Day 11 - Newfound Gap Road

 

Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Weather - sunny, high 60sF

Steps - Shaun: 20,331, Shannon: 16,238

Varmints - 4 elk, 1 (or possibly 2) bears, turkeys, barn swallow, some kind of hawk

Today was a big hiking day, featuring our most difficult hike of the trip up to Andrews Bald from Clingman's Dome. We had been hemming and hawing about whether to go since the hike is 3.6 miles, longer than any of the others we've done on this trip, and more strenuous as well. Spoiler alert: decided to do it, with mixed results.

We slept an hour later this morning because of our marathon jigsaw puzzling session last night, and we didn't leave the cabin until after 10am. As we were turning the corner away from the cabin, a hawk swooped by and landed in a tree along the road. We didn't get any pictures of him, but he was a portent of things to come.

We decided to drive straight through to Clingman's Dome to hike as early as possible, and then we would continue on to the Oconaluftee Visitors Center at the end of Newfound Gap Road before turning around and taking in all the sights and overlooks the road had to offer on the way back north. So, we powered through down the road, listening to the Road Trippin' playlist we had made on the drive down from Michigan (it was a sudden burst of creativity, with both of us throwing out songs that fit the rhythm of driving and resulted in a 11-hour playlist perfect for cruising down the road with the windows open). There was construction on the road to Clingsmans Dome and lots of traffic, so by the time we were parked, peed, and packed to trek, it was after noon. 

We knew from our research that the first mile of the Andrews Bald trail would be downhill (which meant the last mile of the hike would be all uphill) and pretty rocky, but we didn't realize it was basically down steps most of the way. Good thing we brought our hiking poles because it was downright scrambly in some areas. 

We arrived at the bald, a break in the trees with an open grassy area at its center, and we were ready for a rest. We sat and ate oranges and trail mix for awhile, taking in the panoramic views of the Smokies below. Unfortunately, there were quite a few bushes around the open field, which blocked a lot of the view. Still, it was a very nice place to take a load off and relax for a little while.

Shaun needed to pee again, so she popped a squat (Shaun says this should be "cop" a squat, but apparently I'm just old and my saying has been changed without my permission!) behind some of those bushes on the bald, and then we started our ascent. The first little bit was fine, winding through a dense forest of high-elevation trees looking more like New Hampshire than North Carolina. Logs covered in thick mats of moss and wildflowers lined the pathway. We even saw some late-blooming trilliums!

Then Shaun fell about a quarter of the way back. She tripped on a rock and pitched forward, hitting her knees on some rocks and scraping them and her hands up a bit. One of her knees gives her trouble sometimes, so that one in particular was twinging something fierce afterward. And we still had to hike up all those steps!

We took our time going back up, stopping frequently, and Shaun used the hiking poles much more heavily than before. We eventually did make it back to Clingman's Dome, completing the hike in 3 1/2 hours. Shaun's doing fine now, but she's probably going to be feeling a bit sore for a few days.

We hobbled our way back to the car to unload our packs and then checked out the Visitors Center at the Dome. It was small but had some postcards we hadn't seen before and a yummy extra creamy chocolate bar that was a perfect treat after our excursions.

We took some pictures of the gorgeous vistas visible from the edge of the parking lot (Shaun said she would have rather just gone with those rather than hiking to the bald to see the partially blocked views there—she might be a bit biased, though), and then headed to the Collins Creek Picnic Area for a delightful al fresco dunch (it was almost 5pm by this point). 

After dunch, we drove the rest of the way down the Newfound Gap Road, trying to make it to the Oconaluftee Visitors Center, which sits at the southern border of the park, before it closed. Unfortunately, the park service information we had was in error. We thought the visitors center was open until 6:00, but when we got there at 5:45, it was already closed. The restrooms were open, though, so we made use of them and promised to return on another day. Additionally, we were bummed because we’d read that this was an area that elk often roam, but alas, there were none to be found.

But wait!

To round out our trip for the day, our intention was to go back up the Newfound Gap Road, this time stopping at any overlooks that interested us. However, about a half mile up the road at the Mingus Mill, Shaun happened to glance into the parking lot, and lo and behold…there were a couple elk just hanging out there. Seriously! Naturally, Shaun did a quick u-turn in the middle of the road and yelled for Shannon to grab the camera.

