Kentuckiana Hiker’s Review

It’s still mid-March, but Spring has sprung in the Ohio valley.

The ice-storm damage from January will be with Jefferson Forest for years to come. Though the trails are clear of major debris, the evidence of the storm is everywhere. Windy conditions for the next year should be approached with caution when hiking Jefferson Forest due to the widespread tree damage and the plethora of hanging limbs.

With all that being said, and temperatures in the 50s, 60s and 70s over the last 2-3 weeks, the greenery is sprouting throughout the Forest. With an eye to the ground and a patient pace, I’ve hiked the Scotts Gap Loop and Horine Reservation trails over the last 2 days. There are wildflowers in bloom, and song birds in song, and critters I’ve never seen before.

There are already butterflies about, and one I’ve never seen before is in abundance. Late this afternoon, I spotted many Mourning Cloak butterflies and they were kind enough to pose for me several times. The Mourning Cloak likes to bask in the Sun, and when you disturb them  while walking, try stopping and just wait for a few minutes. More than half the time, the butterflies returned to their basking spot within a couple of minutes.

In addition to bugs, I spotted a few cricket frogs near Mitchell Hill Lake and I also spotted Bluebirds, Blue Jays and a wide variety of Woodpeckers and song birds.

The trees are still barren, but flowers are popping up and the ground clutter is getting some green back in its color.

Over the next month, expect an explosion of flowers and life in Jefferson Forest. Be sure to make time to get out and see it.

I hope you enjoy the album Springish 09.

Some of the pics I’ve taken over the last couple of years. Cool embedded slideshow courtesy of the Hiker’s Journal.

Find more photos like this on Hiker’s Journal

Kentucky was hit pretty hard by the huge ice storm a few weeks ago. In fact, some parts of the state are still struggling without power.

With mid to upper sixties forecast for today, I decided to head to Tipsaw Lake and hike the loop trail and see what the damage was like in Hoosier National Forest. It turned out to be quite an adventure.

To set the stage, we’re experiencing unseasonably warm weather for February. On top of that, the snow and ice in the area has completely melted and we’ve even had some rain, so I knew going in that it was going to be muddy. The unknown element was going to be the downed trees. All of this combined for an unusually strenuous hike around Tipsaw Lake.

The Tipsaw Lake Loop is fairly flat, but at 6 miles, it’s just long enough to be a decent workout while you also get to enjoy lake views almost all the way around the loop. With the warm temperatures, it was a great day for birdwatchers. I spotted  hawks, blue jays, pileated woodpeckers, orioles and lots of songbirds I could not begin to name. As usual with me photographing birds, they were elusive and everytime I was able to focus, the target would fly away. My hats off to ornithological photography enthusiasts for their patience. I don’t seem to have the knack.

Tipsaw Lake Loop is also a very popular destination for bikers as well as hikers. The cleanup has begun, but the trail will take a long time to recover and an intense effort will be required before biking on the trail is safe again. Many of the pine stands in this recreation area are devastated and in several spots, the trails are almost impassable. I had to hike around many long sections of trail with huge trees covering the ground. With literally hundreds, maybe thousands of downed trees and limbs to deal with, I doubt that Spring biking will be a viable option this year.

If you do decide to tackle the loop trail in the next few months, be prepared to scrabble over and around downed trees and wear long pants if you can to prevent getting scratches on your legs. If I hear of any volunteer efforts to help in the cleanup, I’ll be sure to pass them along.

I took some pictures of the damage as well as the scenery, so I hope you enjoy the photo album  Tipsaw Ice.

I celebrated Martin Luther King’s birthday in high style today, since the holiday coincided with a beautiful fluffy white blanket of snow in the Louisville area.

I made my way out to Jefferson Forest and the Horine Reservation section and spent an entire morning completely alone in the park. I was the first into the parking lot at 10:30 AM and hiked the Blue Loop trail down to Mitchell Hill Lake and back again. I then tackled the Red Loop trail for my early afternoon and ended up leaving at about 3 PM as new flurries started to enter the area.

Aside from some minor slips, it was just an incredible day in the woods. It was quiet and beautiful and inspiring. I’m amazed that I only saw 3 other people and 5 pet dogs while spending almost 5 hours hiking 6 miles in the snow. I took lots of pictures and I’ve learned that snow scenery photos take some practice to do well. I hope mother nature obliges with a few more white blankets this winter.

