Went on a two-nighter in the Smokies with two friends. We hiked in Thursday via the Maddron Bald trail to Albright Grove trail to the Otter Creek Campsite (GSMNP Back country site #29). It's in the northeastern part of the National Park near Cosby, TN and the TN/NC state line. It was about 6 miles to the campsite. Elevation at the trailhead was about 1,800 ft. and 4,760 ft. at the camp. Average elevation gain was about 500 ft/mile but it felt much worse. We made camp Thursday afternoon, rested a bit, and then started on firewood. It rained off and on throughout the day as it had for several preceding days. EVERYTHING was wet. One of the guys brought a Laplander saw and I brought a Fiskars hatchet. We were able to process some pine and made some shavings and kindling from the drier heartwood. It was still a challenge but we finally got it blazing.
What better place to christen the new Kephart knife than the Smoky Mountains. I shaved some tinder and did some light batoning.
My trio for this trip. A good combo.
The view of Otter Creek from the campsite.
Had supper and s?mores and hit the hammock pretty early. It rained hard for several hours overnight but my Kelty Noah 12 kept me dry.
Friday, after breakfast, we hiked a couple more miles and a few hundred more feet up the mountain to the AT. We took the AT to Inadu Knob. On the way, we saw wreckage from an F-4 Phantom from Shaw AFB that crashed there in 1984.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Black_(Great_Smoky_Mountai ns) I guess the critical parts were recovered, the forest has reclaimed some, but a few pieces are still visible from the trail. One article I read stated the wreckage is scattered over 20 acres, part in TN and part in NC.
Most of the views on the way up were shrouded in clouds but when we got to Inadu Knob (about 5,900 ft.), we saw this for about 10 minutes before more clouds rolled in. A picture doesn't do it justice but ...
Got back to base camp for a late lunch. I tried a couple new-to-me meal ideas this this trip. For lunch I tried Idahoan Brand Instant Loaded Mashed Potatoes which were ok but I kicked it up a notch. I browned a single serving of Spam in a skillet and mixed it in with the potatoes. Pretty tasty! Night before, I cooked Knorr Brand teriyaki noodles and mixed in some teriyaki beef jerky. Not too bad either. The Mountain House meals are good but for several days in a row, they a hard on my digestive system. So I brought a couple Mountain House and brought a couple new ideas as well.
Cleared up Friday evening and we had a picturesque sunset.
Hiked out Saturday morning. Some of the stream crossings on the way up were tricky but after the rain Thursday night, they were even trickier on the way back. Hopping from one slick, wet rock to another wearing a full pack ain't much fun. One crossing, we took off our shoes/socks and waded across. Didn?t want to risk having to hike 5 more mile in wet clothes and a wet, heavier pack...or worse...limp back.
Took a section of Gabes Mountain trail on the way back down. We saw some beautiful spans of old growth forest on the way up and down the mountain. Saw Laurel in various stages at different elevations. Blooms are long gone at the lower elevations. They are in full bloom at the middle elevations and just budding at the higher elevations.
Took this little spur to an overlook. We looked out and saw this
Looked down and saw this.
First time I've seen one in the woods. After that, every stick, vine and root on or near the trail looked like a rattlesnake. Yikes!
Well, that's about it. Two nights on the wood, 18 miles or so in 3 days, elevation from 1,800-5,900 ft. I'm feeling it today.
