This 3 day solo backpacking trip covered trails on the north and west ends of Cades Cove including Rich Mountain Loop, Ace Gap Trail, Hannah Mountain Trail and Rabbit Creek Trail and comprised 38.9 trail miles. My van and bicycle was used to position among trailheads on Cades Cove Loop road and Parson's Branch road. Getting There: Nearing midnight on Thursday, I drove past Tremont and on to the end of Middle Prong Rd where I slept in the rear of my Sienna mini-van. It was a dark starry night...

  Day 1 - Carolina Silverbells July 12th, 2013 Cosby, Low Gap Trail to Big Creek Trail, return on Big Creek Trail to AT - 7.5 miles Appalachian Trail (AT) to Mt Cammerer. Mt Cammerer to Lower Mt Cammerer trail to Gilliland Creek Creek Campsite 35. approx 9.2 miles Total Day mileage - 16.7 miles Climbing Low Gap Trail I first began noticing a tree with white flowers strung along underneath branches. Having read about the Carolina Silver Bell tree back when I was hiking the Slickrock Creek wilderness, I was happy to finally...

Saturday, November 3, 2012 So you think you can ski? Try skiing the Appalachian Trail in a couple feet of slush using skinny cross-country skis. Strapping on the skis and climbing up the AT toward Kephart Mountain for a couple of tenths of a mile, I struggled to maintain balance. Before turning around my GPS told me that I was at 5900 feet. I had climbed here from the Kephart Prong Trailhead at an elevation a little below 3000 feet. I thought it wiser to backtrack down the same trail than...