I hope you enjoy the album Horine Snow.

(Sunday, January 3rd)

One thing about Gatlinburg you’ll notice: you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting a “pancake house”.

If you want to eat at the one the locals like, look for the Little House of Pancakes on E. Greenbrier Rd. about 2 miles from downtown. The Panhandler Omelet is my personal favorite. On this Sunday morning, I ordered a-la cart with two eggs over-easy, sausage and hash browns with wheat toast. In my opinion, if it’s breakfast out, it has to have eggs. I’m not the pancake fan I once was as a youngster.

When my sister Denise and I travel, we’re very flexible as to the events of any given day, and the only deadline we had for this Sunday was to get back to Louisville before 6PM so that Denise could make the extra two hour run to Bloomington without getting home too late. Having already checked out of our hotel rooms and while drinking after-breakfast coffee in a nice oversized mug (a custom at the Little House), we were staring down 9:30 AM and the sun began to shine in the parking lot.

We didn’t have time to tackle another trail, but we did have time to visit Laurel Falls.

Laurel Falls is one of the busier spots in Great Smoky Mountains National Park for several reasons. First, it’s conveniently located a short drive from the Sugarlands Welcome Center near the Gatlinbrug park entrance. Second, the trail to the falls is paved and is only a short 1.3 miles (all uphill). Most importantly however is that Laurel Falls is a mighty pretty place if you like waterfalls in an idyllic setting.

Being one of the busier places in the park, I highly recommend you make the effort to get up early and try to visit Laurel Falls before 10 AM. Most days, from 10 AM till  sundown, you’ll share the trail and the falls with a decent crowd (even in the off season Winter months). On this Sunday morning, when we arrived at the Laurel Falls parking area at about 10:15 AM, we were the third car in the lot.

The trail to Laurel Falls climbs approximately 400 ft over 1.3 miles, so be prepared to get your blood flowing. On this particular morning, clouds rolled through during our walk to the falls and then the sun broke through while returning to our car. The rest of the Laurel Falls trail continues (without pavement) to climb 1500 ft in elevation over an additional 2.7 miles before meeting with the Cove Mountain Trail. That’s a rigorous climb even by Smokies standards and one I plan to make in the Spring.

Though we didn’t see much in the way of wildlife besides squirrels, on this particular day, the woods were fairly teaming with Pileated Woodpeckers. We spotted at least a half dozen along the way and heard their taunting calls all morning. Of course, they eluded me and my camera, so the hunt for my first decent picture of one of those rascals continues.

One of the things you should look for in a day hike in the Smokies is water. It might be your destination (a waterfall), or it could define your path, but when water is near, you will see some interesting things no matter what the season. With that in mind, we perused our options in the Little Brown Book, and we decided on the Meigs Creek trail for our Saturday hike, a 3.5 mile one way trail to the junction of the Meigs Mountain and Lumber Ridge trails.

The trail head for Meigs Creek is at The Sinks on Little River Road. Park your car in The Sinks parking area and look for the rock outcropping directly across from the large waterfall on the Little River. Climb the root stairway here and on the other side, continue downhill for the start of the Meigs Creek trail. At the bottom of the hill, you’ll cross a swampy area and begin your first climb.

The Sinks

Root stair

For the next mile or so, you’ll be heading up in typical Smoky Mountains fashion, following the hillside. You’ll climb about 500 ft in elevation and you’ll hear the roar of The Sinks and the sounds of Little River Road for most of your ascent. When the sounds of The Sinks disappear, you’ll be almost at the top of the first climb. When you start downhill, you’ll hike about a half mile to the first crossing of Meigs Creek.

Meigs Creek Crossing #1

During the Meigs Creek section of the trail, you’ll have 18 total crossings on the way to the trail junction at the end. You should be prepared to get your feet wet, as the crossings can be slippery, but not treacherous. If you hike after a period of dry weather, the crossings should be very easy. If you try this trail after a stretch of wet weather, or if it rains, the crossings will be more difficult. I highly recommend trekking poles or at least a good walking stick for balance and increasing the possibility that you’ll be dry at the trail’s end.

On the day of our hike (January 3rd), the weather called for afternoon showers and it had been raining the day before, so everything was fairly sodden. Meigs Creek wasn’t running particularly high, but I still managed to slip a couple of times and get both of my boots good and wet before we were finished. My trekking poles prevented me from any face plants or sit drops into the chilly water.

