While a walk around the 250 rooms of Biltmore House will thrill you with art and craftmanship and history and architecture, your visit to Biltmore Estate isn’t done until you get outside and explore the gardens and Conservatory, and the 20 miles of hiking and biking trails available. Because my brother and I were there on gift passes, we weren’t able to visit during peak bloom season, but we still got a hint of what you can expect.

On the day we were there, March 9, 2020, there were dozens of species of orchid in the Conservatory along with iris and many other exotic plants. The Italian Garden features classical statuary and water gardens. The Shrub Garden is designed for quiet moments and includes pools with water lilies (in season) and lotus.

The Spring Garden is filled with blooming shrubs like forsythia, spirea and mock orange, and is surrounded by pines and hemlocks. The Walled Garden is a four-acre formal garden that features seasonal flowering beds, including literally thousands of tulips. The Rose Garden includes heirloom roses as well as trial cuts. The Azalea Garden is 15 acres, the estate’s largest, and contains one of the United States finest selections of native azaleas.

Be sure to take the half mile loop to, and around, the Bass Pond and Boathouse. Frederick Olmstead, the landscaper, created this water feature by enlarging an old creek-fed millpond. In days gone by there were rowboats moored at the boathouse for fishing or exploring the pond.

I have created a series of photo galleries below to share my experiences at the estate. The first contains images from the Conservatory. Following that is another gallery including images from several of the gardens and the bass pond. Be sure to scroll down for the 2nd gallery after viewing the first.

If you missed my post about Biltmore House itself, you can see the inside pictures here. Please feel free to leave any comments below the photo galleries. Thanks for visiting!

The Conservatory

This glass-roofed building nurtures orchids, ferns, and palms. During the Vanderbilt’s time, it provided flowers and plants for Biltmore House.

The Gardens and Grounds

This would be my favorite place for future visits. I love the outdoors, and the colors, scents, and overall beauty of flowers and flowering trees and shrubs fascinate me.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Hard to believe I’ve lived in Western North Carolina for 15 years now, and had never visited the world famous Biltmore Estate. My brother managed to score a couple of gift passes, so we decided it must be about time to go after all these years. Now I might actually spring for the price of admission just to go back some day.

Built by George Vanderbilt, heir to the Vanderbilt railroad and shipping fortune, this majestic 250 room French chateau style architecture was completed in 1895. It was a family home for George, his wife Edith, and their daughter Cornelia. Following George’s untimely death, Edith remarried, and John Cecil joined Edith at Biltmore in 1924. Beginning in 1930, the Cecil’s opened Biltmore House to the public, as it has remained ever since. The fifth generation descendants are still involved in day-to-day operations, and employ more than 2,000 from the WNC area.

The original estate spanned more than 125,000 acres in the mountains surrounding Asheville. Edith donated a major piece of that landholding for what would eventually become Pisgah National Forest, an adventurer’s haven that we locals thoroughly enjoy. Nevertheless, the estate is still sprawling, with seasonal gardens and greenhouses, massive meadows overlooking the French Broad River Valley, a world renowned winery with lodge and hotel, and large acreage for crops to supply the estate.

And then there’s the house. More than 175,000 square feet, with 40 bathrooms, this treasure was thoroughly planned by George and his architect Richard Hunt. The grounds are also truly remarkable with the landscaping done by Frederick Olmstead, who also designed Central Park on Manhattan in New York City.

Dave and I visited on March 9, 2020 and spent approximately five hours in the house and on the grounds. We barely began to scratch the surface of all the things that are available to do at Biltmore Estate. There are nearly 20 miles of hiking and biking trails, for example. We were seasonally too early for the incredible floral display, a must see, but did manage to catch some of the early bloomers.

I have created a series of photo galleries below to share my experiences at the estate. The first contains images from the ground floor of the house. Following that is another gallery of points of interest from the upper level floors. Be sure to scroll down for the 2nd gallery after viewing the first. Finally, the third gallery contains pictures of the surprises found in the basement levels of this magnificent home.

When you’re done, here is the link to my second report with photos of the gardens and Conservatory. Please feel free to leave any comments below the photo galleries. Thanks for visiting!

The Entry Level

Highlights include the atrium, the grand banquet room as well as other dining areas, the music room (one of George’s favorites), multiple libraries (George also loved books), and places to relax as well, like billiards.

The Upper Floors

The master bedrooms are on the second floor, and guest quarters on the third. There are a number of sitting areas for mingling among the guests and entertaining.

The Basement

The kitchens and laundry can be found in the basement, as well as the food stocks. The number of pantries would fill an apartment complex. There’s room for play too with bowling, and the world’s first lighted pool.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Devils Tower, an important landmark for Plains Indians tribes long before the white man reached Wyoming, was called Mateo Tepee or Grizzly Bear Lodge by the Sioux. A number of legends describe the origin of Devils Tower.

