Winter Solo Hike -- Gregory Bald through Twentymile Creek Trail

For long I was rattled by the thought of going to the mountains alone especially in the winter. Finally the plan came through, though I wouldn't say the trip was successful, nevertheless a exciting start to a number of hikes to come along.


The idea was to find a trail which would be less visited in the month of January. I decided I must visit the Smokey Mountains again and choose the trails in the North Carolina region where it is not so 'touristy'.

Trail map, map snapshot taken from map printed by Smoky Mountain NPS

I have been gathering some nice equipments and hiking gear for some time now. However, call to the ranger station made me realize that I still lack many of the vital gear. On the day before the hike, I made a small trip to REI Store to get some crampons, and gaiters - vital for negotiating snow of more than a feet deep. I was  to expect snow over 4 feet on the higher altitudes. Little intimidated, but high on spirits I decided to take my chances.

Me, ready to kick start

So, I set out for a 3 hour journey to the trail head, just next to the Twentymile Creek and Cheoah Lake near Fontana Dam. The day looked fine with a good temperature of almost 0 Deg Celsius and a slight cloud cover.. The forecast for the next two days was positive,, high in the 10 Deg C range and lows in the -3 to -5 Deg C.

First few hours of companionship

The first section was relatively easy. The trail was wide and rand along the stream with many crossovers. To my pleasure, I had a nice company for the initial mile and a half. Having the mutt around, made the initial feeling of loneliness away, but as the snow started appearing, I was forced to get away from him.




The hike to camp 92 was fast. I reached mid day and had sufficient time of sunlight left to set up camp, start fire and later read a nice Ken Follet novel eating, drinking and keeping warm next to fire.

I quickly started my work, had my tent up & ready, gathered some fire wood for the cold night and made my stove ready. The hardest part was to get the fire started... for 3 hours I struggled. The wood was wet and cold. The fire wouldn't sustain. I tried hard and when I was almost getting to give up on the fire, I heard the crackling and hissing sound of the sticks burning. My excitement was doubled. Gave a feeling of achievement... quickly I made my noodles with chicken. I enjoyed the meal with the sun going down and darkness creeping in. The sky was clear and I was rewarded by a glittering sky...


I enjoyed the nightfall with a nice drink. The combination of a good fire and a nice scotch has a great deal of warmth.... for time I thought of walking around and trying out a little night hike... but this camp was in between two streams of water... and I would not want to risk my feet getting wet in the cold night...and dim lights.. so retired into the warmth of  the tent and sleeping bag...



For me, the night was difficult. When you alone, you wish you have visitors! but not tonight.. I wouldn't want my old friends - bears and coyotes to pay me a visit. Though there is nothing to fear, your mind wonders about what if just if someone stroll by!!!

By the day's break, I was up and ready to prepare my breakfast... with a chilling cold around the boiled eggs and some fruits did make a nice breakfast... I enjoyed the lovely morning air.... today I had to gain altitude of more than 1500 - 2000 feet in a distance of less than 2 miles.

The steep hike with a tired night and a heavy backpack, looked treacherous. And to my disadvantage, I slipped on the first creek crossing and my left leg was completely immersed under water. The chill was unbearable. For few minutes I couldn't move my toes or feel anything around my left feet... But enjoying the nice sun and a view of the blue ridge mountains I was up to the top by noon. By this time, I was walking in 2 - 3 feet of snow and also guessing the way... the trail had no markers ... with a 3 feet snow blanket it is difficult to identify the trail.. so after couple of hours of walking in the deep snow, I decided to turn back. I fought with thoughts of continuing rather hard.
I was determined to continue and reach camp 13, but turning back made more sense. Also, my left wet foot was chilled to the limit...


I wanted to see if my cell phone was working and if I could call someone... as soon as I switched it on, my pal Uday called and was boosting of his current state --- lying on warm sand at Kalingud beach in Goa, India... that moment Goa seemed so attractive not to mention the company of friends was a welcoming thought... but thoughts had to wait... I had 10 miles of more hiking to get to safety. Time was critical..  I made another important call after that, and started descending as fast as I could.

Just before evening, I was back to the trail head, almost tears in my eyes.. my feet were hurting bad. I realized I need to get back in shape...

All the way down, my thoughts kept returning to the top ! I wanted to continue.. see what would happen. May be I will try again before winter ends this year. In the warm comfort of the car, I long the hardships of making the fire to keep me warm... it is amazing how people in the old days would have traveled and hiked through the continent, with no idea of what to expect!!!

