Smokies 2015 - Day 2

April 24, 2015

Great Smoky Mountains - Cades Cove Area

The day started with a stop at the Sugarlands Visitor Center to get the NP passport stamp and pick up the recent Smokies Guide.  The Smokies Guide had an interesting entry about the elk herd at the Smokies. Twenty-five elk were reintroduced into the park back in 2001. Last year, it was reported that at least 20 elk caves were born, but five were known to have been killed by black bears. Unfortunately, we never made it down to the area that elk are more likely to be seen (Cataloochee Valley).

We then headed out to Cades Cove – which is the best location to find some black bears. Unfortunately, on this trip we did not see any bears. While in Cades Cove, we went to the visitor center and the buildings surrounding the center. The buildings at Cades Cove date back to the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries and are scattered throughout the cove. A great photo opportunity is the water-powered grist mill, which runs daily 9-5. One of the two mills is located at Cades Cove. On our previous trip, we had visited the churches and homes, so we skipped them in hopes of seeing some stuff we did not get a chance to see on the last trip. We did hike a portion of a horse trail while in the Cove, it was very peaceful.

Great Smoky Mountains -
Elkmont Area

Returning towards the Sugarlands VC we made a few stops. We checked out the Elkmont area – which turned out to be rather impressive.  We hiked a portion of the Cucumber Trail, which was a spur of the Jakes Creek Trail. The lower parking lot was full when we arrived lunch time, but we were able to find a spot in the upper parking lot. At the upper parking lot, there are many old vacation homes that are falling in disrepair, it was quite interesting.   The Cucumber Trail supposedly had a diverse wildflower showing, but we did not really see anything that we had not seen already on other trails.

Great Smoky Mountains - Laurel Falls

We also stopped to see Meigs Falls, which was right along the side of the road at marker #6, and The Sinks, which was at marker #5. The Sinks, is basically a waterfall also, but I guess people sometimes go in the water there.  I must complain that we did not see many markers, mostly just determined that “congested areas” must mean it is something good to see.

Laurel Falls was a waterfall that we had visited on our last trip, but we decided to visit it again. We had to wait for a parking space to open up. The trail is paved, but quite steep. The waterfall is not overly large (80-feet high), but it is nice none the less. The trail is 2.6 miles round trip.

Stopping off at the Sugarlands VC again, we took the short hike to the Cataract Falls, again the falls are not overly large, but a short easy walk.

Heading down the Newfound Gap Road, we stopped at the quite walk at mile marker 3.2. I am so glad we stopped for a hike there. Quiet walks do not have a specific site or distance, but rather act as an escape into nature. The quite walk led us to a lovely spot along a river. Markers along this road were easy to find, thank goodness! I would recommend purchasing some of the guides they have. I had saved the guides from our previous visit and it did not appear that they had changed any.

Great Smoky Mountains - Quite Walk

Also along the Newfound Gap Road, we stopped at the Chimneys Picnic Area and walked the Cove Hardwood Nature Trail. There were some wildflowers along this trail that we had not seen on other trails. The hike was not overly challenging, nor was it overly long, but the best part was that it looped. A majority of the trails are not looped.