20 year old hiker Drowns in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

The normally quiet Sunday evening in the Great Smoky Mountains national park was shattered with the sound of sirens from park rangers racing to the Abrams Falls Hiking trail in the back end of Cades Cove. The last vehicle racing to the scene was a park ranger's pick-up truck with a gurney and a ladder in the bed.

Few details have been released other than a 20 year old male has drowned presumable just under the Abrams Falls which is swollen with today's rain. Because of the darkness and the dangerous conditions, the body will have to wait to be retrieved by divers tomorrow at which time the name and hometown of the drowning victims will be released.

Earlier today it was reported that 2 young women were jumping off the falls into the pool underneath. Abrams Falls is the highest volume waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and the pool beneath has swift currents, rocks, branches and logs that entangle swimmers in its 25 foot depth.

The Abrams Falls hiking trail has seen numerous serious falling accidents as well as downing deaths and has been ranked as one of the top 10 most dangerous hiking trails in all national parks.

Guns are still not allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park – at least not yet...

Firearms that are loaded have been long banned from the Great Smoky Mountains national park since President Regan signed into law that guns in national parks must be unloaded and inaccessible.

Now thanks to bill just signed into law, over the dismay of most citizens, law enforcement personnel, fraternal order of park rangers and retired rangers, guns will no longer be illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park in late February 2010.

Until late February 2010, concealed weapons and loaded firearms of any sort are still illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park (GSMNP) and along the Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP).

The Department of the Interior now has 9 months to get their act together in order to figure out all of the ramifications of this law especially since the GSMNP and the BRP both have multi-state jurisdiction issues.

To make matters even more interesting, the law depends upon the state law in which the national park and the visitor with a gun is located. Since the Great Smoky Mountains national park is located in Tennessee and North Carolina with the border marked clearly in only 1 place in all 800 square miles, I think the park has their work cut out for them.

Acting Director Dan Wenk made the following statement: "As Interior prepares to implement the new law, the Department will work to understand and interpret its implications for our national parks, with public safety and the safety of our employees as our foremost consideration."

Of course, one can only hope that that a law snuck underhandedly into a credit card reform bill will get struck down as the last one Bush passed did since none of the environmental issues, safety issues and the overwhelming majority of citizens who visit do not want guns to be legal in our national parks has not changed.

Just think, the Great Smoky Mountains national park did not even want bear spray to be legal in the park!

Related New Stories on Guns in National Parks:

• Guns now legal in Great Smoky Mountains national park as of 02-22-10
• Guns are still not allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Guns stay out of the Great Smoky Mountains national park but may soon enter TN State parks
• Guns No Longer Allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – Again
• Bear Spray is now legal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

Invasion of the non native exotic plant species in the Great Smoky Mountains national park

Thanks to Discover Life in America (DLIA), Kris Johnson Great Smoky Mountains national park vegetation management specialist and Margie Hunter author of Landscaping with the Native Plants of Tennessee, International Biodiversity Day in the GSMNP at the Twin Creek Science Center was incredibly informative and thought provoking.

Any talk given by Kris Johnson is a home run and this one was no exception. The work that she and others working for the Great Smoky Mountains must go through in order to keep invasive exotic plants under control is staggering.

Part of the job of the national park service is to maintain the historical integrity of national park and beside the preservation of man made objects such as buildings, monuments and other historical and cultural artifacts as well as the flora and fauna of an area.

Non-native invasive plant species reek havoc on an ecosystem by crowding out native plants, raising the risk and intensity of wildfires, changing the hydrological makeup of an area, diminishing food sources for local plants and animals, creating a toxic environment for other plants and animals, and creating financial hardship through excessive maintenance issues.

While there are a few ways we can all help reduce the numbers of invasive non native plants species that threaten the biodiversity and the ecosystem of the Great Smoky Mountains national park, one of the easiest way to protect our environment is to only use native species in our own landscaping and gardens.

