Gregory Bald & the Flame Azaleas

With the possible exception of viewing the spectacular displays of flowering flame azaleas during early-to-mid June, my hikes to Gregory Bald have been anything but "gee-whiz" kind of hikes. Nonetheless, traveling there manages to serve up a combination of views and experiences that seem to satisfy like few other hikes within a day's drive of my home. In fact, I've puzzled over the past couple of days about just how to describe this hike without making it sound as boring as it seems when looking at any particular highlight along its route. It is going to be difficult but I'm here at the keyboard just for this purpose so here goes...

Any outdoor activity in East Tennessee during August must be carefully considered lest one find themselves in the middle of Mother Nature's Steam Room--such has been the overriding constraint for many sweltering days these past three weeks as I've re-acclimated to our humidity-driven high heat index since returning from my summer near Aspen in the central Colorado mountains. During days with temperatures in the low 90's and humidity above 70% it is folly to think about getting outside for a long uphill hike. Tuesday was a window of opportunity for me to again relax in the outdoors as our area got a break in the hot weather with a spell of low 80's and lower-than-usual humidity. My couch potato alter ego was in dire need of a major kick in the pants lest it take over my life so off I went for a long hike to Gregory Bald.

Gregory Bald is one of those areas in the upper elevations of the Smokies (4,500 - 5,000') that is mostly devoid of large trees--it looks like an open meadow that is slightly overgrown with azalea, blueberry & blackberry bushes in the middle of a mixed hardwoods forest. Long ago farmers would drive their livestock to these "balds" during summer months in search of better grazing and browsing. Pigs, sheep and cattle all enjoyed better eats and cooler weather in these areas. Nowadays livestock only graze in a few meadows in the Cades Cove portion of the park (lower elevations) and as a consequence the balds are becoming overgrown with encroaching trees and shrubs. Gregory Bald is one of the few balds chosen by the Natural Park Service for "maintenance" as a "bald" so that it appears the way park service personnel believe it existed in the early 1900's. To this end they periodically cut back encroaching overgrowth. I think they do a good job.

There are four approaches to Gregory Bald--pretty much from the four cardinal compass points. For Tuesday's hike I chose to approach Gregory Bald from the west using a route I'd not previously hiked: Gregory Bald Trail from Parson's Branch Road (note: Parson's Branch Road is frequently closed due to erosion damage from heavy rains--check before you go). The route I selected was designed to make a loop hike with a start at the trailhead parking area at the end of Forge Creek Road, walking about 1/4 mile back to Parson's Branch Road then up Parson's Branch Road for about 4 miles to the Gregory Bald Trailhead. Gregory Bald Trail took me to Gregory Bald (4.5 miles) and then along the spine of the mountain to Rich Gap (0.6 miles) where I turned back north and descended along the Gregory Ridge Trail for some 4.9 miles to the parking lot. The complete hike was about 13 miles starting at an elevation of about 1,975' and reaching a maximum elevation of 4,949' before returning to the start point.

Hiking in the Smokies is often an adventure thru every nook and cranny in the mountains as most trails wind in and out of the various stream cuts in an effort to ease the rate of elevation change as the trails navigate up, down and around the severe slopes that surround the creeks in these hills. Unlike the mountains out west where major drainages are more often than not easily identified, topography in the Smokies offers a maze of drainage pathways for the thousands of little springs, seasonal branches, creeks and rivers that move water to one of two major rivers: the Tennessee River which discharges into the Ohio River, and the Chattahoochee River which discharges into the Gulf of Mexico. A "lost hiker" who might elect to follow a little branch downstream to the "next" river might be walking for several days before getting to a major stream. To give you an idea of what I mean consider the 2nd leg of my hike from the Gregory Bald trailhead at Parson's Branch Road to Gregory Bald: The straight-line distance is 2.2 miles. The trail distance for this segment is 4.5 miles and even with all this extra distance the average slope is still 14%--not particularly steep by Smokies trail standards and not steep at all compared to the average of 32% that would result from the straight-line path. Just think of those roads you've driven where the warning signs caution that the grade is 7% and for trucks to use lower gears -- those are pretty steep hills. Now double that and you have an idea about trail slope in the Smokies. These circuitous routings for trails make for very interesting scenery--especially for a photographer--since you are always changing directions and seeing the land with different lighting.

Back to the hike:

The drive to the trailhead passes thru Cades Cove where this time of year it is almost a sure thing to encounter "bear jams."

