram's Falls was like 1.9 mls to the left) This site, #17, is a large campsite sitting above Abrams Creek in the location of a former homestead. The area is frequented by fly fisherman w/ relatively easy access from the Abram's Creek Ranger Station and a developed campground. There was plenty of room for relative privacy and firewood to be found on the ground here as well.

A note I need to make here. At #3, and here, #17, where I spent the nights out, I located, by accident, plastic bags of garbage left partially hidden by the inconsiderate, ungrateful, _______, ________ _________, person(s) who felt their sh__ is someone else's responsibility. Probably some of the same F____s that are afraid to change old ways despite the known negative results. If only...huh? oh, OK, I'm done.

I enjoyed a wonderful fire, a really special dinner; chicken and rice mixed w/ tuna wrapped in a tortilla, and later some decaf strawberry tea! So, minus the chef's surprise it was a good night.
Tuesday morning I got up to great temperatures and had the sun warming me earlier than the previous day by about an hour because it didn't have to climb as high over a mtn. before "shining down on me". (Though all three days of hiking were done in a poly shirt and shorts the nights were probably in the upper 30's low 40's.)
The original plan here was to hike back to #3, via a partial loop, which included finishing Little Bottoms Trail thru campsite #1, going up Cooper Road trail, a dual use trail often rough and rocky, passing through a portion of Lynn Hollow, past Cane Creek trail at Cane Gap, and on to the intersection w/ Beard Cane and Hatcher Mountain trail. Taking a left turn here and reversing a portion of the route I'd hiked the day before, back to #3, and camping out.
That was the plan.
But when I reached #3, I was pumped and feeling strong (I was also thinking about 2 large porkchops I had leftover from grilling out Saturday), so I decided to go for it! I did, and I got it (tired that is). The last mile of the Beard Cane trail from this direction was back up the mountain and throughout the remaining distance, 5.6 mls., of Ace Gap trail, it is a steady rise and fall in short burst keeping you honest in your physical efforts.
Throughout these three days I saw only one person. A nice fella' who was coming off the Cane Creek Trail after camping the night at #2.
This route is a definite do over! Offering numerous possibilities for continuing paths and stopping points! Peace.