June 10 Camel Gap Trail

Today's outing begins at the Cosby trailhead. It consists of Low Gap, Camel Gap and Appalachian Trails forming a lollipop loop. About half of the 15 mile route is new trail for me. Beginning and ending on Low Gap Trail, I have only 2.9 miles of trail to walk twice. Low Gap Trail is not a scenic trail but is a very expedient way to get up and over the ridge from Cosby to Walnut Bottoms. The rest of the route scores very nicely in terms of scenic and pleasant trail. 

Portions of Low Gap and much of Camel's Gap trails are overgrown with ground vegetable spilling over the trail. Although there were only a few spots I could not see where I was stepping, I suspect that later this year, without maintenance, these trails will be covered over in many spots.

Walnut Bottoms is a popular place to camp, along Big Creek. There was a very large tent set up. Possibly it was carried up by horse although I did not see any horses today.

From this point on for several miles, I hiked alongside Big Creek on Camel Gap Trail. Finally the trail turned away from the creek and ran into the AT at Camel Gap.

Above is a photo, ok, it is a blurry photo, of a Common nettle stem. You can clearly see the hairy trichomes which inflict a sting. They easily detach when you brush up against them. At that moment they also inject histamine and a few other things, possibly formic acid, into your skin. It feels just like you have been bee stung. However, it dissipates quicker than a sting. Apparently, there are 6 subspecies of Common nettle. Most have the stinging capability but a few do not. To tell the difference, you have to notice the hairy or smooth stems. Unfortunately, they can grow side by side so you really need to just avoid them all as it is just too hard to see the stems all the time. Occasionally, I have been stung slightly, right through my hiking pants. There were a bunch on the trail today but I managed to avoid a sting even though I was in sandals.