Fall Color Report for the 4th Weekend in the Smoky Mountains October 2014

If you look outside in mid and lower elevations right now, you would swear it was the first weekend of peak leaf season in the Great Smoky Mountains, not the second. Regardless there areas still see some nice fall colors and for sure there will be more next weekend as well.

The fall leaf colors in the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Newfound Gap Road are gone, however the long range views are still nice. The traffic is extremely heavy though and I would suggest Foothill Parkway West as a better drive.

The Foothills Parkway Spur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg is not showing its best, however there are some decent spots of color along parts of Little River Road and now Laurel Creek Road all the way into Cades Cove.

Cades Cove Loop Road is very crowded and still not at peak in the valley. Rich Mountain Road and Parson Branch Road coming out of Cades Cove both have nice color in spots, and will continue to have color into next week. Both the Gregory Bald Hiking Trails and Hannah Mountain Hiking Trails have decent color and long range views are still very good.

Deep Creek, Tremont and Elkmont are 3 of my top picks right now for a great place to have a moderate hike and see decent fall color in the Great Smoky Mountains national park. All three of these sections of the park have significant water features which add to fall photography even though the amazing fluorescent fall colors along the rivers have yet to show themselves.

Deep Creek North Carolina has some great color along the Loop Trail, Sunkota Ridge and especially the Noland Divide Trail up to and beyond Lonesome Pine to Sassafras, as well as along Thomas Ridge. Other than Little Creek Falls, none of the Waterfalls in the Deep Creek area have color left.

In Elkmont if you hike the Little River, Cucumber Gap, Jake's Creek Loop, there is only limited bright fall colors out as of yesterday. Hiking further up Jake Creek Trail especially up the Panther Creek Trail there are spots of colors which are wonderful. A hike along Meigs Mountain trail or the Curry Mountain Trail will not be disappointing.

I normally love to walk the roadway in Tremont this week in October and stop all along the way at the many pools and small waterfalls and take photos of the fall colors in the leaves in the trees above reflecting in the water. This is not one of the best years for that, at least not yet.

Hiking along the West Prong Trails is very nice right now, but I suggest in the next few days to still take advantage of the Middle Prong Trail and the Greenbier Ridge Trail, however there is no color left by the time you get up to the AT. Indian Flats Falls is nice as the water flow rate is fairly low, but it is not a waterfall for "fall pictures".

Reports have come in the color is getting much nice along the Lakeshore area, but I have not been there since Monday and sadly many areas that should provide brilliant color have not done so this year even though based upon high hope we had at the start of the season.

Last call for volunteers to help the GSMNP remove non native plants.

Non native plant removal will take place this Saturday in the Big Creek section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park and Your Smokies officially declares that for this weekend Tennessee and North Carolina are both to be called "The Volunteer State".

OK maybe my official declaration doesn't mean much, but your help removing non native plants that have invaded the Great Smoky Mountains for a few hours would really help the national park!

We are looking for a few good hands willing to enjoy the fresh air and beauty of the GSMNP while helping by pulling out 2 plants that are disturbing the ecology of the park.

Bring nothing but yourself (and maybe a few friends); a great attitude, water, lunch and a pair of gloves wouldn't hurt. Meet us before 10:00 am in the picnic area and expect to be done by 2:00 pm.

Further details about the Non-Native Plant Control in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Help Volunteer for a day of Non-Native Plant Control in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Exotic plants in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park - sounds real nice and pretty doesn't it? Well it's not. Non-native plants in the Smokies are a big problem and the Great Smoky Mountains national park needs your help riding this protected biosphere of these monstrous botanical nightmares!

At one time these plants were brought into what is now the Great Smoky Mountains national park by both settlers and later on the Civilian Conservation Corp in a an effort to beautify and control erosion.

Now these unwanted pests such as kudzu, garlic mustard and Japanese Honeysuckle are near the top of the Park's 'Most Wanted List.' They outgrow native species of plants and change the habitat for other plants and animals in the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Join us in removing these exotic plants on Saturday, February 21 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm as part of the 10th annual Tennessee Invasive Weed Awareness Week which is organized by the Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council.

Here you will be taught how to identify two of these exotic plant species that are taking over large areas of the GSM National Park. One you know what you are looking for, you will be sent out to remove these non native plants.