Despite Shannon’s misgivings, we went ahead and pulled all the way into the parking lot (past the elk) so that we could get some pictures. We didn’t even need to get out of our car because it turned out that there were four female elk just grazing and not caring about all the crazy tourists surrounding them one little bit. We got some good shots of them.  The smallest one had a weird collar on that we wondered about (but have no information on…yet). Anyway, we hung out with them for a bit and then headed north on Newfound Gap Road.

Just an aside bit of information is needed here.  We bought a book called the Smokies Road Guide that is very cool.  It describes basically everything you can expect to see on every road in the park, and Shannon has been making a point of reading the pertinent information out loud while we are driving.  This is important to mention here because, since we’d already driven down the road once, we knew what to expect and could look out for the stuff that interested us.

The first one of these pull-offs that we wanted to hit was called the Webb Overlook because it’s directly across the mountains from Clingman’s Dome, and you can actually see the Observation Tower if you have a good enough camera. Naturally, Shaun does, and Shannon (the star photographer in the family) was able to capture it despite the distance.

In addition to the Dome, the vista from this turnoff was incredible, so we snapped a few shots and drove on down the road to the Oconaluftee Valley Overlook, which was very cool because the setting sun was creating really interesting shadows on the valley. Another overlook had a sign about logging in the Smokies; by the time the park was formed in the 1930s, logging companies had cut down 80% of the trees in the area that is now the park. Thank goodness the states of Tennessee and North Carolina, along with the federal government and private individuals around the country (including children donating pennies!), banded together to buy up all the land parcels to create a national park.  How cool is that?

Two views from the Newfound Gap Overlook,
showing either side of the ridge

Our next stop ties in with the previous one because it was Newfound Gap Overlook, which contains a plaque honoring those who helped establish the park, including John D. Rockefeller Jr., who donated $5 million of the $12 million needed to create the park in memory of his mother, Laura Spellman Rockefeller. There was a beautiful overlook, as well as a raised area where the park was dedicated by Franklin Roosevelt in 1940. In addition, the Appalachian Trail comes through the area, and Shaun really wanted to get a picture of herself on that trail.  Not that she’d ever hike on it since it’s very strenuous, but she just wanted to say she’d been on the trail.  Of course, she also had to have pictorial proof of it, so here you go.

The closest Shaun will get to hiking the Appalachian Trail

The Appalachian Trail. Um....no.

Our next stop was an unintended one, but you know there’s something going on when a bunch of people are stopped on the side of the road.  It depends on which park you’re in as to what to expect, but in the Smokies, it’s most likely a bear, and indeed, it was.  We parked on the side of the road, jumped out with cameras in hand, and proceeded to where a bear was walking away from us down a ravine.  We didn’t get too many great pics of her (or him as the case may be), so we headed back down the road, only to encounter another bear (or perhaps the same one) in a parking lot just down from where we’d seen the bear in the ravine. Shaun thought it was a different bear because there were still people pulled over back where we had just been, but it’s possible they just didn’t know that she’d moved on down the road. Anyway, we got a bunch of good pictures of her in the parking lot (what is it with us and parking lots?), so we saw 4 elk and 2 (maybe) bears in the same day. Booyaaahhh!

Our next stop was to see a formation that the Smokies are famous for known as Chimney Tops.  It’s part of a mountain that not only looks distinctive, but it was the source of the 2016 fire that devastated Gatlinburg. Apparently, some “juveniles” started the blaze, and the trail is still not completely rebuilt.  We didn’t go far down the trail, but we did find a cool bridge with humungous rocks under it, so it was worth the short hike (even on Shaun's boobooed knee). We also got to see the Chimney Tops from a couple of other pull offs down the road, so we definitely had our way with them.

