Four be the things I'd have been better without: love, curiosity, freckles and doubt. Dorothy Parker
Morning y'all,
It's a gorgeous, snowy day up top. The high yesterday reached 27 degrees. The overnight low was 18 degrees. It was 19 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received an inch of new snow, hopefully a sign of more to come. There is an inch total up top and the trails are in good shape with fresh snow for traction. There are still some slick spots of black ice, but for the most part the trails are a pleasure. Keep an eye on the Park Service's twitter account for road information! Last night was perfect. I sauntered around the mountain and set down my sleeping bag off trail hoping to meet some of my neighbors. The lingering clouds created an inversion cap over Gatlinburg, blocking out the perpetual hype of civilization and leaving a spectacular starshow for me to enjoy. 19th century entertainment. The fresh snow reflected the moonlight with an otherwordly glow and come to think of it, it may as well have been another world. It bears little resemblance to life in the valley. I felt like a ghost wandering around, listening for my fellow night creatures, revelling in the solitude and snowy perfection and the quiet expectation of wild encounters. 2/11/2014 12:54:10 am
i wanna spend my time up there! you got more snow comin! we already have a lil around the atlanta area!
Tracy G
2/11/2014 12:58:57 am
Beautiful picture! Thank you for sharing!
norman abr
2/11/2014 02:11:37 am
Doug y... Setting here, (Acworth, Ga.) warching big flakes of snow falling straight down and drinking( American-Russian Tea ). Black ice on the trail is OK but not on the roads!..
norman
2/11/2014 02:15:06 am
well maybe not OK
Kent
2/11/2014 02:54:28 am
I think I've just about had my fill of snow for the season. Certainly I've had enough of Arctic air (went down to about -13 last night).
JT
2/11/2014 03:45:03 am
Val, thanks for answering about Mountain View hotel. Did you ever have the pleasure of staying or eating here ? I ate several wonderful meals here , your food was served in courses . Good memories
norman
2/11/2014 08:00:59 am
Val.. what year was the Mountain Vew Hotel done away with?? could not find that information!!
Val
2/11/2014 10:18:51 am
I actually attended a wedding there just before they tore it down about 20-ish years ago. I know a lady who's (Cox) family owned part of it, I will know more soon to share! She has a pic in her home that has her dad sitting in a convertible in the Mt View Parking Lot around the 50's, seems like it was parked next to the "Hiker Shuttle". I think all the hotels had hiker shuttles then, only see 1 now.
Paul B
2/11/2014 03:54:19 am
Now that sounds like my idea of a great vacation trip! That sounds like fun except that I can't figure out why you want to start at Newfound (elevation 5046 if I remember correctly), go down Sweat Heifer to Kephart Prong shelter at 3500' and then back up to about 5700' by Grassy Branch and Dry Sluice trails? Why not start at Kephart Prong trailhead, go up Grassy/Dry Sluice, and make a short side trip to "the real Bunion"? (Email me for details if you like.) Then over to Pecks. You'll have a car shuttle on Day 3, but then the route you describe also requires a car shuttle--it's your Day 1 that seems odd to me, but that's just me! May be fine for someone else.
Kent
2/11/2014 08:42:08 am
Well, that was just a plan I had in my head for awhile. But now that you point out the elevation drop and regain, our route probably makes more sense. I cannot now remember on what day there was some mention of Ramsay Cascades; I need to go back and look for it suppose. But a little while ago I found an old cd disk with a few photos from a mid-winter, January, hike I took to those cascades. I posted a couple of these on my own site. But, I hope everyone who might go there to see them will forgive my lack of expertise in inserting the photos; one is way larger than I actually desired, and the other, of the cascades, is a wee bit "tilted" ; I have a long way to go in managing and "tweeking" my site. The hike to Ramsay Cascades is one I'd suggest to anyone wanting one in the "medium" range, i.e., 8 mi in this case. G'day
norman
2/11/2014 08:47:31 am
Doug y, don't mind the tilted picture, very good. I just read a post you left (june 24, 2011 & july 27,2011) on William Britten photograhy while enjoying old pictures and informationon on"the house that Jack built" and all the Smokys in general... Great Day in the Morning Norman !! You have a lot more patience and ambition than I possess apparently; I do recall that, so guess I'll have to go back now and scroll thru to read them; Yeah, manipulating photos and things on my web site is one big headache for me, BUT, I'll conquer it soon enough after I acquire ($$!) some more capability from my host / site / provider. I might decide to post a few more of those photos from that cascades hike, after I look at them again. Have a good evening Norman !
Peppermint Pattie
2/11/2014 02:00:40 pm
Beautiful photo of the cascades. Thanks for sharing that Doug.
carolyn boone
2/11/2014 06:49:45 am
cboone in ms. cboone in ms.: The two photos on my site were but two of about a dozen or more from that January 2003 hike to the cascades; When I set foot on the trail there was no snow on the ground, but at the cascades there was about 6-8 inches, and along the way up I saw these little 10-inch high snowmen someone had made for whatever reason {they must have really been enjoying themselves !} at the side of the trail - - there were about 15 of them. Your mention of the "Moon Walk" in Cades Cove gave me ne more hike to add to my list; I love bicycling the loop there on Wed's & Sat's when it's closed to vehicular traffic until 10a; I've never done the loop with a full moon (I assume....) so I've got to try that, maybe this summer, and maybe by bicycle. Is what you refer to around the loop ? thanks for the mention. g'day
cboone
2/11/2014 09:20:18 am
Doug,the Moon Walk takes place on the night it is FULL through Oct.I think it was Apr.when we did it because it had been a lot of rain and we had to go through a lot of water in several places.You meet up at the pavillon at 7:00 p.m.and two rangers come and they display items of stuffed animals etc.and they give a little history on them and the park.Just before it gets dark one ranger in front and one in back start the walk,with your flash lights in hand and start the walk.They stop all the traffic.You walk and all the way he is telling the history and when you get to Ogles Cabin off to the right and get just around the curve he says,this is a good place.You turn to the Mt.and slowly you begin to see light and brighter and brighter until it is completely full.I can't began to tell you what a wonderful feeling goes over you,looking at all God's creations.We had been to the Walker Sisters twice and he told their history and I think he said the last one left in 1967 when the Natl.Park took it over.It is real interesting and I would like to do it again.You were talking about going around the loop on your bike we have done that 11 times and the last time I was 63.Did a lot of pushing.LOL.I could talk to you all day about the Smokies because we LOVE them and have been going once or twice sometimes 3 since 1958.We live 565 mi.so you know we like them.HUH!!!! cboone: That's just the sort of information I love to collect ! I've already made entries on my schedule for the season and I fully intend to participate in one of those "moon walks". Sounds great. I, too, can talk about the Smokies all day long ! Perhaps I should post one of my email addresses on my site, temporarily of course, for you and we could write at great length ! Let me know. g'evening
Matt F
2/12/2014 12:19:59 am
Will be running up there from d/t Gatlinburg on 3/8....Absolutely stoked to give it a run..... Comments are closed.
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