Saturated Soils and rising waters

Flash Flooding? The folks at the GSMNP want you to know that
Seven days of rain are expected in the weather forecast for this week (2-19-19).
So Please be wary of high water and stream crossings. With the rain soaked and saturated soil streams will rise quickly and stay high longer.

Check the GRSM Trail Map for the colored box listing trails with significant stream crossings.  Visitors are encouraged to call the Backcountry Office, 865436-1297, or consider an alternative route during the upcoming high water levels in the park.
And Winter is NOT over, yet!  
Even with temperatures warming up in the low elevations, ice may still be present in the upper elevations of the park so do be prepared.

Some scheduled road work in the GSMNP this spring

A pavement preservation project began this Tuesday, February 19 on Little River Road. A thin pavement overlay will be applied to the 16.5-mile roadway between Sugarlands Visitor Center to the Townsend Wye, including pull-offs, parking lots, and Elkmont Road. The project will begin with the Sugarlands Visitor Center and Bus parking areas.
 Visitors traveling on Little River Road should expect weekday, single-lane closures and traffic delays from February 19 through June 14 and from August 19 through September 20. Single-lane closures will be from 7:00 a.m. on Mondays through 12:00 p.m. on Fridays. No lane closures will be allowed during peak summer months, weekends, or holidays including the week before and after Easter from April 12 through April 26.    
 Hazardous Tree Removal through April Tree removal work along various roadways in the park will continue along Little River Road between Sugarlands Visitor Center and Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area, Elkmont Road, Cherokee Orchard Road, Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, and the Gatlinburg Bypass. Motorists should expect single lane closures and thus delays through April.

Hwy 441 Closed in the GSMNP

GSMNP Roads Closed Hwy 441 Newfound Gap rd. between Gatlinburg, TN and Cherokee, NC is closed due to ice/snow and high winds.

Shades of Gray...along the trails (Rich Mtn. and Curry Mtn)

Wow, dudes and Dudettes! "The Mysterious One", and I hiked the last couple of days with gray skies and potential rain, which never happened, and enjoyed the many shades of gray within the trees, the clouds and the ground cover.
Noticing the beauty of the details in all seasons like the colors, shapes and sizes of things helps me better appreciate my human condition.
We hiked Rich Mtn trail on 2/16, and Curry Mtn trail on Sunday 2/17. Both of which were in good shape given the amount of rainfall we have had the last few months and are continuing to receive.
On both hikes we saw no one else. Only birds.
The Curry Mtn trail is a hidden gem for those in fairly good health. With it's wintertime vistas, and "stair stepping", ascent to the intersection with Meigs Mtn trail (3.3 mls one-way), there are several sources currently to obtain water, lots of rhododendron viewing at the right time of the year and fairly easy access to the trailhead from the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area where you'll find parking. The bathrooms at Metcalf Bottoms are currently closed.

Roads Closing in the GSMNP due to weather

This just in , well recently, Officials from the Great Smoky Mtns NP have closed the roads in anticipation of the weather expected tonight. Their dispatches read as follows.... Hwy 441 Newfound Gap Rd. from Gatlinburg, TN to Cherokee, NC is closed to all vehicles due to forecasted weather of snow and wind. and the other one said... Little River rd. from the Townsend Wye to Metcalf Bottoms is temporarily closed due to forecasted weather and wind.

(This photo is from Big Sky MT, a few years ago)

Cades Cove....on a beautiful January morning.

Wow! Dudes and Dudettes!! I usually have an aversion to using Cades Cove for any reason other than to access trailheads for hiking and backpacking. However this morning as I was driving into the park to do some hiking it came to me that this would be a good day to go into the Cove and check it out. Being that it is one of few times in the year when visitor numbers are low, it's Monday, which is usually the lightest day of the week of any season, and it was early.

After immediately running into a small "traffic jam", caused by some grazing male deer, things went smoothly. Damn, I am glad I don't do this route in the summer!
There are numerous turn outs to let people pass which I used a few times. I also got out and walked a few times enjoying the beautiful views, cool air while in the fields and around some of the maintained homesteads.
I'd encourage anyone who can, to enjoy the beautiful views and history of Cades Cove, during this time of the year. Before the schools begin going to spring breaks and then again before schools break for the summer.
I really enjoyed this time in Cades Cove, and not being in a hurry to get some where I got to pay  closer attention to the terrain and the road. 

Rich Mountain Trail Jan. 1st and 2nd/2019

With the park being closed officially, many folks were still visiting the Great Smoky Mountains NP, over their holidays. As I pulled into the parking area were the Ace Gap trail begins and Rich Mtn road comes out of the park from Cades Cove, I was surprised to see a bunch of vehicles parked wherever they could given the few actual spots available.
And there were even more when I returned from hiking the Rich Mtn. trail up to and beyond campsite #5.

The trail was slippery in places with a few muddy spots that made for potentially messy falls if one was not careful. At times I used the narrow but more solid sides of the trail in order to skirt around the muddy spots. These spots were hidden under the leaves and would quickly swallow shoes that were not waterproof and did not cover over the ankles. I know because the times I stepped into these spots my bad ass boots were very much appreciated as they were sucked into the mud under the leaves.
I saw and heard birds, some squirrels and no large wildlife. Though both days there was "evidence" of their recent presence.
This route should be considered difficult for the novice, though is doable if done slowly with the awareness of ones current physical condition.
On my return down the trail yesterday I went off of it to see if there were still remnants of a man-made shelter that I had seen a year or so ago. This site located about 35 yards off the trail down a steep ravine; which I spotted when trekking off the grid, and was located under a rock shelf. Under this ledge was  a large piece of polyurethane that could have been an improvised footprint for a large tent or a wall as a "fourth wall".  The day I stumbled upon this I made the note to myself that I should tell folks in trail maintenance, which I did, and/or come back and pick it up myself.
Yesterday I saw that the plastic was still there and so today I went back up and collected the now fragmenting plastic into a bag and carried it out. This plastic was breaking into small pieces as I was picking it up which was just above a "living" water source.
It does matter what we throw out, leave or ignore.