“Alfalfa Rock”

The Meigs Creek section of the trail follows the creek up an increasingly steep canyon. You’ll see lots of rhododendron creekside and the mosses and ferns are particularly bright green along the way. You’ll also see several good sized waterfalls of 10 or more feet in height along the way. At about the halfway point up the creek valley, you’ll see several very large rock formations on the left hand side of the trail. Near the end of the creek section, you’ll walk through a long rhododendron tunnel before you reach the last few wet crossings of the creek and the original spring at the end of the valley. When you start to climb up again following the hillside and no longer following the creek, you’ll have about another half mile to the end of the trail.

Meigs Creek Crossing

Large cascade on Meigs Creek

“Giants Feet”

Fern

Fungi

Rhododendron Tunnel

The trail junction of Meigs Creek, Meigs Mountain and Lumber Ridge is well marked and has a nice wide area for a rest break and a snack. To complete the trail, just go back the way you came. During our hike, the rain held off until noon and then pretty much poured down on us for the last descent down to The Sinks and our parked car. In these conditions, stay off of roots or rocks when possible heading downhill.

Trail Junction (Half Way)

View the entire photo album of pictures here.

January hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains can be something of a crap shoot when it comes to weather. In any given week, you can expect a combination of rain, snow, sunshine, fog, ice and all of the temperature variations that apply. With that being said, when you plan on hiking in the Smokies in the Winter months, being prepared is essential to your enjoyment as well as your good health.

The most obvious hiking tips should apply:

Know the weather predicted for the day of your hike:

Dress accordingly and layer up. It’s much better to be too warm and be able to peel off layers until comfortable than to be cold and have no additional clothing to put on. If your hike takes you above 3000 ft, it will be colder than the predicted normal temperature. The higher you go, the cooler it will get. In addition to cooler temperatures at altitude, if it is a cloudy day, you should expect damp fog or rain no matter what is predicted. Remember, the Smokies make their own weather most days. If clouds are predicted, take a rain shell jacket just in case. These simple precautions can spell the difference between a cheerful warm hike and a shivering slog.

Know your trail:

It’s great to drive through the park and pick your trail as you go. If you want to finish a trail however, it pays to do a little research beforehand. If you ever visit the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, I can’t recommend the official trail guide highly enough. Known to most hikers in the park as “The Little Brown Book” the Hiking Trails of the Smokies guidebook is just flat out invaluable. In addition to an excellent map of the park, every official trail in the park is described in great detail, including distances, altitude changes and sites you’ll see on the trail. If you plan to go to the Smokies once, you’ll probably plan to go back. Get the book.

Gear recommended:

The beauty of hiking is simplicity. No special gear is required, but when you have it, it makes things easier. As to gear, I would recommend athletic shoes at the very least and hiking shoes or boots at best. The Smoky Mountains are wet. If you like dry feet on long walks, get yourself a decent pair of hiking shoes and you will be happier for it. A walking stick or trekking poles will make uphill climbs and downhill  descents safer, easier and will distribute your weight for better balance.

Food and Water:

As a general rule of thumb, I use a simple scale to determine my hiking needs for food and water. That scale is based on distance:

• Up to 3 miles – At least 16 oz of water, no food necessary

• 3-6 miles – 32 oz of water, maybe a snack or two for energy

• Over 6 miles – Take at least 32 oz of water and as much food as you can carry comfortably.

This scale is flexible depending on the weather, but it will get most folks to the end of their adventure without complaints. Cold or hot, you should always take more water and food than you think you will need. Dehydration is your biggest danger on the trail besides injury. I’ve gotten seriously dehydrated only once on a long hike over 10 miles, and I’ll never consciously let that happen to me again. In addition to being dangerous, it is also miserable to experience. When hiking, drink before you are thirsty and eat snacks before you are hungry. This will make for a much more enjoyable experience.

Rich Mountain Loop

The Rich Mountain Loop trail was our target for Friday January 2^nd with cold rain predicted and ice forecast for the very early morning. At 8.5 miles, we expected a rigorous day hike of about 5 hours and we were not disappointed. To get to the trail head, park your car at the Cade’s Cove main parking and information area just after the campground turn off and just before entering the one way Cove Loop Road. You’ll have to walk down the Cade’s Cove Loop Road and look for the trail beginning on your right a few hundred yards from the one way entrance. You can also reach the trail from the John Oliver cabin parking area, though this is discouraged since the parking is limited.