Native Plant Alternatives to Invasive Exotic Plants in Tennessee compiled by Margie Hunter

Trees:
Invasive Exotic Species: Mimosa (Albiziajulibrissin)
Native Species Alternative: Chionanthus virginicus - fringetree
Native Species Alternative: Cercis canadensis - redbud

Invasive Exotic Species: Princess tree (Paulownia tomentosa)
Native Species Alternative: Catalpa speciosa - northern catalpa, cigartree Native Species Alternative: Aesculus jlava - yellow buckeye

Invasive Exotic Species: Bradford pear (Pyrus calleryana)
Native Species Alternative: Viburnum rufidulum - rusty blackhaw viburnum
Native Species Alternative: Amelanchier x grandiflora 'Autumn Brilliance' - serviceberry, Juneberry

Shrubs:
Invasive Exotic Species: Butterfly-bush (Buddleja davidii)
Native Species Alternative: Cephalanthus occidentalis - buttonbush
Native Species Alternative: Ceanothus american us - New Jersey tea
Native Species Alternative: Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice' - summersweet, sweet pepperbush
Native Species Alternative: Clethra acuminata - mountain pepperbush
Native Species Alternative: Rhododendron spp. - azalea

Invasive Exotic Species: Burning bush (Euonymus alata)
Native Species Alternative: Euonymus american us - hearts-a-bustin'
Native Species Alternative: Itea virginica - Virginia sweetspire
Native Species Alternative: Fothergilla gardenii - dwarf fothergilla

Invasive Exotic Species: Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
Native Species Alternative: Lindera benzoin - spicebush
Native Species Alternative: Leucothoe jontanesiana - doghobble
Native Species Alternative: Autumn (Elaeagnus umbellata) & thorny (E. pungens) olive
Native Species Alternative: Croton alabamensis - Alabama croton
Native Species Alternative: Calycanthus jloridus 'Athens' - sweetshrub

Invasive Exotic Species: Privet (Ligustrum sinense, L. japonicum, L. vulgare)
Native Species Alternative: Kalmia latifolia - mountain laurel
Native Species Alternative: Ilex glabra - inkberry

Sacred bamboo (Nandina domestica) & Leatherleaf grapeholly (Mahonia bealei)
Native Species Alternative: Callicarpa americana - American beauty berry
Native Species Alternative: Ilex verticillata - winterberry
Native Species Alternative: Xanthorhiza simplicissima - yellowroot

Vines:
Invasive Exotic Species: Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis terniflora)
Native Species Alternative: Clematis virginiana - virgin's bower
Native Species Alternative: Clematis viorna - leather-flower
Native Species Alternative: Clematis glaucophylla - blue-leaved leather-flower

Invasive Exotic Species: Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicerajaponica)
Native Species Alternative: Lonieera sempervirens - coral or trumpet honeysuckle

Invasive Exotic Species: Periwinkle (Vinca minor) [groundcover vine with herbaceous alternatives]
Native Species Alternative: Phlox stolonifera - creeping phlox
Native Species Alternative: Carex plantaginea. C. platyphylla & C. jlaeeosperma - seersucker, blue satin & blue wood sedges

Invasive Exotic Species: English Ivy (Hedera helix)
Native Species Alternative: Bignonia eapreolata 'Tangerine Beauty' - crossvine
Native Species Alternative: Gelsemium sempervirens - Carolina jessamine, yellow jessamine

Invasive Exotic Species: Chinese and Japanese wisteria (Wisteria sinensis & W. jloribunda)
Native Species Alternative: Wisteriajruteseens (w. maerostaehya) - American (Kentucky) wisteria 'Amethyst Falls'

Grasses:
Invasive Exotic Species: Japanese blood grass, cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica) Noxious Weed
Native Species Alternative: Panieum virgatum 'Shenandoah' - red switch grass
Native Species Alternative: Sehizaehyrium seoparium - little bluestem

Invasive Exotic Species: Zebra grass, silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis)
Native Species Alternative: Sorghastrum nutans - Indian grass
Native Species Alternative: Muhlenbergia capillaris - pink muhly grass

Herbaceous Plants:
Invasive Exotic Species: Japanese knotweed, fleeceflower, Mexican bamboo (Polygonum cuspidatum)
Aruneus dioieus - goat's-beard
Native Species Alternative: Cimieifuga raeemosa - black cohosh

