July 30th - Kanati/Thoms Divide – 14.8 miles – Pictures – We went up Kanati Fork and hiked all the way down to the end of the Thomas Divide Trail at Deep Creek. I stayed overnight at Deep Creek Campground that night with Jen K. & David J. Flowers included: Fire pinks, turk’s cap, naked flowers tick tree foil, starry campion, and false foxglove. No bear or deer sightings. Hikers: Mary D., Rebekah B., Jen K. & Elise E.
July 24th – Deep Creek – miles = 13.5 - Pictures - Hikers: Mary D. & Elise E.
July 23rd – AT/Goshen Prong/Little River/Huskey Gap/Sugarlands Mtn. - Pictures - applicable miles = 19.6 and total miles = 21.5 miles – Pictures – Hikers for entire length included: Cindy S., Bruce F. & Elise E. – Other hikes with slightly different routes included David S., JD S. & Mary Anne H.
July 17th - Sugarland Mountain Trail & Huskey Gap - No Pictures - From Clingman's Dome Road we headed on the AT for a short while and then junctioned with Sugarland Mtn. Trail. We connected with Huskey Gap and took that all the way to Newfound Gap Road. (Shuttle hike) Sugarlands is 8.9 miles with a decent of 2800 and the portion of Huskey Gap that we will hike is 2 miles with a decent of 1300. This was a beautiful hike with a ton of flowers along the Sugarland Mountain Trail - turk's cap lily's, fruit bearing trillium, bee balm, rattlesnake plantain just to name a few. I called this trail 'the Porter's Creek of July'. Back in the spring of 2009 I hiked it on a beautiful sunny day and there was ice on the trail as we started out but wildflowers along the Huskey Gap trail as we finished up - it was like 4 seasons in one day! Hikers: Mary D., Jen K., Amber R. & David R., and Elise E.
July 16th - (AT hike outside of GSMNP) - Pictures - co-led a SMHC hike from Brown Gap to Max Patch on the AT with Rebekah B.
July 13th - Noland Divide & Noland Creek Trails - Pictures - From Clingman's Dome Road to Noland Divide to Noland Creek ~ 13.9 Miles +1 additional mile as part of an in/out for the last mile. Hikers: Elise E., Jim H., Ellie D., Amy, Jane & Vickie (part of Wednesday hiking group) - Beautiful hike with all of it either downhill or flat... saw lots of bear scat on the Noland Divide Trail and blooming rhododendron throughout the hike. Also saw my first turks cap lily's of the season but I was too far away to get a picture. We had lunch along the creek at campsite #63 and took a rest and enjoyed the water post-hike along the end of the Noland Creek Trail.
July 10th - Lakeshore Trail (campsite #76 to tunnel (Lakeview Drive)) - No Pictures - Post Hike Notes: 11.6 official miles (with an additional 2.5 that we needed to pick up due to an error in boat shuttle drop off communications). This is a beautiful trail but not recommended for the summer. Very hot temps with no breeze so bring a water filter if you decide to do it. Research your route, especially around campsite #98. 98 is confusing - you need to cross over a small foot bridge and head up the hill along on an old road bed in order to continue along Lakeshore heading east (towards the Tunnel). Make sure your boat shuttle crew knows exactly what drop off site you need to be at. Don't let them leave until you've checked the campsite #. Our boat shuttle dropped us off at #98, not #76 - we opted to hike 2.5-2.6 miles to reach 76 and then headed back over to 98. At the end of the hike, all of us opted not to hike additional (loop) trails due to fatigue and low water rations. This hike involved both a car shuttle and boat shuttle. We used Prince's Boat Dock out of Almond, NC since it was only $30 per person and was closer to our drop off point. We left a car over at the tunnel (road to nowhere) outside of Bryson City. Elise forgot her camera's flash card this weekend so no pics. However, she did see a mother bear with cub crossing Lakeview Dr. en route to drop off a car. Hikers: Mary D., Jennie F., Jen K., Randy H, and Elise E. Side note: there were all kinds of mushrooms on this trail. Funny how the Boulevard Trail the previous day had a ton of mushrooms as well. These trails could be more different in elevation and fauna but were similar in this respect.
July 9th - Boulevard Trail (via AT Trail) to Mount LeConte & down Alum Cave - No Pictures - Post Hike Notes: 13.1 official trail miles (with additional mileage arrived from spur trails that took you to visitas not far off the trail): the Jump Off which was .6 mile total in/out; Myrtle Point which was a total of .4 miles in/out; and both routes to 'the cliffs' with a combined total distance of .8 miles in/out.) Hikers: Mary D. and Elise E. Hike requires a shuttle. Elise forgot her camera's flash card this weekend so no pics. We saw a little bit of a view but mainly overcast. Indian pipe, bee balm and a white, small delicate flower that we temporarily nicknamed 'white eyed Mary's' and a ton of mushrooms. I realized the Boulevard trail, at least this time of year, is definitely the Porter's Creek of mushrooms. Elise opted to stay the night at the Scenic View Motel in Bryson City - nice folks and the rate was about $55. Sign read 'Spend the Night - Not a Fortune'. No phone but they had a flat panel screen television mounted to the wall and two open Bibles.
July 4th Weekend - AT Hiking - Pictures - Hikers: Elise E., Jennie F. & Randy H. (Clingman's Dome to Fontana Dam - 32.3 miles over 3 days - stayed at Derrick Knob and Mollies Ridge Shelters). Mary D. joined us for the first two miles or so and then headed down Goshen Prong. Post Hike Notes: We saw several flowers in the course of the hike including: crimson, white and light purple bee balm; fire pinks; st. john's wort; spiderwort; phlox and of course some rhododendron and azalea's in bloom. Saw several black bears including a mother and her cubs hanging out along the AT (halfway between Shuckstack and Fontana Dam). Also in sight - some grouse, a wild turkey and a cute little cotton tailed bunny. Elise's favorite section was between Spence and Russell Field Shelters - just a lovely downhill segment that was fun to enjoy with friends. The shelter at Russell Field was recently re-done (partly by my boss, Bill Clabough) and looks fantastic - 5 stars! For vistas we must give props to Clingman's Dome, Rocky Top and Shuckstack... 360 degree views at the beginning, middle and end of the trip. Funny how that works out. Lastly, we ran into Doug McFalls, A.T. Ridge Runner and we agreed to exchange blog and email addresses. I hope to catch up with him on my remaining AT hikes in the Park. Here is his blog... Reflections of the Smokies
