Smokies Fall Hangout TR

“Good times.

I think we had 14 TTers there. Lemme count...
Humanpackmule & Laurel
Ewker
Nowslimmer
M Silver
Longlosthiker
Chili
Nurse Goodbody
Jerbear
Stokley
Backpackerbrian
Grasshopper83
Stew & Busybee
Did I miss anyone?

The weather was cool and pleasant all weekend and the fall color was pretty nice. Chili and BackpackerBrian kept the food flowing all weekend.

Some of the gang dayhiked Metcalf(SP?) bottoms to Laurel Falls and Laurel and I did the short way from the road.

Laurel was a bit sickly all weekend but didn't let it slow her down.

I took me 6 hours to get home (2X normal) due to bad traffic. Photos later.

It was good seeing familiar faces again and making new faces familiar. Let's do it again soon.
Post up gang.”

“Glad yall had fun. I look forward to the photos.”

“HPM let Laurel take a bunch of photos. They're pretty funny.”

“lol, grasshopper made it home safe as did i....traffic sucked...made my trip almost 1.5-2 hrs longer......did it lighten up after I26 in Asheville?”

“i am home safe. Great trip. And I must say we had an excelentsuperextra narritive of the ranger presentation, LOL! Next year SOS! Yo bear Thanks HPM”

“Can you count me as half a person since I only bad it for the day??? LOL

It was great meeting everyone and I will definetly try to get out more often. Even if it is for the day.

OMG...traffic was insane. Thankfully the traffic wasn't bad leaving Elkmont (like earlier in the day) but I have have never seen so much traffic trying to get in!!! I was thankful not to be on the other side of the road!!!!”

“It was an absolutely great weekend. The weather was perfect. It was nice to put names with faces. Thanks everyone!

By the way, did Tennessee get beat this weekend......”

“Most excellent trip. My highlight was giving jerbear and stokley the "inside scoop" on the Walker Sisters.

I know that without the narrative, they just wouldn't get the same experience with the ranger lead talk. Let's just say that alcohol was involved.

Great hike, we left Metcalf bottoms up to little Greenbrier School for some history and to get some pics. MSilver, being a teacher, really got something out of the one room school house. From there it was another mile or so up to Walker Sisters place where we lounged around wishing each of us had a little cabin in the woods. Upon leaving there, the climb began, 2.4 miles to the top and a gain of about 1500 feet. Nothing too serious but a nice workout. Views along this trail (Little Greenbrier) back into Wears Cove are excellent and we had several nice views of the opposing ridge with some color showing. A short rest at the top and then it was all downhill with a stop at Laurel Falls with about 150 tourists. Most people go to Laurel Falls for the vista. I go to watch stupid people. I wasn't disappointed Saturday.

From there we kept going downhill laughing our asses off at the tourists going up to the falls and wheezing and gasping for breath....about 100' from the bottom.

The rest of the weekend involved eating and drinking and having a good time.

Note to self: Never try to burn up all of Jerbear's wood. Hearing him banging on a bucket through 6 mils of silnylon at 0600 sucked.”

“Sounds like a good time! Can't wait for the pictures. There must've been some incredible fall colors if they were lined up to get in!”

“Had a great time! good food, good conversation. Thanks BPB for the Capn Morgans. I am a believer!! I made pepperoni Quesadillas for supper last night too!! Nice to meet some new folks..and note to self..Don't get involved in talking with Stokley while hiking uphill. The girl is like that pink bunny..she keeps going and going! Whatever happend to her new name btw..Eveready! Anyway, thanks HPM and Treebait for planning..sorry you were sick tree..Laurel kept us thoroughly entertained, I hope you will let her come again!”

“Glad ya'll had a great time! I really should have made that detour I thought about and headed that way after finishing my AT trip. I'm kicking myself now. :p

Maybe next time!”

“Dang Crazy. I thought I was forgetting someone.
Sorry 'bout that.”

“Is ok HPM I wasn't there long enough to count. Wish I could of stayed. Maybe one day :-) Hope Tree is better, as well. I missed meeting her!!”

“thanks to HPM for getting this together. It was nice to see everyone again and meet 2 new TT folks. I will update my whom have you met list this evening. I hope to have my pics up this yr..lol
The weather was great all weekend.”

“It was a beautiful weekend. For those of you whom I have met previously, it was great to be with you again. For those of you, whom I met for the first time, you are great. Don't be strangers.

It was beautiful driving 441 and back to Deep Creek. All the Fall Colors were visible, especially at about 4,000 feet elevation. My favorite site at Deep
Creek was taken, so I took the Disabled Site. It's close to a rest room via a concrete walkway.

Again, I enjoyed being with all of you and hope to see you again and again and again.

treebeast666 - Glad you were well enough to look at the pictures. We were all worried about you. And darling Laurel let all of us know several times that you were ill. Hope you get well soon.

