MtLeconte.com Hike

Gregory Bald and Gregory Ridge by Connie Houk November 19^th, 2005

Liz needed Gregory Bald Trail for her map, so with Alden being home with a cold we decided to get it in today. Lately, we seem to take turns being sick. Gregory Bald Trail will complete the Tennessee side on Liz’s map.

I picked Liz up at her house at 6:30 a.m., and we were at the locked gate shortly after 7:00. We saw no wildlife on the ride over to the cove. I had just shut my car motor off and here came the ranger to unlock the gate…prefect timing. One of the cars in front of us just would not pull over to gaze at the deer, so it took us almost an hour to get to the trailhead. We pulled into the Gregory Ridge Trail parking area to see one other car there. We loaded our packs, and at 8:00 walked the short distance on Forge Creek Road to the closed Parson Branch Road where we would walk four miles to reach the Gregory Bald Trailhead. This road was severely damaged from past storms and has been closed for quite some time. We were bundled up with the temperature being somewhere around 20 degrees but after fifteen minutes I was already pulling my jacket off, after the many short steep climbs going out Parson Branch warmed us up.

We made good time and were at Gregory Bald Trailhead at 9:30. We took a fifteen-minute break sitting on the rocks in the parking area. The temperature had warmed up and felt good now.

The beginning of the trail is an easy walk through pines but soon turns into a steep hard climb. Galax and teaberry lines the pine needle pathway. I kept thinking around one more bend we would be at campsite #13 (Sheep Pen Gap) but we weren’t so lucky. There were a few skips of snow here and there on the ground. Finally, we came to the large seep that supplies the water for the campsite and I knew we were almost there. The wind had really picked up and by 12:00 when we reached the trailhead, we had to put gloves and ear bands back on. From here, the ½ mile climb is steep, rocky and never ending. We arrived at the top of the bald and had it all to ourselves. Up to this point, we had seen no other hikers. We climbed under a low hanging pine tree for shelter to eat our lunch. We quickly put our jackets on, and hurriedly ate our beanie weenies and my two cold hotdogs. This is not a good food choice for cold weather. We took quick pictures of Cades Cove and Fontana Lake before starting our hike across the bald.

Liz said that she was going to take a picture of the azaleas to show her sisters what they look like in the fall. Hey, that’s a good idea…so here is what those beautiful azalea blooms look like in November. Notice how blue the sky is behind the dormant bushes. On the other side of the bald, we saw our first overnight hikers of the day, lying in the sun resting. We spoke as we went by. After descending the steep trail to Gregory Ridge, we met three other overnighters on their way to the bald.

About two miles we passed three more day hikers. Liz thought the one in the front was carrying a baby on his back but it turned out to be another hiker behind him that was bald headed. My opinion is…today is just too cold for a naked head. We took a short break and I drank the rest of my coffee while Liz adjusted on one of her boots. We enjoyed the views as we started back down. We came around a bend and saw a couple on the other side of the creek. After crossing Forge Creek on a foot log, we came up behind them. I thought they had seen us but when the lady glanced back, she almost jumped out of her skin. We apologized and after talking to them for a few minutes, we were on our way. We passed an empty campsite #12, and after the third creek crossing arrived at the car at 3:30. There were several cars in the parking area but we didn’t see anyone. We saw a total of 10 hikers and no wildlife today, except for all the deer in the Cove. It was another great day for a hike!