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.