GREAT SMOKYS - FOUR

Cades Cove keeps drawing me in. Sunday morning I started up toward Newfound Gap for sunrise, but the Park was in the fog! So I turned West and returned to Cades Cove after being blocked by a downed tree across the Park Road.

I was rewarded with a foggy morning in the meadows of Cades Cove. The gate to that area is normally closed until 0700, which is shortly after sunrise, but the Ranger today was about 15 minutes early. I really enjoyed the feeling of the atmosphere and got a couple of photos of deer in the foggy meadows.

DEWY WEB

WHITE TAIL IN FOG

FOGGY MORNING

FOG AND TREE

TREE AND FOGGY HILLS

FOGGY HILLS

FOGGY MOUNTAIN

Also went in quest of a black bear I had seen moving through which ended with my having wet feet due to traipsing through tall very wet grass, no bear photographs, and the loss of my lens hood for my long lens.

I enjoyed a very quiet breakfast while sitting in the Cades Cove Picnic area next to a stream.  Afterwards I stopped along the Little River Road to photograph lovely Meig Falls.

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MEIG FALLS

 I drove up to Newfound Gap to do a short hike along the Appalachian Trail which goes from Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. I have hiked bits of the

trail in New England. The weather had not changed and there were occasional showers and a cold wind. 

FOGGY HILLS

 

About 1500 I called it a day having been wearing wet boots almost all day,

and the weather was not going to improve.

Monday morning I went for sunrise above Newfound Gap. The clouds were there and it was quite breezy but I had fun, I was going to go further up the highway to Clingman’s Dome but it was totally clouded over.

MORNING AT NEWFOUND GAP

SUN PLAY, NEWFOUND GAP

TREES WAITING FOR SPRING

I returned to the lower elevations and hiked a couple of short trails around the Visitor Center area. Was still in quest of more yellow lady’s slippers but to no avail.

SQUAW ROOT

DOG HOBBLE

CABIN REMAINS

FLOWER GARDEN

WONDERFUL SPRING GREEN

 I started on one trail near Elkmont when a hiker told me to go to the School House Gap Trail which entailed about a 45 minute drive to the trail head. I had a great hike on a quiet trail but never did find the elusive lady's slippers. I did see another new flower for me called May-Apple. 

MOUNTAIN BELLWORT

CATESBY'S TRILLIUM

WHITE TRILLIUM

WHITE TRILLIUM GETTING OLD

MAY-APPLE

At the end of this hike, I was again trying to beat darkness and succeeded, though not by much.

I really enjoyed this trip, both with fellow photographers, and exploring on my own. The latter part would have been more fun with George along for a hiking companion and fellow lover of the great outdoors.

I loved this quote I found at Newfound Gap:

“Man has created some lovely dwellings –

    some soul-stirring literature.

         He has done much

to alleviate physical pain.

         But he has not …

created a substitute for a sunset,

                  a grove of pines,

         the music of the winds,   the dank smell of the deep forest,

or the shy beauty of a wildflower.”

                                    --- Harvey Broome, Naturalist

Have a wonderful day.