We finally made it back to the cabin at around 9:00 p.m., made dinner, and then sat down to write this blog.  It’s 12:42 now, so we’ve about had it for the night. Tomorrow we’ve decided to give our bodies a rest and make it a driving day. We’ll be heading back to the southern border and then travel around the western side of the park to see the Fontana Dam, the Okunaluftee Visitor’s Center we missed today, and a few other places including the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Some other pretty shots from the overlooks:

Day 8 - Driving day, plus Grotto Falls

 

Saturday, May 14, 2022

Weather - Sunny, then raining, then sunny again; temps ranging from 72F to 80F, depending on where we were

Steps - Shaun: 14,489, Shannon: 12,196

Varmints - multiple turkeys, one blue ridge two-lined salamander (yay!), two American giant millipedes (yuck! - Shannon), two pleasing fungus beetles

Shaun looking for salamanders

Today we had intended to drive down the Newfound Gap road, visit Clingmans Dome, and hike 3.5 miles to Andrews Bald, but the weather forecast dissuaded us from attempting what will be our most challenging hike when it was likely to rain and thunderstorm. Instead, we decided to do the auto tour of Cherokee Orchard Road/Roaring Fork Road. At the mid-point of the loop is Grotto Falls, a 2.8-mile hike to a waterfall that you can walk behind. We just hoped the rain would hold out until we finished the hike (spoiler alert! It did not.)

We got a late start due to the reconnoitering of our plans and then stopping for coffee for Shannon and then stopping to pee at the Sugarlands Visitors Center, so we didn't start on Cherokee Orchard Road until almost noon. Shannon read from our trusty road guide while Shaun skillfully navigated along the narrow, precarious roadway. Cherokee Orchard Road dropped us onto the Roaring Fork Loop Road, which was blessedly one way and followed the course of the Roaring Fork River. True to its name, the river really did roar as it rushed through rocks of all sizes on its way down the side of Mount Le Conte. 

We made it to Grotto Falls near 12:30pm. We had read that the parking lot fills up really early, and we found that to be true; we had to park on the side of the road a good half-mile from the trailhead. We decided to bring our hiking poles for this excursion, and thank goodness we did! They saved our lives a few times as things got slippery and they helped us up and down the trail much easier than what we experienced on the surprise 2.6-mile Laurel Falls hike.

Though longer than the Laurel Falls hike, we felt like the 2.8 miles to Grotto Falls was easier because there were regular sections of flat ground between uphill sections. There was also plenty to stop and look at, between the plants, rocks, streams, and terrain. 

Unfortunately, we were about halfway to the falls when it started to rain. And rain. And rain some more. Now, we're pretty hardy folk, and we don't generally care about rain, especially since we were prepared for it, as much as we could be. Still, hiking uphill over rocks and mud with a cold, steady rain falling on us, trickling down our necks and soaking our clothes, is not really our idea of fun. We just kept going, hoping that it would run its course quickly as it had the previous day.

We eventually got to the falls, and it was totally worth the climb and the rain. The water was rushing and roaring over an outcropping, and it ran into a series of cascades that we climbed the last section of the trail next to before reaching the falls themselves.

The trail ran behind the waterfall, and we were able to rest there, out of the rain though with a bit of mist taking its place, and eat a small snack. We took our pictures and then started back down the trail.

And what should we find as we ventured back on the trail? The rain was stopping! Yay!

The way down was a little more gingerly because of the big pools of water and slick mud, but we spent a lot more time looking at the pretty flowers, delicate mosses and miniature ecosystems on broken logs, brightly colored foliage, and small animals and insects we discovered. Along the way, we saw our first salamander (though we thought it was a skink until we looked it up later), a snail who very nicely posed for us, and a giant millipede. 

Shannon went a little crazy with Shaun's big camera, photographing all the little things we missed in the rush up to the falls. Here are a few artsty-fartsy shots she took in her frenzy:

Once back at the car and only slightly damp, having mostly dried out on the way down (thank you, moisture-wicking fabric!), we decided that it was time for lunch. Shannon found a picnic spot on another road covered in our auto tour book, Greenbrier Road, which is much less well known and thus, much quieter than the Roaring Fork Loop Road. We finished out the latter with a stop at the Place of a Thousand Drips, a cascade that has a bunch of little waterfalls that all come together to run into the Roaring Fork River. In a way, we lucked out with the rain because the drips were actually more like full on streams and very beautiful as a result.

