Abrams Falls Trail

Tags

Hiking, Hiking Tennessee, Waterfalls

Abrams Falls

I have added a new hike to my website.

The Abrams Falls Trail is both one of the most popular in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, sometimes seeing as many as a thousand hikers a day in peak season, and also named one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in America by Backpacker Magazine. It is the beautiful pool beneath the park’s most voluminous falls that is the real danger—29 people have died here since 1971. It is located in the Cades Cove area of the Smokies.

More about the hike can be found here at VictoriaLogue.com

Shameless Self-Promotion

Tags

Hiking, Hiking Tennessee, Tennessee

I try to refrain from promoting my books too much on this blog, but it seems particularly apropos this time as I chronicled my adventures here while working on Hiking Tennessee from October of 2013 through August of 2014.

So, finally, Hiking Tennessee is available via numerous outlets (I’ll provide links at the end of this). First, a little about the book, itself, in the words of the back cover copy:

Hiking Tennessee is your complete guide to 83 of the most scenic day hikes in the Volunteer State. From the Woodland Trail in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park to the Hidden Passage Trail in Pickett State Park to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this handy guide will lead you to the best trails throughout the state. In this one-of-a-kind resource, you’ll find the following features:

• Detailed descriptions complete with GPS coordinates for every hike in all three regions of Tennessee
• Special points of interest, including Civil War-era and Native American historical sites; descriptions of the topography, flora, fauna, and climate; estimated hiking time and distance; and difficulty ratings for each trail
• Phone numbers and websites, park hours and rules, and available facilities for the state’s most scenic hiking areas
• Easy-to-read maps for every park and trail to help you navigate your hike and locate landmarks and other points of interest
• A convenient trail finder that provides a summary of each trail’s features and available facilities

Hiking Tennessee brings to life the history, terrain, wildlife, and natural features of each area. The vivid descriptions of the foliage, animals, and well-known and local historical accounts of each area provide and invitation to explore and experience the trails yourself. Hiking Tennessee is your guide to enjoying the great outdoors!

You can get your own copy of Hiking Tennessee in a number of places and in numerous formats, including:

From the publisher, Human Kinetics

From Amazon

Or find it at GoodReads where you can enter to win a copy. The Giveaway ends April 30, so hurry!

You can also order it through your local bookstore.

 

 

Jammin’

Bald River Falls by Frank.

Despite the rain, we were more than ready to tackle the final two trails today. The drive to the first trail was infinitely more impressive than the trail, itself. Besides being the very definition of a road leading you to the back of beyond, for much of its length the road paralleled the beautiful Bald River. At one point a bridge over the river provided awesome views of the Bald River Falls to our right. Breathtaking. The hike, itself, let’s just say: WET.

Okay, that was Drive #1. It took us more than an hour and a half to get there with more than 25 miles on forest service roads. Drive #2 was to get us to Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains. There went another three hours. And keep in mind that all this time it is raining. And, once we got to Cades Cove, it took us forever in bumper-to-bumper traffic to get to stop #10 on the drive, which was our cue that the trailhead was approaching.

One of the several footbridges over tributaries.

The hike to Abrams Falls is one of the most popular in the Smokies as well as one of the most dangerous destinations. You’re fine if you just stay on the rocks around the falls, but if you attempt to swim, you are very likely to die. But, the falls are awesome in that they are the most voluminous in the Smokies. We were given a short reprieve from the rain on the hike in, but were drenched on the way back. But, all in all, the hiking was effortless compared to the driving–jammin’ in a positive sense.

Abrams Falls. See how inviting its pool looks? Looks are deceiving.

I wanted to celebrate finishing my final hike for “Hiking Tennessee” but I was cold, wet and hungry by this point, and was just looking forward to being on the other side of the Smokies and heading back to Georgia. And that’s when we entered Tourist Traffic Hell. Bumper-to-Bumper, 4 miles-per-hour traffic to drive out of Cades Cove (took us about an hour). Then more traffic, moving very slowly, to Sugarland where we hit US 441 to take us over Newfound Gap to Cherokee, North Carolina. The slow traffic continued to Cherokee where it became standstill for minutes at a time and then heavy traffic all the way to Asheville and more bumper-to-bumper on Interstate 26 South. Oh yes, and it was raining the entire time. We ended up going from 730 until nearly 530 before we were able to eat again. Great hiking but a stressful day, driving wise.