Our target pests on this outing will be the Honeysuckle vine which grows rapidly forming a dense blanket over native shrubs and small trees and the Garlic mustard which is a ground cover that quickly takes over the shady areas choking out native wildflowers and grasses.

It's something to love the park as many of do but there is a very special feeling in getting your hands dirty and giving back to a place that offers you a lifetime of peace, serenity, educational opportunities and fun. We need your help!

Meet us at the Big Creek picnic area before 10 am on Saturday the 21st. Bring suitable clothes, your lunch and work gloves to make the work and cleanup easier on your hands. For more information you can contact Kristine Johnson at (865) 436-1707 or email her at Kristine_Johnson@nps.gov.

Help us here in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and you will have a day to remember and we will be eternally grateful.

Missing hiking trail sign in Deep Creek NC Section of the GSMNP could spell disaster.

I hike on average 10 - 15 miles a day in the Great Smoky Mountains national park so I am pretty well equipped for anything when I go out into the woods. Luckily with plenty of daylight, a watch and a map I was to change my hiking plans and not get lost even though an important trail sign was missing in the Deep Creek Section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.

Hiking as much as I do, I know depending on how rugged the terrain is and how many pictures I am taking I know that I average from 1.2 miles to 3.1 miles and hour uphill and 1.8 miles to 3.9 miles and hour downhill. My watch and an accurate map in the Great Smoky Mountains are my most valuable navigation aids. I also always have a compass packed just in case.

Because of the potential for heavy cloud or tree cover you can not count on being able to get getting a reading from your GPS. This can go on for minutes, hours or sometimes days. Batteries can die unexpectedly and we all know that even new electronic equipment can fail without warning or fall and break or even get lost so never hike in the Great Smoky Mountains only counting on a GPS to lead the way!

I planned on hiking Kephart Prong yesterday and go along the ridgeline and end up at the campgrounds on the cabin flats trail. Weather predictions called for a probability of rain and thunderstorms and there was limited visibility due to haze so I changed my plans while on the road to a lower elevation hike in Deep Creek.

The heat index was already at 98 degrees when I arrived at the Deep Creek Trailhead so I loaded up with 3 liters of water for myself and set out on my hike with my day pack and cameras.

There were a lot of families with kids riding tubes and splashing around in the water having a grand old time. This was a great place to bring the kids to cool off during this record breaking heat wave and the price was right: only $3 a day for a tub rental!

Working my way uphill in the heat, the trails were virtually deserted and I found myself consuming water at a rapid rate. Knowing this stretch of my trip was only 2.1 miles to the next trailhead I knew that it should take me from 40 minutes to about an hour to get there.

Since it was very hot and I was consuming water rather quickly I tried to keep my place slower than normal in oder to keep cool.

Along my hike I noticed and unmarked trail about 35 minutes along the Thomas Ridge Trail and since it was not marked I decided to take a short detour and check it out. A trail that is not marked can be a bypass which would bring me back onto the trial I was hiking.

The trail seemed more worn than most manways in the Great Smoky Mountains national park and I could see old signs of maintenance - cut logs along the side of the trial that appeared to have been cut at least 5 years ago or longer. The trail gained in elevation and veered further and further away from the trail I was on so after a half hour of hiking on this unknown trail I turned around to get back on the original trail I was on.

Back on the original trail I was hiking on, I went for another 25 minutes mostly downhill now I realized that I must have passed the junction. Trying to check my position on the new 2008 Hiking Trail Map I purchased from the national park service, I could not find myself on the trial given that the new maps have removed all topographical references as well as not showing accurately details such as individual switchbacks.

With water running low (less than a liter now) I realized that I must work on finding my way out of the park and back to my car. My choice would be walk back the way I came or work on find a trail back on a more efficient loop. Without topographical information on my map I had no idea if this shortcut back would be uphill downhill or a combination of both.

I stopped, made an evaluation of where I was, listened and heard way in the distance the sound of rushing water. It can be hard to tell the difference unless very experienced between the sound of water or wind blowing through leaves. Consulting the map which does show large water features I determined I was already on the shortcut I needed to take to get back to the car.

20 minutes later I was at a marked trailhead confirming I was exactly where I needed to be. A few yards away I ran into 2 other hikers who confirmed to me when they were hiking the day before the sign was in fact missing and they also were lost as a result of the missing sign.

