Grand Tetons, continued

Day 4

Hike around Jenny Lake and visit Jackson Hole, WY

Tom, Clement and I get up early to take Dan to his climbing class. We received a great reward of morning sunlight hitting the Tetons with a beautiful ribbon of clouds. Plus some elk.

From Grand Tetons NP

It was a beautiful start to our hike around Jenny Lake, but within an hour, a total downpoor plus lightening and thunder.

From Grand Tetons NP

Our group is prepared, so we hike on. The lake is smaller than Jackson, but the vegetation is completely different. Much more green. We see fern, columbine and lots of other wildflowers.

From Grand Tetons NP

From Grand Tetons NP

There are few people until we pass the side trail from the ferry. Turns out this is the most popular hike in park. It's funny to watch all the people in tank tops, shorts, flip-flops, and NO rain gear try to navigate the slippery rocks as the temperature drops. The rain helps only somewhat to alleviate the crowds. Cascade Falls are beautiful but crowded.

From Grand Tetons NP

Tom and Jere decide to walk back, the rest of us take the ferry across the lake to avoid the second wave of thunderstorms.

Dinner at Snake River Brewery in Jackson is good and fun. The group has fun exploring the town and many shops.

The Smoky Mountain Rainforest

This Blog entry is for Sunday, May 17, Day 3 of our trip to the Smokies.

It was so rainy and foggy this morning that we could not even see the mountains from our cabin view. So we decided to stay high and dry indoors for the first half of the day.

After lunch we drove into Gatlinburg and met a fiend of Tom's for a personal tour of the machine room of the Ober Gatlinburg Sky Tram. This was very interesting (I think more so for me than Tom), and was the perfect in-door activity since it started to poor down rain again. We turned down a free ride because it was so foggy, and decided to take our chances in the car at the park.

We headed for Cades Cove and saw several small waterfalls and swollen creeks because of all the rain. We even saw some crazy white-water kayakers.

Maybe it was the rain, or the day of the week (Sunday), or the time of the day (about 5pm), but the traffic and crowds were much lighter compared to yesterday. This and the heavy water flow got me excited about going on another hike to a waterfall.

So I picked the Abrams Falls Trail from by book and convinced Tom I could do it. It was only 300 feet total elevation change out-and-back, and there were only 4 cars in the parking lot. The only kicker is that it was 6 pm when we set out. Sunset was 8:30, and the book said the trip should take 2.5 hours, and another book said 3.5 hours. Tom offered to carry all of the gear, and I promised not to stop along the way and take pictures or look for birds.

We made it in there in 50 minutes, back in 60 minutes, and rested for 10 minutes at the falls. My back was sore, but the waterfall was well worth it. Because of all the rain from the last couple of days the falls ROARED. One of the most amazing falls I have ever seen. And the rocks were situated right next to the pool so you could walk right up to it, as far as you wanted to get wet from the spray. We got some great photos and videos with no other people in it. I found some wild Bleeding Heart flowers growing on the cliffs near the falls.

The trail was heavily eroded and wide (not paved), but the wildflowers on the trail banks were in great shape. I would point one out and Tom would stop and take a picture of it and then catch up to me. On the way back we saw wild turkey and a Ruffed Grouse, birds we would have never have seen if the trail was crowded.

It was risky heading out on a hike so late in the evening, but it payed off. And we made it back in time to see the sun set over Cades Cove. We were starving by the time we got back to our lodge at 9pm.

UPDATE: Visit my web album soon for pictures.

Conquering the Park

This blog entry is for Saturday, May 16, Day 2 of our trip to the Smokies.

Today was a mixed bag. We entered the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for the first time of the trip. The crowds here blow my mind. We got to the base of the Clingman's Dome trail at 8:30am. The weather was very foggy and cool, but we decided to head up hoping it would clear.

Soon after we started we heard a group of school kids pierce the silent fog, quickly catching up to us. I did not make it to the top because the trail was very steep and my asthma acted up (my back was sore but not bad). So I sat on a bench and talked to a nice British lady and waited for the kids to pass.

On the way down I stopped a lot to look for birds. I saw a sparrow-type bird with a ragged tail that I have not identified. The highlight of this part of the trip was seeing a chestnut-sided warbler near the parking lot.

Tom made it to the top of Clingman's Dome but could not see a thing because the fog was so thick.

Then we drove to the Laurel Falls Trail which was crowded and paved from the parking lot to the falls. The scenery along the trail the whole way was very sad. Switchbacks were cut through. Kids were climbing on the rocks and trail banks. Sever erosion was everywhere. I understand that this is a popular park and popular trail, but it seems the average American has no outdoor etiquette, let along "leave-no-trace". A fire started by a tourist not long ago (we overheard a ranger talking about it) killed all the pines and rhododendron. Luckily the trash was not too bad.

On the way to the falls I saw a lady pulling down a bundle of mountain laurel flowers. She had a nice camera in her other hand, so I thought that maybe she was going to take a picture of it (I do this sometimes). Just as I was walking past her on the trail I watched her out of the corner of my eye and saw her wrist turn, so I knew she was going to pick it. So I quickly exclaimed "DON'T PICK IT!" I did not mean to yell or startle her, but I guess I did because she quickly let go (she did not deny my accusation). I was so flabbergasted. Then her husband/boyfriend got mad at me and started yelling at me and tried to pick a fight with me. But I kept waking, and just hoped that she would not pick the mountain laurel anyway. I reminded them that you can get fined for it, and he did not like that either, but he was so fat that he would not be able to catch me if me wanted.

The falls were lovely but crowded. Luckily we did not see our flower-picking foes.

Then we continued up the trial and we were in instant solitude. We saw some salamanders in a little trail drainage trough (dug by the park to keep the water off the trail). They weren't spectacular looking (dull brown with spots, about 4 inches long), but special to see anyway, especially for Tom.

In less than a mile we found the old-growth forest promised by the trail book. They were the biggest trees I have ever seen. Poplars and oaks over 4 feet in diameter. There was not much brush on the ground except ferns, so you could see far into the forest. The birds were chirping everywhere, very active considering it was the middle of the day. I heard several warblers and vireos. The only birds I could positively identify was Black-Throated Green Warbler and Red-Eyed Vireo.