This weekend was billed as a "winter backpack" and we were not disappointed. Our route took us from the Cosby area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Campsite #29, via the Maddron Bald Trail....a 2880' climb in 5.6-miles. Just a walk in the park!

We arrived at the trailhead about 10:35 am, on the trail by 10:45 am . Snow accumulation wasn't too bad in the lower elevations but the snow kept falling. Forecasters predicted snow all day and for once, they were right! From left Jim, Steve, Ron (green jacket) and Duane.

Maddron Bald Trail is beautiful in the spring when the massive rhododendron are in bloom. The vegetation also provides a spectacular backdrop for the snow and ice of winter!

This is about as Norman Rockwell as it gets, woodland bridge, creek, snow covered rocks and a snowstorm.

Tricky, tricky, tricky; a most uncomfortable water crossing! This was an L-shaped challenge, balancing on a log jam with only a few scrawny branches at the bend to hold on to. Thanks to Jim who stood at the end and helped us down the final steps! Stepping down the last log...Terri, on the log in pink, Robin.

The higher we climbed, the deeper the snow and the thicker the cloud cover. With old and new snow, we figured we were hiking in 7-8 inches of snow. Everyone was happy that Duane and Steve hiked ahead of us (except Duane and Steve). They left nice footprints so we didn't have to posthole the snow ourselves. Of course they could have taken smaller steps, some of their footprints were a reach for the girls! :-)

Terri in camp preparing a much needed hot drink.

Evening in camp, the clouds are thick but the snow finally stopped.

Morning arrived, the clouds cleared out and camp took on a much different look.

Ron (left) and Steve (right), prepare breakfast.

The sun hit the top of the mountain first so the melt proceeded top down!

Ah....halfway home!

It has been incredibly warm this week, yesterday's high was 71. Made me think summer and a poem I wrote several years ago. I am posting it here to remind me of the feel of summer. Alas, the weather is a regular roller coaster ride, we are expecting rain, sleet and snow tomorrow!


SUMMER'S TOUCH

I would like to be outside today,
Laying in a hammock with my eyes closed,
Feeling the warm sun on my face,
Listening to the flutter of leaves in the soft breeze,
And being tickled by an insect as it lightly touches my skin.

I would like to be outside today,
Gazing at the turquoise sky,
Watching puffy clouds change shape as they drift slowly by,
And smelling the delicious fragrance of a magnolia bloom
Flowering in a neighbor’s backyard.

I would like to be outside today,
Dozing in the afternoon heat,
Waking on occasion to read from my book,
And before I can finish a page,
Dozing again as the book falls gently from my hands.

I would like to be outside today, daydreaming this early June day away.

-Beverly Smith
June 11, 2002

Well finally! A snow advisory has been issued and we are getting some flakes. Probably not enough to keep me home from work tomorrow but I have about 10 hours to dream about the possibility! Yeah winter has really arrived, for a few days anyway.

Snow falling among the branches of my crepe myrtle.

Snow is falling everywhere, too bad it is not sticking on the road.

With a little cold weather in the forecast, we were anxious to venture out for our second backpack of 2006. We picked another trail in the southern section of The Cherokee National Forest (see Jan. 22 for our last hike in the Cherokee). While John and I have hiked extensively in the northern section (upper East TN), we are relative novices in the southern part.

Our trail choice was the Bald River Trail (Forest Trail #88). We picked it because of it's low elevation, relatively flat topography and meandering path along the bank of the beautiful Bald River. On this trip we were joined with friends Bill and Robin.


Spectacular huh!!? This is the lower Bald River Falls. We were impressed with the volume of water. One of the great things about the Falls is that it is accessible to just about everyone. This picture is taken from a bridge on Bald River Road. The trailhead is just a few hundred feet from the left side of the falls.

This is the Upper Bald River Falls. Located above the lower falls, we had to hike a few minutes on the trail to grab this view. Also very impressive!

The first 15 minutes or so on the trail is a climb. About halfway up, Robin and Bill stopped to remove fleece. Amazing how fast a climb can warm a person up on a very cold, rainy day!

And yet another falls along the Bald River. No question we picked a great weekend to see the falls and cascades!

Bill, setting up his tent.

We hiked about 23 minutes and arrived at the first campsite. We hiked a few more minutes and stopped at the second site. Not much time carrying a pack but the sites were beautiful and we really didn't know what lay ahead.

