Sunday, November 20, 2016

Clingman's Dome Bypass Trail/Appalachian Trail to Newfound Gap

We are all doing another challenge, in addition to the 900 Miler Challenge and the 100 Mile Centennial Challenge. The additional challenge is called A.T. 100, which is to hike 100 miles on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in the year 2016, with "at least one being on the Appalachian Trail."

So that leaves some things open to interpretation: "At least one being on the AT" could mean at least one mile, or at least one trail ... We took it to mean at least one trail. Since we hadn't hiked any of the AT this year, we decided to hike a section of it on Saturday, November 12, 2016. The section we chose was up at Clingman's Dome to Newfound Gap via the AT.

A little disclaimer: Each of us had hiked the .5 mile "there and back" (for a mile total) segment up to Clingman's Dome shortly before the official start of our 900 Miler Challenge. So instead of doing it again, we chose to add that mileage into our challenge and took the Bypass Trail up to the AT instead of the .5 mile paved tourist trap trail. The Bypass Trail included a short segment of Forney Creek Trail (0.1 miles).

At the top, the elevation is just over 6500 ft., and the views, which are usually remarkable, were instead quite smoky, and not the typical Smoky Mountain look. The air had the scent of smoke and we were reminded how dry the south is at this point.


Lisa had left before we arrived, as Ken drove up to Newfound Gap, picked up a carload of us (leaving a car behind for shuttling later).





This section of the trail was quiet and offered good views of the meandering Smoky's, (were it not for the smoke, they would have been rated "excellent.")

We picked up the Appalachian Trail and had to get our traditional selfie, using a trekking pole for a selfie-stick. It is beneficial to own Leki poles, as does Pam - she has an optional camera attachment for iPhone that she has added to the pole.




We have hiked a small section (1.7 miles) of the AT late last year, and picked up this section again at the end of this hike. We didn't see any through hikers on the trail. I was hoping to see someone that fit the description ...



Due to the elevation, the scenery was quite different from previous recent hikes, more pines, fewer leaves on the trail, cooler temps.





We met up with Lisa on the AT and took another selfie with the whole group.


And somewhere along the AT, we ended up on Love Mountain. Someone suggested Kiss-ey Selfies, so sorry if this is TMI ... but we couldn't pass that up:




Two hikers passed us in the middle of the selfie-kissing-multiple-attempts ... We suggested that they may be interested in knowing that they were on Love Mountain ... They quickly sped off, after a brief look of possibly horror ... It was suggested that maybe there were brother and sister. Who knows, but they didn't stick around to talk and we never saw them again. Oh well.


After what seemed like a very short time, it was noted that the sun was directly above and this of course signals the stomach to consider it's need for food. So we looked for sunlight along the trail and finally found enough to satisfy us all.




Then began the series of down hill sections, and several knees let several of us know they were quite displeased. It was slow-going for a bit.






On top of Mount Collins, Chuck and Heidi hit their 100 Miles for the 2016 Centennial Celebration! Woo Hoo!







The famous white trail blazes of the AT.







This is cool:


A section of the trail had downed trees everywhere, leaving the large root systems exposed and begging for photographs.


We met up with another hiker, Robert Burton at Fork Ridge Trail intersection. We talked for a while and found out that he has hiked 1600 miles in the Smoky's, has seen 89 bears, and has hiked all the roads in the park. This trail was one of his favorite hikes and he was happy to join us for the remainder of the hike.



He parked at the Road Prong Trail head, so we got a photo of us all at the white blaze for the AT. The best photo was blurry, the sun was setting.


We had 1.7 miles of the AT remaining until Newfound Gap parking area and hiked most of the remainder in the dark. Some of us tried it without headlamps for a while, which worked as long as a fellow hiker didn't ruin the night vision ...


We got in our car and drove back up to the car parked at Clingman's Dome parking area, then came back down and got this shot ... Ken and Lisa had taken off at this time.


