There will be rain

If the theme for Monday's hike was "enjoy the little things, then the theme for today's hike was perseverance.  

By the numbers, I hiked a total of 19.8 miles with 6.4 of them being new miles.  I could have made this a much shorter hike by simply doing an out and back on the trails I needed, but there would have been no fun in that.

Monday's hike ended with me hiking down Pretty Hollow Gap.  Tuesday's hike began with me hiking up Pretty Hollow Gap.  Not much had changed since the day before.  The water shoe was still in place and there was still quite a bit of mud at the top.  I did see two elk near the intersection with Palmer Creek Trail.

At the end of Pretty Hollow Gap I turned right onto Mount Sterling Ridge Trail.  I saw grouse, a deer and a fleeting glimpse of some wild hogs along this section of trail.  I had hiked this section before so I knew it alternated between rocky and uphill and flat and muddy.  

At the end of Mount Sterling Ridge trail I turned down the Mount Sterling Trail.  I had already decided to skip the sidetrip to the fire tower because I was hiking alone.  The fact that it was super cloudy made it an easy decision to stick to.  Mount Sterling was always steep, mostly rocky and often wet.  I saw two fellow hikers on this trail, the only people I saw on the trail all day.  Near the intersection of Long Bunk Trail it started to rain.  Not a washout, but enough that I had to dig my poncho out of my backpack.  

At the end of Mount Sterling I turned around and hiked half a mile back to Long Bunk Trail.  It stopped raining soon after I started down Long Bunk so I was able to put my poncho away for a bit.  The upper and lower reaches of Long Bunk were pleasant.  The middle half of the trail was extremely wet and muddy.  And just to draw attention to this fact, it started raining cats and dogs on me while I navigated the narrow, wet, muddy trail.  After the fourth or fifth time I stepped in mud over my boots, I was wishing I was on my nice comfy couch.  But all things eventually come to an end.  Soon after the rain stopped, I came to the Hannah Cemetery.  As morbid as it sounds, I always enjoy visiting the old cemeteries in the park.  

This gravestone was quite interesting.  There was an engraving on the back that I could not make out.

Two graves side by side had matching angel statues.

Most of this stone appeared to be professionally done, but the cross and tree seemed much more rudimentary.  

At the end of Long Bunk trail I turned left to do an out and back of the Little Cataloochee trail between Long Bunk and the road.  It started raining again on this section and I think if someone had came along while I was at the trailhead, I would have attempted to hitch a ride back to my car.  But alas, there was no one there so I turned around and headed back along Little Cataloochee.  I passed the Hannah Cabin during a particularly heavy rain shower, so I didn't stop to take any pictures of it.

The rain finally relented by the time I reached Little Cataloochee Church.  I had already planned on stopping for a bit since I had ate my lunch on the go during the rain.  At this point I had been hiking for  seven hours, two of them during the rain, with no breaks.   The church offered a beautiful spot to take a dry break.

I didn't take anytime to explore the Little Cataloochee Cemetery today.

The inside of the church looks as if it is ready for Sunday service.

On the wall to the side of the pulpit someone had put up a funeral card.  The death date was from May of this year.

After my break at the church, I continued up the trail to the Cook Cabin.  Across from the cabin are the remains of the stone foundation of an apple house.

Leaving the cabin, I made my way up and over Davidson Gap.  By the end of the trail I had forgotten all the rain and mud and was ready to plan my next hike.  

Big hike, small views

Each hike, in fact each trail, has its own personality and vibe.  Some, like Ramsey Cascades, have a big wow at the end of the trail.  Others, like Big Creek, keep your attention with picture perfect scenes around every turn.  Still others, like Porter's Creek and Gregory's Bald, have their fleeting, shining moment as flowers quickly bloom, then fade into a memory.

Today's hike had none of the high impact drama of the "top" trails mentioned.  Instead it showed a much more subtle beauty and provided solitude and silence for the hiker.

By the numbers, today's hike was 21.2 total miles with 17.2 of them being new miles.  My lowest elevation was 2700 ft at the beginning of the hike.  The highest elevation was 5500 ft.  I started at 8 am and finished at 5 pm.