Having never hiked the RM Loop trail previously, I drove onto Cade’s Cove Loop Road and never actually saw the trail leading to the trail head. As a result, I parked in the John Oliver cabin parking lot and we hiked the quarter mile to the cabin and started our hike from the well marked trail behind the cabin fence in the back.

The Rich Mountain Loop is actually three separate trails that conveniently connect and form loop just over 8 miles long. You can hike the trail clockwise or counterclockwise, but from just one time on the trail, I recommend hiking counterclockwise. From the John Oliver cabin, we hiked to the trail head noted by a wooden sign at the junction of the Rich Mountain Loop Trail and the Crooked Arm Ridge trail. From the sign, follow the Crooked Arm Ridge trail uphill.

Along this 2.2 mile ascent to the next trail marker, you’ll see plenty of water and wildlife along the way no matter what the season. Most notable early was a long sluice-like cascade you’ll see on your right within the first half mile. One reason to begin the loop along the Crooked Arm Ridge trail is that the grade is more consistent and less steep than the ascent along the Indian Grave Gap trail (hiking the loop clockwise). No matter what direction you choose, you can count on about 2.5 miles of uphill hiking.

On this particular hike, we entered cloud cover and fog just above 3000 ft and were socked in with periods of moderate rain mixed with ice. Needless to say, we didn’t get to enjoy any of the overlook views into Cade’s Cove and rarely did were we able to see more than 100 yards ahead of us at any given time. Although deprived of the majestic vistas, the neon green mosses and blue tree lichens along the trail were fascinating as well as photogenic. At the end of the first leg, you’ll arrive at another wooden sign at the junction of the Indian Graves Gap trail and the Rich Mountain trail. Take the Indian Graves Gap trail for the next 1.9 miles to arrive at your final junction of the Rich Mountain Loop. Follow the Loop trail back down towards Cade’s Cove. (At the higher altitudes, and with clear weather, you’ll see several overlook views of Townsend and the Cove.)

The last section of the trail (going counterclockwise) will be a steep descent of over 2 miles. On my hike, when we finally got below cloud cover, we encountered several sections of trail that includes many medium sized rocks. In the cold wet weather, it proved to be quite slippery. Use some caution when traversing this section of the trail as you might be a bit tired . You’ll also have a creek crossing before the trail begins to level out as you approach the back of the John Oliver Cabin.

From the cabin back to the trail head, look for deer in the clearings you will pass on this flattest section of the loop. Turkeys are also common though a bit more wary of hikers. No matter what the season, the Rich Mountain Loop trail in Great Smoky Mountain National Park is truly a treat and an exceptional challenge for the occasional day-hiker.

Trail Head

Fog

Lichen

Descent to John Oliver Cabin

View all pictures in the album

Sure, why not?

I hiked the Rich Mountain Loop trail in Cades Cove on Friday (8.5 miles) and the Meigs Creek Trail on Saturday (7 miles). As a last second addition, I hiked to Laurel Falls (2.6 miles) Sunday morning just inside the park near the Sugarlands Visitor’s Center.

It was a great trip and I took loads of pictures. I’ll be posting a  recap of each trail starting Monday. Over 4 or so days, we saw fog, ice, rain and even a smattering of sunshine. And the best part was of course, thanks to it being January, we got to enjoy the beauty along the trails in virtual solitude.

Check back this week for more details each day.

Too much wet weather and just bad timing has made a last minute hike at  Otter Creek park nearly impossible. But a last minute 4 day trip to the Smokies has emerged and I’m really psyched.

If you ever get the urge in January, you can get cheap rooms in Pigeon Forge at very nice hotels for less than 30 bucks a night, and you’re only 15 minutes from the park.

Laurel Falls is on our agenda, and I’m hoping for snow Friday at higher elevations. I’ll be sure to give you the trail rundown when I get back, and I will be taking LOTS of pictures.

Happy New Year.

I visited Otter Creek Park over the weekend, and the shutdown of the park due on January 1st is well underway. Several sections of the park are already closed to car access, including the Garnettsville Picnic Area and the Rockhaven Picnic Area near the Ohio River.

Trails remain open, but access is limited. I hope to at least do one circuit of the park loop before New Years Day. I’ll keep you posted.