Friday, 21. May 2010, 12:20:28
Clingmans Dome Road, road closing, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Clingmans Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park closed for the winter on November 30, 2009 and is now not scheduled to reopen until June 19, 2010 due to road repaving. The project will continue until July 1, 2010 but traffic will be managed with single lane closures on weekdays. No work will take place on weekends once the road reopens.
The road will be closed to all public use, including hiking, bicycling, and auto touring. Access to trailheads along the road will also be closed, including Fork Ridge Trail, Forney Creek Trail, Forney Ridge Trail (which leads to Andrews Bald), Noland Divide Trail, Road Prong Trail, and Sugarland Mountain Trail. Although trailhead access from along Clingmans Dome Road will be closed, these trails will remain open and hikers can access them via connecting trails in the area. The Appalachian Trail, which runs parallel to Clingmans Dome Road, will be accessible from Newfound Gap.
Thursday, 13. May 2010, 00:51:07
Smoky Mountains, Pink lady's slipper. Flame azalea, Putty root orchid, wildflowers
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We hiked Ace Gap trail in the Smokies hoping we'd catch the Pink lady's slippers in bloom. We weren't disappointed - we counted over 180 flowering plants along the 5.5-mile hike in to Ace Gap. It was cloudy most of the day, and drizzled on us about 4 times, but it felt refreshing as it was a fairly hot day. We didn't see many flowers, but did see some late spring/early summer things blooming: Four-leaved milkweed, Beardstongue, Mountain bluet, Flame azalea, and Mountain laurel. I saw one Putty root orchid blooming, and was thrilled to see it. I've never seen it in bloom before. See the Photo album for Ace Gap, 2010.
Sunday, 9. May 2010, 18:45:55
Smoky Mountains, wildflowers, Abrams Falls
On Wednesday, May 5, we decided to hike to Abrams Falls in Great Smoky Mountains National Park the back way; i.e., via Little Bottoms out of Abrams campground. It was a beautiful day, staying cool for most of the morning, but by mid-afternoon it was getting pretty hot. There weren't a lot of spring wildflowers left blooming, but we began to see early summer ones. After several days of heavy rains, Abrams Creek and Abrams Falls were full of rushing water. The Mountain laurel was in bud, and about to burst. We expected to find gay wings (
Polygala paucifolia) along the way, and did see a few on the banks of the trail just before we got to the falls. There are several big clumps of bleeding heart (
Dicentra eximia) on the rocky outcrops of Little Bottoms trail, although they were past their prime. See the Photo album for Little Bottoms 2010 for pictures of some of the wildflowers we saw.
Thursday, 6. May 2010, 20:51:14
Cypripedium pubescens, Yellow ladyslipper, pink ladyslipper, Frozen Head State Park
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Frozen Head State Park, in the Cumberlands, was well past its peak for wildflowers when we hiked it on April 28. Although we counted 36 species of wildflowers in bloom along the way as we hiked up Panther Branch and North Old Mac trails, there just wasn't much of anything blooming in any one spot. The highlight of the hike was the one large yellow ladyslipper (
Cypripedium pubescens) we saw along the trail. Virtually all of the trilliums were finished, as was the spotted mandarin (
Disporum maculatum), found primarily in the Cumberlands, but occasionally in the Smokies (I found it once on Little Greenbrier trail in the Smokies). We saw just two pink ladyslippers (Cypripedium acaule).
There was a lot of water running in all the streams, and the waterfalls were full and beautiful. See the photo album for Frozen Head for pictures of some of the wildflowers we did see.
Saturday, 24. April 2010, 11:35:35
Ramsey Cascade, Trillium undulatum, Trillium erectum, witch hobble
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I had forgotten just how hard a hike it is to see the beautiful Ramsey Cascade in the Smokies. It's just 4.0 miles, but the trail climbs relentlessly 2100 ft to 4250 ft, and the last 1.5 miles or so are very rocky. One must watch one's feet constantly to avoid tripping. It was a cool morning when we started, and after a heavy day of rain a day earlier, many of the wildflowers were still curled up and/or drooping. However, by the end of the day, when the sun finally came out, the flowers were beginning to look happier.
I had expected to see some fringed phacelia, due to the proximity of this trail to Porters Creek trail (where the fringed phacelia can be spectacular at peak), but I didn't even see any foliage. However, spring beauty was abundant on all the wooded hillsides, and still in bud, so I think the fringed, if there at all, had just not appeared yet. There were many white
Triliium erectum all along the trail, at all elevations, as well as painted trillium (
T. undulatum), witch hobble in full bloom, dwarf crested iris (
Iris cristata), and many other wildflowers (see photo album for Ramsey Cascade).
Saturday, 24. April 2010, 10:50:50
Little River trail closing, Foothills Parkway east, Jakes Creek trail closing, Great Smoky Mountains National Park road closings
The $12.2 million for Recovery and Reinvestment Act (RRA) projects to improve hiker parking areas and resurface two roads in the Park brings total Recovery Act funding for the Smokies to $77.5 million. The projects are: re-paving the Foothills Parkway-East, the Smokemont Campground and the Heintooga Ridge Road. In addition the Park will create new hiker parking areas and repave the roads leading to the popular Little River and Jakes Creek Trails in the Elkmont Area.