Invasive Exotic Species: Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria)
Native Species Alternative: Liatris Spp. - blazing star [L. spieata, L. squarrulosa, L. squarrosa]
Native Species Alternative: Conoclinium eoelestinum (Eupatorium eoelestinum) - mist flower
Native Species Alternative: Chelone lyonii - pink turtlehead

Web Sites With Non Native and Native Plant Information:
Gardening with native plants
Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council
Tennessee Native Plant Society
University of Tennessee Herbarium

Synchronized firefly show in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont area 2009

When and where can I see the synchronized lightning bugs in the Great Smoky Mountains national park? This time of the year I get these questions about the fireflies in Elkmont more often that anything else other than where the black bear are.

The where is easy: in the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains national park along the Little River Hiking Trail. When the best time to see the Synchronized firefly also called lightning bugs is a little less exact.

First of all lightning bugs have been out in the Smokies for more than a month already. Little flashes of green and blue from the fireflies have been visible just after sunsets in ever increasing numbers everywhere in the Great Smoky Mountains.

The firefly beetle responsible for the awesome synchronized show Photinus Carolinus, is seen best only in Elkmont and starts usually around the second week in June but the entire show is visible for about 3 weeks.

The lightning bugs synchronized light show is actually part of the fireflies mating behavior. This start and duration of firefly behavior can vary based upon, when they emerged, current temperature among other factors so and exact "peak date" of when it is the best to see the Synchronized firefly show in Great Smoky Mountains national park will hopefully be when the trolleys are running from June 6th to the 14th.

Some days more than 1,000 people can show up to view the synchronized lightning bugs in the GSMNP Elkmont section so to accommodate this volume of visitors who would not all be able to park in Elkmont, the Great Smoky Mountains national park will close Elkmont Road from 5 pm to 12 pm to all vehicles other than those of registered campers in the Elkmont Campgrounds.

The Great Smoky Mountains national park in cooperation with the city of Gatlinburg Tennessee will run shuttle trolleys from the Sugarlands visitor center parking area neat the city of Gatlinburg to Elkmont and back for only $1 a person.

The trolleys to take you to the Elkmont synchronized firefly show run from 6 pm to 9 pm or stop sooner if the parking area is full. Though the last trolley is scheduled to leave Elkmont by 11:00 pm but it can end up leaving after midnight.

You can not park in any of the pull offs or along Littler River Road from the Sugarlands to Metcalf Bottoms picnic areas when the trolley to the fireflies are running.

Since it is unsafe to walk or bike along roadways at night and you must take the trolley if you want to see the Synchronized firefly show in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont area.

If you are going to see the show you can brink along a blanket or small folding chairs and your own food and drink except for alcoholic beverages. Coolers are not allowed and what you bring must fit on your lap in the trolley. A small flashlight with a red led or cover so as not to disturb others is a good idea.

I personally like to hike in all the way to the Cucumber Gap Trailhead and slowly walk back to the parking area in order to see the Synchronized firefly show. The lightning bugs can be best seen on the side of the mountain or the flat area below by the trail away from the river and the fireflies will work their way down as the night progresses.

The Synchronized firefly show in Great Smoky Mountains national park is a must see event and well worth the trip!

Related Smokies News Stories

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

• 2015 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 2014 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Where and When to see Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies in 2013
• Synchronous Fireflies Emerge Too Early for Visitors In The Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Synchronous fireflies and their admirers are about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National park synchronous firefly
• Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies has 900 visitors first night
• Synchronized Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont a huge disappointment

Celebrating Ferns of the Smokies in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Thanks to Discover Life in America and Anna Porter Public Library you can enjoy a free exhibition of 20 high resolution scans of the Ferns of Great Smoky Mountains National Park from May 15 through August 15, 2009.

See ferns as you have never seen them before and appreciate the fine textures colors and shapes brought out by these high resolution scans so that you can really appreciate the beauty and diversity of ferns and other plants in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

There will also be a presentation and discussion about the progress of the Great Smoky Mountains national parks All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) project on Thursday, June 11 from 6:30 - 8:30 at the Anna Porter Library.

