Back in the Smokies - Hiking with Friends

Tuesday found me on the trail back in the Smokies - the first time since December.  While it was not a bright sunny day, the forecast of 70% rain showers never amounted to much.  We had a little rain before and after lunch and the rest of the time was overcast, cool and damp.  Not all days can be sunny, and you expect some rain if you spend any time hiking in the Smokies.

My friends on this hike were the Friends of the Smokies; specifically 18 hikers who turned out for the first hike in the 2015 Classic Hikes in the Smokies series.  These hikes are held on the second Tuesday each month from March through December.  They are open to anyone who wants to hike.  There is a nominal fee for Friends of the Smokies members.  If you are not a member, the fee for your first hike enrolls you as a member.  Danny Bernstein - hiker, author, and blogger - leads the hikes each month.

This month's hike was a loop hike starting and ending at the Smokemont Campground near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the NC side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  This is a good hike to start the season and to get me back into the Smokies.  We started on the Bradley Fork Trail at the north end of the campground.  Despite the rainy forecast for the week there were a few campers there.  The trail follows a roadbed along Bradley Fork which was running fairly swift from rain and the snowmelt from higher elevations.  At 1.7 miles we turned off the trail to cross Bradley Fork on a log bridge to link up with the Smokemont Loop Trail.  The bridge is a typical of the Smokies; a narrow timber running from bank to bank with a handrail on one side.  This one seemed a little longer and higher, mainly due to the volume of water rushing beneath it and the wet surface of the bridge.  Everyone seemed to take their time crossing.

Trail sign at the trailhead.

Crossing Bradley Fork

Once across we began the climb of the day.  A little rain fell while we hiked up to our lunch spot at the top.  Everyone climbed at his or her own pace, so the group spread out along the trail.  The overcast skies hid most of the views, but the clouds did part enough to reveal a few surrounding peaks.

Smokemont Loop Trial on a cool, wet day.

After lunch we were all ready to get moving again.  The temperature in the 50s with the dampness cooled everyone down.  It was downhill toward the campground and the miles went by quickly.  Toward the bottom we took a short side trail to the Bradley Cemetery.  Only a few headstones were engraved, the patriarch's and matriarch's graves and a few others.  Most were simple upright stone slabs marking the head and foot.  

The patriarch and matriarch of the Bradleys.

A short walk from the cemetery and we were back at the campground.  We covered 6.5 miles and had a good aerobic climb before lunch.  On the way out of the campground we stopped by the Lufty Baptist Church, as named by one sign, or the Smokemont Baptist Church, as named by another sign.  The church is open for inspection.  There is no steeple on the church, only a flat roof over the belfry.

The official Friends of the Smokies hike ended here, but there is another trail in the area, so I got a ride with Danny to the horse stables and hiked back to Smokemont on the Towstring Horse Trail.  This trail exists to get horses and riders from the stables to nearby trails without them having to ride through the campground.  While most people would not hike it, since it is on the official trial map it is one that must be hiked to the Smokies 900 challenge.  The trail was wet and had several steep ups and downs.  Being a weekday so early in the season I did not see any horses on the trail.  

Leaf covered Bowstring Trail

Once back at the campground I loaded up and headed home.  It was a good day to experience the forest with low clouds, dampness, and occasional rain.

On the Trail Again - Finally!

It has been a long while since I was on the trail for a longer hike.  Wednesday I hiked with the Carolina Mountain Club on an 11 mile hike at Table Rock State Park, South Carolina.  The park is located along the escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is dominated by Table Rock (elevation 3,124 ft.) - not to be confused with North Carolina's Table Rock located on the east side of the Linville Gorge in Burke County, NC.  The location of the state park might lead one to think the trails will be fairly level or moderate due to the location in South Carolina.  This hike will quickly change that wrong impression.  Over the 11 miles we had a cumulative elevation gain of 3,726 feet; a good reintroduction to day hiking for me.

Our hike began along a rushing stream with several waterfalls and cascades.  Once on the Pinnacle Trail, we began a serious 4 mile climb up Pinnacle Mountain.  It is the highest mountain located entirely within South Carolina.   Sassafras Mountain, located about five miles from Pinnacle, is the South Carolina state highpoint.  It is located on the SC/NC border.  Along the way we met a denizen of the park seeking a little warmth a few feet beside the trail near a small stream.

We think a copperhead.

Two hikers passed without noticing it, the hiker in front to me pointed it out, and it obliged us in photographing it before slipping off away from the trail.  Not feeling threatened by us it chose to escape, but we wondered where the rest of the family was.

Sunny skies gave way to fog as we reached Bald Rock, obscuring the view of Table Rock Mountain.  The fog remained as we crested Pinnacle Mountain, the highpoint of the days hike.  The temperature cooled in the misty fog, so we stopped for a group picture before going on.

We followed a ridge trail to Panther Gap and the junction with the Table Rock trail.  As we lost elevation it warmed and the sun began to burn through the fog.  By the time we began ascending Table Rock it had cleared, and we looked forward to some good views from the top.  There were several steep climbs on the way up, including a couple places where steps had been chiseled into the rock.  

Steps made climbing the wet rock face a little easier.

Looking east from Table Rock.

The descent to the parking lot was three miles of down, down, down including the steps on the rock face we came up.  Along the way there were several more cascades along creeks beside the trail.  Some of then were a series of steps formed by rock ledges.  We passed through areas with huge boulders scattered about and some rock faces that make up Table Rock.  

Tree meets rock.

It was good to get back out on the trail.  I felt myself being a bit more cautious than usual, especially on stream crossings and crossing the rock faces.  The hike was good for me in two ways; it tested my ability to complete a long, strenuous hike and it helped me gain confidence on negotiating steep ups and downs and crossing streams.  Thanks to Randy who led the hike for the CMC and the three other hikers who made for good company on a good day on the trail.  Up next, a hike in the Smokies next week!