Gregory Bald (Wolf Ridge - Long Hungry Ridge - Twentymile)

Date:  1/1/14
Distance: 15.7 miles

Today I kicked of the new year by hiking some trails that I haven't been on before.  The hike started at the Twentymile ranger station.  This was also the 1st time that I had driven the Dragon (hwy 129).  It lived up to much of the hype that I had heard about it.  It took about 1:45 to drive from home to the trail.

We started up Twentymile for 0.5 miles and then turned up Wolf Ridge.  This trail was a major climb over 7 miles.  The total climb to Gregory Bald was 3500'.  There were very few respites from the climbing, just constant up.

Just before Gregory Bald, you pass through Parsons Bald.  It isn't maintained as a bald, so it has started to return to the forest.

 Gregory bald is still maintained as a bald, so you can really get a good view of the valley below.  Cades Cove is visible in the photos below.

Today the Kingston plant was visible off to the west.





It was windy on the bald with temperatures in the low 30's, so we didn't spend much time relaxing in the grass.  We hiked back down the Long Hungry Ridge trail.  It was steep and a little rocky.  Down near the bottom there were 3 or 4 creek crossings that provided some challenge.

This is a very strenuous hike, but the views are inspiring.

We started at 8:00 and were back at the car shortly after 3:00.