We hike on the Appalachian Trail

If we were into those Bucket List kinds of things, this would be on it—hiking on the Appalachian Trail. We have hiked so many places, including on the Pacific Crest Trail, but today’s hike was extra special to us.

We went from New Found Gap to Charlie’s Bunion (seriously, that’s what the outcropping of rocks is called). It is an 8-mile, round trip hike, with 2000 feet of total elevation gain.

 

This trail was built by the, of course you know the answer, Civilian Conservation Corps, and evidence of the CCC is everywhere. At mile 2.7 there is a shelter built by the CCC. Groups can rent it and spend the night. Maybe some year…….

The guest book in the shelter:

 

The trail is a fairly serious one—you go up 1000 feet in about 2 miles, then walk along a crest, and then down 1000 feet in another mile. The trail is excellent, showing much care in construction and maintenance.

 

Although it is unlikely that any boys who were part of the CCC in the 1930s when this was built are alive today, if any are, I would like to tell them how much their legacy lives on. The trail was packed. Guys—what you built in the 1930s is still a treasure.

Here, Charlie, are some REAL bunions.

 

The day was pretty nice—some sun, and we would like to have had more. But, after all, they are called the Smokies for a reason.

Vicky and I can now say we have hiked on the Appalachian Trail.

 

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Cade's Cove Tour. Smoky Mountain National Park.....on foot

We spent two nights at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee, and our recommendation would be to skip it. We hiked all we could there, but there wasn’t much. The campgrounds were cramped. This place is for a different kind of outdoor experience than we are seeking, but it is just right for a lot of folks. It would be a fun place for day trips, and for families wanting to camp. In that respect, it fills an important niche for families wanting to get outdoors.

But the falls are, frankly, not all that spectacular. Many of the overlooks are overgrown, and you can only get a glimpse of the falls from them.

There is a totally fun suspension bridge there, though. I hadn't been on one of these since my childhood--at Fair (now named Couch) Park, the place where my family and I had so many picnics in the 1950s.

(Someone needs to tell Vicky about the rules against jumping on the bridge.)

THE SMOKIES:

Our first two nights in the Smoky Mountain National Park were at Cades Cove Campground. We got sites in the “no generator” loop, and they were quiet. Two thumbs up for a no-generator loop. I wish more National Park campgrounds had these--Organ Pipe National Monument is the only other one we know of, although I'm sure there are others.

As there is in so many places we have visited and stayed, the presence of the Civilian Conservation Corps is very strong here. In fact, the brochures produced by the park give the CCC a lot of credit, which is good. You see the CCC everywhere--just look for the characteristic stone work.

Caves Cove is sort of the prima ballerina of the Smokies. It is stunning, but also kind of weird.

It consists of an 11 mile loop, along which are stationed several old structures from the 1800s. One can stop, take photos, read about the places, and so on, and that’s all wonderful.

 

What’s not so wonderful is what is “wrong” with many National Parks—they are chosen primarily for their scenic beauty......from one's automobiles. So people stream to them to drive around and take photos. They can be crowded and feel more like a county fair than a place of pristine beauty to experience firsthand.

I read that the average person spends something like 11 minutes (I made up the number, but it was around this) at the Grand Canyon. They drive to the overlook, take photos, and leave. What is remarkable about the parks service, though, is that while they provide for this type of experience at the National Parks, it also provides experiences for people who want to hike long distances through them. Balancing the needs of the drive/photo people and people who want to walk out into these areas and touch them is quite a feat.

We couldn’t think of anything more dreadful than driving around an 11-mile loop and stopping every once in awhile to take photos. So, we decided to walk it instead.

Vicky said one reason to walk the route is that the people who inhabited this valley 100-200 years ago usually experienced it mostly on foot (maybe sometimes on horse, but we forgot to pack our horses), and not in air conditioned automobiles. Also, every once in awhile there was a few minutes without automobiles, and in those brief moments we could hear it the way it once was. Walking it also allows one to experience the original smells. So we wanted to experience it more like the original settlers did, as close as possible.

