Distance: 17.2
The weather has been rainy for several days and today the forecast was no different. There had been a number of flash floods in the Smokies in the recent weeks, so I decided to choose something with little risk of flash flood problems. I decided on Jakes Creek to Miry Ridge to the AT and back. This was an out and back hike with a rather large elevation gain.
I left the house about 9:30 and started hiking at 11:10. Jakes Creek leaves from the back of Elkmont up through the abandoned cabins. On this day it was drizzling a bit, but not so much that a rain jacket was required. The trail starts as a gravel road for the 1st 1.5 miles or so. At that point, the trail crosses the creek and it becomes a more classic Smokies Trail.
There was one other small creek crossing that didn't have a bridge about 0.5 miles later.
Jakes Climbs up the mountain at a steady rate before ending at Jakes Gap after 3.6 miles of hiking. At this spot the wind was blowing nicely, so I stopped for lunch and a bit of a cool off.
Miry Ridge leaves from this point with a good sized climb up to the ridge. The trail then spends lots of time right on the ridge. Today was the 1st day that that I've seen the Rhododendron blooming.
The trail reaches a peak where there are a few views.
From here the trail loses a bit of elevation before the final climb up to the AT. The Bee Balm was also blooming today.
It was also pretty soggy and muddy from all of the rain. Today I was in a drizzle most of the way up. The overgrowth soaked my boots and socks, so my feet were squishing in my boots before I made it to the AT, but eventually I got there (about 2:10). I quickly turned around and headed back down the mountain.
I wasn't able to make a cell phone call at the top, but shortly down the trail, my text message went out and I had cell service.
I got back to the car about 5:00 with some very wet and nasty socks, but feeling good. The climb was about 3500' total with a 500' drop in the middle.
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