I parked at the Pretty Hollow Gap trailhead.  I had previously hiked the first .8 miles of this trail so I knew it was basically a road bed.  The trail hugged the creek until I reached the Palmer Creek trailhead at 1.6 miles. Palmer Creek Trail began with a double foot bridge crossing of the creek.  Construction seems to be everywhere I go.

The first half of Palmer Creek Trail shared a narrow valley with the creek itself.  Once the creek and the trail parted ways the remainder of the trail was through rhododendron tunnels.  With the narrow valley and the rhododendron, there were certainly no sweeping vistas.  Instead I could focus on the smaller sights close at hand.  3.3 miles later, I had completed Palmer Creek Trail.

Palmer Creek Trail ended at Balsam Mountain Road.  I walked .6 miles along the road to the next trailhead. The road was closed so traffic certainly wasn't an issue.

Next up was Balsam Mountain Trail.  Along Balsam Mountain trail I started seeing lots of Dark-eyed Juncos.  They would wait until I was right beside them and then quickly fly away.  After a while I figured out that they were nesting on the ground, but I couldn't seem to see them early enough in their flight to see where their nest was.  While on the watch for Juncos, a group of grouse sprang up giving me the usual grouse induced heart attack.  There were 6-8 of them and I can only assume they were juveniles with their mother.

Soon after I saw the grouse, I found myself at the Laurel Gap Shelter.

As I was walking the last few grassy feet to the shelter I saw movement at my feet.  A newly fledged and not quite flight worthy Junco was hopping along in front of me.  I could hear the mother reading me the riot act from a nearby bush.  I snapped a quick photo of the chick and then left them to their own devices.

Unfortunately, while I was watching the little Junco I missed the equally small trail sign and ended up taking an unscheduled detour to the spring at the shelter.  In finally realized my error, did an about face and finally located the tiny sign in the tall grass.  Soon I was at the Mount Sterling Ridge Trail and 4.3 miles of Balsam Mountain Trail lay behind me.

Every account I read of someone hiking all the trails in the Smokies includes a warning to avoid leaving untrodden spurs that might not connect as easily with future hikes.  With that in mind, I did a quick out and back covering the .9 miles of Balsam Mountain Trail between Mount Sterling Ridge and Gunter Fork since I don't yet have a clear idea of how I am going to incorporate Gunter Fork Trail.

Back at the Mount Sterling Ridge Trail, I then hiked what is probably the flattest 4 miles of high elevation trail in the entire park.  Since there were still no vistas, I slowed my pace and took time to notice the little things.  I saw some outstanding fungi along this section of trail.

I continued to see lots of Junco.  I finally managed to see one just as it took flight.  I found its tiny nest sheltered under a rock in some weeds.

Inside I could just see three tiny blue speckled eggs.

 Along this section of trail there were huge patches of grass.  It was easy to imagine the early settlers bringing their cattle her in the summer to graze.

I saw my one and only mountain view for the day along this section of trail.  

While the trail sign said 4 miles, I think I walked an extra mile avoiding hog wallows.

The end of the Mount Sterling Ridge trail for me today was its intersection with Pretty Hollow Gap.  Someone had spent a lot of time trimming the brush at the intersection.  Unfortunately, the five million gnats calling it home kept me from lingering very long.

Soon after I started down Pretty Hollow Gap, I saw someone's water shoe.  I left it in place in case they came back for it though I didn't see a single person all day.

I saw a single purple fringed orchid blooming near the top of the trail.

Someone, or more likely several someones, had been doing lots of work on the trail which made for a great grade but lots of mud.

I saw lots of fungi along this trail as well.

This tiny waterfall tucked back in an alcove almost made me fall into the creek as I tried to get a picture of it.

I haven't a clue what these red berries are, but they were so brightly colored that they didn't look real.

All too soon, or not soon enough, depending on which body parts you survey, I was back at my car.  Another hike finished.  Another day of memories made.