South Fork Region - Cumberland River

The Sunday of October 25th, I traveled to the south fork region of Cumberland river... Its sometimes called the 'Grand Canyon of the South East'! -- I know a little too much of a hyperbole.. but thats what the locals say!!!

The hike was planned for a 5.5 mile loop called the Honey Creek Trail starting a mile before the over look (from where the above picture was taken).

Honey Creek trail hike is a nice leisure day hike without any heavy backpacking... Sunday's weather was great... so I had the bests of

the times there!! But considering the land conditions, it would have been a nightmare if it were to rain!

The trail runs along many small streams and dense wooded areas... the fallen leaves covers the trail making it a little challenging if you miss one of the sign posts...

Towards Honey Creek Falls: The adventure begins from the Honey creek falls! Low water flow didn't really help in pushing the excitement up... but certainly it made us smile... this was just the beginning of the hike and we had a lot more things to see... especially the scenic streams and the caves to come!

Next stop was the Boulder house falls... small but cute... yes i use this word also! I had some nice time going between the boulders and looking at the stream of water running wild over the huge rocks... the best thing was the tree cover and the passing sun rays which illuminated the area in a very rain foresty kind of a way..!

One of the attractions of this region is the sandstone/limestone rock formations and various caves.... These caves are quite interesting from an Archeological point of view... people have found many cooking and hunting tools used by ancient Indian travelers (American Indian). For us, it meant covered and calm place to have lunch!

Scenic streams: For people who like using their point and shoot, the trails is amazing... there are so many places where you can go crazy with your photography skills...

Not only do you get to just click these streams, but luckily enough you keep crossing them often... the water is quite clear but COLD.... if i were camping here, nothing would have stopped me from taking a nice cold bath...

Tillu Pillu Sa Niagara (Smallest Possible Niagara): If anyone ever asks me if i have seen a model of Niagara, I would probably say YES... and why not,, if the next picture doesn't remind you of Niagara, then you have serious problems of 'imagination'!

As usual none of my hikes are complete without a nice meal in a comfy restaurant... a large serving of Chicken Taco Salads is just what makes a hike complete and successful...

Living a Year in 3 days at Smoky Mountains... !!!

As I write my first blog, I am having the same weird excitment, I had when at age 12 I first started walking on the slopes of Himalayas.... I developed my love to adventure travel through my experiences in the mountains, and jungles. Through this blog I intend to share the excitment and joy I get from these travels...

As my fall break was approaching, I was eager to get my newly bought Backpack dirty... It was a LONG time since I was out there.... there on those mountains... in those forests.. amongst the trees... the animals.. birds... everybit as it was orginally intended to be.....

This time the plan was for Smokys.. actually my second time there!!! Smoky Mountains National Park is approximately 5 hours drive east - South East of Nashville,TN. It is a continuation of the Appalachian Trial running from North to South on the eastern part of US.

Looking for some nice company, I stumbled upon Vladimir - the Russian Maths Guru, Maryna - the Ukrainian Economist and Aliya - the Teacher from Kazakhstan..... a truly diverse and fun group!!!

The excitement began the night before departure: Aliya's friend had to bail us out on the short sleeping bag, and we settled for a 'workable backpack' for Maryna... - next time equipment check will be PROPER!!!

So it was decided, we start at exactly 5:30am...Friday the 16th. A little behind schedule, we were on interstate 40 by 6:15a. Volodya's Mitsubishi was running great... and in that soft ride, I could see the worried looks on the first time camper friends... yes... all the three were first time campers... !!! Yahooooo!!!!!!

Spending more than 4 hours on the road, we finally entered the national park... Our excitement tripled seeing the multicolored beautiful valleys... The road from Gatlinburg, TN to Bryson City, NC takes you through these scenic valleys.... Seeing the colors in the valley I forgot all the worries and was left with just Joy!!!

Crossing the mountains, and through Bryson City we took the road to nowhere, as the locals call it.... at the end of the Lake view drive we approached a ruined tunnel... We parked our car by the tunnel.. and our foot adventure begins...

Our plan was for a 3 day loop hike and camping at 70 and 75... so far so good.... and OHH!! and one more thing.. did I mention that we were a little late to start our hike... and planned to cover 6 miles before it was get dark.... so practically we had to run.. !!!

Day 1: Starting with the Autumn...

So we start walking through the tunnel... excitment running through the top... the weather is great.. it's a little cloudy... fall colors around us... feels so good.... it felt like autumn... That was day 1....

