This just in....Alum Cave Trail closing for repairs, in 2015.

Today officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced that the next full-scale, Trails Forever restoration will begin on Alum Cave Trail in 2015. The Trails Forever crew will focus restoration efforts on several targeted locations along the 5-mile trail to improve visitor safety and stabilize eroding trail sections. The restoration work will require temporary trail closures throughout the 2-year process.
This trail is one of the most popular in the park, leading hikers to iconic areas including Arch Rock, Inspiration Point, Alum Cave Bluffs, Mt. LeConte, and LeConte Lodge. Park rangers respond to numerous accidents along the trail each year, especially along the upper, narrow corridors. The planned work will improve overall trail safety and protect natural resources by repairing historic cable and handrail systems, reinforcing hanging trail sections, reducing trail braiding, and improving drainage to prevent further erosion.
Alum Cave Trail and associated parking areas will be closed May 4 through November 19 in 2015, excluding federal holidays, on Monday mornings at 7:00 a.m. through Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m. weekly.  Due to the construction process on the narrow trail, a full closure is necessary for the safety of both the crew and visitors.  Hikers can still reach Mt. Le Conte, LeConte Lodge, and the LeConte Shelter by using one of the other five trails to the summit.  The Mt. LeConte Lodge and Mt. LeConte backcountry shelter will remain open and can be accessed from any of these other routes during the Alum Cave Trail closure.
These alternative routes are the Boulevard, Bull Head, Rainbow Falls, Trillium Gap, and Brushy Mountain trails all lead to Mt. LeConte, but trailhead parking is limited. Carpooling is encouraged.  Day hikers should also consider enjoying other trails offering stunning views such as Chimney Tops Trail, Forney Ridge Trail to Andrews Bald, or the Appalachian Trail from Newfound Gap to Charlie’s Bunion. 

The Trails Forever is a partnership program between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Friends of the Smokies. The Friends have donated $500,000 to support the program.   The Trails Forever program provides the opportunity for a highly skilled trail crew to focus reconstruction efforts on high use and high priority trails in the park including the recently restored Forney Ridge Trail and Chimney Tops Trail which opens December 12.  The program also provides a mechanism for volunteers to work alongside the trail crew on these complex trail projects to assist in making lasting improvements to preserve the trails for future generations. 

Hiking Off the Grid

Today I had the opportunity to take advantage of the decreasing number of visitors in the GSMNP, the warm weather, and the lack of underbrush which crowds the parts of this route I have followed in the warmer seasons. The exact route location will remain "anonymous", at this level of Social Media, so as to curtail some traffic in this desolate area of the park. 
But dude!, trust me, if you were to contact me and leave an e-mail address I'd probably respond with some clues. 

A very small portion of this route is already being used on a limited basis by some fishermen, by people who just walk up the manway out of curiosity, those who have no idea where their going; which is how I stumbled across it 9 years ago, and those who know where they're going and are going much farther than those previously mentioned.
Over the years I have enjoyed investigating the  different areas which this route provides access to and today was another new and awesome experience!
I was able to bypass the natural knots tied by these trees and vines in the picture above, going in, but came through it, by choice, coming back out and found it not as imposing as it appears.  Before I entered into it though I was thinking I new about where I was and was going to bushwhack my way to a trail I had previously hiked but couldn't locate it and turned back to the way I had come after coming upon a wall of "rodo".
Rhododendron has been the common obstacle halting hikes or causing changes in the routes out of this valley.  However, today, accompanied with my USGS map and compass I followed a route new to me and one which provided more insight to a future bushwhack to the AT from this valley.
Trust me,  I am not breaking new trails in the park, as this is something, if given the right key words there are pages of IE post about. 
Saw these little plants coming through moss on a log as I was walking out and completing the last few miles of about 7 miles for the day.  Peace

Bears along the Walk

This walk began up Lumber Ridge Trail late in the afternoon early in the month of November, with the Mysterious One, taking the lead. Heck we weren't but a couple hundred yards up the trail when I come around a corner and there she is bent over pointing into the woods with one hand (see picture), and waving me closer with the other. 

Oh my! Assistant Deputy VIP Ranger Fife (me), was so proud of her and the animated intensity of the Mysterious One's position and gestures as she non-verbally controlled my approach.  It was a hoot!  Once getting closer I could make out the momma bear; we saw one cub sneaking off, who was watching us from about fifty yards up the mountain. 

Eventually momma bear grew tired of me trying to get the next best picture and let me know it with a verbal warning, to which I took heed and continued up the trail away from the bears. 
We hiked up the trail to the saddle (approx. 2.5mls), where we had a snack, some rest and then returned the way we came. 

We were privileged to experience the wild life which included this and several other beautiful trees sporting their fall colors!  Peace

Montana Hikes September 2014

These falls are located in Hyalite Canyon across the canyon from the trail and were not visible from the trail because it was winding some awesome pine forest. I noticed them after I bushwhacked off the trail along a draw to get above the tree line and up to rocky cliffs. Had no idea what was waiting to be seen. This picture below is in the Spanish Peaks with the trail heading atop the pass and into Bear Basin on the other side. This is Faery Lake in the Bridgers, more beautiful than I remembered.