The Smokies NP has also received more than $33 million of RRA funding to continue construction of the uncompleted Foothills Parkway.
Work is already underway to repave the Smokemont Campground and that campground is currently still closed but is scheduled to reopen after the work is finished on May 27. Hikers are unable to drive into the campground to Smokemont Loop or Bradley Fork trailheads, and must park outside the campground and walk in. A contract was awarded to pave three parking areas and to repave all the connecting roads between the Little River Trailhead and the Elkmont Historic District. During the early phases of construction visitor access to Jakes Creek and Little River Trails will be provided, but the area will be closed between July 6 and August 31 when safe passage can no longer be possible through the construction zone.
Details on all of the park’s Recovery Act and other facility and road construction projects are available at the Park’s website at: www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit.”
Saturday, 24. April 2010, 10:43:05
Hike the Smokies Challenge, Great Smoky Mountains, hiking milestones
A new program in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, “Reward Yourself - Hike the Smokies Challenge” in 2010 will help visitors reach individual recreational milestones. The Park is distributing mileage record books for free on Sunday, April 25, at Sugarlands and Oconaluftee Visitor Centers between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and at the Cades Cove Visitor Center from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
After April 25, the pocket-size booklets will be available at the three visitor centers for $1.00. The challenge is to keep track and record the mileage from each trail walked or hiked, even if it is the same trail day after day. As a recreational goal, when a person has “hiked” 100 miles, 250 miles, and 500 miles, he/she can bring their mileage record to one of the three visitor centers to receive a mileage pin and be recorded in the “Hike the Smokies” 2010 web records.
A video podcast, "Day Hiking in the Smokies: Expect the Unexpected" will also be launched on April 25th at:
http://thegreatsmokymountains.org/hike_smokies_challenge. This 3-minute video podcast will help visitors prepare for the weather extremes that can be found in the Smokies during a day hike. Two additional video podcasts are being developed in this series for release this summer and fall that will provide additional tips on hiking safety in the Smokies.
This project was made possible in part by a grant from the National Park Foundation through the generous support of The Coca-Cola Foundation, and in cooperation with Great Smoky Mountains Association and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Saturday, 24. April 2010, 10:38:03
Smokies, The Dragon, US 129 reopens, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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road-map-129.pdfParson Branch Road, which has been closed along with the Cades Cove Loop Road in the Smokies will reopen today, April 24, along with the Loop Road. If you drive down the one-way Parson Branch Road, you will not be able to go west on US 129, as it is still closed due to a rockslide in March. Attached is a map showing the portion of US 129 that is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m for drivers wanting to drive east toward Deals Gap or Bryson City. The closed portion of US 129 between the Foothills Parkway and Tabcat Bridge along Chilhowee Reservoir will prevent you from returning to Tennessee if you go out Parson Branch Road. This portion of the closed road is expected to reopen July 31.
Monday, 19. April 2010, 12:23:19
I made this post last week, saved, previewed, and posted it, and to my dismay, it is no longer here at this site. Rather than re-input all my hike description again, I'll defer to the blog of a friend who took the same hike (www.wliemohn.blogspot.com). My photo album of the hike can be found by clicking on "Photos" above. Unless Opera can get all the current bugs out of their system, this might be my last post on this site.
Tuesday, 6. April 2010, 23:42:02
US129 closed, Cades Cove Loop Road closed, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The Cades Cove Loop Rd is scheduled to reopen Saturday, April 24 - a month earlier than originally planned. The park is planning two events to celebrate finishing the road paving early.
A Field Day will be on Saturday, April 24, for only bicycles and pedestrians. They will be permitted on the road from sunrise until noon (traditionally this opening has been from sunrise until 10 am from May - Sept, but they have extended this one "bicycle closure" until noon to accommodate a greater number of people).
On Sunday morning April 25, the Park and the Friends of the Smokies, together with the Knoxville Track Club are planning a one-time only "Cades Cove Loop Lope" - a fundraiser event which will offer pre-registered runners a choice of the full 11 mile loop or a 3.5 mile course. Folks will have to
pre-register with a maximum of 150 vehicle passes available. Vehicle access past the Townsend Wye will be restricted to registered runners and campers until the race is over. This event will start at 8:00 am so the road can re-open to vehicles by noon (see Friends website at www.friendsofthesmokies.org/events.html for details soon).
I am sure you have already heard about the US 129 rockslide. A contractor has been secured to clear US129 from the rockslide that occurred in March. An anticipated completion date is no later than July, 2010. Incentives are in the contract for the workers to try to get the work done earlier. Because of the closure of US129, Parsons Branch Rd beginning in Cades Cove will remain closed even after the Loop Rd opens and will reopen when US 129 re-opens.
Trails originating at Twenty-mile will be inaccessible by car from the west until US129 reopens, and include:
Wolf Ridge
Twenty-mile
Twenty-mile Loop
Long Hungry Ridge
Additionally, access by car to Gregory Bald and Hannah Mountain trailsheads on Parson Branch Road will also not be available until US129 reopens.
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