Another day of hiking! This time we headed up Porter's Creek and Brushy Mountain trails. No, we did not hike to the top (Mt. LeConte), just hiked a few hours up and a few hours back to the car. We took loaded backpacks to practice for the upcoming West Coast Trail...well at least John carried a fully loaded pack. I carried a sorta loaded pack and was pretty pleased with myself till I got busted when John picked my pack up to take it out of the car. Whoops! :-)

Luckily most of the morning was overcast so we didn't bake. The temps were in the high 70's-low 80's with occasional gentle breezes. As with most of our hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we finished our hike with vegetable soup and a cool, fresh salad at the Brass Lantern in Gatlinburg. Yum, yum!


Moisture in the air is hanging thick! The temps may have been a little cooler but the humidity was right around 100%. We (I) really suffered from it on the hike up.

Lush greenery is always a photo op in the Smokies. Just point and shoot and you have a decent picture!

Brushy Mountain Trail

A mossy rock overhangs a small pool of water. The mosquitoes were swarming around the pool, I took the picture and ran.

We found a several of flame azalea bushes still in bloom. They are so bright against the green foliage.

Rhododendron is coming in bloom. This bud is just opening.

Several rhododendron bushes were in full bloom. These pinkish white blooms are so cool looking in a very warm forest.

Lacy ferns grow thick along the trail.

Bee Balm in all it's scarlet glory.

A field of Bee Balm growing close to a stream. This was a mosquitoe and tick haven! We didn't linger long.