(APPALACHIAN) TRAIL MAGIC
I’ve
enjoyed a number of pleasant wildflower hikes this spring, but none of them
have blown me away. The wildflower
displays I’ve seen recently just haven’t been as impressive as most years,
probably due to the wet, chilly weather in March in April. I really needed to get my annual trillium fix
to keep me more or less sane for another year.
Luckily, I was able to solve that problem last week.
A
fortuitous job assignment sent me to Asheville for a few days. As is my habit with these trips, I threw my
hiking and camping gear in my car before I left, just in case I finished my job
early. I wrapped up my assignment on
Thursday afternoon, and after an excellent dinner at the Westville Pub in West
Asheville, I was ready to head for the woods.
On the way out of town I stopped at an Ingles
to pick up breakfast for the next morning.
The options were limited, and I ended up buying a pint of orange juice
and a tray of cinnamon buns. Breakfast
of champions!
I
drove I-40 west into the Pigeon River Gorge.
After a brief stop at a rest area to get water, I got off at exit 7 and
headed up Cold Springs Creek Road into the Harmon Den area. I found a primitive but official campsite a
couple of miles up the road, right next to the creek. I set up camp there at dusk and went to bed
early.
I
was up at first light (a bit after 6) the next morning. I had a couple of cinnamon buns and the OJ
while breaking camp. When I finished, I
had a minor dilemma – what should I do with the rest of the cinnamon buns? I didn’t want to take them home with me.
Then
it occurred to me that I was planning on hiking a stretch of the Appalachian
Trail that morning. It was getting a
little late for thru-hikers, but I figured there would be a few passing by that
morning. I had a hunch that they would
be very interested in leftover cinnamon buns.
I
drove up Cold Springs Creek Road about a mile to a junction with Browns Gap
Road. There is a kiosk and an outhouse
here. From there I drove up the mountain
to Browns Gap. I passed several campsites
along the drive, and all of them were occupied.
I guess I was lucky to get a site the previous evening!
I
reached Browns Gap and the A.T. I parked
on the shoulder and headed southbound on the A.T. Originally I’d planned to hike north, to Max
Patch. But the weather forecast had
deteriorated (thanks, no doubt, to my buddy Jack’s plans to camp over the
weekend). By Thursday evening, it
sounded like Friday would be pretty marginal for a spectacular, exposed
destination like a grassy mountain bald.
So
I headed the other way. It turned out to
be a great decision.
After
a short distance I left the tray of cinnamon buns on a log. I was pretty confident that a thru-hiker
would find them before a bear did.
I
followed the trail up Harmon Den Mountain.
From the very beginning the wildflower display was incredible. Entire hillsides were covered in
large-flowered trillium, wild geranium, and solomon’s seal.
I spotted showy orchis also, along with a
number of varieties that I wasn’t familiar with. But the real highlight came when I turned a
corner. There before me were three
yellow lady slippers. I dropped my
trekking pole in disbelief. It had been
about 12 years since the last time I’d spotted yellow lady slippers.
I
took a number of photos before resuming the hike. The wildflower garden continued to the summit
of Harmon Den Mountain, and beyond.
Somewhere along there I passed a junction with the Rube Rock Trail. The Rube Rock Trail, Groundhog Creek Trail,
and A.T. combine to form an 8-9 mile hike that I haven’t done, yet.
The
wildflowers eased up for awhile, which allowed me to
focus on keeping a decent pace. Still,
there were plenty of diversions. I ran
into 3-4 patches of pink lady slippers along the trail. The best group was just before the summit of
Snowbird Mountain. I thought that one of
the lady slippers was white, which would’ve been incredible. Imagine – a lady slipper trifecta! Upon closer inspection though, I could see
just a hint of pink in it.
I
passed a handful of thru-hikers along here.
Most of them seemed to be struggling.
I’m sure they enjoyed the cinnamon buns.
Well, at least one of them did.
There was no sign of the buns when I returned to the trailhead that
afternoon.
After
almost 3 miles I reached Deep Gap and the Groundhog Creek Trail. The Groundhog Creek shelter is down this
trail a short distance. I skipped the
side trip though, and passed through the gap.
I did notice a prominent trail leading out of Deep Gap into
Tennessee. I wonder where that trail goes?
The
biggest climb of the day started at Deep Gap.
Fortunately, this part of the trail passes through another spectacular
wildflower garden. Somewhere along the way
I passed a small spring that was surrounded by trillium. It wasn’t just one type of trillium,
either. I identified four different
kinds during my hike, including my favorite, the painted trillium.
I
eventually crossed over the wooded summit of Wildcat Knob. From there it was just a short stroll to the
beginning of the meadow covering Snowbird Mountain. Snowbird Mountain features a grassy bald,
though it isn’t nearly as charming as Max Patch. The summit houses an FAA tower, which seemed
wildly out of place in such a remote location.
The
tower was only a minor annoyance.
Despite the clouds and haze, the views were fantastic. From the meadow I had a great look at Mount
Sterling, Balsam Mountain, Mount Guyot, Cosby Knob,
and Mount Cammerer in the Smokies. Farther east, the Plot Balsams towered over
the surrounding valleys.
It
was only 10:30, but I was hungry, and my leftover Subway sandwich wasn’t
getting any fresher. I sprawled in the
meadow for a bit, but the bugs were annoying enough to get me moving. I returned to Browns Gap by the same route,
but kept a better pace since I didn’t take as many photos on the return.
The
hike to Snowbird Mountain was easily the best wildflower hike of the year (so
far). Hopefully there is still more to
come!
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