Porter Creek Trail

We had planned to finish off a section of trail that we'd started previously, but in the car, at the last minute, decided to go for Porter's Creek Trail, which is in the Sugarlands/Greenbrier area, and classified as  a "return" or "in and out" hike, meaning, we'd have to repeat or come back over the same trail. We can only count half of the mileage toward the 900 Mile Challenge, although we can count the entire mileage toward the 100 Mile Challenge. The weather forecast hadn't looked too promising, but we didn't see a drop of rain and some of us even got a sun burn. Ahem ... I almost put the sunscreen in the pack ...

I am constantly amazed at the new places were are discovering in the Smokes because we decided to do this challenge. I think I've mentioned before the we are all well acquainted with Cade's Cove, but there is so much more to discover. None of us had ever been to the area that we traveled to for this hike, it's so interesting to discover new things. The more we do this challenge, the more pleased I am that we are doing it.

Some kind strangers rescued us from a bad selfie at the start of the trail. We took Porter's Creek Trail to Campsite #31, which is 3.6 miles one way, for a total of 7.3 miles per The Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains. (It's what the books says, I do know how to add)

We almost stepped on this little guy sunning in the trail and discovered another use for our every handy trekking poles: reptile relocation. He slithered off after some prompting and avoided some potential drama in his young life, as there were hikers coming in behind us.

The Guide Book, which we stopped to read shortly after starting out on the trail, informed us that this trail is loaded with flowers in the early spring/summer time and can be very popular and has the potential to be crowded. Some of my favorites, Trillium, were just starting to show, no blooms yet tho:

The guide book also informed us that this area, also known as Greenbriar Cove, was a heavily settled area in the early 1800's, and evidence of that was seen all around. Stone fences, fireplaces, house foundations, and even a cemetery, were discovered as we walked. The Whaley family settled this area, and we read that at the end of the 1800's, 26 families lived in this cove and at one point, sent 225 children to the local school. 

It's sad to imagine the losses these settlers experienced due to lack of health care, sanitization, remoteness, etc. There were a number of deaths in the 1908 and 1909 time period in the cemetery we wandered through, and we noted the vast majority of the tombstones were Whaley's and Owenby's ...

This bridge was noted to be ingeniously created with foot log and cement. 

We saw a bit of this rotted wood scattered around during our hike, a very unique color, not sure what makes it that color, I would love to know more about this ...

Back to the foot bridge ...

Some cairns set up by Porter's Creek ...

After the footbridge, a open, cleared forest floor greeted us. We were a week or two too early, as we are told that this forest floor is literally covered with spring wildflowers, so much so that it can look like snow. Wish we could have seen that. It was still a beautiful showing regardless, and we did see some brave flowers, but they are just the beginning of a spectacular show.

Further along the trail, after the falls, (which we passed on the way to Campsite #31 without taking pictures, as other's were already there at the base of the falls), we came to the area of old growth Eastern Hemlocks which have succumbed to the non-native insect the wooly adelgid. Some of the carcasses of the trees were massive.

As it always happens, we run into someone interesting. This lady is Mary Brown, and she is a solo hiker working on the 100 Miler Challenge. We hope to see her at the dinner at the end of the challenge. She said that she is a volunteer at the Knoxville Zoo and works with the gorillas. We chatted with her a while and found out she still uses a rotary phone and doesn't have a computer. It was very enjoyable talking with her.

I have a feeling it's only a matter of time before this tree is down too ...

We got to the end of Porter's Creek Trail at Campsite #31. This is the first campsite we have encountered in our hiking in the Smokies. No one was camping, however.

We had to try out the backpack security system. I was singing the song "The Backpack Tree" in my head the entire time we were at the campsite. No signs of bears, although we read that this campsite has a lot of bear activity.

On the way back, parts of the trail were slow going ...

We got back to the falls and had them to ourselves, so took advantage and got a few pictures. Pam and I hiked up to the base of the falls, the guys stayed at the bottom and soaked their toes in the ICE COLD water.

The guys are the two orange dots at the base of the falls ...

Back to the bridge ... It almost looks Third World to me ...

We found the carcass of an old car, hard to say what model it might have been. This was on our way back, just before the cemetery.

And we made it back! It was a great hike, we didn't have far to go so were able to take our time and explore a bit more than usual. Good times.

A trip to REI on the way home netted a pair of khaki hiking pants, the black ones made for a warmish hike, and it's only going to get hotter. Looking forward to the next hike!!

Trip STATS:

Miles Hiked: 7.3

New miles toward 900 Mile Challenge: 3.6

Total Miles Hiked for 900 Mile Challenge: 31.6 (This number is not going up very fast)

Total Miles Hiked for Centennial Challenge: 20.9

Miles to Go: STILL over 900 ...