Cane Creek Mountains Hikes

Sunday, we took Harper and Amaroq to Cane Creek Mountains Natural Area in Alamance County for a hike.  The Oak Hill section of the park is new so we first parked here.  There was a big orbweaver spider at the restrooms.

At the split, Lookout Trail was closed so we had to stay on Pioneer Camp Trail.

There were a lot of mushrooms along the forest floor.  One downed log was completely covered in puffballs.

Soon we came to the observation deck.  A spur led to Lookout Trail but it was closed.  An old pond was here from when this area was a camp but it looked like the dam was failing.

Continuing on the trail, we saw many more mushrooms.

I spotted a little snake on the trail.  At first, I thought he was dead because his head and neck were flattened, but this was a hog-nose snake.  He stuck out his tongue, so I knew he was alive.

Near the end of the loop, there was a picnic area at the ruins of the camp dining hall.

After finishing the hike, we headed to the Pine Hill Trailhead just up the road and hiked Northern Approach Trail.

Near the top, we could see the observation tower was about half constructed.  I think it will have real nice views when complete.  Completing the loop, we stopped at the pollinator meadow near the parking area.

There were a lot of bees, some were really big.

The cosmos were really pretty in this area.

After our hike, we headed to Saxapahaw for lunch at the Eddy.  Amaroq was very well behaved for his first time at a restaurant.

Rainbow Falls

Wednesday was Harper's first birthday.  We had breakfast again at Everett Street diner and we let our server know it was her birthday.  When we finished breakfast, the owner stopped and had the entire restaurant sing Happy Birthday to her.  She was very excited.  Afterwards, we headed back to Gatlinburg.  On Monday, Harper had dropped Emmy, her favorite toy at the aquarium.  Luckily, she was found and they held on to her, so headed back that way.  Upon entering Great Smoky Mountains National Park, we saw a bunch of turkeys in a field near Smokemont.

Continuing to Gatlinburg, we stopped at the aquarium to retrieve Emmy.  Since we were here, we headed into park along Cherokee Orchard Road.  The Rainbow Falls Trailhead was completely full, even on a Wednesday, but there was space at the overflow lot.  It was a steep climb up with a baby in the backpack, but not too bad with plenty of switchbacks.  We saw some deer on the way up.

After a couple miles, we crossed LeConte Creek on a footbridge.

In over 2 miles, we crossed a small tributary of LeConte Creek with a little waterfall.

We took a short break here and talked to a guy heading up to Mount LeConte.

Right before the waterfall, we crossed the creek again on a stone bridge.

Right after this, we came to Rainbow Falls.

It was kind of foggy and made the waterfall look cool.

I climbed up the side for a view but the rocks were wet so I didn't scramble out too far.

There were some mushrooms growing on a dead log up here.

After some pictures, we hiked back down in a light rain.  There was a huge snail along the trail.

The rain had stopped by the time we got back to the car.

From here, we made a stop at Sugarlands Visitor Center and Harper picked out a stuffed bear for her birthday present.  Then we started driving back.  Chimney Tops was completely blanketed in clouds.

The clouds opened up as we crossed over Newfound Gap into North Carolina.

We stopped at the upper Deep Creek Trailhead and a couple other spots on the road for a view.

There was a little bear foraging along the road.

We made one final stop at Cliff Branch Falls.

The water level was low, but it was worth a quick stop since we were passing by.  Leaving the park, we stopped at Native Brews for dinner and then headed back to Bryson City.

Long Hike to Little Creek Falls

Tuesday was rainy and Harper wasn't feeling great so Sandy stayed with her while I went for a wet hike.  I headed to Deep Creek just up the road from our cabin and continued to Thomas Divide Trail, about a mile down the gravel Tom Branch Road past the main trailhead.  Initially the trail was an old road.

In about 3 miles, the road continued as Indian Creek Motor Trail and Thomas Divide Trail turned and became singletrack.  It was overgrown in places.

In a little over 5 miles, I came to Deeplow Gap.

