Gregory Bald via Gregory Ridge Trail

Date:  6/14/13
Distance:  11

Today I took a day off from work and went to Gregory Bald with the GSHAG Meetup group.  The day started early with a meeting time of 7:30 a.m. at the entrance to the Cades Cove Loop Road.  The trailhead is at the end of the Forge Creek Road which is a gravel road which leaves the loop road at the halfway area of the Loop Road.  Our early start helped us avoid most of the traffic on the loop road, however we were disappointed to find the Forge Creek Road closed when we arrived at the turn.  After a brief debate, we decided to hike down the road which would add 2.2 miles each way.  Luckily about 0.5mi down the road, we got word that the road was opening, so the drivers went back for the cars.  I managed to walk about 1.5 miles before getting picked up.

The trail up to Gregory Bald is quite a climb about 3000' of elevation gain.  The 1st 2 miles to the back country  campsite only climbed about 500' and was a very nice walk along the creek.  There were several creek crossings, but none were difficult even though it rained hard on Thursday.  The next 3.5 miles to the bald was a difficult climb.  Luckily it wasn't too hot.  The humidity was low and we had a nice breeze most of the climb.  There were a couple of nice views along the way.

The bald was an amazing place.  It is covered with Blueberry and Azalea bushes.  Only a few of the Azaleas were blooming.  We were a couple of weeks early.

The skies were clear, so there were nice views of Cades Cove down in the valley.

The grassy area was a nice place to lay back and take in the view.

On the hike back down, I noticed a nice blooming Mountain Laurel.

The hike down was tough on the knees, but was much easier than the trek up.  It was an awesome day in the park.

We started up the trail about 9:00.  We got to the top about 12:00.  We left the bald about 1:00.  We got back to the car about 3:30, but spent about 30 minutes cooling off in the creek and waiting on the rest of the group.  The drive back through Cades Cove took about 30 minutes, so I wasn't back to the car until 4:30 and it was after 6:00 before I got home.

Mt Sterling Fire Tower & Baxter Creek

Date: 6/1/13
Distance: 8.5

Today I hiked with the GSHAG meetup group up to the Mount Sterling fire tower.  The day was clear and started off a little cool, but quickly warmed up.  We hiked it as a shuttle hike.  We left cars at the Big Creek campground and drove to Mt Sterling Gap to start the hike.  Most of the drive was on gravel roads and took about 30 minutes.  The Gap was at 3800 ft as measured by my phone.  The Mt Sterling trail heads up the mountain from this point.  The hike is a workout on this section as it is a steady hard climb to the firetower which is at 5800 ft.  There were a few good views on the way up and a few wildflowers along the way.

After 1.8 miles, there is a trail intersection.  You take the Mt Sterling Ridge trail for about 0.5 miles to the fire tower.  The Fire tower is about 60' tall and is open so that you can climb up and view the scenery.  The wind was really blowing at the top, but the tower was not moving at all.  It was very stable.  The Views were awesome today.

Leaving the fire tower, the name of the trail changes to Baxter Creek Trail.  It is a 6.1 mile trail with an elevation drop of 4200ft.  I got very tired of going downhill and was actually happy to have a few very short uphill sections.  Near Big Creek Campground, a short spur off to the right leads to a very large Chimney.  No one in the group knew why it was there.

We started the hike about 9:00 and arrived at the tower about 10:30.  We left the top about 11:30 and arrived at the car close to 2:30.