Weather It Is!

The GSMNP is closed today. And this closure is at the gates coming in from Townsend so there will be no turning around in the parking lots at the 'Y'. This is great for the hardcore hiker! When I walked east a few miles in the untouched snow on Little River rd. the audible reflection of the river could be heard as it arose from the rock cliffs which line the road in places. One could close their eyes and sit still and it would sound as if the river was flowing on both sides of the road. Uncluttered sounds of the river and birds rushing around in spots to find food. As more precip is expected I hope to get back into the woods later today or tomorrow and we'll keep ya' posted. Peace

Curry Mountain Trail

This trail head lies just across the street from the east end of Metcalf Bottoms and would be considered moderate to difficult over its 3.3 mile length depending on your condition. The Curry Mountain trail can seem imposing when one starts the walk and over the first mile there is a considerable climb however it eventually mellows with a broken pattern of declines, flat spots and a general incline over the next two plus miles.
I found the trail clear and wide and after the first mile or so I began to have some great views to the east framed often with pink and white Mountain Laurels. These Mountain laurels were scattered on both sides of the trail, sometimes quite thick, over the next two miles.










The Curry Mountain trail parallels the Little River road more or less for the first mile and thus there was audible traffic noise for about 30 minutes into this walk.
Each time I've walked this trail I've enjoyed it especially after the first mile or more traveling in the direction chosen today. At the 3.3 mile mark it intersects with the Meigs Mountain trail which to the left will take you by campsite #20 on the way to Elkmont, or to the right and a short distance to campsite #19 before continuing on to Tremont.

Rockslide Update.....This Just In...

We just got this from the great folks at park HQ, today is Tuesday 3/23/2010.
We expect to finish scraping down the remaining loose rock on the face of last Thursday's rockslide by mid-day today. Then it will take several hours to dismantle the crane used to that work and get it out of the Park.
The final step will be to re-pave the stretch of pavement that has been damaged by the heavy, steel tracked equipment.
We expect to re-open that end of Little River Road by later this evening.

This Just In.....

Hello Folks, We got this today from the hard working women and men at the GSMNP.

A new rockslide has blocked the western end of Little River Road within
Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The slide is about 2 miles west of the Metcalf Bottoms, so an 8 mile-long portion of the Little River Road is currently closed between Metcalf Bottoms Picninc Area and the Townsend Junction.
Traffic that would normally transit that section is being diverted out of the Park unto US 321 in Townsend then north on US 321 to the Lyon Springs Road in Wears Valley, where motorists can re-enter the Park on the Wear Cove Road to Metcalf Bottoms and continue east on Little River to Newfound Gap Road and on to either Gatlinburg or Cherokee. Due to bridge weight limits, no large motorhomes or buses can use that alternate route. These larger vehicles must continue on US 321 into Pigeon Forge.
Park crews are enroute to get a good look at the new slide. No estimated
time of repairs is available

One Way

Today was a wonderful day to hike w/ temps in the 40's, PC skies and, and not a lot of tourist out of their cars. When a friend dropped me of at the sinks and Meig's Creek trail there was no one there. A fella w/ Ohio tags on his car pulled in after us to take some pictures as I tied my boots, but I was quickly on the other side of the rock and beginning another awesome day in the woods! Damn I forgot to check my camera for space on the memory and so I missed some great vista's as I made the descent along Lumber Ridge trail into Tremont. Oh well, I guess you'll have to take my word for it, or come join us on a walk.
This one way excursion began at the Meig's Creek Trail and Little River rd. The trail has numerous stream crossings 16-20, and tested my rock-hopping skills and will yours, if your lucky enough to "walk this way"! For more information on the name of this trail, Meig's Creek, see the book 'Place Names of The Smokies',(Coggins'99), and learn some about Mr. Return Jonathan Meigs.
The trail was untouched it appeared by human traffic since most of the snow melted and was not too muddy w/ the difficulty up to Lumber Ridge Trail moderate to difficult depending on your fitness and pace. The cascading fall just under 2 mls. into the walk was partially frozen as you can see in the picture. The incline is moderate over the 3.5 mls, and as noted the frequent stream crossings keep your attention. Today there were several beautiful vista's, streams, cascades, large trees, open forest, and "rodo tunnel's", w/ fresh sign of what appeared to be bear skat and paw prints from what looked like some sort of "k-9", coyote or fox I'd hope.
Lumber Ridge Trail was moderate to easy once I started down Meig's Mtn. w/ views of the Middle Prong of the Little River and Walker Valley. Peace