Here, I turned on Deeplow Gap Trail and started heading down.  In just under a mile, I came to Little Creek Falls.

In the past, you could park at a trout farm outside the park and access from private property.  It was only about 3 miles this way.  But the farm no longer allows public access, so I think this is the easiest way to the waterfall now.

It looks possible to hike from Mingus Mill as well, but wouldn't be any shorter or easier.

I got some pictures and started heading back.  Back on the road portion, I saw some turkey on the trail.  My presence startled them and they flew high up into the trees.

I also saw some great blue lobelia along the trail.

Near the trailhead, I made quick detour to the Wiggins-Watson Cemetery.

Driving back, it was lightly raining and I couldn't pass a waterfall trailhead in the rain, so stopped at the main Deep Creek Trailhad.

It was just a short hike to Tom Branch Falls along Deep Creek Trail.

Even in the rain, the water level was low.  On the way back, I made a quick stop at Juney Whank Falls.

Then I returned to the car.

Back at the cabin, we got Harper ready and went into town for dinner at Iron Wok.

Day in Gatlinburg

Monday, we headed to Tennessee to visit that side of the Smokies but first had another great breakfast at Everett Street Diner.  Driving through Cherokee, Sandy pulled over next to a gas station.  What at first appeared to be statues were actually elk.

We watched them for a few minutes as they crossed the street in a crosswalk and then continued grazing.

We entered Great Smoky Mountains National Park and soon had to stop for a mother elk and her fawn in the road.

We continued all the way through the park to Gatlinburg and took Cherokee Orchard Road to Roaring Fork Motor Trail.  Right near the start of the one-way road, we parked at the trailhead for Baskins Creek Trail.

There were a good number of wildflowers blooming along the trail.

The trail gradually headed up for a short ways to a ridge.

Even in summer, there were nice views along the ridge here.

After this, it went back into the forest and started to descend down to Falls Branch.

There were more wildflowers blooming and we saw some mushrooms too.

The giant ironweed was really pretty.

In just over a mile, we came to a split and went left on a spur towards the waterfall.  The last part of the trail was very steep heading down to the base of Baskins Creek Falls.

Although the water was low, I thought it was a really nice waterfall.  And unlike the nearby Grotto Falls and Rainbow Falls, we didn't see anyone else along the trail.

I climbed up the side to the base of the upper drop.

Harper splashed around a bit in the shallow water at the base and then we headed back.  We took the spur to see the little cemetery.

Then we made the climb back up to the car.

Roaring Fork Motor Trail is one way so we had to drive the rest of the way.  Near the other end of Baskins Creek Trail, we spotted a bear sniffing around just next to the road.

The road ended back in Gatlinburg and we parked to visit the aquarium.

It was very crowded and rather over-priced but they had a lot of cool exhibits and Harper enjoyed seeing all the fish.

There was an upper and lower level with exhibits from various aquatic and marine environments.

Harper seemed to really enjoy watching the jellyfish.

The fish and sea life were really beautiful.

A moving walkway led through a tunnel in the shark lagoon with sharks, turtles and rays swimming about.

The sawfish was really cool.

After cruising through the lagoon, there were a few more exhibits to check out.

The snake-like garden eels were really cool.

The scorpionfish was well camouflaged and looked very much like a rock.

Mudskipper is fish that can breath air.

The sea walnuts were really cool.

The last exhibit we visited was the penguins.  A keeper was giving out toys to the penguins.  Harper and I crawled through the tunnel so she could pop up for a closer view.

After this, we took off and headed to Gatlinburg Brewing Company for a late pizza lunch.  Then we started making our way back to NC.  We first stopped for a roadside view of Chimney Tops.

Then we stopped again at Ben Morton Overlook.

After crossing back into NC, we pulled over again to see a bear foraging along the side of the road.

Finally, we stopped at Mingus Mill.

We took Harper for a short stroll along the mill race and got come pictures of the mill.

Then we headed back to Bryson City for the evening.