Anna Porter Public Library
158 Proffit Road
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
(865) 436-5588

International Biodiversity Day in the Great Smoky Mountains national parks Twin Creek Center

Tomorrow from 1 pm - 3 pm it's International Biodiversity Day in the Twin Creeks Science Center located in the Cherokee Orchard/Roaring Fork section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

The topic of discussion will be about invasive species and what to do about them. The biodiversity of the Great Smoky Mountains national park is amazing but also amazingly fragile when non native plants species be it plant or animal invade the park.

The talk will be given by the Great Smoky Mountains national park vegetation management specialist Kris Johnson who is a true expert in her field and a delight to hear her speak.

Margie Hunter the author of landscaping with the native plants of Tennessee will be also speaking about how to help conserve the parks biodiversity by only working with plants that do not threaten the local ecology.

To me nothing smells better in the spring that fresh honeysuckle blossoms which can perfume the air as you walk or drive by them. Unfortunately this evasive pest is a fast growing vine that chokes out other slower growing native species reducing their numbers and can eventually entirely replace an entire portion of an ecosystem driver a weaker slower growing plant into obscurity if not extinction.

Ramsey Cascades Hiking Trail Will Have Partial Closure May 28th

One of the most poplar hiking trails to the waterfall in the Great Smoky Mountains national park (GSMNP) the Ramsey Cascades Hiking trail in the Greenbrier Tennessee section will be partially closed for a foot bridge to be repaired all day May 28th.

The Ramsey Cascades trail is an 8 mile round trip hiking taking you to one of the nicest waterfall in the GSMNP, spectacular old growth trees, interesting rock formations and pools, and crosses the Ramsey Prong more than once. While listed by many as moderate, I rank this for beginning and intermediate hikers as strenuous based on the distance and the fact it gains about 2,700 feet.

The Ramsey Cascades hiking trail will be closed from where the old road bed ends. If you wish to take a hike from this point to a spectacular view, you can ascend the unmaintained Pinnacles Manway all the way up to where the fire tower once stood.

The Pinnacles manway has many blowdowns and will require climbing over, under, and around fallen tress and is a slightly longer hike than the Ramsey Cascades Trail. It is not meant for beginners or hikers with children and with any unmaintained hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, you need to be even more alert and careful.

Where will the $64 million dollars given to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park go?

The $64,006,150 that the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will receive through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be a great help to the infrastructure of the park and is expected to create as many as 1,500 jobs mostly in the private sector as employees of a variety of contractors who will be hired to fix up the park.

So where is all this money going that must be either spent or obligated by September 30, 2010? Well the majority of this federal stimulus money about $59 million dollars is going to be used on park roadways and the balance will be spent on trail maintenance, building and facility improvements.

First of all not a cent will be used to repave the Cades Cove 11 mile loop road. That Money has been already allocated for the Cades Cove repaving work that will start early next year.

$34 million is to be spent to finish the 1,200 foot incomplete section known as the missing link of the Foothills Parkway west which will include an 800 foot-long bridge - the longest single structure to be constructed from Wears Valley Road US321 to Walland.

The next approximately $25 million will be spent to repave and rehabilitate 4 roads in the park:

• 9 miles of the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and Cherokee Orchard Road near Gatlinburg.
• All 7 miles of Clingmans Dome Road from Newfound Gap Road US 441 to the Clingmans Dome parking area.
• The Cosby Campgrounds in Cocke County Tennessee
• The Sinks parking area on Little River Road between Wears Cove Road in Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and the Townsend Wye in Tennessee.

$4 million of the stimulus money given to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be spent on long overdue handicapped accessibility public restrooms in campgrounds and picnic areas.

$1.2 million will be used in the Great Smoky Mountains national park to hire trail workers to make improvements to:

• 22 miles of eroded horse trails in Tennessee
• 10.4 miles of trails in North Carolina
• 61 historic cemeteries in North Carolina

Lastly $259,000 will be spent to paint and reroof numerous buildings throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National park.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Official Written Statement on Bear Spray

Since our last new story about the use of bear spray in the Great Smoky Mountains national park more documents have surfaced online written by people within the GSMNP that were in contradiction to what I was told. Information was also circulating about the parks superintendents power to change or make exclusions to existing laws.

