August 12 Up and Down the Creeper

On this Piedmont Hiking and Outing Group bicycle ride, we had a group of 4 riding from Damascus to Whitetop Station to meet a group of 8 being shuttled up. Our timing was near perfect arriving at the top within minutes of each other. The 17 mile uphill ride took 2:45 in cool weather.

Our group gathers near the the most visited loo on the trail. 

What was blooming? Joe Pye Weed, Pale and Orange Jewelweed, Sun Drops, Ironweed, lots of sunflowers, Heal All, Chicory, and Common Mullein.

Our group did not escape without incident but it was only a flat. Overall, it was a beautiful day to ride on the creeper. It was about a 2 hour ride down.

August 9 Husky Gap Trail

Again a humid day for hiking. Beginning at the trailhead on Newfound Gap Road, you begin uphill immediately and it does let up until you have attained the gap and intersection with Sugarland Mountain Trail. I required a long break here, downing lots of gatorade. The next couple miles head down to Little River.

The trail ends at a T with Little River Trail which was a railroad  bed at one time. The Little River Lumber company extracted timber from here until 1938, four years after the park was established. The land purchase agreement permitted the company to continue cutting virgin timber for a period of years after the land sale. And they did up until the very last day of the agreement. Above is an old railroad bridge crossing Little River as seen from my lunchstop.

This hike added 4.1 miles to my S900 challenge.

August 8 Little Cataloochee Trail

A humid day for hiking in the GSMNP. Rather common this time of year. We began hiking Pretty Hollow Gap Trail to access Little Cataloochee Trail. The area known as little Cataloochee is barely a couple miles as the raven flies, from Cataloochee. The park has preserved several original building in Little Cataloochee including the Dan Cook cabin above. This picture perfect place saw a recent renovation. The yard is maintained by park crew. A gravel road of 2 miles provides park service access. 

Above, the remnants of an apple house can be seen with the Dan Cook cabin visible in the doorway. The two structure are separated by a small creek. Further upcreek is the ruins of a dam, further indication of how settled and independent this community once was. 

You might expect this church to be seen along a roadway as you drive along but is merely trailside here in Little Cataloochee. A well maintained cemetery accompanies it nearby. 

There is one long uphill section we had to climb twice. The second time through the gap was slow due to the humidity. On the way out of Cataloochee we saw several elk and a juvenile coyote lunching on a turkey.

This hike added 4.1 miles to my S900 challenge