Gregory Bald

Hike #19 : June 21, 2014

17.8 miles

14.2 new miles
280 total overall miles

174.9 total miles of 800.8


We set out toward the Twentymile Ranger Station before daybreak on our journey to the amazing flame azalea fields of Gregory Bald. Today we're hiking from the ranger station on the Twentymile Trail, an easy half mile walk along a wide gentle pathway. At the trail junction, we continue to the left on Wolf Ridge. Wolf Ridge is also a rather easy stroll for 1.1 miles to the trail junction with the Twentymile Loop trail. This trail seems much less used than a lot of the trails in the Smokies but is still well maintained. For about a mile and a half, the trail works its way up steadily and then begins a downward decline to the Long Hungry Ridge Trail junction at 2.9 miles.

As we turn left onto Long Hungry Ridge, the trail winds smoothly for a mile or so before beginning a strenuous climb up toward the bald. Unfortunately, this is a horse trail. Between the recent rains and an overabundance of horses on the trail, the trail is reduced to a mass of mud and is basically destroyed. It really puzzles me as to why the park won't allow dogs on the trail due to the harm they could due to the trails and yet allow 1,000 pound horses free reign. I don't get it. But anyway, after trudging several miles up, we begin the final few steps to the bald.

The bald was surprisingly overcast and the azaleas were less bloomed than we'd hoped but ultimately it was as beautiful as ever at the summit. The cool breeze was incredibly welcoming as we had our lunch and took in the beauty around us.

The azaleas were beautiful as always. I also learned something new. There's a fungus that grows on azaleas that supposedly the Indians and early settlers used to harvest and eat. Its called the Azalea Gall and its caused by a fungus called Exobasidium Vaccinii. I picked one and tried it. Kinda tasted like a tasteless apple, not so good. It was pretty juicy though. 

After a hour or so talking with other hikers and waiting for the clouds to disperse, we decided to head down the mountain via the Wolf Ridge Trail. 

Wolf Ridge was much the same as Long Hungry Ridge, loaded with mud. When we came to campsite 13, which is currently closed due to bear activity, we came across a guy taking a nap in a sleeping bag with a few deer poking around. We stood and took pictures of the deer for 15 minutes or so when red sleeping bag dude was oblivious to it all. Good thing they were deer and not the aggressive bear the signs warned of.

It was another great day of hiking the Smokies! I will say that if your only purpose is to see the azaleas or just to hike to Gregory Bald, there are definitely easier ways to go including my previous hike there last year. But it was definitely worth the trip and the sore legs. Until next time... good hiking!

TRAIL REVIEW

Twentymile Trail - .5 mile

Wolf Ridge Trail - 1.1 miles

Twentymile Loop Trail - 2.9 miles

Long Hungry Ridge Trail - 4.6 miles

Gregory Bald Trail - 1.2 miles

Wolf Ridge Trail - 6.3 miles

Twentymile Trail - .5 mile

2 campsites (92, 95)

Twentymile Campground

Wanna hike the 900? Start by checking out the book Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.

For more pictures of this hike, check out the Smoky Mountain Hikertrash facebook page.

For more information on this hike and many more, visit Hikinging The Smokys.

Hemphill Bald Loop

Hike #18 : May 30, 2014

14.7 miles

13.7 new miles
246.6 total overall miles

160.7 total miles of 800.8


Ah, Hemphill Bald. I guess I should start with a little back story first.

OK, so its November 3rd of last year when Eddie and I decided to hike to Hemphill Bald. We had been told we wouldn't be able to access the trailhead to the loop since it had been closed due to some good ol' government cutbacks. Information that may or may not have been accurate by the way. So we decided to go in another way from Purchase Knob. Long story short, after a two hour drive and an extra two mile trudge up the road because the gate was locked, we made a wrong turn and hiked four and a half miles down the Cataloochie Divide only to turn around in defeat and thus being denied our destination.

Fast forward to May 31st, 2014.

Today we set out to conquer the elusive Hemphill Bald Loop via the Poles Gap Trailhead. A two hour drive to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Funny thing about the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are signs that alert you to each upcoming overlook. The overlooks all have signs displaying their names. The tunnels, of which there are many, are all named with large brown signs. Rattlesnake Mountain Tunnel. Big Witch Tunnel. Lickstone Ridge Tunnel. Devil's Courthouse Tunnel. And so on. Yet, somehow, it never occurred to anyone to put up actual street signs so that people like myself would know the names of the roads. Eddie was driving so we'll blame him but still... seriously? Once we made it all the way to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, Google Maps led us back to where we needed to be.

So after all this unpleasantness, we found and hit the trail at 9am. A late start for us. But we'd finally made it, so all was once again right with the world. Here we decided to hike the loop clockwise instead of the recommended counterclockwise so that we'd come to the actual bald near the end of the hike instead of early on. So we head out onto Rough Fork Trail.

Rough Fork is a misleading name here because the 3.5 mile section that we hiked was easy albeit extremely muddy. The elk have left their mark on this one! So we make terrific time to the Caldwell Fork Trail junction and make a sharp right turn down hill. That's right. Rough Fork was an easy gradual decline and Caldwell Fork was even more so. More Mud. Lots more. If you've ever hiked in the Smokies or read this blog, you know there's a price to pay for easy and downhill. After 1.7 miles down Caldwell, we turn right onto Hemphill Bald Trail and we begin paying that price.

Hemphill Bald Trail is relentless. A steep continuous uphill climb. A few miles of this and we begin to understand perhaps why most people do this loop from the other direction. Less muddy but very wet just the same. After several stops to catch my breath and regain something resembling a normal heartbeat, we arrive at the bald a couple of sweaty messes. It felt like August instead of May. Not to mention the bugs all up in our faces. Still, after a long journey, we had finally made it to Hemphill Bald. Worth every step! Although the skies were overcast, the views were spectacular.

After a nice lunch at the stone table and taking in all the beauty around us, we head out for what we believed would be a downhill slide back to Poles Gap. It started out that way but quickly returned to the drudgery of nonstop incline. According to the official trail map, the hike is 13.7 miles. We hit 14.7 when we made it back to the parking lot. All the uphill climbs made for a pretty rough hike but one I'd definitely recommend doing... but go counterclockwise. Trust me.

TRAIL REVIEW

Rough Fork Trail - 3.5 miles

Caldwell Fork Trail - 1.7 miles

Hemphill Bald Trail - 8.5 miles

1 campsite (41)

Wanna hike the 900? Start by checking out the book Day Hiker's Guide To All The Trails In The Smoky Mountains by Elizabeth L. Etnier.

For more pictures of this hike, check out the Smoky Mountain Hikertrash facebook page.

For more information on this hike and many more, visit Hiking the Carolinas.