Trail and road closures in The Great Smoky Mountains NP, A report on trails and roads etc....

 

Due to some extensive storm damage to the trail and visitor safety hazards (a root ball tore out a large section of trail tread, 3 large hazard trees overhanging the trail), the plan is to close Laurel Falls trail on Monday. Tomorrow morning we will have Trails do an assessment to determine how long the closure and repair will take.

This just in from the folks at the GSMNP
Here is a quick take on the weekend's activities, as well as where we are as of Monday morning

Sunday, 11/2/14 – Storm Damage

·         Cades Cove Loop Road cleared and opened.
·         Laurel Creek Road cleared and opened.
·         Little River Road cleared and opened.
·         Cherokee Orchard Road cleared and opened.
·         Cades Cove campground cleared
·         Gatlinburg Bypass cleared and opened
·         Elkmont campground cleared (not open – downed power lines/waiting on Sevier Co Electric)
·         Elkmont Entrance Road cleared (not open – downed power lines/waiting on Sevier Co Electric)
·         Newfound Gap Road clearing – in progress.
·         Foothills Parkway East & West – in progress.

 

Monday, 11/3/14 – Objectives:

·         Clear and Open Newfound Gap Road (early)
·         Clear and open Elkmont Road
·         Clear and open Clingmans Dome Road (mid-day)
·         Close Laurel Falls Trail for repair.
·         Foothills Parkway West open by COB.
·         Foothills Parkway East open by mid-day.
·         Begin High Priority Trails assessments.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, pretty much closed today

Hello. Due to the snow which began falling around 10 pm last night here in the Tuckaleechee Valley (Townsend), and likely began much earlier in the higher elevations of the GSMNP, the park is pretty much shut down today, Saturday, November 1st.

The following is the latest from the park and the park website is provided at the bottom for further information. 10:00 AM update: All park roads are closed and conditions are hazardous throughout the park, even in lower elevations. Trees at lower elevations still have leaves which are holding the snow, causing many of them to fall or break under the weight of the snow. Rangers are working to get roads cleared of downed trees. GSMNP Website - http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/temproadclose.htm

Fall Colors in the Smokies and other parts of east Tennessee

(The following is an edited re-post from my friends at the GSMNP)

Forecasting the fall color change calls to mind the comedy routine of the late George Carlin as the “hippy-dippy weatherman” who said, “Tonight’s forecast: Continued dark overnight, with widely scattered light by morning.”

The leaves will inevitably change color as the days shorten and the nights grow cooler. The real question is whether autumn will bring a fiery burst of color, or a slow parade of muted pigments that fade from yellow to brown.

Kathy Mathews teaches biology at Western Carolina University, and every fall for the past nine years she has issued a color forecast based on the complex interaction between leaf chemistry and weather patterns.

Mathews’ forecast in late summer wasn’t encouraging. Based on consistent rain as far back as April, she called for a below-average color display this fall. A few weeks ago Mathews changed her forecast. Now, thanks to the recent dry weather coupled with sunny days and cool nights, she believes the stage is set for good leaf color.

“Until we get the first frost, the colors will be uneven,” Mathews said. “Frost kills the chlorophyll and brings out the other pigments that are more cold-resistant. That’s when all the trees change at the same time.”

It used to be that leaf colors at the lower elevations peaked around the second week of October. In recent years the peak has come about two weeks later, usually in late October or early November. Scientists say the delay is likely due to warming weather patterns.
(Hmmm?...is this what some call Climate Change?)

In the Great Smoky Mountains National Park there already is a splash of color above 4,000-feet elevation; lower down, the main leaf season still is about three weeks away. The park’s dogwood, sumac and sourwood trees already have turned orange and red. In a few weeks the hickories, maple and oaks will follow suit to produce the fiery colors that make October the park’s second busiest month next to July.

The Smokies maintains a fall color Web page — www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/fallcolor.htm — that’s updated weekly.

The Cherokee National Forests’ fall color report can be found online at: www.fs.usda.gov/cherokee/. After accessing the home page, scroll down to “Spotlights” and click on the “Fall Color Report.”

Here are some other recommended scenic drives for viewing fall colors in East Tennessee. Bear in mind that color will come and go sooner at the higher elevations than the lower elevations.

* The Ocoee Scenic Byway (U.S. Highway 64) through the Ocoee River gorge, elevation 838 at Lake Ocoee to 2,200 feet at the Chilhowee Recreation Area.

* Foothills Parkway, western tip of the Smokies, elevation 850 feet.

* Cherohala Skyway, Cherokee National Forest and Nantahala National Forest, elevation 930 at Tellico Plains to 5,390 feet at the crest of the highway.

* Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, elevation 2,440 feet at the Pinnacle Overlook.

* The Blue Ridge Parkway’s southern terminus between Cherokee and Asheville, N.C., average elevation, 5,000 feet.