P.S. Did Laurel tell you all about Rainbow Falls?
last edited: 10/22/07 7:30:24 AM”

“Slimmer....you were the highlight of my day!!! I'll send you directions and maybe you can stop on your way home for that long awaited coffee!!”

“crazygurl - Thanks. I'm looking forward to our next meeting. Wish we could have talked more. And I never did get a look at your camera! Keep your pretty smile going. You are a beauty!”

“BusyBee and I had a great weekend too!

We jumped out of bed at 3am on Saturday morning and drove to GSMNP. An hour after a huge breakfast at Cracker Barrel we arrived at Elkmont. We said hello to some peeps and set up our tent. Everyone went on their own way and so did we.

BusyBee insisted on visiting the aquarium in Gatlinburg and after that we had a mexican lunch at Jose's Cantina. Then we drove back to the park and hiked the Chimney Rocks trail up up and up. It was 2 miles to the top and then you must navigate and climb some rocks to reach the summit. BusyBee got that "I'm gonna do it" look in her eyes so I had to follow her up the rocks to the top. Great views from the top! We climbed back down and began racing back DOWN the mountain running at times. That kid has some serious energy but was amazed at how dad could keep up. She kept looking at me wondering when I was going to get tired...heh!

We drove back to camp and began to prepare supper then had some fun around the campfire and made smores.

Sunday morning BusyBee "unzipped" my sleepy bag which meant "GET UP!!" We had a great breakfast and then packed up camp. We drove back to Gatlinburg and spent some time there shopping and eating until about 2pm and then we headed back to Alabama.

We were exhausted but had a great time !”

“Thanks Slimmer...I realized after I got home I didn't get any PEOPLE pictures!!!! Grrrrr!!! I'm all smiles today :-)”

“Pics are up....

I had a great time...more talk later. ciao!

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561129036WeYEFa”

“By the way, did Tennessee get beat this weekend......”
stokley
5:24:17 AM
10/22/07

This is a new low...being teased by a UK fan during football season.

There can be only one explanation...

Repent! The END is near!!!”

“Very nice photos. I've never gotten views like that.


Hey, it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”

“Cool photos, LLH.

I still have no voice. I've literally been speechless all weekend, to the amusement of my neighbors. I've become a good listener,even if I don't want to.
NS- nope, Laurel hasn't mentioned the falls yet. I'll try to ask her.”

“Good times.
I'll be glad when I get shed of a couple dogs so I can get back to the NPs.”

“Chili was trying to get Laurel all hopped up on doing the tough hike to Rainbow Falls instead of the easy stroll to Laurel Falls.

Thing is, I could have drove her over to the sinks and pointed to the falls there and declared them Rainbow Falls.”

“Well if Chili wanted her to do the hike to Rainbow Falls then he can carry her when she gets worn out.”

“Of course after Laurel was fed a gooey chocolaty smoredita at O'dark thirty I told her to go crawl in Mr. Chili's tent and snuggle that chocolate smeared face in his sleepy bag.

I still have that quarter for ya Chili.
last edited: 10/22/07 12:49:36 PM”

“Great pics !”

“Awesome pics LLH!!!”

“So, the smoredita, patent pending, rears it's head again. I think it was the trip 2 years ago where it first showed up. LLH, I'm still waiting on those naming royalties!”

“I got my pics up so no waiting this time on me

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561139624IxaQVb”

“great pics ewker.....none of me though......lol”

“yes there is..I just called you cookie dough..lol”

“Chili- see my comment on the "Who have you met" thread. ;)”

“Thanks for all the pics...

I always carry a camera but rarely use it...I gotta get shutterbug fever I guess.”

“I didn't roll into Gatlinburg until about 1:30p Friday. I picked up a few items for camp at the grocery store on 321 and rolled the dice on some Food City sushi for lunch. Yes, the Food City in Gatlinburg has expanded beyond their pork rind, sausage and biscuit staples to now include sushi. California veggie wraps, ceviche and Thai curry can't be far behind.

Spreading wasabi and soy with one hand while weaving through the touron horde with the other, I marvel at the masses who have come oh-so close to reaching the Smokies but have been captured like flies on flypaper by the irresistible siren song of tie dye shirts and an endless variety of saltwater taffy and fudge.

I arrive at the Chimney Peaks TH midafternoon and have the brilliant idea of wearing my heavy mountaineering boots that I've only worn a couple of times in order to break them in. As my still raw and aching heels will attest I believe they ended up breaking me. There were relatively few people on the trail beyond where it departs from the Little Pigeon. I used to go up the Chimneys frequently when I lived in Knoxville. It's strenuous but the 360 degree views from the top make it absolutely worth it. The trail follows Road Prong much of its way up the mountain and it was always interesting to see what is a raging torrent at the bottom have such humble beginnings near the top. No such luck today as it's been so dry across the region. As the daylight wanes and a chill sets in the air I make my way down and pass a couple on their way up only halfway on the trail and wearing nothing but cotton t-shirts and shorts...no water, no daypacks, no nothing so far as I could tell. I offer them a simple "good luck".