“One legend tells of seven little girls being chased onto a low rock to escape attacking bears. Their prayers for help were heeded as the rock carried them upward to safety. The claws of the leaping bears left furrowed columns in the sides of the ascending tower. Ultimately, the rock grew so high that the girls reached the sky where they were transformed into the constellation known as Pleiades.” — information sign along Hwy 24

Devils Tower rises dramatically 1,280 feet above the picturesque Belle Fourche River. Recognizing its unique characteristics, Congress designated the area a U.S. Forest Reserve in 1892 and then the nation’s first national monument in 1906. The tower was a centerpiece in the 1977 Spielberg film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

When you spend three weeks on the road visiting many of our nation’s wonderful wild attractions you are bound to have some days when the weather isn’t ideal. My brother Dave and I were really quite fortunate to have mostly bright, sunshiny days for our adventures. Not so, however, on the day we visited Devils Tower. There was a low cloud cover that obscured the top of the tower, and a drizzly mist was falling throughout the time we were there.

We did put on the rain gear for the must see 1.3-mile walk around the base of the Tower though. It starts across the parking area from the Visitor Center. A short, steep section leads you to a junction where you can go either way to walk around the base. The trail goes through ponderosa pine forest and the talus field of fallen boulders. Evidence of periodic prescribed burning can be seen within the forest, the last in 1998.

I did manage to get a few pictures as we approached the tower from miles away on Hwy 24, and from the Tower Trail. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments area below the gallery. Enjoy!

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

“Let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were. Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and the rain alone shall wear them away.” — Sculptor Gutzon Borglum

America’s presidential history is alive in stone. Majestic figures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, surrounded by the beauty of the Black Hills of South Dakota, tell the story of the birth, growth, development and preservation of this country. From the history of the first inhabitants to the diversity of America today, Mount Rushmore brings visitors face to face with the rich heritage we all share.

Sculptor Gutzon Borglum created the sculpture’s design and oversaw the project’s execution from 1927 to 1941 with the help of his son, Lincoln. The memorial park covers 1,278 acres and is 5,725 feet above sea level. Each president was originally to be depicted from head to waist. Lack of funding forced construction to end in 1941. Approximately 400 workers sculpted the colossal 60 foot high carvings.

Ponderosa pines dominate the dry, rocky landscape. The Black Hills take their name from the illusion of darkness the pines create when viewed from a distance. A half mile nature trail known as the Presidential Trail circuits the property and offers closeup views from beneath the faces. An evening lighting ceremony is held in the outdoor amphitheater nightly during summer.

The presidential faces on Mt. Rushmore dominate the landscape of the Black Hills. They can be seen from such far away locations as the Iron Mountain Highway in Custer State Park. The back of the monument can be seen from the summit of nearby Black Elk Peak, at 7,242′, the tallest mountain in South Dakota.

My brother and I couldn’t decide whether we wanted to grapple with the crowd at this very touristy location. One day after a hike, (on May 25, 2018) we still had the whole afternoon available, so we said, “why not.” Yes, it was touristy. Yes, it was crowded. But, we’re glad we went. The memorial grounds are very well done, and the whole place is truly a proper memorial to American presidential history.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Horace Sowers Kephart (September 8, 1862 – April 2, 1931) was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of Our Southern Highlanders about his life in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina and the classic outdoors guide Camping and Woodcraft.

Kephart’s vision helped to establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park. His life as an author, scholar, and outdoorsman is told in captivating detail in this historic documentary with never before seen photographs, documents and original music and art.

Libby Kephart Hargrave, great-grandaughter, presents a fond remembrance in this documentary film that is part biography and geneology, part historical record. Libby does a little bit of everything: she produces and directs, writes, plays and sings some of the music, conducts interviews and narrates. Her hands are all over this loving tribute. She spent years of her life compiling it.

Biography

Kephart was born in East Salem, Pennsylvania, and raised in Iowa. He was the director of the St. Louis Mercantile Library in St. Louis, Missouri from 1890 to 1903. In these years Kephart also wrote about camping and hunting trips. Earlier, Kephart had also worked as a librarian at Yale University and spent significant time in Italy as an employee of a wealthy American book collector.

In 1904, Kephart’s family (wife Laura and their six children) moved to Ithaca, New York, but Laura and Horace never divorced or legally separated). Alcoholism played a part in the estrangement and in Kephart’s eventual mental breakdown. To help recover his wits, Horace found his way to western North Carolina, where he lived in the Hazel Creek section of what would later become Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here Kephart was seeking what he called his “back of beyond.”

