2011 Tennesee Trip - Friday

Friday we had big plans.  We were going to hike to Mount LeCont, an 11 mile round trip hike.  The youth, however, talked us into cutting the day short so they could go on the water slide and go swimming back at camp.  We caved to pressure and they only hiked to Alum Cave, about halfway up the mountain.  The scenery was spectacular as usual.

The first mile or so you are hiking near this stream coming down out of the mountains.

This is either Rhoda Dendren or Mountain Laurel.  The blossoms were pretty.

The trail offered many vistas as we neared Alum Cave.

There were many views from the trail - too many to post here.

This is Alum Cave.  Not really a cave, but an overhang.

The are is very steep.  LR: Zach, Anthony, Justin, Tyler, Quintin, Brett, Connor, Bryan.

Once you find a flat spot you can relax a little more.

You can even act goofy on the flat areas.

 

Some of the trail is tricky with stair cut into the rock.

Back at camp, the pool was a popular activity.  The boys swam almost every night.  The young girls who were also in the campground with their families had to check out the guys - and being guys, they completely ignored the girls.

The water slide brought smiles to their faces.

I had to sneak in some fly fishing.  Tyler and Connor came along.

This is the Little Pigeon Creek, coming out of the Greenbriar area of the park, a little west of Gatlinburg.

Tyler and Connor were working an area below some rapids.

Fish weren't the only thing in the creek that day.

All and all it was a very good week.

For Quint, this is his final trip as a youth - maybe in the future we will use him as a leader.  Thanks for the memories Quintin.

2011 Smokies Trip - Thursday

Thursday was our rest day - to a certain extent.  We got up late and went rafting.  Later on we went to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg.

Justin, Quintin and Tyler visit prior to the rafting trip.  I think they were trying to scare Justin.

Here is boat 1: Steve, Quint (looking scared), Kerry, Tyler, Connor, and Justin.

Justin! are you worried?  Close your mouth.

I think Justin was screaming the whole time.

This is boat 2 - Brett looks happy for now.

L-R: Zach, Bryan, Brett, Dan, Anthony and me.  Maybe Brett's happiness is fading away.

Brett is not so happy here.  Why the eyes shut?

Again the crew in the Aquarium.

Front: Anthony, Justin, Zach

Back: Bryan, Tyler, Quint, Brett, Connor

In the aquarium there were lots of things to see and do.  Quint - pull up your pants.

There were a lot of weird exhibits that you could crawl inside of.  Here Connor is in the midst of one.

Tyler and Quintin squeezed into the penguin exhibit to get a close up view.

I had to get into the act also.

The tanks were colossal with large sharks swimming by all the time.

Steve and his son Justin pose for a moment.

I got Tyler and his father Kerry to pose also.  I cannot thank enough the fathers for their help on the trip.  They had fun too.  Both said they would return with their families.

2011 Smokies Trip - Wednesday

Wednesday we traveled to Cade's Cove where we rented bikes.  The Park closes the 11 mile paved loop to automobile traffic until 10:00 AM, giving people time to hike/run/bike the loop.  Afterwards we drove the loop to the Abram's Falls trail head.  We hiked the 5 mile round trip to the falls and back before returning to camp.  At camp that evening, Judd Rambo came to speak to the campers.

As you begin biking around the loop the wildlife is abundant.  It is best to go early in the day. 

There are several places to stop and rest.  Most are historical sites about the valley.  Here Brett and Quint take a break on a bridge.

Near one of the mills this black snake was seen crawling through the grass.

Here, a mother bear and cub walk through a field close to the road.

Another bear is seen in a different field with the mountains in the background.  We saw seven bear while biking the loop and another four bear while driving it.

Pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the Park.  Here is one of the many streams that feeds Abram's Creek.

The Rhoda Dendren were in bloom, gracing the trail with colors and scents.

We crested a corner and were treated with a view of the creek below.

When we first saw the falls there were three girls swimming in the pool below.  It look very inviting.  Next time we will bring swim suits.

Here is our group, minus Kerry Weeks, Tyler's father, who took the picture.  There were a lot of people around, I don't know why we did not get them to take the picture.  Doh!

Back at camp Tyler and Connor got a little fishing in.

Judd Rambo is demonstrating a Chinese Button knot as part of his presentation.

2011 Smokies Trip - Tuesday

On this day we hiked to the top of the Chimneys and to Clingman's Dome.  The Chimney hike is two miles up hill with an elevation change of 1700 feet in those two miles.  The last little bit is rock climbing.

This is the sign that tries to discourage you from hiking the trail.

Here we are at about the halfway point.

Same sign only nobody is around.

The last little bit is some climbing up steep rock.  At first it can be a little intimidating.

One of the view from on top.

There are two chimney tops.  This is a view of the second, from the first.

From L-R: Bryan, Tyler, Justin, Brett, Quint and Connor.  I don't know where Zach and Anthony are.

This is Dan, my assistant scoutmaster.  He does not get enough credit for all he does.

As you drive through the park, you never know what you will see in the parking lots.

As we were hiking up to Clingman's Dome, we saw the storm coming our way.

Finally we could see the dome and we hoped it would not rain.  The dome is only a 1/2 mile hike from the parking lot and is paved. 

Hey you guys ... You Ugly!  (lyrics from the Buffalo Dance)

L-R Anthony, Brett, Tyler, Quint, Me, Justin, Bryan.  Where is Zach and Connor?

At first we thought this might turn into a funnel cloud, but it did not and we started hiking down because ...

... it looked like we were gonna get wet and we did.  The storm went right over us.

2011 Smokies Trip - Overview

June 20-25 of 2011 saw us traveling south to repeat the Smokie Mountain trip of two years ago.  The boy enjoyed the last one so much they wanted to do it again.  Monday and Saturday were travel days.  The weather cooperated with us almost perfectly.  We had rain in the evenings, but not during the day when we had activities - except for Tuesday.  As we were hiking down from Clingman's Dome we had a refreshing rain shower.  When it was time to pack up, we were blessed with dry weather.  Friday was dry, but on Saturday there was no dew anywhere.  We prayed for good weather on this trip and were granted this wish by the Good Lord.  We did the same two years ago and it worked then also.