Hiking in the Smokies

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.