Hargrave tells the story of Kephart’s family and young adult life with a series of vignettes and historic documents, and her narration. The first half of the film is devoted to exploring Kep’s family, his studies, his professional life… and his demons.

The second half of the film, Hargrave conducts a number of interviews with historians in and around the North Carolina Smokies to expand upon Kephart’s later adult life… his discovery of mountain living, and his advocacy for what was to become the most popular national park in all the land. Hargrave even managed to obtain the cooperation and assistance of Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan, producers of the wildly popular national parks documentary series, America’s Best Idea.

Along with the likes of John Muir, Horace Kephart was one of the great original conservationists. Through the use of archived documents and historian anecdotes, Hargrave paints a picture of this man who loved his Smokies and would do anything to protect the mountains.

Unfortunately, Kephart was killed in a tragic car accident just a few short years before the fulfillment of his dream of a national park. His legacy lives on today, however, and you will find his name on a mountain and creek within the park boundary. He is buried in Bryson City, NC, the town he called home for the last 21 years of his life.

Here is a trailer from the Kephart documentary:

How Can You See This Documentary?

Horace Kephart – His Life and Legacy DVD is available from The Horace Kephart Foundation and the Great Smoky Mountains Association for US$14.99, a bargain for the historic perspective of this iconic American presented by Ms. Hargrave’s work.

Each year, Libby Kephart Hargrave presents the Horace Kephart Days Celebration. Look for it in Western North Carolina, usually in spring. More info here.

Original painting "Kep's Boots" above is by Joanne Kephart Bleichner and copyright The Horace Kephart Foundation.

Disclosure: I participated in a crowdfunding campaign to help get this film financed. Libby Kephart Hargrave worked tirelessly for years to make the end result happen. Fundraising, while important, was but a small part of the love and dedication she poured into this documentary about her great-grandfather. My small donation was money very well spent.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

The first time I went to Great Smoky Mountains National Park more than 15 years ago I knew it was someplace special. But it took me nearly 10 more years before I ever set foot on one of her trails. Work kept me busy and I had different recreational interests, but when I got serious about hiking around 2008, you couldn’t hold me back. Most of my early hikes were closer to home in Pisgah National Forest, but when I made my first Smokies hike, climbing the Rich Mountain Loop above Cades Cove, I was hooked. I’ve been at it ever since.

Reward Yourself

Sometime in early 2014 I learned about the “Hike the Smokies” Challenge, a means of rewarding yourself by doing what you enjoy most. If you sometimes need a little motivation to get out and feel the Smokies, perhaps this will help. It did for me. I set a goal of obtaining one of the 500 Mile Pins. I had no idea how long it might take me… 10 years? 5 years? It didn’t matter. I was going to do it.

I started out at a fairly good pace, hiking 120 miles in calendar year 2014, and in so doing achieved the 100 mile pin. This amounted to about 10 miles per month on average. Some months I did more, while others, particularly in winter, I slacked off. Still, a positive accomplishment for my first year. After all, day hiking in the Smokies is a great way to get the exercise I need while also discovering the abundant beauty of the Southern Appalachians.

Hiking is an inexpensive activity with numerous health and recreational benefits. For me, basically the only expenses were a good backpack and keeping shoes on my feet, plus the gas to get there and back.

Having received the 100 Mile Pin the first year, I thought I could step it up a bit and reach the requirement for the 250 mile pin in 2015. I started looking for longer trails to not only stretch more into the heart of the national park, but to also stretch my own boundaries. 7-milers became 12-milers. Four hour hikes became six, or seven. All told in 2015 I added 160 more miles to my total, now up to 280. The 250 Mile Pin was mine.

My pins and the ranger confirmations of my achievements.

In recent years I have come to enjoy winter hiking more and more. One thing that meant is I could keep working on my 500 mile goal year round. As the calendar rolled into 2016 I wondered if I could do 220 more miles and reach my objective before the end of the year. It would mean more frequent trips to the Smokies. Perhaps I could combine hiking with my volunteer job for the national park at the Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob.

Well, it’s been a busy year. I have taken nearly three dozen distinct hikes in the Smokies in 2016, many of them along the Cataloochee Divide and in Cataloochee Valley. On November 14th of this year I passed 500 miles while on the trail to Chasteen Creek Cascade, and on the way back out of the park I stopped at Oconaluftee Visitor Center to pick up my 500 Mile Pin from Ranger Florie.

There were no brass bands playing, no fighter jets flying overhead. But Florie and I knew the accomplishment, and we shared a great big smile. As I walked outside to my car with pin in hand, I was beaming.

When I started this quest I had no idea I could accomplish my goal in just three short years. Over these years I have learned to love the Smokies even more, and learned how precious are her mountains, forests, and waterways. I have still only scratched the surface on everything she provides for all of us. So look for me out on the trails in the future. I’ll still be counting the miles.

