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(This hike journal was written 4/17/2001) 
It was snowing in the Smokies when I started my hike this morning at 9 am.
The temperature was only 39 F and that would turn out to be the high for today. The snow continued until about noon
with a bit over one inch of accumulation in the area I was traveling.
Thankfully the snowy weather didn't hide the wildflowers!
Ace Gap Trailhead is located at the northwest park boundary on Rich Mtn Road. The trail had been posted as
"temporarily closed" for several months because it passed too close to the house and property being constructed by TN
Gov. Sundquist. There is no warning sign up today so I'll check it out.
Ace Gap trail is one of my favorites for sighting of Pink Lady's Slippers. Today's hike was a bit too early
in the season for most of those lovely orchids but I did find ONE in bloom near Ace Gap on Beard Cane Trail. There were
quite a few plants with bloom buds although not as many as I recall seeing last year. Iris plants were the dominate
wildflower in bloom along this trail. I saw both Crested Dwarf Iris and Southern Blue Flag Iris--the latter being somewhat
rare in the park but very common along this trail. Quite a few Birdfoot Violets were seen also along with lots of Common
Blue Violets. Dogwood trees are peak now. Redbud trees are fading fast. Lots of first-time wildflower
sightings for this season were found (even in the snow!!).
This trail is mostly downhill until about 1/2 mile before it gets to Ace Gap at which point it climbs for a ways then
descends for the next mile to a creek (Beard Cane Creek??) that was too wide and too deep to cross without putting on the
Tevas. I decided that since I'd hiked about 7 miles already that I was more ready to turn around and go back than I
was to ford the creek in the snowstorm...(well, it WAS still possible to see an occasional snow pellet....). The
solitary Pink Lady's Slipper in bloom made the trip special for me. I enjoyed seeing how the spider webs caught
the snow and held them--even three hours after the last of the snow had fallen the spider webs still held large pockets
of the pellets which made them look a bit like large white flowers!
This is a good trail to hike if you are looking for spring wildflowers plus an easy walk with lots of solitude.
To view my photo gallery for this hike click here.
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