Nov 2 Hemphill Bald Hike

 

Today's hike included side diversions to Soco Falls and the Masonic memorial before arriving late morning at Polls Gap ready to hike.

Soco Falls, on Cherokee land, has been an attraction for generations. The roadside pulloff and scramble route down to the waterfall has been an a fun stop for me for years. During the past year, the access received a major upgrade. There is now a long looping parking area along a former section of Rt 19. From there, a rather long and steep trail leads to the waterfall. The old previous route was very short but sketchy. This new alignment is much much longer but can be accessed by many more folks. 

The spot is actually the site of two waterfalls on separate creeks as they flow together here. You do have to scramble down to the plunge basin to see both falls.

Polls Gap trailhead

Blue Ridge carrion flower berries form these cool balls of blueish black berries, popular with wildlife. I saw one in bloom back in June on Andrews Bald. It is in the Smilax family and gets its name from its hideous odor. 

Hemphill Bald Trail is a 5.5 mile long trail from Double Gap to Polls Gap. The hike today is a mile shorter to Hemphill Bald and back today. That makes a 9-10 mile out and back. I very much enjoyed the wonderful trees along this route. Older trees develop character. This trail certainly had a lot going on in that respect. Lots of Buckeyes, Birches, Basswoods, Beech and some others that don't begin with "B". 

At the bald.

Looking toward Max Patch

Lots of burls today

Cataloochee Ski lift out there

Lung lichen

Much of the trail follows  old road bed with the remains of a Locust split rail fence. The trail was the property line, once you a get to the open fields owned by the adjacent high end Cataloochee Ranch resort. I checked to see what a room tonight would cost. $1387.50 including all meals. My 3 night stay at Stonebrook set me back $405 (breakfast included). 

The walk in a mature hardwood forest became forest on one side and open areas forever on the other once the Cataloochee Ranch property is reached. Most of the forested hike is side sloped with occasional views to the north. 

Once out in the open of the bald area, winds picked up and shortened lunch despite it being one of the great view sites in the park. Long range views were in 3 directions, all mountainous terrain. A beautiful stone picnic table is open to the public here on Ranch property. 

That hollow tree

Nov 1 Charlies Bunion

 

On the morning drive to Newfound Gap, this elk is enjoying a salad in the morning mist. Temperatures slowly dropped on the drive from Cherokee to Newfound Gap. Once at the parking area, bundled up, the hike began. From Newfound Gap, it is about 4 and a half miles to Charlies bunion. The first couple of miles are steadily upwards. Once the trail makes the crossover from the NC side of the ridge to the Tennessee side, ice begins to appear on trail puddles and treetops.  

This is the side trail leading to Charlies Bunion off the AT. Charlies bunion is a large exposed rock that resembles a giant bunion. Apparently that is what Horace Kephart thought when he saw it on a hike with George Masa and their guide Charlie Conner. Somehow, Kephart was able to get that nickname for the rock listed as Charlies Bunion on government maps. 

Check out the red berries of the Witch hobble bush. There were many of these Viburnum bushes along the higher elevations of the trail. This photo looks out over the Porter creek watershed. 

Delicate fern moss shivers in a shady spot on the trail. Once up close to the 6000 foot elevation, ice was a large factor for hikers. As the sun warmed up the ridge, ice from the treetops began to fall, sometimes in softball size clumps. A hat provided little protection here. 

Ice clumps form around the Witch hobble berries, bringing entire berry ice clumps falling along the trail. 

After lunch by the bunion, peering out over the Porter creek watershed, the return hike included a stop at The Jumpoff. This photo was taken on the top of Mt Kephart (6217 ft) along the spur trail to The Jumpoff.  

The view from The Jumpoff is also looking out over the Porter creek watershed but from a much higher vantage point. I could spot people at the bunion. 

It is almost straight down from the scenic spot.

Looking north from The Jumpoff, a group of six 6000+ footers line the mountainscape. 

Sequoyah 6003'

Chapman 6417'

Yonagusta 6120'

Marks Knob 6169'

Guyot 6621'

Old Black 6370'

Oct 18 Hammonasset Beach

 

The rugged shoreline here is part of the massive moraine left by the last glaciation. The small rocks here are of many different types, different ages and from so many different places. 

Hammonasset has a sizeable wetland which has some forest on the edges. This is a popular birding location. We saw quite a few birders and groups enjoying a Saturday morning. 

Common glasswort grows in the salt marshes here. Pannes are depressions in the salt marsh which hold a little salt water between tides. This gives the mud a high salinity, inhospitable to most plants except glassworts. This is the fall "red" stage of the plant. It gives the salt marsh a red tint as you look out over it. 