The natural beauty around us was picturesque ... we were walking along small streams and dense cover of trees...and so to say Season # 1... we were living a third of the year that day... leafs falling... colors bright.. soft winds in the clouds... It was a ideal day to start a hike.... and so we did... least bothered of what was waiting ahead!

The route was easy today... we just had to cover a little distance before it was going to get dark... The sunset was around 6:30p. As the time started approaching, and the camp not so approaching... a little voice inside started making trouble.... of course enthusiasm overshadowed the voice... and we kept going strong!

We reached camp 71 (a camp before our targeted 70) just when it was getting dark.... But who cares, we are going to 70 only-- the team decided!!.... To our surprise the route started to get narrower and the forest more dense... and after some time lets accept it... we were a little lost in the dark!!! stuck between 71 and 70 we decided to set up the camp there.... and what better place than next to the stream... whose presence was confirmed only by the of water splashing against rocks...

So in pitch darkness, I started to set up the camp while my buddies looked for firewood... it took us some efforts to start the fire, pitch the tents... and get the food ready... but when I first had the sip of that hot tomato soup prepared by the girls.... everything just felt right...

The dinner was a delite... next to the fire... with new friends sharing thoughts.... I couldn't ask for more... the next morning brought new energy with it.. and a little chill factor to the matter of fact... We packed our stomach with sufficient food, and stuffed our backpacks with the rest... we started our second day 14 mile hike...

Day 2: Walking through the Winter...

With a little chill in the air, we started our walk towards the Jonas Creek Trail and to the top of the ridge... as we approached the ridge, wind currents were getting stronger and colder and soon we realized that we have just stepped into the winter!! Hard to believe the pleasant weather of yesterday changed to snow flakes...

Quickly the scene changed - from a colored fall to a white

forest.. With the length of the hike, walking fast seemed to be a good option.. I was troubled with a bad cramp on my right thigh...

I kept on!! my new campers were much ahead of me and I tried my best to keep up with the speed...

After climbing up Jonas Creek and then going south over the Welch Ridge, we started our decent on the Bear creek trail around 4 in the afternoon... It was our 7th hour of walking.. Tired and exhausted.... we quickly descended to the camp 75 before it got dark... today we were on time... and also quick in setting up the camp...

But as soon as we unpacked our food, we had a visitor..... Mr. Bear or may be Ms... couldn't really tell --just won't go away... we tried our best to scare him away, but he knew better who was the boss there...

Maryna was superb today with her lovely preparation of Chicken and potato soup... all our stress was gone in seconds of sipping the hot delicacy... we ate luxuriously...

It was early to go to our 'sleeping bags' yet... it was our last night in the forests and we wanted to make the most of it.. but the rains spoiled the show... we retired to our tents.. hoping for a peaceful sleep...

But the BEAR had other plans for us... Sometime in the middle of the night, the sweet bear of the evening... decided to check the contents of our tents.... he gently tapped on the side of the tent making Volodya cry out loud out of pain... instantly I woke up...

Awhy not, my tent buddy just yelled out the loudest cry.... half sleepyyyy I thought the bear is trying to enter the tent... so with all my might I grabbed the moving body and tried to push it down.... later realizing its was poor Volodya trying to get out of the tent... sorry buddy..

The girls got up almost instantly .... my only thought was for all of us not to panic... so I told them that its just a insect bite and nothing more... surprisingly they believed me...

The rest of the night was pretty peaceful except for Volodya... not every day you get spanking from a bear!!!

Next morning we were Lazy... heavy breakfast made it worst... the only thing that got us going was the Lots of hot Chai... the chill was still there in the wind.. but the sun was flaunting its might...

Day 3: It's summer time...

With bright sun over heads, we started our last 6 miles.... If we would have told anyone that yesterday we walked miles through fresh snow, no body would have believed us... Today it felt weird to walk away from the mountains... we had experienced a lot in the past few hours... the forest looked more appealing today... Aliya put it correctly... it was like we walking away from home...

Before we came back to our tunnel, we had another little stop... The fontana lake... The eye watering scenery helped us forget all the hardships... with the hot sun above and the blue waters in front, the world went still....

We returned with mixed emotions... Tired, exhausted, but thoroughly happy and joyous..... It felt good to be back in the comforts of the car but at the same time we knew we are going to miss the adventure...

I know I can't stay away from such fun long enough... and my mind started calculating the next trip's logistics...

These three days in Smoky Mountains felt like living a complete year... if anyone actually experienced what Hugh Grant experienced walking down the market place in Notting Hill, it was we four, WE WALKED A ENTIRE YEAR IN JUST 3 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!