As soon as I returned to my car I went to the campground check in and checked the message board - no notes about the missing sign. I then went to the ranger's station and reported the missing sign.

In the winter with limited daylight and using just the new map and a compass I would have been in for a real problem as I could never have taken a chance for a shortcut - I would have had to return the way I came - a far longer trip but the only sure way I know I could have returned.

The new Great Smoky Mountains national park hiking map is terrible and I would suggest only using the National Geographic Topo map of the area. In the winter or when taking a very long hike I always depend on this map and this reaffirms this is the only map I will use out here in the backcountry when hiking in a less familiar area.

Would a GPS have worked yesterday? Maybe. There was a very heavy canopy and I may not have had the ability to get a fix. If it was winter when solo hiking is more dangerous I would have had one with me. In the winter, late fall and early spring the lack of leaves may have helped me get a fix as long as there was not heavy cloud cover and I had a clear shot of the sky.

I don't expect that this sign will be replaced with a day but I do hope that they will put a not on the bulletin board and should put notes at the trail heads around the missing sign that the sign is in fact missing.

Campgrounds opening in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

After hiking, camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the second most popular pastime for the outdoorsmen who flock to this most popular national park and now that the worst of winter is now over, the campgrounds in the park will start opening as of tomorrow March 9th.

From May 15 until October 31 the Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont campgrounds can be reserved online at www.Recreation.Gov or you can call (877) 444-6777 toll free. The fee schedule varies by site as the more primitive campgrounds which are smaller are $14 per night and the more developed campgrounds are $17 per night. In the same period reservation campgrounds are $20 per night. If you are looking to take advantage of the riverside camping in Elkmont Tennessee the fee is $23 per night.

The chart below show opening dates for the campgrounds in the national park as well as the fee structure.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Campground opening dates and fee schedule
Campgrounds	Nightly Fee	Opening Date	Group Sites
Abrams Creek TN	$14	March 9
Balsam Mountain NC	$14	May 11
Big Creek NC	$14	March 9	March 9
Cades Cove TN *	$17, $20	Year-round	March 9
Cataloochee NC	$17	March 9	March 9
Cosby TN	$14	March 9	March 9
Deep Creek NC	$17	April 1	April 1
Elkmont TN *	$17, $20	March 9	March 9
Look Rock TN	$14	May 11
Smokemont NC *	$17, $20	Year-round	March 9
*during the reservation period May 15-October 31 fee is $20 per site. Riverside sites at Elkmont are $23 during reservation period only.

For those who don't want to camp in the backcountry but want to experience peace and quiet while camping, 3 campgrounds in the national park: Cades Cove, Elkmont, and Smokemont have "generator free" campsites.

To go generator-free in the Cades Cove TN campground there is are generator-free loop sections. In the Elkmont campgrounds there are generator free sites but there is no generator free loop. Over in Smokemont on the North Carolina side of the park loops A, B, and C are "tent only" so there are no generators. If you have an RV but wish to go generator free you may reserve in the tent only area.

If group camping is more your style then you can choose from Big Creek, Cataloochee, Cosby, Deep Creek, Elkmont, Cades Cove, or Smokemont. The cost ranges from $26 to $65 per site per night and reservations must be made online at www.Recreation.Gov.

Time for a picnic in the Great Smoky Mountains national Park

With the warming Smokies weather, the Great Smoky Mountains national park is about to open some of its picnic areas and starting its spring schedule. While some of the picnic areas such as Cades Cove, Metcalf Bottoms, Chimney Tops, Cosby, Greenbrier, Deep Creek, and Big Creek are open year round, others will be opening on a staggered schedule.

Friday March 9th will see the opening of the Collins Creek Picnic Area and on Sunday March 11th both Heintooga and Look Rock are scheduled to open. If you are looking to use the national parks largest pavilion located in Twin Creeks, you will have to wait until May 1st.

While there are 10 first come first served picnic areas in the Great Smoky Mountains national park, some picnic pavilions can be reserved online. The picnic areas with pavilions that can be reserved are located in Twin Creeks (fee range from $35-$75 depending on the number of people in your party), Collins Creek, Cosby, Deep Creek, and Metcalf Bottoms (all at $20 per pavilion) or Greenbrier (only $10).

To reserve a picnic pavilion on line visit www.Recreation.Gov.