Between the salt marsh

More glasswort

Another salt loving plant, Triangle orache. Check out those leaves. 

Slipper snail shells

Although, Hammonasset has a beautiful sandy beach that seemingly never ends, this beach is composed not of sand, just slipper snail shells. If you dig down in them, some of the shells have broken down but it is still almost 100% slipper snail shells. There is some worry about this. The slipper snail population is soaring. Some folks think the overharvesting of oysters has left a void the snails are filling. 

Hints of red from the glasswort

Oct 16 Pinchot Sycamore

 

Gifford Pinchot, the first head of the National Forest Service, was born in Simsbury CT. He was one of the first forest conservationists around the beginning of the 20th century. He founded the Yale University School of Forestry. He briefly worked with George Vanderbilt and Carl Schenk on the Vanderbilt property which later became the Pisgah National Forest. On a obscure personal footnote, Pinchot was a member of the 1888 national champion football team at Yale. Not only did they go undefeated, they outscored their opponents 694 to 0. 

This American Sycamore on the banks of the Farmington River, a short distance from downtown Simsbury was named in honor of Gifford Pinchot. It is claimed to be the largest tree in New England. I looked it up: Circumference 28 feet  -  height 100 feet and canopy spread 121 feet. 

How many trees can you name that have honoree names like the General Sherman Tree? 

We stayed in the 1820 Simsbury House in downtown Simsbury. It is the birthplace of Pinchot. 

Oct 13 Boar on Rhododendron Creek

 

This hike took a twist. After an early start at the bottom of Rhododendron Creek, I had easily crossed the creek and passed the first two waterfalls when I saw a couple black things scurry up a hill. Very quickly, I realized they were not bears but boars. Having only had two previous encounters with boars, I wasn't certain of the protocol. Since they had moved up and away, I proceeded cautiously. This was a very narrow and steep gorge I was in. Within a minute, I spotted two more boar. Both were in the trail beside a creek. 

In the photo you can see the boar in the trail bordered by a steep hill and the creek. These guys did not scamper off like the first two, so I turned back. 

Later in the day, I was attending a CPR and first aid course nearby with some local volunteer hike leaders. Among them was a local fellow with years of service in bear rescue and rehabilitation. His take is that the boar usually move away as bears would. He also mentioned that boar encounters are rare. 

My first encounter was about a dozen years ago outside Cataloochie. There were over 20 up on a hillside. Adults were staring at me which smaller ones were rooting around. It was spooky and I hope I don't encounter that number again. 

Oct 12 Ramsey Cascade Old Growth Forest

 

The parking area was almost full when I pulled up. I did see quite a few people on the trail but probably not enough to account for all the vehicles. This is the first time I have hiked the newly rehabbed version of this trail. My recollection of this trail was relentlessly uphill and very rocky and rooty. The Trails Forever crew, funded by the Friends of the Smokies, worked for 3 (covid) years to improve the trail from a sustainability view. During that period, the crew worked on the trail weekdays and the trail remained open on weekends. It has been open 24/7 since the work completion Nov of 2024. 

Right at the parking area, the first crossing. This long pedestrian bridge was built at the site of an older bridge. Rock support structures can still be seen on either side of the creek. My guess is that this was a road and not a railroad. The park map of old growth forest, shows this area as being old growth. The road and trail run contiguous for a mile and a half at which point it ends in a loop. There is also a rougher side road which makes its way up Greenbrier Pinnacle to where there was a firetower and cabin.  

At the point where the trail and old road loop, there is a trail sign indicating 2.5 miles to the waterfall. The trail goes from two track to single track and begins a bit steeper climb. 

Wood asters livened up the trailside with their late blooming flowers.

It's jack-o-lantern season again.

The delicate moss is so happy, it's dancing. 

These look like little yellow fairy cups.

I think this bridge replaced another well before the Trails Forever redo. If you can see the middle support, the bridge actually turns at an angle there.

One of those big old growth Tuliptrees that is dwarfing my hiking stick.

These photos of a curved staircase built by the Trails Forever crew, really showcases the craftmanship these guys and gals have. 

This was a completely satisfying hike. The Trails Forever crew did a great job leveling out rocky areas and building staircases in steep spots. There are many fewer roots and rocks but it is still relentlessly uphill. I recall one spot where you climb down a few feet to cross a creek. Otherwise, I think this trail on its way to the waterfall, has less downhill as a percentage than any other trail I've been on. 

I hiked the uphill portion in just under 2 hours. That allowed me to linger at the top and slowly meander on the return hike.