After a particularly rough week at work, where this writer came home and burrowed under the covers at 7:30 every night, the urge to be in the woods over came good sense. Despite the forecast calling for rain, somehow the hiking partners were coerced, most quite willingly, into going to the Smokey's for a short hike. One CAN bear to be cold AND wet for a SHORT time. (At least with the "rain proof" gear that we have.)
Since we drove up together, we had to find a loop trail that fit the requirement of approximately 8 miles. Surprisingly, there aren't many of those left, as we are following the Liz Etnier plan so are somewhat limited to her selections of trail segments. But this is not a real problem, as her selections will make completing the 900 Mile Challenge much easier in the long run.
When we first started the challenge, we didn't have Liz Etnier's book, Day Hiker's Guide to All the Trails in the Smoky Mountains, and began hiking willy-nilly. So we are attempting to clean up a segment that was not hiked as recommended, leaving a portion incomplete. We were able to clean up hike #1 from the Tremont/Elkmont area, and enjoyed ourselves in the process. It was SOO GOOD to be back out on the trail. A load of stress was left somewhere on Anthony Creek Trail, getting mixed up with the leaves and stumps, making it of no consequence.
We have hiked a portion of this hike previously. The observant reader may recognize this sign, as it was at the end of a hike we completed this past summer.
You will notice the umbrella, which turned into our good luck charm. It replaced the walking poles for one hiker, and was used rather recklessly as the hike commenced. It received treatment that every umbrella hopes to avoid, and gave rise to the idea of an invention which we are keeping hush-hush. Keep your eyes open ... someday ...
We followed a creek as we walked along Anthony Creek Trail, presumably Anthony Creek, (although one should never presume, and a map would be a useful tool for finding names of creeks, although it is in the car and that is a long distance from the chair, but this writer digresses ...). We enjoying the sound of a full stream, and the knowledge that the drought which flamed the fires in Gatlinburg this fall, is over. The same time the fires came through, an 80-mile-per-hour wind was fanning the flames in areas of The Park. Some of the downed trees we noted are likely victims of the recent winds, although no fire went through the area of The Park we hiked in.
We passed over a number of foot bridges like this one on our hike:
All day long, the skies looked threatening, and although none of us claim to be superstitious, we all laughed and said that had the umbrella not accompanied us on the trip, we would have been walking in rain ... Murphey's Law in action ... But apparently the clouds held in a bit of heat, and we enjoyed shirt sleeves weather the entire day. How's that for January?!
We stopped at Campsite #9 and enjoyed a gourmet hikers meal, and were startled by the sound of a tree falling behind us. Yet the age old question remains unanswered, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around, will it make any sound?" We can assure you that when someone IS around, falling trees do make noise.
This picture shows Campsite #9, which we left unoccupied, way at the bottom of the hill by the creek. Upon departing from the campsite, we made a sharp turn and climbed the side of a hill, enabling us a view of the campsite below.
We turned North onto Bote Mountain Trail, this segment of it unhiked by this group, although a portion further down the trail has seen our footprints.
Several of us have the distinction of being given trail names. Heidi has recently been dubbed "Tigger" and will be called by that name for a better portion of upcoming posts.
We reached Lead Cove Trail, which has had a bit of coverage in previous posts.
You may recall that Recalibrate or Cal, for short, also formerly known as Rod, has stood in Mrs. Tipton's living room in the past. "Recalibrate" is the trail name that has settled upon Rod, and what he will be know by in posts to come.
Our hike ended (for the girls anyway) when we reached Little River Road. All that was left of the trail sign was a splintered post, so we worked with what we had. The boys then hiked up toward The Cove to retrieve the car, leaving the girls sitting in the woods on a log, off the side of the road, enjoying snacks and chatting. A few curious stares from passing motorists were aimed in our direction, and one vehicle stopped and a concerned driver asked if we were lost, which we thought was very kind.
Trip STATS:
Total Mileage hiked: 6.5 miles
Mileage Added to 900 Mile Challenge: 4.5 miles
Total Miles Hiked Toward 900 Mile Challenge: 104.8
Total Miles Hiked in the Smoky's: 127.4 miles
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