Date: 12/19/15
Distance: 14 miles
Today I drove over to Cataloochee to hike the Cataloochee Divide Trail. The weather is still incredible for late December with highs in the 60's and the sun shining bright. This trail is just perfect for a sunny day.
The parking area for this trail is right at the park sign.
The trail is right along the park boundary for most of the hike. It is also right on the ridge for most of the hike, so the views are really nice.
About 5 miles into the hike, the trail arrives at the Swag. It has a wide open area for some nice views.
After some lunch at the Swag, I headed on down the trail until it ended at the Hemphill Bald trail after 6.7 miles. Here I had a decision to make. I could turn around here or I could hoof it up to the Hemphill Bald. It is only an extra 0.5 miles, but it is steep.
With the great weather, I decided that I couldn't pass up the views.
I turned around at the bald and headed back the way I came. At the Swag, I wondered around the grounds a bit.
I took the Nature Trail at the Swag because I was pretty sure it hit Cataloochee Divide (eventually). It passed several interesting sights.
Back on the Cataloochee Divide, I checked out "Taylor's Turnaround" on the way back.
The climb wasn't too tough on this trail, but there were several fairly steep sections.
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