Awesome Hikers

Cosby Weekend – Day Two – 7/26/08 - Snake Den Ridge Trail/Maddron Bald Trail/Albright Grove/Gabes Mountain Trail/Henwallow Falls – 18.5 Miles

 As I lay in my tent contemplating the trouble associated with a trip to the bathroom, I heard a rustling in the trees, following by splashing sounds. The drops grew louder and more frequent until it was officially raining. I listened for, hoped for, prayed for thunder which would signal a fast-moving storm passing through. For two hours I pretended that it would all be over at any moment. But no…so would everyone decide to bail out and go find a good breakfast buffet?

Not a chance - these are serious hikers. Everyone agreed that it couldn’t last long and it was warm anyway, so it could be kind of refreshing (yeah, that’s it) to hike in the rain. Five of us (Carolyn, Judy, Marta, Dawn and myself) were hiking the loop from the campground going up Snake Den Ridge and back around via Gabes Mountain Trail. Ruth Ann and Barbara would jog up Low Gap Trail to the AT and over to the Mount Cammerer fire tower.

The rain was settling in for a long visit and we began our uphill power walking. Did I mention how much I like going uphill at the beginning of the day? We would meet a number of people on the trail during the day, all hiking in the opposite direction. First they would be amazed that we were doing the entire 18-mile loop in a dayhike and second, they would inform us that we had done it the hard way by coming UP Snake Den Ridge rather than going DOWN it. What can I say? We were the awesome hikers.

But we lost one of our mighty women in the first couple of miles, when Dawn had to admit that her heel spur had not disappeared and was actually quite aggravated. She knew she had to get off of it and she was smart about it and headed back to camp. You hikers know that it can be hard to turn around once you have a hike in your head. So we just talked about Dawn all day (all good stuff, really!) Since this was my first time meeting her I was disappointed to not spend time getting to know her. But tomorrow was another day…

At some point during the previous day my camera screen had taken a hit and was not working, i.e. I could not see what I was photo- graphing (if anything). Looked like it had a big thumbprint on it. So I didn’t try many photos, but once I got home and uploaded I found that I was indeed taking pictures. This is the fabulous view for most of the morning.


Then it got better. Actually, by the time we topped out and turned right onto Maddron Bald Trail the rain was gone. Maddron Bald is unlike Gregory Bald – it is very narrow and covered with sand myrtle and mountain laurel just a little taller than a person. On a short side trail we climbed a rock outcropping where the view is usually 360 degrees, but today we saw clouds moving out. (Note: Side trails are usually worth checking out.)

Two great spots on this hike: Off of the Maddron Bald Trail is the Albright Grove Loop Trail, a .7-mile fairyland walk through a virgin forest (meaning the lumber companies never cut trees here). Whispering seemed appropriate as we stopped again and again to lean back and try to see to the top of these magnificent giants, Fraser magnolias, Eastern hemlocks, maples and especially tuliptrees. This is a special place, so put it on your list.

The second highlight was on Gabes Mountain Trail: Henwallow Falls near the end of the day, after more than 16 miles of footpounding. A dozen people were there enjoying the water and we followed suit. It is a simple but great outdoor pleasure to soak your feet in a creek at the end of a hike. We still had two miles to go back to the campground, but we agreed that the diversion gave us the strength to get ‘er done.

(Hey, Mark and Tamal, we were there at the falls at about 5:00 PM on Saturday, July 26 – were you there too?)

Back at camp feeling a great sense of accomplishment – 18.5 miles! Barbara and Ruth Ann had made it to Mt. Cammerer and back, having seen absolutely no view (10 miles). Guess they’ll have to do it again another time! Since we had spent no time on communal meal planning, everyone brought out her individual backpacking stove (AKA pocket rocket) and made dinner. The original Sunday hike plan to Mt. LeConte was scratched (were we crazy?) and a new scheme for a leisurely stroll up the Porters Creek Trail was agreed upon by everyone, including Dawn (who had sat around and read all day and was itching to try again). The night was comfortable, the company was outstanding and the laughter could probably be heard for miles.

"Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet."  ~Roger Miller