Smokies 900 Round 2: Plemmons Cemetery &
Maddron Bald Trail/Gabes Mountain Trail to Cosby
3/19/21 – 8.6 Miles
There’s something a little “off” about my hiking buddy Jeff – that is, when I want to explore an off-trail adventure, he’s the person I think of. For years now I’ve read accounts of hiking off-trail on the Cat Stairs in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jeff enjoys research and finding GPS tracks made by other hikers, and it happens that the Pinnacle of the Greenbrier Ridge is a ranked peak and therefore a desirable goal for him to summit. There are two ways to bag the Pinnacle peak, and one is via the Cat Stairs.
In February 2020, when Jeff and I last hiked together, we talked about different goals on our hiking “lists” and I mentioned this intriguing destination. In January 2021 he sent me an email: “My diary shows that we said we’d hike the Cat Stairs this year.” There were other enticing hikes in the area, so we planned a weekend hiking both on and off-trail in the ‘Brier.
On a Friday we met at the entrance to the Cosby area of GSMNP to prioritize our goals for the weekend. We decided to hike in Cosby today, the Cat Stairs and Greenbrier Pinnacle on Saturday if the forecast is good enough, and if we feel good on Sunday we’ll tackle some of Old Settlers Trail before we part ways. (Two cars for shuttling means flexibility.)
Cosby was the most convenient campground for us inside the park, but it doesn’t open until mid-April, so I had reserved a tent site for two nights at Smoky Bear Campground & RV Park, located on Hwy 321 between Cosby and Greenbrier. Commercial campgrounds are not my style, but this was our only solution for camping. After we made our hike decisions, we checked in at Smoky Bear.
In fact, this is primarily an RV community. There are just three tents sites tucked away at the rear end of the property and we were the only campers. The RV folks stayed inside because the weather was cold and wet, so the place was quiet and pleasant AND there’s a bath house with lights and hot showers. Heck, in good weather it might even be fun to sit around the enormous fire ring and sing along with the neighbors. I give a thumb’s up for our stay at Smoky Bear Campground.
Also on my agenda for the weekend were visiting several cemeteries. While the rain held off, we headed to Greenbrier to visit the Plemmons Cemetery, the largest in the GSMNP with over 700 graves. I don’t know what the park’s protocols are for sharing cemetery information with visitors, but I am amazed that this one is totally unacknowledged on park maps and literature. The gated road to the cemetery is on the right between the first two bridges on Ramsey Prong Road and it’s a ten-minute walk from there.
Most of the graves are marked with rough headstones, and some have newer engraved markers with the original stones remaining in place. A number of folks were born in the late 1700’s. Standing in a cemetery surrounded by forest gives me chills, imagining how important family was to the brave people who lived and played and worked and died right there.
Mary (Koone) Coon, wife of John Ownby
1793-1881
Born & Died Oct 24, 1910
We took note that the Little Pigeon River was running at high volume, lots and lots of water from the recent rains, an indication of what to expect on the trails.
Next up: a hike in Cosby
We parked one car at the Gabes Mountain trailhead by the Cosby picnic area, then drove to the Maddron Bald trailhead. I wore my Salomon trail shoes (not quite ready to get my new Altra shoes muddy). Imagine my surprise when Jeff took a brand new pair of Salomon boots out of a box and put them on – what? No breaking them in? Making sure they feel right? You better be tough, Jeff! (He was.)
My Salomons are probably ready to retire. I got wet feet despite rock hopping creeks and taking them off to wade the one serious crossing – which was bitterly cold, thank you very much.
We started out at nearly 3pm, determined to get some miles in before calling it a day. A steady rain was settling in and there was nothing else to do besides sit in our tents at the campground. We hiked up Maddron Bald Trail to the intersection with Old Settlers Trail on the right and Gabes Mountain Trail on the left. We turned onto Gabes Mountain and settled into a familiar rhythm, chatting and catching up on life since we last hiked together over a year ago.
Hints of spring green, blowdowns, water flowing everywhere: so familiar and yet a new adventure in the magical Smokies. I love this place!
We passed a couple hiking with heavily loaded backpacks, heading to Campsite 34. The guy said, “Living the dream!” Behind him the woman smiled with trepidation.
We’d seen enough water by now and the hour was getting late, so we skipped the side trail to Henwallow Falls. Ten minutes later we encountered a family – mom, dad, four kids – and the mom asked how far the waterfall was. Dad was a big guy, catching his breath as he leaned on a wooden hiking stick he had picked up along the way. He was wearing a tee shirt and shorts. Everyone looked pretty wet and unprepared. We said that the waterfall was close by, but it’s a steep downhill side trail, very muddy. Then I said, “And it will always be there so you don’t have to go today.” The dad brightened and said, “Yeah, it sure will!” and the mom looked relieved to be off the hook.
Jeff and I finished our hike at 7pm without seeing the family again. We wondered how they were doing, as darkness was closing in. Flashlights?
Back at our Smoky Bear home, we hustled to set up tents, a little disorganized and rushing to beat daylight – and we were wet and COLD. First get into dry clothes, then boil water for a hot meal. We didn’t hang out too long and I was ready to get into my sleeping bag. After checking the forecast, we made our decision to hike the Cat Stairs and Greenbrier Pinnacle tomorrow morning as planned. I was scared all night long about that, but I slept cozy warm.
I knew this is where I belong."
~John Muir
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