Bob Miller the Management Assistant and one of the official parks spokespersons issued to me in writing the following official park statement:

Status of Bear Repellent Spray in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

In response to recent conflicting information, we want to clarify the Park’s posture regarding the possession and use of bear repellent spray.

Under 36 CFR Section 1.4, an "irritant gas device" is considered a weapon by legal definition and is therefore prohibited under 36 CFR Section 2.4. Items marketed and sold as bear repellent would typically meet the legal definition of a weapon. The Superintendent does not have the discretion to authorize the possession or use of a weapon for this particular purpose. As with any regulation, the degree of enforcement is a discretionary function that the individual Ranger makes in each instance based upon the totality of the circumstances and the possession and/or use of bear repellent would be evaluated in the same manner as any other violation.

Do with this information as you may. For those like me who would not want to depend upon discretion of an individual Ranger who may have had a bad day, the bear spray stays at home when I am in the park.

For the many of you contacting me about petitioning the Great Smoky Mountains national park to have the superintendent make the bear spray legal, you now have your answer. It won't help.

Though I make my living on the internet I am still amazed at both the positive and negative power that it holds. It has created far more transparency for the average citizen well as the unfortunate ability to spread false and or misleading information.

Though it has created great aggravation for me and I sure the Great Smoky Mountains national parks as well, I must commend the people who did not believe me and they in turn also kept getting the run around or wrong information which they disseminated on the internet exposing this issue that is still not as black and white that we all wish it to be.

Related Bear Spray and Black Bear News

• Bear Spray is now legal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Black Bear encounter
• Is Bear Pepper Spray Legal or Illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
• Bear become bolder in the GSMNP and questions remain about bear spray
• Clarification finally made by Great Smoky Mountains national park on Bear Spray
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Official Statement on Bear Spray
• Black Bear in the Great Smoky Mountains Safety Information

Great Smoky Mountains national park host tourism week and Employee of the year celebration today.

More than 9,000,000 people a year visit the Great Smoky Mountains national park and pump more than 700 million dollars in the to the surrounding communities such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Maggie Valley, Townsend, Bryson City, Cherokee, Cosby and more.

Today at 11:30 am a family of tourists will be honored on the lawn of the park headquarters in the Sugarlands as well as the Great Smoky Mountains national park Employee of the year: the Administrative Assistant for the Division of Resource Education, Susan Ross.

The more time is spend intimately involved in the park, the more I see that the people behind the scene such as Susan Ross are what protect this priceless place, enhance every visitors experience and drive the local economies of the gateway cities.

Susan Ross is the coordinator of education and visitor programs throughout the entire Great Smoky Mountains national park making sure that 9 million plus visitors get the most out of their experience in the Smokies.

Her experience in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is not just behind as desk but was in the front lines of the GSMNP as a crew leader in removal of nonnative vegetation, a fire use manager and even an emergency dispatcher.

According the Great Smoky Mountains national parks Superintendent Dale Ditmanson "She has a positive and progressive attitude, willingness to assist and encourage others, ability to coordinate the many activities of a diverse and demanding division, and desire to tackle challenging situations with new, fresh approaches are all attributes that have gained Susan this recognition".

The host and co-producer of WBIR-Knoxville Heartland Series Bill Landry will serve as the Employee of the Year emcee, and the co-hosts of the event include: Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, Gatlinburg Department of Tourism, Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, Smoky Mountains Visitors Bureau, Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotions in North Carolina, and Newport/Cocke County Tourism Council.

Congratulations Susan Ross on a job well done. Your work is the Great Smoky Mountains national park has touched many and a legacy of education and love for the Smokies will carry on for generations.

Pigeon Forge Dolly Parton parade a huge hit.

Everyone loves a parade, especially when the grand marshal of the parade is the Smokies own sweetheart Dr. Dolly Parton the ambassador of the Great Smoky Mountains 75th anniversary. Yes Dr. Dolly Parton just received her honorary doctoral degree of humane and musical letters from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville just before the parade.