Jammin’. As in Traffic.

But, I am through hiking. At least, I have finished hiking trails at breakneck pace for a book. From now on, hiking is going to be because I want to take time and enjoy being in the outdoors I love so much. Hiking 111 trails in six months is just a little too much.

The Best Laid Plans . . .

 

Hiking the Obed/Emory section of the Cumberland Trail.

What was it Styx sang oh so long ago–Nothing ever goes as planned, it’s a hell of a notion. Even pharaohs turn to sand . . .

The intention today was to hike three trails despite the fact that each of them was a generous distance apart, and despite the fact we were starting out the day already tired. We arrived at the first Cumberland Trail section ready to go, and immediately headed in the wrong direction. Fortunately, that was remedied pretty quickly and we were soon crossing an old bridge over the Obed River and on our way to a nice overlook above the confluence of the Emory and Obed Rivers. The overlook was created when the railroad blasted away part of the plateau to make room for train tracks, and we were actually fortunate enough to have a train race past just below us while on the overlook. One trail down, two to go.

Overlooking the confluence.

Another longish drive took us to the second section we intended to hike. But, at the trailhead we discovered that not only was the 50-foot footbridge that would take us to our destination “out”. Not sure why but it was unavailable to be crossed. But also, our destination, a 150-foot bridge over the river, is now home to some aggressive hornets. Neither could we hike the side trails to either of the falls as both were on the opposite side of the 50-foot bridge. Oh well. Strike that hike.

Yet another drive took us to Trail #3 in the Cherokee National Forest. That worked out just fine, thank goodness. It was an easy hike along Rock Creek up to a falls and involved two stream crossings, but by the time we were back at the trailhead, it was much too late to attempt a third hike in the Cherokee National Forest. So, that hike, and a final hike in the Smokies, remain for tomorrow. And then I’ll be through hiking for awhile, as in finished.

Rock Creek crossing. By Frank.

It was tough to get a photo of the falls, which looked better in person.

Smoky Mountain High

Yes, hiking the first trail this morning was a definite high in more ways than one. Not only were we more than a mile high, but hiking through the balsam fir forest first thing in the morning before the heat of the day descended was breathtaking in itself. There were four other people hiking right behind us, but we managed to get there and have about five minutes to ourselves before the others arrived. But, when we got back to Newfound Gap, eight miles later (the rest area with tremendous views between Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Cherokee, North Carolina), it was like walking into an amusement park. Culture shock, really. We did pass a number of hikers heading toward the Bunion on the way back down, but the crowds in the parking lot were mind numbing. This is just a sample.

Just a small sample of the crowds at Newfound Gap by Frank

From Newfound Gap, we descended to Gatlinburg and headed to the Porter’s Creek Trail access. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere (down a long bumpy gravel road), there were still plenty of people there when we arrived. The trail was fine but the hike a little disappointing. There was one precarious trail crossing across the eponymous creek that messed with my equilibrium. It had a weird angled handhold that threw me off, but Frank managed it by not holding on. I, unfortunately, have a fear of heights that usually translates to spaghetti legs. I wasn’t aware of this fear until I had to descend Diamond Head on Oahu as a teen. Still haven’t conquered it, but I just power through it. Feets don’t fail me now and all that.

Frank easily taking the bridge.

Compared to my version.

Tomorrow: Warrior’s Path near Kingsport. And here’s a couple of close ups of trail life:

A local inhabitant by Frank

Turk’s Cap Lily

 

The Final Countdown

Only eight more parks to go, including the Great Smoky Mountains and the Appalachian Trail. Today, we are leaving the moss-draped and iron flat coastal plain for the high elevations and balsam fir forests of the Appalachian Mountains. I won’t be leaving the heat behind, though. From what I can tell, Tennessee is neither significantly cooler nor dryer than it is here in Savannah at this time of year. Although, I imagine, it will be a little less humid.