Here is an example of the steady stream of cars. Reminds me of the final scene from Field of Dreams.

 

This was what it was like ALL day--thousands of vehicles driving through this very small valley.

 

Except for one caveat, walking it was great! I would strongly urge anyone to see Cade’s Cove the way we saw it—on foot. It made for a long day, but you can get a much better feel of the place by walking it.

And if you do walk it, we recommend you drive to Sparks Lane. Go to where the stream crosses it, and park in the small parking area there. Then, the walk is about 9 miles instead of 11, and you don’t bypass any of the vintage dwellings. You don't lose anything by missing the two miles.

We also strongly (as in PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!!!) recommend you do the hike the direction opposite to traffic—in other words do it clockwise. The road is narrow, there frequently isn’t a good shoulder, and people are driving and looking at the scenery. You want to be able to see drivers’ eyes.

And that brings up the one caveat about walking the route--you are forced to be on the road for much of it--a narrow one-lane road. There is very little shoulder, and often the shoulder is uncomfortably slanted. Most drivers considerately moved over a foot or so to give us room, but a few didn't, so a few cars would pass within 6 inches or so of us, or we would have to step off of the road even though there was plenty of room and the drivers were not in any kind of a hurry. Sad to say, but a few of the people who wouldn't more over even a foot (even though they could still stay on the road) did this intentionally. You could see it in their eyes--"the road is MINE." You see these same people when you cycle.

In short, Cade's Cove is set up for automobiles. Period. Not for walkers and hikers (or cyclists--and although there is a concession for bicycles, we have done thousands of miles of cycling and would never cycle in this type of traffic.). During the summer months, the loop is closed on Wednesday and Saturday mornings for walkers and cyclists, but not for a long enough time that a person could actually walk the 9-mile loop and see everything (need about five hours for this).

There is a lot of beauty on this loop. But we can’t give it really high marks because it is much too crowded. The amount of gasoline and diesel fumes that are retained in this small valley must be astronomical, and eventually should prove toxic to plants and wildlife.

And there is no walking/biking trail on the side of the road. Why not? Or why not have people park at the entrance and take busses or trams for as much of the loop as they want, and then be able to get out and walk on the road for as much of it as they want?

As it is currently constructed, walking the route meant at the very least a 9 mile trek, with a moderately hilly 1000+ foot elevation gain. And how many people can do that without getting into shape for it? But with a tram/bus system like Zion National Park has, people could be driven part of the way, and could walk as many miles between stops as they were able.

And I bet we are the ONLY people who have thought of this idea. Actually, we know the park service is doing the best it can to try to solve these and all of the other million problems it faces.

Again, to emphasize: Do the hike against traffic, not with it:

 

This is a place of great beauty. But it needs some re-examination as to its purpose and whether the way it is currently configured is actually damaging the beauty that the parks service is supposed to protect.

Vicky liked this house because there was a hardwood floor that she thought we could dance on. But I couldn’t get into it—all I could picture there was a young boy with bad teeth and a vacant look sitting on the porch with a banjo. That kind of killed the mood.

 

 

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Old Stone Fort State Park. Tennessee

 

We are sitting by our campfire, which is not throwing out enough heat to offset the low temperature and breeze. We are at Old Stone Fort park, one of the Tennessee State Parks, trying to keep warm, even though we are at the “hot” point of the day (3:00 p.m.). In a short while, I am afraid, we will retreat to our camper where it really is toasty warm, thanks to the electric heater, and not cold like it is out here. Admitting defeat.

But no matter, colder temperatures are just part of the landscape when you are camping in October. Some days warm, none hot, some days cold. Some days chilly, like today. Most chilly. We are here only because our neighbor at Natchez Trace State park told us about this park. He said the hike here was terrific, although the campground wasn’t as nice as the one we were staying at currently. We might disagree a bit about the campground (it’s awfully nice here), but not about his description of the hike. It was one that every Tennessee citizen should experience. More about that later.

