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.