Low Gap - AT - Snake Den Ridge

Date: 8/2/2014
Distance: 13.2
New Map Miles: 7.6
Total Map Miles: 455.1 - Switched to new spreadsheet which had slightly different mileage

Today I went to the Cosby side of the park to pick up the Snake Den Ridge Trail.  I had intended to head directly up Snake Den and circle around to return on Low Gap, but I failed to locate the trailhead before ending up on Low Gap.  I just decided to hike clockwise instead of counterclockwise.

The day was overcast with a little drizzle when I started out. Low Gap was as tough as last time with a 3000' climb in only 2.5 miles.  I was pretty sweaty by the time I reached the gap.  There were some nice flowers along the trail.

 Once I reached the AT, I turned right and continued on the AT.  It had a good climb as well for about the 1st mile and then leveled off for a while before dropping down to the Camel Gap Intersection.

The stretch between low Gap and Camel had more wildflowers to enjoy.

 After Camel Gap, there was another good climb up the the Snake Den Intersection.

 The clouds finally started to lift a bit and I got a few views along the AT.

 At Snake Den, the downhill portion started.  It was a bit tough on the knees.

At one point, a doe appeared on the trail.  It would run ahead and I'd eventually catch her and it would run again.  This went on for about .25 miles before she got bored and jumped into the woods.  She is barely visible on the trail in this photo.

Snake Den started pretty rocky at the top.  The 1st 3 miles were also the steepest.  There were also a few overgrown areas, so it wasn't just a walk in the park.  There was one location where the creek had to be rock hopped, but it was easy to traverse.

 Snake Den lived up to its name as I found 1 snake in the trail.  I tried to make it move before I continued on, but it was content.  Eventually, I just jumped over its tail and took off.

 The last mile was on a gravel road.  A Cemetery was beside the road just as the trail met the gravel road.

Down at the bottom, I took the 0.3 mile segment of the campground trail over to Gabes.  I then took Gabes back to the campground (0.3).  I also got just a piece of the trail from the Hikers parking lot back up toward the campground.