I have to be honest. I never stuck around to watch the parade in Pigeon Forge before and boy did I miss something. Picture Pigeon Forge meets Mayberry and a whole lot of fun and yes - Dolly Parton!

Many of us were real concerned with the surrounding counties under tornado watches and the weather being shaky all day long and I even felt a few drops just before the parade starting at 6 pm but to everyone delight the weather was perfect until the end of the parade and then within minutes Sevier Country was under tornado watch as well!

Boy scouts, baton twirlers and a marching band opened the Pigeon Forge parade followed by Dolly Parton all dolled up like a national park ranger from a Vegas show on a float celebrating the Smoky Mountains national parks 75th anniversary.

Right behind Dolly Parton was a float from Friends of the Smokies - a non profit organization whose fund raising efforts have been an invaluable help to the Great Smoky Mountains national park. Wave to Bob Miller the GSMNP spokesperson and next to him Holly Burcham the Marketing Director from Friends of the Smokies.

The parade continued for miles and took hours to pass and was a mixture of our local heroes: Fire Fighters and Policemen, bands and dancers from local schools, local clubs and organizations, beauty queens, veterans, the Shiners - everyone loves their little cars, trucks and motorcycles, and a whole host of local businesses showing of their entertainers and talent.

Local country representatives and even the Pigeon Forge Trolley and bear got in the action. Don't you just love this little dozer? It was a huge hit with everyone!

There were even some beautiful classic cars parading down the parkway in Pigeon Forge. Not quite the Rod Run but absolutely top notch collectible cars.

In between all of this there were some unusual displays of once sort or another that can only see in a Pigeon Forge parade!

All the "kids" had a great time at the Pigeon Forge parade so be sure to be here next year for the best parade in the Smokies!

Clarification finally made by Great Smoky Mountains national park on Bear Spray: It's illegal.

When we first reported that bear spray is illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and provided the law in writing, some people questioned the accuracy of what they felt was our interpretation of the law and to further confuse matters, someone in the parks Sugarlands backcountry office gave out conflicting information on April 20th which was posted onto a web site.

I immediately requested confirmation as to the legality or illegality of Bear Spray in the GSMNP which I have finally received today from Steve Kloster the Tennessee District Ranger.

There is no legal form of bear spray allowed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and like any other weapon, trap or net, it is illegal to carry, possess or use in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Information given out previously by someone in the backcountry office that there was a legal form of bear spray was in error.

We advise anyone who visits the Great Smoky Mountains national park to obey all laws including weapons laws and not bring a loaded gun, bear spray or any other weapon into the national park.

Related News Stories

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Black Bear encounter
• Is Bear Pepper Spray Legal or Illegal in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park?
• Bear become bolder in the GSMNP and questions remain about bear spray
• Clarification finally made by Great Smoky Mountains national park on Bear Spray
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Official Statement on Bear Spray
• Black Bear in the Great Smoky Mountains Safety Information

Great Smoky Mountains National Park needs more Volunteers to assist with the Elk Program

For those of us who love the Great Smoky Mountains national park, nothing feels better than giving back to the place which means so much to us and for locals who live in the Smokies this is your chance as the park still needs more volunteers for the Elk Bugle Corp program.

Probably this first animal that comes to mind when you think about the Great Smoky Mountains national park is our beloved black bear which has been a visitor favorite since the GSM national parks formation 75 years ago.

North American Elk used to freely roam the Smoky Mountains until the 1800's where they were hunted to extinction, but thanks the Friends of the Smokies and other conservation groups between 2001 and 2002 a total of 52 North American Elk were reintroduced into the Cataloochee Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

The park service is looking for volunteers to join the Elk Bugle Corps to assist park rangers by giving park visitors information on the elk as well as responsible elk viewing practices and to help with parking and traffic management in the Cataloochee Valley.

Additional Volunteers are needed to help from May to November and work for at least 2 scheduled, four hour shifts per month. Help is especially needed on day shifts from 1 pm to 5 pm through the summer.