The STATS:
Total Mileage hiked: 8.9 PLUS 1.0 miles to and back from Clingman's Dome done previously= 9.9
Mileage Added to 900 Mile Challenge: 7.7 miles
Total Miles Hiked Toward 900 Mile Challenge: 100.3
Miles Added to Centennial Challenge: 8.9 miles
Total Miles Hiked Toward 100 Mile Centennial Goal: 105.6

Jakes Creek Trail/Meigs Mountain Trail/Lumber Ridge Trail/West Prong Trail/Bote Mtn. Trail

We took advantage of the Veteran's Day Holiday and went up to the Smoky's for a long weekend. Thank you, veteran's for your service, we owe you a large debt of gratitude.

We met up with Ken, Lisa and Matthew in Elkmont. This 900 Mile Journey is once again taking us places we have not been. We've heard for years about the abandoned vacation houses falling to disrepair in Elkmont, but had never even been back down the road to check out the area. So at the trailhead to Jakes Creek and the short length of Jakes Creek that we hiked on, we walked along a section of the vacation homes, missing many and hoping to get back to the area to explore at another time.











Somewhere along here we walked past a buck. OUR FIRST WILDLIFE SIGHTING in the nearly 100 miles that we have hiked. We have often wondered how many bears and deer we have walked by and didn't notice, because our eyes were trained to the trail. Some trails are easier than others and provide the hiker with the ability to look up and around, but walking on a leaf covered trail is no easy task. 

The leaf covered trails are loud, cover a multitude of roots and rocks, and one can hardly afford to take their eyes away from the next step. This explains why there is a lot of stopping and looking with our group, as we really don't want to miss out on the views, the potential animals, and the sounds, which cannot be heard walking in ankle high leaves in places. Conversation is difficult with the noise.




Crossing a foot bridge to Megs Mountain Trail ... the creek, as with all the creeks in the Smokey's right now, was very low. The lack of rain is very noticeable leaving many of the back country campsites without without a source of water. Not to mention the fires in Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. We didn't notice the smoke on this hike, fortunately.



Jakes Creek




Listening and Looking ...


Samsonette ... at the bottom of the pillars ...


At the top of the pillars ...



At campsite 20 we stopped and had a snack, and ran into three other hikers.






This was said to be tractor parts in the Little Brown Book/Guide Book ... 


There was evidence of a spring (but not much water), a spring house nearby that I somehow missed a picture of, and other signs of homesteads.


And right in this area, Lisa completed her 100 Mile Centennial Challenge for 2016! Congratulations Lisa!! See you at the dinner in Gatlinburg!


Were these settlers trying to give warning or tell the tale of their poor fortune? The Little Brown Book/Guide Book stated that the farmers in this area hardly had time to clear land and plow fields before they were forced to sell their land to the park commission via eminent domain. 


The fall colors were still eye-catching in areas.





We hiked a short section of Megs Mountain Trail that we had hiked two weeks previously. We thought about stopping here and eating again, but decided to walk a little further to the cemetery.








After lunch, we split up, leaving Ken and Lisa behind, as they did not plan on going past Tremont, whereas the rest of the group planned to end up at Little River Road and Bote Mountain Trail.

Campsite 19 again ... The Little Brown Book states that at this site, in 1934, the house, barn and smokehouse of Andy Brackin stood here.


Nice back yard ...


We followed Megs Mountain Trail to Lumber Ridge Trail and on to Tremont.







At Tremont (another place we hadn't ever been in our self-imposed limited travels within the Park), we made use of the actual flushing commode instead of the trees, and went on along West Prong Trail, pushing daylight ...



Somewhere on West Prong Trail, Matthew hit 200 Miles. I'm not sure if that is for the year, or more, he will have to clarify. Congratulations Matthew! Awesome job, the hiking bug has really bit you!



Bote Mountain Trail was a breath of fresh air in this area, it was wide and relatively flat, and since it was dark, that was an extra treat. Only one of us took a tumble ...


And there we are - another beautiful hike completed. This writer needs a good head lamp. Hint Hint Santa ...


The STATS:
Total Mileage hiked: 14.8 miles
Mileage Added to 900 Mile Challenge: 11.7 miles
Total Miles Hiked Toward 900 Mile Challenge: 92.6
Miles Added to Centennial Challenge: 14.8 miles
Total Miles Hiked Toward 100 Mile Centennial Goal: 96.7