My knee needs a break today and there are already 5 WHW hikes headed out today, so my plan is to visit the Avent Cabin and head to Cades Cove which has just opened after a fallen tree closed the access road.
The Avent Cabin was built in 1850 by an Ogle family. They sold it to Frank Avent in 1918. His wife, Mayna was an accomplished water colorist. She used the cabin as her studio. They sold the property to the park in 1932 in exchange for a lifetime lease, putting the lease in their youngest child's name. The lease expired in 1992. Two years later the cabin was put on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
Getting to it is a bit cryptic. Two miles up Jakes Creek Trail, look for a faint trail leading to and over the creek. Most days you can see it from the trail if you know where to look. The log bridge was a bit icy today and the creek below was rushing.
I swept the floor and tidied the cabin up before leaving. On the walk back to the trailhead are the remains of the Elkmont cabins. These also, were acquired by the park in the same timeframe, the early 1930s and the owners were given lifetime leases which all expired in 1992. The cabins stood vacant for about 20 years. Many had trees on them or gaping holes. The park service removed them and now just the chimneys stand - a lot of them.
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