Anyone interested in joining the Elk Bugle Corp should call Mark LaShell the Cataloochee Park Ranger at (828) 269-3161 for training which will be held tomorrow at the Palmer Barn from 10 am to 4 pm. Volunteers are asked to bring their own lunch as there are no facilities at the park.

Related Elk in the GSMNP Stories

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park Elk Poaching Suspect Confesses and Arrest is Emanate
• Elk poaching takes place in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.
• Elk Reintroduction in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park needs more Volunteers for Elk Bugle Corp Program

First Smokies tick of the year found in Cades Cove

Ticks are probably the most unwelcome resident of the Great Smoky Mountains national park and I just found one this week after hiking on a deer path near the swamp just north of the Abrams Falls trailhead in Cades Cove.

Driving along the Cades Cove Loop Road I spotted a lone deer gallivanting around in Abrams Creek. Seeing that the sun was setting soon and everything around me was getting the warm glow that the "golden hour" gives off I decided to circle around the deer path to photograph this beauty with this pretty background.

Stealthily I walked along on the path but the white tailed deer left far before I was close enough to photograph him. I still took a shot of the leaves and light reflecting on the water of Abrams Creek - sans deer and returned to my car.

Out of habit I checked my legs and low and behold, I found the first tick of the season in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

What does this mean? Well since North Carolina is the Rocky Mountains spotted fever capital on the United States, it means that during tick season it is important that hikers and campers use insecticide with DEET and check themselves for ticks after being outdoors.

If ticks are removed in less than an hour after they have attached themselves to you, you are usually ok.

The picture below is recycled from last year when I wrote an article with information about ticks in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. It's well worth checking out.

Laurel Falls Hiking Trail Fire Damage Report

Wild fires in the Great Smoky Mountains national park are inevitable and in fact in some cases even encouraged under controlled circumstances. This is not the case with this week's Laurel Falls Wildfire which threatened one of the parks most valuable natural resources as well as homes and businesses close by.

The Laurel Falls wild fire was set accidentally by an illegal campfire similar to the one pictures here I found 2 days ago in the Greenbrier section of the park. There was a wildfire warning the day this fire was made and since the weather conditions were right and there was plenty of fuel to feed a brush fire with all of the hardwood litter on the forest floor and beetle damaged trees, the fire quickly got out of hand.

Dozens and dozens of firefighters worked with hand tools making scratch lines and fire breaks to slow the spread of the wild fire, along with setting small controllable fires to burn up any fuel they could before the main fire reached the area.

Along with almost 90 men on the ground fighting the fire, a light helicopter dropped loads of water taken from a pond in Wears Valley on the area, while a 2 engine reconnaissance plane used a spotter to help control the ground crew and lead in the water taker plane as it would drop its load of water and flame retardant flown in all the way from Chattanooga.

The hiking trail to Laurel Falls is a short paved trail less than 1-1/4 miles long which takes you to one of the most attractive waterfalls in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. This section of the trail has a limited incline gaining about 600 feet to the falls and year round has some overlooks affording visitors a view of mountains within the GSMNP.

The Laurel Falls waterfall is quite impressive and is where most of the visitors who come to the most poplar hiking trail in the Great Smoky Mountains national park stop. In fact the Laurel Falls Hiking trail continues far past where it is paved and continues another 1-1/2 miles gaining another 950 feet in elevation before it reaches the next trailhead where you can take a short 1-1/2 round trip hike up to the peak of Cove Mountain.

The stretch of the Laurel Falls Hiking Trail past the falls contains largest concentration and some of the best old growth trees that can be accessed in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. These huge old growth trees were never logged as they were not accessible to the Little River Logging Company who clear cut large areas of this wilderness before it became a national park.

The first quarter of the way up the waterfall trail, other than the smell of an old campfire in the air you would never know that a huge battle against a wild fire was just fought on this trail. Why look to the left and you will see one the first flaming azaleas still blooming in the park.

The last 2/3rd of the trail are another story. Clear fire damage is visible on both sides of the Laurel Falls Hiking Trail. Huge charged logs lay on the ground many of which are cut into more manageable sizes with the use of a chain saw.