To get to Greenbrier Road, we had to return to Hwy 321, the main drag through Gatlinburg, and then head east for several miles. It was a bit disorienting, coming from the lush green oasis of the park, where the loudest noise was the rushing river, back into the lights, music, horns, bells, and congestion of the city. It's amazing that only a few minutes separate them; it feels like lightyears!

We found Greenbrier Road and immediately noticed the difference in upkeep on the road. It's definitely less traveled. It quickly changed to gravel, with plenty of potholes, blind curves, narrow lanes, and drop-offs, which tested Shaun's mountain-driving skills (she was up to the challenge, of course!). The picnic area was adjacent to the Little Pigeon River, but while we could hear it, we couldn't actually see it through the foliage. That was fine, though; the sound of the water was enough for us. We ate our delicious lunch of chips, salsa, and guacamole, apples, celery, and peanut butter, and carrot sticks and hummus. A true smorgasbord! 

Because we're gluttons for punishment, we decided to continue down Greenbrier Road, even going down both forks in the road, in our quest to find more varmints. Alas, there were none to be found. But we did see thick, dark forests, babbling brooks and rushing rivers, glowing moss, and lots and lots of rocks. From boulders to pebbles, rocks everywhere. Apparently the amazing number of rocks came out of the last ice age, when winters were longer and the freeze/thaw cycle caused chunks to break off of the mountains above. They would fall along the slopes and into the path of mountain streams and that's where they remain.

We left Greenbrier Road before 6pm and started the hour-long trek back to Townsend. Along the way, we stopped to get Shannon some long-awaited ice cream from Mad Dog's Ice Cream and Donuts, and it was awesome.

Back at the cabin, we showered off the layers of bug spray, did laundry, and relaxed after the adventures of the day. Now to figure out what to do tomorrow, with more rain in the forecast!

Day 6 - Cades Cove in the GSMNP

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Weather - sunny, high of 73F

Steps - Shaun: 7,767, Shannon: 6,858

Varmints - 10+ wild turkeys (including 2 strutting their stuff!), 6 black bears (including 4 babies!), 7 deer, pileated woodpecker, ruffled grouse

Today was our big day at Cades Cove, the single most popular "attraction" in the park.  Everywhere we read about this beautiful 11-mile drive, it said to get there early and be prepared for it to take up to 3 hours to complete.  Can you imagine?  The issue is that it's one way, and if someone sees something up ahead, the whole line stops until the person at the head of the lines moves over.  Luckily, I was able to pry Shannon's lazy butt out of bed at 6:00 a.m. with the lure of bears, and we were on the road by 7 sharp, which was early enough to avoid the major crowds.

The road to get to Cades Cove is called Laurel Creek Road, and our first varmint sighting took place before we ever got into the Cove.  There were a bunch of people pulled over, so of course we had to investigate, and what do we see but a mama bear just taking it easy at the base of a tree.  It was pretty far off, though, so we didn't get any pictures.  Still, it was a legitimate bear sighting, so we were excited to continue on.

The Cove is made up of a series of flat meadows full of grasses and wildflowers surrounded by the glorious Smoky Mountains interspersed with forest and several historical houses that represent the people that used to live in this area.  The meadows are where wildlife can often be seen, and our first encounter within the Cove was a male turkey who was showing off his plumage to some lovely ladies.  We couldn't see the ladies, but we got to see and hear the gentleman as he sought to attract a date for the evening.

The vistas were crazy beautiful, so here are a couple examples for your viewing pleasure (including a turkey):

We had a ton of turkey sighting, and the interesting thing was that except for one group later in the day, every one of the turkeys was alone.  It was so weird.  They were spread all over the place, but they weren't in flocks like we see in Michigan.  I did get a decent picture of one of the horny gentlemen, so try to contain your enthusiasm.

One of our most exciting varmints of the day was a pileated woodpecker who just came and joined us on the fence line, and Shannon was able to get him before he grew tired of our company.  This is an awesome bird!  This one's for you, Betty.  There's also a couple more pics of the vistas for your viewing enjoyment.

