Rainy Hikes in Citico Creek

On Saturday, Amaroq and I headed into Citico Creek Wilderness via the Cherohala Skyway. Heavy rain followed us up the mountain until it eased near the top, giving way to thick fog that made driving challenging in the poor visibility. Fortunately, we only needed to go a short distance to the West Rattlesnake Trailhead.

From there we dropped onto the Falls Branch Trail (#87) and entered the wilderness under dark, misty conditions, with bee balm blooming brightly along the path.

The trail began fairly level on an overgrown old road before steepening. 

Heavy rain returned as we descended, thoroughly soaking us by the time we reached the falls.

The trail emerged downstream of the waterfall, requiring a creek crossing and a short climb up the opposite bank to the base.

Falls Branch Falls were roaring with the day’s rain, and the weather eased just enough for a few photos.

It was looking really nice today.

The rain held off for the return hike, though we were already soaked through. We continued a short way up the Skyway to Unicoi Crest and joined the Benton MacKaye Trail, heading deeper into the wilderness.

The first mile and a half followed a moderate, somewhat overgrown old road lined with more bee balm and a few Turk’s-cap lilies.

At the road’s end we turned right to stay on the singletrack Benton MacKaye, aiming for Bob Bald.

After about three miles the rain returned in force and erased any chance of views, so we turned around. It poured steadily the entire way back, leaving us completely drenched. At the parking area the rain paused long enough for me to towel Amaroq off before we started down the Skyway. 

Stuck behind slow-moving bikers, we made a quick stop at Spirit Ridge, where a short paved trail leads to an overlook.

It was far too overgrown for any views that day (something that might improve in winter).

From there we returned to the cabin to pack up and prepare for the drive home the next morning.

Bald River Gorge Hike

On Monday, we headed into Tennessee via the Cherohala Skyway and made our way to Bald River Falls. It's one of my favorite waterfalls in the area.

It looked absolutely gorgeous in the early morning light. We crossed the bridge and scrambled down to river level for some great photos right at the base. From there, we drove a short distance to Baby Falls on the Tellico River.

We carefully made our way down to the base again for a few more pictures before heading back up. Next, we picked up the Bald River Trail (#88) and entered the Bald River Gorge Wilderness right at the top of the main waterfall.

About a half-mile in, we reached Middle Bald River Falls, a very scenic cascade, though tricky to capture in a single frame.

After a quick break, we continued upstream on the river-right side of the river. The trail stayed close to the water, with a few tributary crossings but no need to ford the main river (which would have been tough).

The path was narrow in spots and a bit overgrown with dog hobble, but overall it made for a pleasant wilderness hike.

We spotted rosebay rhododendron blooming in patches (though we seemed to be past peak), along with a good number of mushrooms popping up along the trail.

Roughly 4.5 miles in, we arrived at another lovely waterfall on Bald River (about 12 feet high, unsure if it has a name).

Amaroq and I enjoyed lunch there while I scrambled around the rocks for photos.

Just a quarter-mile farther brought us to the trail’s end at Bald River Road (FR-126). We turned around and retraced our steps.

Back at the car, we started the drive toward Robbinsville. We pulled over at the Lake Overlook on the Cherohala Skyway for a beautiful panoramic view.

Shortly after, heavy rain moved in and followed us most of the way back into North Carolina, but it soon lightened up.

We took advantage of the break to stop at Hooper Bald for a short hike to the top.

The grassy bald offered a fantastic overlook down into the Snowbird Creek drainage.

There were some Carolina lilies flowering along the trail.

From there, it was an easy drive through Robbinsville and back to the cabin.

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.

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.