AT - Clingmans to Greenbrier Ridge

Date: 4/30/16
Distance: 21

Today I hiked the AT from Clingmans Dome over to Greenbrier Ridge and then back to Clingmans Dome.  I hit the trail about 8:20 heading up the paved dome trail for the 1st steep 0.5 miles.  The day was cloudy and rain was forecast for late in the day, so I didn't mess around and kept moving.  The views were really nice even with the cloud cover.

 I didn't even bother with the tower because I was there just 5 days ago.  I quickly turned left on the AT and headed down the mountain.   This section of the trail is very beautiful with lots of views.

Siler's Bald is about 5 miles from the Dome.  It is no long a grassy bald, but still obvious that it once was one.

There were still plenty of Spring Beauties.  They weren't quite as showy as last week, but still beautiful.

 

I also saw some Witch Hobble along the way.

 The hike out to Greenbrier was 10.5 miles.  It was mostly downhill, but did have several steep uphill sections.

 At this point, I turned around and returned to the car.  The climb was tiresome, but not as tiresome as last week when I had to climb it with a heavy pack.

Backpack - AT - Welch Ridge - Cold Springs - Hazel Creek - Bone Valley

Date: 4/24/16 - 4/25/16
Distance Day 1: 20.7
Distance Day 2: 15.7

On this two day hike, the climbs were extreme, the views were amazing and the flowers were beautiful.  I started the backpack solo leaving Clingmans Dome on the Bypass trail.  At the Appalachian Trail, I turned left heading for Welch Ridge.

The views were just great on this very clear day.

 The wildflowers up on the AT were very lovely.  The Spring Beauties were creating a carpet of white.

 There were also a number of Trout Lily

 After 3.8 miles on the AT, I turned left on Welch Ridge.  There were some Dutchman's Britches on this section.

 I decided to take the 0.4 mile spur out to High Rocks for more awesome views.

 After 7.2 miles on Welch Ridge, I turned onto Cold Springs (the only way you can go).  Cold Springs had lots of Trillium and lots of nasty trail.  It drops steeply down the mountain over 3.5 miles.

 Near the end of Cold Springs is a large Creek Crossing.

 Cold Springs dead ends at Hazel Creek Trail where I turned left and walked 1.3 miles to campsite 83 at Bone Valley.

After setting up the tent, I hiked the 1.8 mile spur out to Bone Valley where a nice cabin sits.

This hike had lots of downhill but a surprising amount of climbing to go with it.  The Elevation profile doesn't give it justice as the climb up Welch was very taxing.

 

Back at Camp, I met up with JD, Chris and Lance who had hiked in from Fontana Lake.  We enjoyed a nice evening in camp.  The next morning I packed up and they donned day packs for the big climb up Hazel Creek.

Hazel Creek climbs about 2500' over 9.4 miles back up the mountain where it intersects with Welch Ridge.  The trail is dominated by stream crossings and a very steep section near the end.

The Water crossings aren't easy to rock hop although we hopped them all.  I managed to put both boots in the water at different times and had to hike out with wet socks.

 There were more nice wildflowers on the way up.

These painted Trillium were quite nice.

 There is also a small waterfall about 1.5 miles from the end.

 At the top of Hazel, I said so long to the guys as they were headed back down Welch and Cold Springs to Camp.  I was hiking back up to Clingmans Dome.  The climb to the Dome was tough with a heavy pack.  The trail was just a pretty as the day before though.

 I decided to go the tower and hike back down the paved trail to finish it off.

 The climb today was just crazy steep.  The elevation change was more than 4000' from camp to the dome with several ups and downs on the way which pushed the climbing to even higher levels.  It was a tough day, but nice to get Hazel, Cold Springs and Welch marked off on Map 2.