If you follow this blog, you know that I enjoy volunteering to help shuttle Appalachian Trail hikers between Gatlinburg and the Trail. I love to get up early, pick up the hikers at their hotel, and head up the mountain. Everyone has a story, and they are all happy to be off on their adventure….
Readers of this blog know that I enjoy volunteering to help Appalachian Trail hikers shuttle between Gatlinburg and the trail. Most of these folks have spent a lot of time planning and dreaming of their adventure, and it warms my heart to assist them in some small way. This week I was scheduled to give…
It’s Philosophical Friday once again. Today’s post is about making stacks of balanced stones as art and therapy. Some days you just need to go out and stack some stones. Right? Just head out along some creek and start wandering, looking for a good selection of rocks. The right color, right shape, ability to get…
Peace in Wild Places captures the mood of a foggy Smoky Mtns trail, miles away from cares and worries. This photo was taken along the Appalachian Trail at an altitude above 6000 feet near Clingmans Dome. To me the image spoke to the enduring peace that can be found in remote natural areas. I especially…
Ah … those feathery ferns guide the way down this hiking trail that clearly is headed towards serenity. There’s a little clump of bluets to enjoy … see them on the left side of the trail in the foreground? Everything is sparkling new-morning bright, still dew-covered or maybe it’s the mist in the air. Oh,…
Never too busy to sit down for a moment or two. Or three. The summer season is just beginning. The nights here in Gatlinburg still have a snap to them, the cool air comes rolling down the Smoky Mountains. Mist in the mornings, windows and doors opened wide to capture some freshness for the day….
There are some wonderful and easy Smoky Mountains hikes at 5000 feet and above that will transport you from the dense hardwood forests of the Southeast to the balsam-scented spruce and fir forests of the Great North Woods. You don’t need to be a back-country camper or Appalachian Trail through-hiker to find the surreal serenity…
The Thomas Divide is a 14-mile spine along the eastern side of the Deep Creek watershed. The Kanati Fork Trail climbs up the eastern side of the Thomas Divide, rising over 2000 feet from Newfound Gap Rd in a series of switchbacks until it meets the Thomas Divide Trail on the ridge. The two trails…
Porters Creek Trail in the Greenbrier area of the Smoky Mountains is in peak bloom for spring wildflowers right now. The upper portion of the trail, from the long footbridge over the creek on up to Fern Falls, has a stunning ground cover of Fringed Phacelia. I counted over 20 species of wildflowers along Porters…
The hike to Spruce Flat Falls in the Tremont section of the Smoky Mountains is one of my favorite outings. Last weekend I headed up the trail once more, this time with my daughter Sarah and her husband Paul, my four grandsons and brand new grand-daughter in a papoose! It was a beautiful Saturday after…
The Walker Sisters Place is one of many Smoky Mountain homesteads. The five spinster sisters clung to the old self-reliant way of life and became legends in the Smokies. Their lifetime lease on the property ran out in 1964 when the last sister died. Their parents, John and Margaret, had moved to the homestead in…
Spruce Flat Falls is one of the hidden gems of the Smoky Mountains. The hike is about a mile each way, not too rugged but with a bit of a climb. The trail passes through a thicket of Mountain Laurel, which will be in bloom the first week or two in May. It’s also a…
The first eight Presidents of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club gathered in December of 1936 and posed for a photo by Dutch Roth. From left to right, and in order of their Presidencies, they are: George Barber, Brockway Crouch, James Thompson, Dr. H. M. Jennison, Harvey Broome, Guy Frizzell, Henry R. Duncan, and Marshall A….
The route to Grotto Falls is one of the sweetest Smoky Mountains waterfalls hikes. Not much more than a mile in length, this hike has a gem at the end, with many opportunities for photos. As the sign above indicates, it’s a part of the Trillium Gap Trail which goes on up to Mt. LeConte. The…
The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club cabin still stands in the Greenbrier section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can see it by taking the Porters Creek Trail. In 1935 Dutch Roth helped build the cabin. These are his photographs. Below are some excerpts from his journal, titled Tales from the Woods, about the…
Lynn Camp gets its name from a logging camp of the Little River Lumber Company in the 1920s. The old railroad trace provides a wide, flat path that is popular for horseback riding. I love to walk along the old railroad grade beside the Lynn Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It’s…
It’s Friday again. Time to ponder whatever comes to mind. Like walking in the Great Smoky Mountains with your head pointed upwards. Watch the squirrels jump from treetop to treetop. Appreciate the soft sunlight filtering down through the canopy. Maybe spot a woodpecker at work. This is a stand of poplars. Probably took over the…
If you do much hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, you’ve certainly found yourself in the situation pictured above. Love them or hate them, footbridges are common along Smokies trails. Some are vertigo-inducing challenges, and others are tame alternatives to hopping rocks across the stream. Most of them are simple log bridges spanning…
Just a hundred yards north of the Townsend Wye is a parking lot, and across the road is the start of the Chestnut Top Trail. In spring this is one of the premier Smoky Mountains wildflowers hikes, with opportunities for photos every few feet! The trail cuts into a steep embankment, climbing steadily for the first…
For ten months of the year the Cove Hardwoods Trail is a short unassuming excursion that is part of the Chimneys Picnic Area in the Smoky Mountains. But come April, this trail is transformed into a fairyland of wildflowers. You could hike this area every few days during wildflowers season and see something new each…
Porters Creek Trail is a delightful meander in the Greenbrier section of the Smoky Mountains. Head east out of Gatlinburg on Route 321, then after about 6 miles, the Greenbrier entrance will be on the right. Eventually the road will turn to gravel and you’ll pass the bridge to the Ramsay Cascades Trail. Continue straight…
I live in Gatlinburg TN, on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smokies are a very spiritual place, and I attempt to capture some of that spirit in each of my photographs.
If you are in Gatlinburg, please stop in at my gallery .
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