There is now an obvious absence of normal understory plants and small bushes in most areas and blacked pine cones and scorched empty soda cans previously hidden on the first floor can now be seen scattered about on the forest floor or mountainside on the rest of the way the waterfalls.

Though it looks terrible now, this damage along the hiking trail is very minimal as most of the mid and upper level canopy has remained untouched and bright green in huge contrast the to the black scorched forest floor.

By the end of the summer, other than the scorched logs and tree trunks, most of the understory will have grown back and the rhododendrons and other bushes should be fine by next spring.

Luckily even though almost 270 acres of this beautiful forest between Elkmont and the Sugarlands was damaged by the wildfire, the area past the Laurel Falls remains untouched.

Once you pass the falls and hike up the double switchback to the other side of Chinquapin Mountains on the back end of the trail, larger trees become more and more numerous and the wildflowers more abundant. A few hundred yards more and you start to see the parks old growth giants scattered about.

This forest has always felt more primordial to me with its huge trees, dark green ferns and heavy low cover of wildflowers and is one of the most tranquil areas of the entire Great Smoky Mountains national park. I have hiked all of the trails in the park and time and time again I find myself taken aback by the beauty of this trail.

Within a few minutes along this section of the trail you forget you just went such major destruction. Back on this section of the trail you smell the fresh green of spring and the smell of old stale smoke is no longer discernible.

Today you can see plenty of wildflowers which have already peaked in other sections of the park including: Large Flowered Trillium, White Erect Trillium, Painted Trillium (pictured below), White Violets, Hepatica, Rue Anemone, Silverbell, Wild Strawberry, Star Grass, Smooth Yellow Violet, Common Blue Violet and Squaw root coming up through the leaves everywhere.

Thanks to the valiant efforts of our firefighter, one of the most precious resources on the Great Smoky Mountains has been saved form destruction. The economic cost to fight the Laurel Falls Wild Fire will be staggering.

GSM Wild Fire Report: Laurel Falls: Contained - Stony Ridge: Almost there

Thanks to rain and cooler spring weather in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, the Laurel Falls Wildfire has been contained a day earlier than predicted and the Stony Ridge wild fire should be contained shortly.

As of last night all the hiking trails closed by the Laurel Falls Wildfire in the Great Smoky Mountains national park have reopened.

Because of the Wears Cove wildfire, The Little Roundtop Hiking Trails off Wears Cove Road and ends at the Townsend Wye remains closed at this time.

The closed section of the Blue Ridge Parkway from US 441 to US 19 has been reopened and the command of the Stony Ridge Wildfire will be assumed by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians tomorrow and is expected to be completely contained by Monday.

Laurel Falls and Stony Ridge wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountsins national park update

Time and rain have been huge helps in the battling the 2 wildfires burning in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Presently the Laurel Falls fire which is East of Elkmont and West of the Sugarlands TN is still burning but is more than 75% contained.

As long as conditions keep improving as they have the past 2 hours we may see the following closed hiking trails reopen as soon as late this afternoon:

• Cove Mountain Hiking Trail
• Laurel Falls Hiking Trail
• Little Brier Gap
• Little Roundtop Hiking Trail
• Little Greenbrier Hiking Trail
• Metcalf Bottoms Hiking Trail

At this point 267 acres have been burned by the Laurel Falls wild fire and no structural damage or specimen old growth trees have been damaged.

The Stony Ridge Wildfire has already consumed 1,557 acres and is now 60% contained.

The only pubic access areas closed is a section of the Bluer Ridge parkway from Soco Road - US 19 to Newfound Gap Road - US 441 just a short distance north of the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains national park in Cherokee North Carolina.

Blue Ridge Parkway Closure because of the Stony Ridge wildfire to last until at least Saturday

The Northernmost section of the Blue Ridge Parkway from the Soco Road (US19) to the Great Smoky Mountains national parks main thoroughfare Newfound Gap Road (US 441) has been closed for the past 2 days due to the Stony Ridge wildfire near Cherokee North Carolina.

Fire officials believe enough of the wildfire is under control that they will be able to open the Blue Ridge Parkway some time this weekend.