Rich Mtn - Indian Grave Gap

Date: 4/25/15
Distance: 8.4
Bears: 1

Today the forecast was poor, so I wasn't expecting to hike.  However, when I got up the big rain looked to be moving out with more coming in the afternoon, so I raced over to Rich Mtn Road to get a few miles.

The Rich Mtn trail starts about 50 yards beyond the one way sign on the road.  It begins with a climb up the mountain that warmed me up quickly.  There were also a good number of wildflowers on this section and really throughout the trail.

There were also a few nice views.

 After 2.3 miles, the trail hits Indian Grave Gap.  At this intersection, I turned right and followed Indian Grave Gap Trail.  It is an old road that runs along the ridge, loosing a fair amount of elevation as it goes.

 About 0.8 miles down the trail, the Rich Mtn Loop trail leaves off to the left.  I stayed on Indian Grave Gap.  This is where I saw a bear.  He was about 50 yards away and was in a hurry crossing the trail.

Along this section, there is an area where many trees were down.  I presume they were knocked over by the tornadoes a few years ago, but I don't really know.  The sun beat down and heated me up.

 It did open things up so that Cades Cove was visible.

 The trail ended at the Rich Mountain Road.

 I turned around and backtracked to the car.

 I did take a few more flower pictures along the way.

The climb up to Indian Grave was about 1500'.  About 1000' are lost on the way to the road, so it was a pretty good workout with a 2500' total climb.