If we do this trail again, we will hike to the third campsite about 15 minutes from this one. Located on a ledge overlooking the river, the third site is off the trail and a little more secluded. Lucky for us the bad weather kept people out of the forest. We figure with such close proximity to the road, these sites fill-up quickly in the 3 warmer seasons.

After we set up tents, we continued on the trail with daypacks. Wasn't too long before the rain turned into snow. We hiked through patches of really heavy snow and were puzzled as to why some areas received significantly more snow than others.

Along the trail we continued to be totally impressed by the Bald River.

We hiked to the end of the Bald River Trail (5.0-miles) and back to our campsite, a total of 9-miles for the day. No, I do not have a "blur lens" on my camera, just some natural effects from the constant rain and snow.

We arrived back in camp around 5:00 pm and were pleased to find a little snow on our tent. Tarps were set-up quickly to protect us from the elements, we fixed dinner, had a little conversation and turned in around 8:30 pm. Although we were bundled up in down, fleece, gore-tex and wool, most of us still had a chill. The cold, damp weather had taken it's toll and we were glad to climb into down bags and snug the hoods around our heads for the night.

John and Robin standing near the upper falls.

B-r-r-r-r-r, Sunday morning was really cold. We were a lazy bunch, sleeping in, drinking coffee and taking our time breaking camp. After all, we had less than 1/2 hour to hike to get back to our cars.

Icicles grew thick on the rock ledges above the cars!

A stop at the Town Square Cafe and Bakery in Tellico Plains for a brunch of pancakes (for me) and biscuits and gravy (for John) and we were on our way home to clean up and dry out our gear! Can't wait for our next trip out!

If it is the third Saturday in January, it is time for the 1st winter backpack of the year... only it isn't really winter. Weekend temperatures soared to a warm 50 degrees and in place of cold crunchy snow, the skies sent down rain, winds and low hanging clouds. We stalled for time at the Tellico Plains Pizzeria hoping that the rain would dissipate, but it didn't! Well fortified in various gore-tex products we finally gave up sky watching and headed up the Cherohala Skyway to Trailhead #95, gateway to our destination, Bob's Bald.

From left: Duane, John, Ron, Terri and Barbara at the trailhead

Duane followed the tail lights of Ron's Ford Focus wagon around the very curvey Skyway. John and I joked, somewhat seriously, that we hoped Duane would not follow Ron if he headed over the side. Duane noted that he was on high alert for that very situation. We arrived at the trailheat about 1:30 pm, safe but somewhat disoriented from curves and near zero visibility.

John (blue-black jacket, Duane(to John's left) and Ron (to John's right) on Bob's Bald

The 3.1-mile hike to Bob's Bald was not too difficult, a couple of short, steep up sections combined with gentle climbs along the ridgeline. Our biggest challenge was the relentless rain. Many trails in the Cherokee National Forest are not well maintained (i.e. no water bars) so the water formed a stream running down the trail, occasionally pooling in flat areas. At times we had visions of the West Coast Trail as we scrambled over bare roots, slick rocks and through mud.

We kept our rain gear on for the entire hike. While the gore-tex was meant to keep us dry from the outside in, it also kept much of our perspiration on the inside. We arrived on the Bald damp and a bit chilled from the high wind. We couldn't see much through the clouds but Terri and Barbara had been here before and directed us to a campsite slightly downhill from top.

Setting up the tarp: John (blue jacket), Terri (in navy) and Duane (in red). Good thing for bright colors, otherwise we would blend in with the clouds.

Because of the weather, tarp erection was first on our list of camp tasks. Our tarp engineers always come up with new, unique designs using guidelines predetermined by the configuration of trees and ground. We were not disappointed with this set up and enjoyed a dry, relatively wind free set-up. Thanks guys and Terri!

John on tarp duty. Terri's tent is visible in the background.

Duane is somewhere under the hood and hat. When Duane is along, he serves as head tarp engineer.

Terri holding down her side of the billowing tarp. Is that a smile or grimace on her face?
Barbara brought along her little Jack Russell terrier, Sparky. He continually entertained us with his high jumps and leaps. He is really styling here in his red gore-tex jacket!

Will and Kim hidden in fleece and rain gear. Note the puddled water behind their tent.

Will and Kim arrived about an hour after the rest of the group. Will thought he would fool Mother Nature and begin hiking at the time the weather channel designated as "clearing skies." Unfortunately there were no clearing skies in the afternoon.

Ron and his camera

A campsite with a spectacular view...at least for a little while!

Just before sunset, the clouds blew out revealing the magnificent scenery beyond Bob's Bald. Everyone became a photographer, as the low hanging clouds floated about the valley.