We had just mentioned how weird it was that we hadn't seen any deer whatsoever (either in or out of the park), and what do we come upon but a family of deer frolicking in the field and then a few other random ones here and there.  I know deer aren't that interesting, but they were having fun, so we have to include them in our blog to celebrate their joy.  Also, the first deer looks like she is glowing in the sunshine, so it's a double whammy bonus bingo picture.  Enjoy!

It should be noted that not only is this the time of year to see babies, but it's also the time for wildflowers...and Shannon and I are big fans of wildflowers.  They were all over the Cove, so here's a representative photo to show the crazy amount of flowers that were in bloom.  Also, there were so many butterflies that we couldn't believe it.  Most of them were yellow tiger swallowtails, and they were literally everywhere!  There was also another kind that was found all over the ground which we thought was weird, but it afforded us the chance to get a great picture of him (or her, as the case may be).  We think it's called a pipevine swallowtail, and it was very pretty.

There is a little visitors center in the Cove that we visited and looked at a few 19th-century buildings while we waited for it to open (at 9:00 a.m.).  It was a small place, but it had some good stuff (including BBQ sauce that I couldn't resist).  The back part of the Cove wasn't near as interesting as the front side, and once we had finished going around the Cades Cove Loop Road, we headed back out on Laurel Creek Road, and what should we find but another crowd looking at the bears in the same spot from earlier in the day!  This time, though, we were able to see the babies and get a couple of good pictures even though they were pretty far away.  We were even able to use the camera to show a couple who were having a hard time seeing them, and they commented on the quality of my camera.  It does have a great telephoto lens, I must say.  I don't like it as much as my old one, but it does have its benefits, and this situation would be one of them.

Since we had gotten up so early, we decided to eat lunch at 10:00 a.m., and there was a wonderful little picnic area right on the outside of the Cove at the campground.  We had peanut butter and banana sandwiches (I had mine with no bread), and we watched a couple of women who had five children between them.  It was the perfect place for them to play, and it entertained us while we refueled and got ready for the next leg of our journey.

The setting for our lunch

Next we traversed a spur road called Tremont Road to its end where we hiked a small piece of Middle Prong Trail to view the Lynn Camp Prong Cascades. They were 1.4 miles (round trip) along a somewhat rocky trail.  The waterfall was fantastic, though, so we got a lot of bang for our buck on this one.  Also, we ended up seeing another waterfall right on the side of the road, so it was a twofer!

Once we were done gallivanting around outside the Cove, we went back into it to get to Rich Mountain Road which is accessed about halfway through the 11-mile road.  It was WAY more crowded going through the second time, but we took a few more pictures of the vistas and the flowers and also the herd of horses kept there for riding.

Once we made the turn onto Rich Mountain Road, the traffic backed down to a trickle, and we began to climb in earnest.  This was a real mountain climb with switchbacks galore.  Luckily, it was one way, so I didn't have to worry about meeting someone in the middle of a turn.  Pretty early in the drive, we were stopped by a few cars in front of us, which was weird since we weren't expecting to see any wildlife.  However, as we got a little closer, we realized that there was a mama and two baby bears right there in the road in front of us!  I almost had a heart attack, and Shannon whipped out the camera in preparation for our turn.  I tried to be helpful and rolled down her window so she could get a better shot, but she took exception to that move since the bear was literally right outside her window!  We got some great shots of the trio who went on their way past us, and we decided that we had officially arrived.

 Naturally, nothing could beat a bear sighting, but we did have one more encounter with nature later on this same road when a ruffled grouse crossed our path and posed for a picture for me.  The only problem was that she wouldn't get out of the way of the car, so Shannon had to get out and discuss her situation with her.  She took a liking to Shannon and didn't want to move aside, so eventually Shan had to corral the grouse on the side of the road while I went past them both.  Shan then ran for the Jeep and jumped in and said, "Go!", so I went, leaving Shannon's new friend behind without a parting thought.

 Shannon having a personal moment with the grouse.

Once we crossed a stream that ran over the road (our second one of the day), we headed back to the cabin, ate a second lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, took a nap, played euchre with Mike and Dad, and then I updated the blog while Shannon read her book club book.  Good times were had by all.  Tomorrow, we're headed to Gatlinburg!