My first hike this year with the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage reacquainted me with familiar faces. Our hike was led by Doris Gove, noted author, naturalist and hiker. Many entries in the Smokys Hiking Guide (the little brown book) were penned by Doris. Our sweep was Dee Monty, fond of the ferns she is. Randy from Durham was another familiar face. We began hiking on a snowy trail off Clingman Dome Road. We descended and descended. Flowers came and went as we changed elevation.
Deep Creek marked the bottom of the hike. Water level was high enough, we had to walk barefoot through the frigid creek. At the creek crossing there is a backcountry campsite where we enjoyed lunch. The photo below shows a fairy home creekside. It was part of a much larger fairy community reminding one of the fairy homes found along the Maine coast.
From the creek it was a long gradual incline to Deep Creek trail head on Newfound Gap Road. Total length of our hike was only 9 miles but having the climb at the finish made it seem more. The forecast for tomorrow doesn't sound good.
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