I finally roll into Elkmont just as it's getting dark. HPM, Laurel, Nowslimmer, Ewker and MSilver were already there. I set up camp in the dark while Laurel tried to spook me with her best ghost impression. Chili and NGB show up later, followed shortly by Jerbear and Stokley. After supper and beverages we settle around the fire. BPBryan rolls in late.

Chef BPBryan brought with him a truckload of food, beverages, and car camp cookware. I just knew a production crew was soon going to emerge to film a special "Gourmet Camping" episode for the Food Network.

Saturday morning Chili whips up some sausage and egg breakfast burritos complete with salsa. Being the Third Saturday, I've brought along a football but Laurel is only one game enough to toss the pigskin with me. Chili, NGB, MSilver, Stokley, Jerbear and I saddle up and head over to Metcalf Bottoms where we hike through Little Greenbrier cove, stopping at a school built in 1881, the Walker Sisters cabin, up and out of the cove along Chinquapin Ridge and down to the cattle train at Laurel Falls out to Little River Road.

Post-hike back at camp BPBryan has prepared pepperoni pizza wraps (and I hungrily wolf one down) and later fried pickles. Sweetpeastu has arrived and is relaxing in camp but hops up to guard the fried pickles. Crazygurl, Stew and BusyBee also popped in, though I think Stew and BB had arrived sometime earlier. After much food several of us head over to the Amphitheater for a presentation on the (smokin' hot) Walker Sisters. Many of us are engaging in a hilarious MST3K - esque narration much to the chagrin of others. General merriment and revelry ensues around the campfire. BPBryan produced some wine and port to go with the mini kegs I had brought. Chili is determined to burn up all of Jerbears firewood to avoid early morning rustling near his tent but Jerbear returns the favor with a drumming, early morning wakeup call.

Sunday morning we have another gourmet breakfast (I can't recall when I've eaten so many eggs, sausage and bacon in a two day stretch) I suggest to Laurel that she catch one of the wild turkeys wandering at the camp periphery but HPM, killjoy that he is (j/k), puts a stop to that. Most folks head their separate ways and MSilver and I head up to Clingmans Dome for one last hike down to Andrews Bald. It's pretty rare to have such a clear, beautiful day on Clingmans. The visibility was the best it's ever been of the numerous times I've been up there. We were very fortunate. I suggested a few more hikes to MSilver as he was staying a few extra days and then I headed home.
last edited: 10/23/07 3:29:47 PM”

“Great narration, LLH.”

“Thank y'all for the pictures and TRs.
I was there in spirit.”

“Tuesday 8:30 PM. I'm here. Drove through Cades Cove on Monday morning. Drizzle started shortly after noon and socked in everything above about 2500 ft., so I decided to set off for home. Stayed at a motel near Asheville, N.C. Monday night. Planned to drive the Blue Ridge Parkway all the way to Northern Virginia, but the mountains were socked in again, so I headed for 81 North.

Had a good time with all of youans. Three great hikes (esp the one on Saturday). Also appreciated the southern hospitality with camp cooking. The Smokey Mtns. are awesome! I will definitely return for more.”

“Guess who took which photos?
Most of them are of Laurel. What can I say I'm a daddy.

”

“Cutie!!! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww...........”

“Some of my pix >>>

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/561155480hfPeBM
last edited: 10/23/07 7:50:16 PM”

“longlosthiker - A great report; you captured the entire weekend.

Lots of great pictures. Thanks folks.

M Silver - You made a wise move to miss some of the rain. Sorry I didn't make some arrangements with you. I'm still here in the Park in the rain.”

“Great pics MSilver. Was nice to meet you!

HPM..that is the best pic I've seen yet!!!”

“Sounds like a great time! Hopefully I can get back to the smokies one of these days.

Ewker...is that YOU???”

“Chili, et. al. The Ken Wise book says that where the Metcalf Bottoms/Little Brier Gap trail ends and Little Greenbrier trail begins....the trail that continues straight and is not on the map turns into a jeep track that leads out to Robeson Road in Wear Cove.

M Silver....I don't know if you caught the sign at Andrews Bald on your way out but they are maintaining Andrews and Gregory balds. I think they're letting the rest of them return to their natural state though.

Dayhiker... You're not getting your royalty checks!?! I'll have to speak with accounting. I told the TT'ers around the campfire that you get $.10 everytime the word "S'moredita" (TM) is uttered.”

“S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita
S'moredita”

“thanx 4 the pics folks.”

“MMmmmmmm....S'moredita....”

“Hpm, Please tell Laurel I think the picture she took of Nowslimmer with his staff (sitting at the picnic table) is one of the best ones I've seen. I love it. She's got a good eye.
last edited: 10/24/07 9:48:42 PM”