And then the sun began to set. The blues and pinks illuminated the clouds in the valley and we all stood about feeling very lucky to be on this mountain watching this incredible sight.

Barbara and Sparky enjoying a hot drink.

Finally we settled in to eat dinner. Lots of creative meals! Terri had a backpacker's grill and made a grilled hamburger. We were all a bit jealous, except Will, our resident vegetarian. He and Kim had veggie burgers. John and I fixed grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup, a perfect meal on a rainy day.

We sat under the tarps, laughed, told stories and teased each other. There is a nice ease among this group of people, developed over a number of backpacks together. Occasionally we would peak our heads out from under the tarp and look at the twinkling stars. Around 8:00 pm, someone noticed that the clouds were rolling in. After that, it didn't take long for the stars to disappear and the low clouds to blanket us again. Oh well, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset and that alone made the trip to Bob's Bald worthwhile. We headed to bed about 9:45 pm.
Kim bundled up in wool, fleece and gore-tex heading to the tarps for breakfast.

No one was in a rush to get up on Sunday morning. It was cold and the Bald was enveloped in clouds. Most people climbed out of their tents about 7:45 am with the exception of Ron. He was up, packed and sitting under the tarp before most of us opened an eye. Good news! It wasn't raining.

From left: Duane, Beverly, John and Terri.

We enjoyed a relaxed breakfast, packed and broke camp around 9:30 am. We remembered the hike to Bob's Bald as all uphill and were quite surprised to discover that it was not. We peeled off our fleece about midway through the hike to the trailhead.

The hike out was quick and we were in Tellico Plains at the Towne Square Bakery and Restaurant by 11:40 am....a must stop for incredible pizza and a fitting end to a great January backpack

Can you believe it? Our longtime friend and hiking companion, Barbara turned....errrr...retirement age today. Some of her friends gathered at Agave Azul restuarant tonight to wish her a healthy, happy "new year"!

Barbara arrived at the restuarant thinking she was dining with only me (yawn, yawn). She said she noticed Will's car in the parking lot but didn't completely put "two and two" together. We hope she was at least somewhat surprised by our efforts to keep things hush-hush! Hey Barbara, love your llama sweater!! We only wish we had purchased one when we were in Cusco and Machu Picchu with you in 2004.

John and I enjoyed spending the evening in the company of friends!

Robin with a smile for Kim who is sitting right next to her with a camera!

Duane and Angela, giving Kim and the camera a b-i-g-g-g smile :-)!

And here is couple number #3, Will and Kim, looking serious for the camera.

"No, no, it's the paparazzi again!" Who is that bearded man behind the hand? Could it be BILL?

After dinner, we retired to Will's house to eat cake and talk. Will searched high and low for birthday candles and finally settled on a votive for Barbara to blow out! Nothing like pulling together a quick birthday party for unexpected Friday night guests!

John, Duane and Angela smiling at Barbara in anticipation of the cake! "Let's eat!"

It was an early night, everyone had to go home and pack for our backpack tomorrow! We had a great evening, Barbara; we hope you did too! Thanks for letting us celebrate with you. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

This is my favorite kind of winter day...cold, windy, overcast and spitting snow. A pot of chili on the stove, a cozy fire in the fireplace and I am a happy girl! Unfortunately, we don't have too many days like this!

John and I decided to take an "exercise hike" on House Mountain this morning; two weeks and we are getting to be House Mountain regulars. We pulled into the parking lot a little after 9:00 am but unlike last week when 10-11 cars were in the lot, the only thing greeting us was brisk, winter wind.

Flurries blew about but did not accumulate on the ground, which is still warm from 60+ temps last week. We bundled up with fleece vests, gloves, hats, an outer shell and our hoods pulled tight around our faces. House Mountain is a short, steep climb so we knew we would be peeling items off quickly. Once we started on the trail, the mountain blocked the wind and we were able to enjoy the hike. After an elevation gain of several hundred feet, the snow began to stick. Amazing how much effect a small elevation gain has on the weather!

We stopped just before the top to take pictures and catch our breath. We could hear and see the wind above us and didn't anticipate the usual stop at the West Overlook. What a picture, it's a winter wonderland in East Tennessee.

From the West Overlook, we hurried across the ridge, thankful for the places where the trail dropped down and the mountain protected us from the wind. We stopped at Table Rock for a "spot" of hot green tea with a hint of jasmine (John is getting good at tea mixing), perfect on this snowy, wintry day. Then home again and around the fire.