Hiking in the Smokies

Since most of the early spring wildflowers have finished at the lower elevations, I decided to hike on April 25, 2012, with friends on Thomas Divide Trail, beginning on Newfound Gap Road. We started at 4650 ft, with the highest elevation being about 5200 ft. Rain had been predicted, but it turned out to be sunny and warm, and it was a beautiful day. Surprisingly, we didn't actually see many of the spring wildflowers. We did see a few Spring Beauty, a single Trout Lily, quite a few Wood Anemone, and some of the white form of Stinking Benjamin (Trillium erectum). Wood Betony was just beginning to bloom, as was Yellow Mandarin. There were some nice groups of Bluets, and I saw, for the first time in the Smokies, a few Harbinger of Spring. We did see some nice big patches of Painted Trillium along the trail. Probably at about the 5200 ft elevation we saw several Pink Ladyslippers that had their blooms frozen. It seemed unlikely that they would recover this year.

We didn't see any Mountain Laurel, Rhododendron, or Flame Azalea blooming.

Since the early spring wildflowers were winding down in the Smokies, I decided to go up the Big South Fork (BSF) National River and Recreation Area to see what was blooming up there. To get to the BSF one drives up I-75 North to the Oneida/Huntsville exit and takes TN 63 west to US 27. Drive north on US 27 to Oneida, and then take TN 297 into the BSF. It will take a little under 2 hrs to get there.

I hiked from the Leatherwood Ford north on the Angel Falls Overlook Trail, to the overlook, then back on the loop trail that leads to the Bandy Creek campground, about 9 miles. It was really hot and dry, and after I got near the spur leading to the overlook, there weren't many flowers blooming. But, lower down, near the river, I saw a surprising amount of wildflowers.

Later, I hiked on the east side of the river from the Leatherwood Ford to the O&W tressle bridge. Still, there were many wildflowers, and I felt lucky to see a red eft (the nonreproductive phase of the Red-Spotted Salamander, Notophthalamus viridescens) just heading across the road from the river. I also saw a big cottonmouth eating a mole. The hapless mole was about 1/3 down when I saw it, and the snake didn't make much progress while I watched it for about 10 minutes. Coming back on the trail, however, the mole was almost 3/4 into the snake's mouth, and the snake moved off the path.

See the photo album for Big South Fork for the flowers I saw on this hike, as well as the snake and mole.

It looks like spring wildflowers at the lower elevations in the Smokies will peak this week. Several of us hiked an off-trail to Defeat Ridge, and saw acres and acres of blooming fringed phacelia, as well as many other wildflowers.

This week had to be a short hike for us, so several of us chose to hike the Sam's Creek trail out of Tremont, and to continue up the Defeat Ridge manway. We had to cross Thunderhead Prong twice each way, and it was deep enough that we had to wade at both crossings. But, it was a warm day, and the cold water felt good.

We were surprised to see Fringed Phacelia (Phacelia fimbriata)at all elevations of the hike, with enormous masses of them prevalent. We also saw a great deal of Rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides), Wood Anemone (Anemone quinquefolia), blue and yellow violets, some late blooming Hepaticas (Hepatica acutiloba), and quite a few Sweet White Trillium (Trillium simile). There were more blooming Dwarf Ginseng (Panax trifolius) than I have seen anywhere else. This plant is not to be confused with the American Ginseng that is harvested (often illegally) for its adaptogenic qualities. Squirrel Corn (Dicentra canadensis)and Dutchmans Breeches (Dicentra cucullaria) were just beginning to bloom. See the photo album for Defeat Ridge 2012 for pictures.

Well, apparently,someone from the Opera Community has reported my blog albums as containing pornographic content!! Since all I have are photos of wildflowers, I'm a bit puzzled about it, unless I got too close on the reproductive parts of a flower

So, unless Opera staff respond to my complaint (which seems doubtful as it's been over 2 weeks now that I filed it) and remove the block, I will no longer be able to post wildflower photos to this blog. So sorry. If I find another good blog site, or decide to post the photos on my web site (www.smokymountains hiking.com) I'll post that info here.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park has announced that a majority of secondary roads and campgrounds will open starting on Friday, March 11.

The secondary roads that are set to open on March 11 include: Little Greenbrier, Rich Mountain, Straight Fork/Round Bottom, and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.

Clingmans Dome Road is set to open on April 1 and the Heintooga Ridge and Balsam Mountain Roads will open on May 13.

Forge Creek and Parson Branch Roads will have a delayed opening due to unseasonable wet weather. The roads are expected to open early spring.

The Federal government now provides an opportunity to make reservations to many federally-managed recreation areas, including National Park Service areas, all across the U.S. The Smokies now has five of its 10 developed campgrounds on the reservation system. Cataloochee campground was added this year in addition to Elkmont, Cades Cove, Smokemont, and some sites at Cosby. The system allows campers to reserve specific campsites and to make reservations 6 months in advance.

Group campsites and picnic pavilions can be reserved up to 12 months in advance. To make reservations at the five campgrounds, and all group campsites, horse camps, and picnic shelters, visitors can go to www.Recreation.gov or, alternatively, book reservations by calling 877-444-6777.

All ten of the campgrounds open March 11, with the exception of Balsam Mountain and Look Rock (May 13), and Deep Creek (April 1). For the five campgrounds on Recreation.gov, reservations are required at Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont for the period from May 15-October 31 (other dates for the three campgrounds are on a first come, first serve basis); Cataloochee Campground--all sites must be reserved throughout its season; and Cosby Campground, which has mostly first-come, first-served campsites, has a limited number of reservable sites during its season. Camping fees range from $14 to $23 per site/night.

Campers have an opportunity to camp in “generator free” campsites at three campgrounds: Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont campgrounds. Campers can reserve a site in the generator-free loop sections of Cades Cove, Smokemont, and Elkmont campgrounds.

Group Camping will be available at Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, Deep Creek, Elkmont, Cades Cove, and Smokemont, and reservations must be made through Recreation.gov. The cost for group camping ranges from $26 to $65 per site/night.

Horse Camps at Anthony Creek, Big Creek, Cataloochee, Round Bottom, and Towstring will open April 1 and reservations are only available through Recreation.gov. The horse site fees are $20 at all horse camps except for Big Creek where it is $25.

LeConte Lodge, accessible only by trail, will open on March 21. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 865-429-5704 or e:mail: reservations@lecontelodge.com. One night at the lodge costs $116 per adult and $85 for children 10 and under (tax not included). The price includes two meals--dinner and breakfast. Day hikers and backpackers can purchase a prepared bag or dining room lunch and snacks/beverages at the lodge. Reservations are required for the dining room lunch.

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