Jan 17 Rainbow Falls

This is my final waterfall for this week heavy rain and snow. Over 8 inches fell during the 4 day period and filled the creeks and falls. I was not able to make it to Abrams and Ramseys but I still had a decent week of waterfalls. 

Rainbow is one of the most popular falls. The roundtrip route is only 5.6 miles and it follows LeConte Creek for much of its way to the falls. The few crossings I had to rock hop today posed no problems unlike yesterday going to Grotto Falls. I didn't encounter anyone else until my return when I met the organized WWW hike headed up. They ran into problem after problem and I now wish I had stopped and walked back up with them as they had lost their sweep at this point. A couple suffered mild hypothermia, one got a nasty splinter under a fingernail and of course all were wet from the rain which began about the time I encountered them. To make matters worse, their bus was not in the parking area when they returned. Ed, the leader had everyone crowd in the tiny outhouse to warm the two with hypothermia while he walked down toward Gatlinburg to get a cellular signal. He found the bus dutifully waiting at the wrong trailhead and finally got things squared away.

Jan 16 Grotto Falls

Grotto Falls is on Trillium Gap Trail. During the winter months the easy route to the falls is closed. Today I started hiking at the Rainbow Falls trailhead on the Trillium Gap trail. It is about a 7 mile hike from there. Much of it is right next to the Roaring Fork Road. A couple times I had to walk out to the road to get over swollen creeks.

Once again today, the hills were filled with silver ribbons of water headed down.

Here I am in the grotto looking out through the waterfall. It was noisy and a bit wet. Normally you can proceed through the grotto and continue on Trillium Gap Trail. Today you'd have to wade through some water to do that.

Jan 15 Laurel Falls at Full Throttle

The ambitious plan today was to visit Abrams Falls. It should be roaring. Cades Cove Loop Road is closed so on to my less ambitious plan - visit Laurel Falls. The trail to Laurel Falls is the most popular in the park. It is paved in its entirety or at least as far as the falls. The waterfall is a 2 parter. The upper fall is upriver of the bridge above. As soon as the water passes by the bridge it starts its second fall. Normally you don't even need the bridge to cross here but today the even the bridge didn't help.

This is a typical scene today - silver ribbons of water coming down the hill sides where it doesn't normally flow.

I climbed up to the upper fall and down to the lower fall. The lower fall is much more scenic as it overflows its normal channel. The walkway and bridge are at the top of this fall. It would not have been a good place to slip.

Jan 15 Little River unleashed

It rained a bit this week. Between 6 and 8 inches depending on the collecting station. Look what happens to the rivers when it rains a lot. Above is the Sinks along little river. Below is one of the reasons the road is now closed.

Below are some videos I took during the day.

Jan 14 Cades Cove Churches

Above and below are photos of the ceiling in the Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church. Constructed in 1887, the ceiling was put in place by builders who used bear grease on their hands to protect them against the rough boards. Those greasy handprints are still very visible today as you can see.

Although, organized much earlier, this building was not constructed until 1887. Behind the church is the grave yard. You can find the grave of Russell Gregory back there.

Beautiful inlay work on this gravestone.

Inside the Missionary Baptist Church the alter is well lit. A brick cross is on the floor where a wood stove used to sit.

Methodist Church

Jan 13 Owl Prowl

Wilderness Wildlife Week has four Owl Prowls during the week. Usually a bus transports the group from Pigeon Forge to Sugarlands Visitors Center for a short evening walk. The leader tries to call owls. I've gone twice and never heard an owl but I did hear a guy imitate an owl for an hour and half each time. There is a group which has some owls on display in the exhibitors area of WWW. These owls have been injured, mostly by cars. They can no longer fly and can not be released. Little Dude, the fellow on the right above has been with them only an year and half. He is the only one who will vocalize. When he does do, it appears he is clearing his throat, straightening up and then slightly bobs his head when he hoots.

The screech owls really blend in well in the wild. This guy against the yellow banner, does not.

Cinnamon 

Jan 13 Albright Grove

Not far into our hike, we met Morgan Briggs headed out. Morgan still roams about in the park. Three years back, he spent 5 days between Porters Creek watershed and the Jump Off. He had to be extracted via a helicopter. I've heard he needed to be rescued again in the past year but can't confirm that.

Albright Grove is a old growth grove of large trees, including hemlocks (many dead now), poplars. beech, oak, and mountain silverbell as seen above. Silverbells have a very unique bark, sometimes described as "purple conflakes". Today, with many hemlocks gone, the canopy has opened up and this is no longer the special, almost mystical forest it once was. 

Another tree is growing inside this hollowed tree. 

The one creek crossing was on this log bridge. Once you arrive at this spot, it is just .2 mile to the Albright Grove Loop Trail.

Jan 12 Porters Creek Stroll

It's beginning day of Wilderness Wildlife Week. Between the hike sign-ups on Saturday which occurred at 11:30 am and 6 pm, there was ample time for a short walk in the Park. I chose Porters Creek Trail. It is a gravel road for the first mile, which is as far as I ventured. At the turn around spot, it is a very short walk over to the old Smoky Mountain Hiking Club cabin and the Messer barn, pictured above and below. It appears the cabin was built on the site of an old home. Maybe it was the Messer home. There is a small patio and a spring with a springhouse. Both look fully functional today.

I'm told the reason for the cantilevered barns is based on taxation. Apparently, English law which was adapted here, taxed structures on their foundation footprint. I've not confirmed that but it makes for a nice story.

Jan 11 Pizza

Close to perfect pizza. The crust was half white and  and half hard red flour. Toppings were chanterelles and locally grown ground chuck with the very best mozzarella available at Wal-Mart.

Jan 9 Trailwork at Doughton

Today's trail work was on one of our adopted areas in Doughton Park, a unit of the Blue Ridge Parkway and National Park Service. Basin Creek Trail begins at the primitive campsites 1.6 miles from Longbottom Road. This first 1.6 miles of trail is on the Grassy Gap Trail and is an old two track road in relatively good condition. Basin Creek Trail starts out as a two track but very shortly after crossing Basin Creek for the first time, narrows to a wide path. It is only a 3.3 mile trail but being a dead end trail, you have to walk up 3.3 miles and back.

Our task was to remove trees and limbs which have fallen on the trail. As the Hemlocks die, limbs are shed and eventually the entire tree comes down. Above, is such a tree. We weren't able to saw through it with our small hand saws, so we cleared all the collateral brush and cut an easily negotiable route over the main trunk. 

It is a very scenic trail along the creek. A number of crossing like the one above add a certain challenge to this route. Today I whacked my shin on one of the crossings.The water level was manageable today. The creek does rise significantly with rainfall. One particularly nasty flood occurred July 15-16, 1916. Two significant rain events (some say they were back to back hurricanes) caused the damage. Many other mountain communities felt the wrath of this rainfall. Reports of up to 20 inches of rain in 24 hours were recorded in the area. So much rain on already sodden ground caused mudslides, bringing trees down. Every home on the creek except the Caudill Cabin at the headwaters, was destroyed. Three persons, all in one of the swept-away cabins, died. One of those, Alice Caudill, the young wife of Linnie Caudill is buried in lonely solitary grave at the start of Basin Creek Trail.

This red maple was too much for us to handle. We looked it over closely and walked on. We're hoping NPS staff armed with chain saw and more experience will tackle it.