Hike #13 : March 15, 2014
5.9 new miles
169.4 total overall miles
The first day of spring break and I'm spending it on the trail. Great day for hiking. After driving down the narrow gravel road to the trailhead, I'm ready to go. Got my new shoes on and I'm off! The hike begins on the Porters Creek Trail which, at least the mile I hike today, is basically a gravel road. Less than a mile in, I come to the old John Messer farmstead on the right. There's several buildings including an old barn dating back to 1875, a homestead and even a 2 seat outhouse. Fancy.
Just beyond here there's an old cemetery. Creepy as it may be, I really enjoy looking through the old tombstones. Someone had left flowers on every single one. Really nice.
After one mile, the trail forks. To the right, Porters Creek continues on towards campsite 31. The left merges onto Brushy Mountain Trail so right I go!
As I continued, the trail climbs at a steady pace. A good pace. Ok, so somewhere around the 4th or 5th mile, I stop to apply chapstick when what appears to be a black chicken just wanders onto the trail ahead of me. I tried to get a picture but it scurried off like chickens do. Question is, was it some kind of wild chicken or is there even such a thing? Who knows. If you think you do, let me in on it. Really curious.
When I reach Trillium Gap, I turn right towards Brushy Mt., a right turn leads 3.6 miles up to Mt. LeConte. It's about a half mile to the top from here. Lots of rocks and mud for the feet here. The trail itself is remarkable...
The top really has some nice views right now. I'd assume that once everything is in bloom that the views may be more limited. After a nice lunch, I head back out. I really enjoyed this hike. No crowds. Just me and the mountains. Great day.
TRAIL REVIEW
Porters Creek Trail - 1.0 mile (in and out)
Brushy Mountain Trail - 4.9 miles (in and out)
For more information on this hike and many more, visit Hiking in the Smokys
No comments:
Post a Comment