Day hike to Andrews Bald Trip

“Get the details in trips for Tennessee...”

“Andrew's Bald is not in Tennessee.”

“BS, my bad. North Carolina :-)”

“NC or TN..I will be there”

“Would love to but too far to drive for a dayhike.”

“Sticks, you could always camp out for the weekend. I bet you could get some takers for that :-)

But then there's Angie - no dogs in thepark :-(”

“Yeah dang it...I understand why GSM doesn't allow dogs...in a way. They allow them in Shenondoah and they will pound you with a ticket if they catch them off leash so everyone obeys the rule.

I found out it is up to each super at each national park to allow dogs in the backcountry.”

“If any of you look for this hike to sign up, it's listed under trips in North Carolina, no Tennessee :-)”

“I guess I will put on the chef's hat and see what I can whip up for this one.

A salad, maybe some cheeses and sausages, lite lunch, some sort of dessert and a bottle of wine.

We should be set. Hell, if I can carry all cottonsox's snacks for a three day hike, I should be able to carry a lunch for 4 or 5 with no problem.”

“I'm not sure yet what I will bring (to share, of course) but I will come up with something good.”

“I've got a couple of friends who may join us, as well as 2-3 kids (under age 10).”

“Bumping this up as a reminder...”

“this is a great day hike...i can't think of a time i went to GSMNP and didn't do this hike...hopefully the skies will be clear so you can see forever...wish i could join you...have funny and good hiking to ya”

“I am out for this trip.”

“Woodzie still in?

What time are we meeting?”

“Hey Chili - I sent you an email.

Do you and CS mind a late start - around 11:00?”

“whattsamatta woodzie, can't get outta bed and get going these days?

:)”

“It's not me...it's a friend of mine who wants to go but is not a morning person.”

“yeah wait till that humidity is 95% then go..lol”

“Ewker, you bailed! You are going to miss the flame azaleas:-)”

“Up on Shining Rock a couple of years ago I encountered MANY flame azaleas! They formed a tunnel on the trail - spectacular!

please take pics for me?”

“I will take plenty of pics, Roam. And you be sure to take plenty of pics of the Colorado mountains for me, okay?

I will be back for good next summer :-)”

“Its a deal.

I'm going up Mt. Bierstadt tomorrow morning, I'll try to get some good shots. Check out my album of Beartrack Lakes from last weekend. Its in the 'albums' section of this site.”

“I checked them out, Roam. Nice pics! I sure miss Colorado!”

“I'll try to keep the pics current for ya!”

“I saw flame Azaleas last weekend so I won't miss a lot.

have a good time up on the bald..watch out for those afternoon thunderstorms”

“The flame azaleas were in full bloom.

Strange though, the rhododenderons had already bloomed out, even though they haven't bloomed down in the lower elevations.

The blueberry bushes are loaded. It will be bear city in a few weeks.

We were out there for a couple hours and completely socked in by cloud cover.

By the time we hiked back out to Clingmans Dome parking lot, it had cleared.

Nice day hike. Thanks Woodzie for setting this up.”

“Students take a little off the top of Andrews Bald
Crew trims undergrowth, unwanted woody vegetation

By MORGAN SIMMONS, simmonsm@knews.com
June 26, 2006

Most of the students had never been to Andrews Bald, but they understood yard work, even at 5,700 feet.
Sixteen-year-old Taylor Rinehart of Knoxville was at the south end of the bald, clearing blackberry bushes and hawthorn sprouts beneath a flame azalea bush with orange-sherbet blossoms. Like the other teenagers on Andrews Bald that day, Rinehart had been given a pair of long-handled clippers.

"I've used one of these in my back yard," he said, "but my back yard doesn't have this kind of view."

Rinehart was one of six students participating in last week's field ecology camp hosted by the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont. Over the course of the five-day program, the students participated in park research projects ranging from black bear monitoring to catching hellbenders.

On Thursday, they hiked to Andrews Bald, the highest bald in the Smokies, to learn about the bald's unique ecosystem and to do some grunt work.

Located along the Forney Ridge Trail just two miles south of Clingmans Dome, Andrews Bald is one of two high-elevation balds in the Smokies that the National Park Service keeps open by cutting back encroaching vegetation. Gregory Bald, south of Cades Cove, is the other bald the park service actively preserves.

Each summer, vegetative management crews make three trips to Andrews Bald. Their goal is to maintain the bald at its present size, about 8 acres, by cutting back unwanted woody vegetation with weed eaters, clippers and handsaws.

Kit Turpin, a vegetative management specialist with the park, told the Tremont campers not to be overwhelmed and to take their time.

"It's just like mowing your yard, only you can't use a lawnmower, so you have to do it with brush cutters," Turpin said.

It is widely accepted that the high-elevation balds of the Smokies originated with lightning fires and that grazing elk and bison helped perpetuate them.

Native Americans are believed to have burned the fields from time to time to attract game, and up until the park was created, sheep and cattle were herded up to the balds every summer so they could fatten up and escape the flies.

While the balds comprise only a small fraction of the park's landscape, they contain 24 percent of the plant species. With most of the park's half-million acres reverting to old growth forest, the balds offer a valuable habitat component to wildlife that relies on grassy fields and shrubby vegetation.

Most people visit Andrews Bald for the scenery, especially this time of the summer when the mountain laurel, rhododendron and flame azaleas are in bloom.

"It's like an alpine meadow," Turpin said. "Usually we work down in the deep, dark hemlocks. Every once in a while it's nice to get up here and feel the sunshine and the breeze."

The Smokies contain numerous points on the map that are still listed as balds or fields, but the areas have been largely reclaimed by trees and woody vegetation. Parson Bald, just west of Gregory Bald, is a good example, and so is Russell Field.

In addition to rhododendron, mountain laurel and azaleas, the park service also lets blueberry bushes grow in the balds as part of its management strategy.

Fraser fir trees are encroaching along the edges of Andrews Bald, but for now the park service is leaving them alone. In contrast to many Fraser firs in the area, the trees at the edge of Andrews Bald look healthy and show no sign of balsam woolly adelgid infestation.

The view atop Andrews Bald was limited by haze last week. Fontana Lake was visible to the south, but just barely. It was the hottest day of the summer, and as a bank of cumulous clouds gathered overhead, the talk turned to the possibility of an afternoon thundershower.

"Storms will sneak up on you fast up here," Turpin said. "The last place you want to be during a lightning storm is Andrews Bald with a weed eater in your hand”

“Yes it was a nice hike, even though we didn't catch up with each other until the bald.

According to a hiking book I have, the blueberries don't get ripe until late August-September. We definitely need to go back and gorge then, if the bears don't get them :-)”

“go to Mt. Rogers, no bears and the place will have lots-o-berries”

“The blackberries on Sparks Lane in Cades Cove are just coming in and will hit the peak in about a week to ten days.

Although Cottosox and I go over there and just stuff ourselves when they are ripe, I must admit that eating blackberries in a place where the bear scat is still steaming is a little spooky.”