At the sign close to the 200 mile mark!For the past few days, we've been hiking through the first two thirds or so of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. It's a pretty remote area of the trail, but with some of the most beautiful scenery. The first day we were out, we made it about 13 miles up into the Smokeys (a climb that was way more difficult than we anticipated) and overnighted at Russell Field Shelter, since there in no tenting allowed in the park except for in the vicinity of a shelter. At first we were disappointed about this, since Daddy and I don't really like to hang around the often-crowded shelters, but the reasons the park management have for this rule soon became apparent...
They aren't kidding. We saw a BIG bear WAY up in a huge tree about 30 minutes before we came across this sign. There are tons of them out here.
Yes. The shelter has a fence in front of it. To keep the bears out. We stayed in our tent up the hill and survived the night just fine, though.
They aren't kidding. We saw a BIG bear WAY up in a huge tree about 30 minutes before we came across this sign. There are tons of them out here.
Yes. The shelter has a fence in front of it. To keep the bears out. We stayed in our tent up the hill and survived the night just fine, though.There were two Rangers staying at the shelter, who said they were waiting to tag a bear that had been frequenting the shelter. I really, really wanted to see this happen, but the evening passed uneventfully. The most exciting thing I witnessed at Russell Field was the three boys who were staying there as well getting progressively more obnoxious as the bottle of Jack Daniels they were passing around got progressively more empty.
Day #2 in the Smokies passed rather uneventfully. Didn't see too many other hikers, except for one older, local man who stopped and chatted with us for about 10 minutes about how he thru-hiked the trail in 1976 and got offered membership in the KKK, got caught in the mountains in a snowstorm in 1993 and came down to find the (entire?) U.S. Army sitting on his car, and did we know that a black bear's gallbladder sells for $5,000 on the black market in San Francisco? They guy was more than a few fries short of a Happy Meal. No more bear sightings, but we did see some deer and some wild turkeys.
Gobblers!
Day #2 in the Smokies passed rather uneventfully. Didn't see too many other hikers, except for one older, local man who stopped and chatted with us for about 10 minutes about how he thru-hiked the trail in 1976 and got offered membership in the KKK, got caught in the mountains in a snowstorm in 1993 and came down to find the (entire?) U.S. Army sitting on his car, and did we know that a black bear's gallbladder sells for $5,000 on the black market in San Francisco? They guy was more than a few fries short of a Happy Meal. No more bear sightings, but we did see some deer and some wild turkeys.
Gobblers!Day #3 was spectacular, because 1) the hiking became MUCH easier and followed a rather level ridge, rather than 1,000 foot up after 1,000 foot down after 1,000 foot up, etc., and 2) we got to hike Clingman's Dome, the highest elevation point on the entire AT. Which means the other 1,900 miles are all downhill, right?
Clingman's in the background...
...Clingman's Dome Tower...
...the view at the top...
...and two happy hikers.
We were at Clingman's on one of the 40 clear days of the year. Apparently, on all the other days, smoggy pollution prevents the spectacular views we got. What a blessing to be there on that day. We could see over a distance of about 80 miles, and it was truly breathtaking. You may notice in the pictures that the forest looks like it's dying. That's because it is. Throughout this part of the park, a parasitic European insect has devastated the old growth pine forests that once covered these mountains. Everywhere we looked, we found huge (8 feet or more in diameter), ancient trees dead, dying, uprooted and rotting in pieces. It absolutely broke my heart to see something that was once so splendid, so majestic, so unusual, destroyed by human carelessness. It is truly a tragedy, and I hope one day we can find a way to stop, if not reverse, this kind of loss. I'll never know what it feels like to walk through a truly healthy old-growth forest of Southern Pine, and if we aren't more careful, my grandchildren may not even know what a pine tree is.
One of the huge, uprooted old pines in the blighted forest.
Clingman's in the background...
...Clingman's Dome Tower...
...the view at the top...
...and two happy hikers.We were at Clingman's on one of the 40 clear days of the year. Apparently, on all the other days, smoggy pollution prevents the spectacular views we got. What a blessing to be there on that day. We could see over a distance of about 80 miles, and it was truly breathtaking. You may notice in the pictures that the forest looks like it's dying. That's because it is. Throughout this part of the park, a parasitic European insect has devastated the old growth pine forests that once covered these mountains. Everywhere we looked, we found huge (8 feet or more in diameter), ancient trees dead, dying, uprooted and rotting in pieces. It absolutely broke my heart to see something that was once so splendid, so majestic, so unusual, destroyed by human carelessness. It is truly a tragedy, and I hope one day we can find a way to stop, if not reverse, this kind of loss. I'll never know what it feels like to walk through a truly healthy old-growth forest of Southern Pine, and if we aren't more careful, my grandchildren may not even know what a pine tree is.
One of the huge, uprooted old pines in the blighted forest. Even so, it was an incredibly beautiful hike through the Smokies. We made it to our goal for today in enough time to make the drive over to Pigeon Forge to see Dolly's Dixie Stampede, a dining and entertainment experience unlike any other. I ate an entire chicken while I watched some of the most impressive show horseback riding I've ever seen. What a way to end a little jaunt through the mountains. We aren't quite finished with GSMNP, so there's the rest of that to look forward to over the next few days. I'm told it's some of the most beautiful hiking on the whole trail. If the past few miles have been any indication, that's the absolute truth.
Me and a new friend I made on the trail.
Me and a new friend I made on the trail.Quote of the Day: "If the bear comes tonight, I'll chase it off, I'm scary." - Me
"Women usually are..." - Ranger Rick
"Women usually are..." - Ranger Rick
I really enjoy reading your entries. It sounds like you are having a great time. Be safe!
ReplyDeleteCallie, What a grand experience. What a treasure to share with your Dad. I love reading your blogs.
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