Twentymile - Long Hungry Ridge - Gregory Bald - Wolf Ridge Trail

Date: 4/10/16
Distance: 15.7 miles

Today I made the long drive over to Twentymile to hike up to Gregory Bald.  The day started cold, but promised to warm up nicely.  I left the house with my long johns on, but when I got out of the car, I decided that they weren't necessary.  So, I was already removing layers before I even started.

I started on the Twentymile trail headed for Long Hungry Ridge.  Twentymile is mostly a gravel road that gradually climbs about 1000' over 3.1 miles.

 Long Hungry Ridge starts as a nice walk through the park.  It has very little elevation gain over the 1st mile or so.  Once you pass campsite 91, that changes as the trail heads steeply up the mountain gaining 2000' in only 2.5 miles.  The last mile is once again fairly level.  There are 2 or 3 creek crossings that I had to rock hop on this trail.

 I turned left onto Gregory Bald trail for the short hike over to Gregory Bald.  There was another 500' of climbing on this short section.  The views from Gregory Bald were just spectacular today.

 I ate some lunch and hung out at the bald for a big before continuing on Gregory Bald toward Wolf Ridge Trail.  At Wolf Ridge, I turned left and headed for the car.  The trail was flanked by small white wildflowers on this section of the hike.

 About 0.8 miles down Wolf Ridge, you arrive at Parsons Bald.  Parson's has been allowed to grow back up, so there weren't any views.

Wolf Ridge loses all of the elevation which was gained over 6.3 miles.  The trail was in great shape and I hiked it pretty fast.  Down near the bottom of the trail, the trail hugs the creek which had a few exciting bridges.

Gregory Bald (Wolf Ridge - Long Hungry Ridge - Twentymile)

Date:  1/1/14
Distance: 15.7 miles

Today I kicked of the new year by hiking some trails that I haven't been on before.  The hike started at the Twentymile ranger station.  This was also the 1st time that I had driven the Dragon (hwy 129).  It lived up to much of the hype that I had heard about it.  It took about 1:45 to drive from home to the trail.

We started up Twentymile for 0.5 miles and then turned up Wolf Ridge.  This trail was a major climb over 7 miles.  The total climb to Gregory Bald was 3500'.  There were very few respites from the climbing, just constant up.

Just before Gregory Bald, you pass through Parsons Bald.  It isn't maintained as a bald, so it has started to return to the forest.

 Gregory bald is still maintained as a bald, so you can really get a good view of the valley below.  Cades Cove is visible in the photos below.

Today the Kingston plant was visible off to the west.





It was windy on the bald with temperatures in the low 30's, so we didn't spend much time relaxing in the grass.  We hiked back down the Long Hungry Ridge trail.  It was steep and a little rocky.  Down near the bottom there were 3 or 4 creek crossings that provided some challenge.

This is a very strenuous hike, but the views are inspiring.

We started at 8:00 and were back at the car shortly after 3:00.