One other thing he told us was quite incredible. For some reason, he mentioned a family that had traveled through a year ago in a “straight” truck that had Switzerland plates. It was unlike anything he had seen before. The family was taking a year to travel through the U.S. They were very friendly, and notable—how many people from Switzerland take their young children on such an adventure? He said they spent a couple of evenings with them, talking,

Anazing but true: We are sure we ran into the same family, later in the season, at Organ Pipe National Monument. Same type of camper/van/truck, same make-up of the family, same country of origin. How coincidental could that be?

Our hike today was around the old “stone fort,” so named by early settlers because they were limited in their understanding of the structure by their own experiences. What it actually consists of is a stone wall surrounding over 50 acres. Built by the Woodlands people some 2000 years ago for purposes lost to history. The brochures hint at religious meanings, but frankly I think it was for their version of the Super Bowl. Why is it that we don’t believe that ancient peoples had teams and competitions? Are they really so different from us? They likely had their own Peyton Mannings, John Elways, Terrell Davises, and, unfortunately, even Dennis Rodmans.

Part of the hike in this area goes by some beautiful small waterfalls.

 

One of the trails we took goes along the “Backbone,” a gealogical feature created when a river changed its course and tore out first one and then, thousands of years later, a second small canyon, leaving a high area between the two canyons. You can walk along the top of this “backbone,” seeing steep drop offs on either side. Really spectacular.

Two photos on the backbone. Looking closely you can see that the trail falls away sharply on both sides here.

Coming down off of the backbone.

Here is a photo of the fort. Basically it is the small mound on the right. This mound now covers the stones that were placed there and encloses 50 acres.

Here is the flat field that the stone wall surrounds.

 

The only disappointment with the park is that one can’t see the actual stone wall that surrounds the 50 acres. The wall is obvious, but covered now with dirt and trees. Even a small part that was excavated would be fascinating.

 

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Trusting one's instincts

I am sitting by the lake, watching Vicky starting dinner. Our campfire is burning close-by. The lake is 20 feet from us. It is so very quiet and serene. My part of making dinner was getting out the camp stove, attaching the propane, and getting the danged lighter to work. (getting the lighter to work is half of the work of a meal, so don’t knock it—they are made to be so child proof that they are sometimes impossible to get lit). I also built the camp fire, and obtained the wood and fire starter. I’m not completely lazy when it comes to our division of labor, even though sometimes it seems like that to me.

We are at Natchez Trace State Park in Tennessee. It was not our first choice of a place to stay last night, but the campground where we had intended to stay just didn’t “feel” right. It didn’t feel unsafe or anything, but it felt cramped, dark, and unexciting. So, after a long day of driving our choices were to go ahead and stay there anyway, or travel another three hours to a place we knew nothing about and take our chances. We decided to take our chances, and learned something—which is don’t settle for places that are unexciting. Take your chances.

After driving for three more hours we found a TERRIFIC campsite by the lake. Very quiet and secluded. A couple of neighbors in pop-ups, but we are miles away from the open field in this park where the RVZillas have to stay. Once again our choice of a rig worked in our favor—larger ones could not navigate the sharp turns to get to where we are. We are in a small loop where all the sites back up to the lake. It is so amazingly peaceful.

We took the lake hike today—supposedly 4 miles, but actually much longer. Took us 4 ½ hours moving at a real good pace (at least 2.4 mph). It was a real nice woodland hike. Sometimes we had beautiful views of the lake and of the fall colors. Best we could estimate, based on time, our GPS readings, and the description of the hike, was that we did 9 miles with about 1000 foot elevation gain. No wonder we are tired.

Tree fungi of some type. Very large and beautiful. Never seen them before this large and this colorful. One of these was over two feet long!

Pooped after about 9 miles:

 

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