Finally arriving at the trailhead I decided to start the hike by walking up Parson's Branch Road (a primitive one-way road that is closed during the winter). Right away the road crosses Forge Creek via a one lane bridge. Forge Creek was probably named for its proximity to a charcoal-fueled forge built in this area in 1827 to produce iron. The forge produced a poor grade of iron and soon went out of business. Parson's Branch Road, on the other hand, may have taken its name from the route followed by the traveling preachers of the 1800's & early 1900's--they were known as "circuit riders." Perhaps the "circuit riders" were trying to reform the Sinners of those days--this area was known then as Chestnut Flats and had a infamous reputation for illegal whiskey production. The story is that many families here were desperately poor because their head-of-household was either in jail for Moonshining or he was "pushing up daisies" in the local graveyard after being on the losing end of a whiskey feud. The route today is a peaceful escape from the madness of "bear jams" and the bumper-to-bumper traffic that makes up the Cades Cove scenic loop experience during the warm weather season. No whiskey feuds were underway during my visit either, although I'd wager more than one driver in a hot car during a "bear jam" has wished for a cool flask of corn squeezings.

Although the Parson's Branch Road was on this day open to traffic, I saw only two or three vehicles and two riders on horses during my two hours of walking uphill along its route. Like most routes in the Smokies it was completely covered with a canopy of green foliage provided by trees and understory plants while various streams cascaded alongside the road, periodically crossing under and sometimes over the road along the way to some distant river.

Three or four miles up Parson's Branch Road I turned onto the Gregory Bald Trail. I soon met two elderly men who were returning from an out n' back hike to Gregory Bald. We swapped wildflower sighting stories--I told them about where along the trail to see Pink Turtlehead and they shared with me their sighting of Crimson Bee-balm.

I passed one HUGE Yellow Poplar tree (known locally as "Tulip Tree")--it must have been five or six feet in diameter and well over 125' tall. Deciduous magnolia trees were obvious with their giant leaves and red seed pods on the ground beneath. And the trail was littered with freshly fallen acorns from the many Red Oak trees. Even a few Cucumber Trees were observed with their distinctive red seed pod and large leaves.

Lots of evidence of bears was seen (mostly the "watch-where-you-step" kind of evidence) and I thought to keep an eye peeled for any furry competitors as I ate my way thru the blueberry bushes. The views were reasonably good but I'd been there too many times before to really be awed by the views. The area is famous for Flame Azalea displays but these were long past their blooming stage; I did see a few species of flowers blooming--notably Snakeweed, Swamp-thistle and lots of Goldenrod.

Hiking down the other side of the mountain toward Rich Gap I noticed some signs of browsing by wild hogs but not so bad as I remember from prior visits. The park service now pays a hunter to trap and kill wild hogs in the park. Rich Gap got its name from the richness of the soil that resulted from years of manure deposits left by livestock being penned there prior to herding downslope in the fall and the wild hogs really seem to like whatever it is that grows in this area.

From Rich Gap down to backcountry campsite #12 the trail is lined with mushrooms and unusual wildflowers. I hadn't planned on making this a mushroom photo shoot but there were so many varieties in so many shapes and colors that it became an opportunity I couldn't ignore. Once I got back home and started trying to ID all those mushrooms I was reminded why I'm not a fan of wild mushroom hunting: Those things are hard to positively ID--I mean REALLY hard.

There were two very odd mushrooms I found (odd to me): "Aspic Puffball" Calostoma cinnabarina and "Jack O'Lantern" Omphalotus illudens.

The Aspic Puffball is just weird--the Latin name means beautiful red mouth--while the Jack O'Lantern, seen by me when it was nearly dark, was quite beautiful and almost luminous. Indeed, I've since read that Jack O'Lantern mushrooms have bioluminescent gills and a fresh specimen is supposed to give off an eerie glow in a darkened room. I've seen bioluminescence aplenty during my scuba diving but I don't recall seeing a plant that glowed in the dark!

The hike on down Gregory Ridge Trail was familiar to me having made the trip many times in the past. This trip was a wee bit treacherous probably because of the heavy rains this area has experienced--the slippery trail had been washed smooth along much of its route to the point of resembling a smooth U-shaped trough. With an average slope of 18% this made for some episodes of mumbling to myself about the poor trail condition. Good thing no "circuit riders" were nearby.

A few prominent displays of "Doll's-eyes" Actaea pachypoda were visible and I enjoyed photographing those. The fruit of this plant is poisonous.

The last few miles of the hike were in low light with the sun trying its best to drop behind the mountains before I could get back to the car. By the time I'd arrived at my car at 7:45 pm it was dark in the mountains (even though the sun didn't officially set until 8:16 pm).

The drive back out thru Cades Cove was just at official sunset and I was treated to views of lots of deer grazing near the road as well as seeing two more bears romping thru the tall grass about 100 yards away from the road. All-in-all it was a very enjoyable hike--a much needed bit of exercise and a reminder that even in mid-summer the Smokies offer beauty, intrigue and solitude for those who will just take a few steps away from the road.