May 12-13, 2024 As I finish the Smoky 900 (all the trails of the Smokies), one loop has eluded me for a while: a 32.7-mile circuit consisting of up the Appalachian Trail from Fontana to Spence Field Shelter, and then down Eagle Creek Trail. Eagle Creek was one of those trails that I had read … More Eagle Creek Trail
April 9, 2023 A week in the Smokys! A whole week away from work, computers, and emails. On Sunday, I went to Tennessee and began the last stretch of hiking all the trails of the Smoky’s. In total, there are 800 miles in the park, but the name “Smoky 900” comes from the facts that … More Anthony Creek Trail, Bote Mountain Trail, Russell Field Trail, Crib Gap Trail
May 7, 2021 The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. – Burns The original idea was to finish a huge chunk of the Cataloochee portion of the Smoky 900 challenge; hike up Pretty Hollow Gap to Mt. Sterling, spend the night then descend Long Bunk and Little Cataloochee. The hike up … More Pretty Hollow Gap Trail
September 14-15, 2019 Looking at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Smoky’s) map, Spruce Mountain Trail is intriguing. It is a 1.2 mile, in-and-out hiking destination located off a one-lane Balsam Mountain Road. Campsite #42 is the terminus of the trail. My desire to hike and camp here is because of this solitude, as it … More Spruce Mountain Trail
June 22-24, 2018 Big Cataloochee and Luftee Knob are the last two (2) peaks I had to climb for the South Beyond 6000 Challenge, a series of forty (40) peaks over 6,000 ft. in North Carolina and Tennessee. Over the past several years, I have made several attempts to climb these last summits. One time … More Big Cataloochee, Luftee Knob
November 11, 2016 Oh, these vast, calm, measureless mountain days, days in whose light everything seems equally divine, opening a thousand windows to show us God. – John Muir I am beginning to understand the mythical allure of the Smoky’s, with its wildlife, epic views and tough, spindly paths. At the end of a tumultuous … More Mount Cammerer Trail, Lower Mount Cammerer Trail
With the promise of changing leaves, the family and I hiked the Flat Creek Trail (2.6 miles) in the GSMNP on a bright fall day. This is an family friendly trail, that winds between Heintooga Bald and Balsam Mountain with three simple creek crossings. I love North Carolina in the fall, and love it so … More Flat Creek Trail
November 6, 2015 “There are trees here that stood before our forefathers ever came to this continent; there are brooks that still run as clear as on the day the first pioneer cupped his hand and drank from them. In this Park, we shall conserve these trees, the pine, the red-bud, the dogwood, the azalea, … More Alum Cave Trail