How Can You Participate in the Hike the Smokies Challenge?

First, you obviously have to decide this is something you want to do. Duh! Next, pick up one of the Hike the Smokies diary books. Pocket-sized booklets to record mileage are available for $1.00 at the park’s four visitor centers (Sugarlands, Oconaluftee, Clingmans Dome & Cades Cove). Then, just start hiking and recording your mileage in your diary booklet.

When you have hiked 100 miles, 250 miles, and 500 miles, bring your mileage record to one of the park’s visitor centers to receive a free mileage pin and to be authenticated by one of the park’s rangers in your “Hike the Smokies” diary. It’s that simple.

There is even a program for the whole family. When your family has hiked 10 miles, 25 miles, 40 miles, and 50 miles, bring your mileage records to one of the visitor centers to receive mileage stickers. It’s great to get out there with the ones you love most.

Learn more about the “Hike the Smokies” Challenge here. What are you waiting for? Discover where that next trail goes. After all, they belong to every last one of us. It’s time to go “Hike the Smokies!”

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Perhaps the most popular feature in all of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cades Cove is a throwback to 19th century living. Think of it as an outdoor museum. Cades Cove is a wide, verdant valley surrounded by mountains that today is teeming with wildlife and spring floral beauty. The 11-mile Loop Road around the valley provides an opportunity for motorists, bicyclists, even walkers like me to sight-see at a leisurely pace. Cades Cove offers the widest variety of historic buildings of any area in the national park, including churches, cabins, mills and barns. Numerous other hiking trails originate in Cades Cove, so it affords the opportunity to explore the stunning beauty of the Smokies for days. I walked around the Loop Road on Monday, April 18, 2016 from 7:00AM to 12:15PM. My plan was as simple as it sounds… walk the Cades Cove Loop Road, enjoying every single step.

I’ve been wanting to do this walk around Cades Cove Loop ever since the first time I drove it some seven years ago. I knew then that I yearned to spend more time relishing each moment. With limited pullouts for motorists, it’s sometimes difficult to give each highlight justice. When you’re on foot you are free to roam about and stay for an hour in one spot if you like.

Cades Cove is just far enough away from where I live to make it hard to do a single-day visit. Since I can’t go as often as I would perhaps like, it makes the infrequent trips to Cades Cove that much more special. On this most recent venture I setup a bed in the back of my Subaru so I could stay at the Cades Cove Campground overnight, and make it a two day excursion. The first day I hiked the fervently anticipated Whiteoak Sink.

Waking at the campground with the roosters on the 2nd day, I was lined up with all the other eager beavers waiting for the Park Service to open the loop gate. That would signal the mad dash of vehicles for the first light of the new day. They all wanted to find that optimum photo spot to capture the dawn. I would pass nearly every one of them in the first half mile just walking at my own leisurely pace. There was a method to my madness.

Dawn is the best time to catch wildlife in the Cove. There were deer grazing in the meadow by the riding stables and plenty of tom turkeys displaying their feathered finery and chasing the ladies in that time-tested mating ritual that is as old as the mountains. The first couple miles of the loop road is also home to a herd of horses, some of the massive work variety, and others that are as athletic as the most nimble Kentucky thoroughbred.

I seemed to time the dogwood quite well. Most of the trees were at least 50% in bloom, with some near peak. Particularly those that surround the John Oliver Place had an abundance of flowers. No matter the season at Cades Cove, there is always something of beauty.

The dawn’s early light was just touching the tips of the south side mountain range and the canopy of birch trees that line Abrams Creek. This is rich bottom land where the equines graze.

Should you decide to walk this loop yourself sometime, there are a couple of bail out points along the way to shorten the 11-mile trek. The first is Sparks Lane. This north-south gravel road at the 2-mile mark connects at each end of the Loop Road enabling you to do a shorter 5-mile loop. Sparks Lane has been a part of the Cove road system since all the way back in the 1840’s.

Nearing mile four are a trio of restored churches. The first, on the left, is known as Primitive Baptist Church, named so because it dates all the way to 1827. The others (Methodist Church and Missionary Baptist) are quite new by comparison, each built in the first decade of the 20th century, but still more than a hundred years ago. The Park Service does a very nice job of keeping the cemeteries and white clapboard structures in pristine condition.

The second cut-through, Hyatt Lane, located at the four-mile mark is also in this popular church neighborhood. Choosing Hyatt Lane can reduce the length of your loop hike to nine miles, but by now you should still have plenty of energy to go for the whole shebang. Not far past Hyatt Lane, Rich Mountain Road takes off to the right, a means of escaping the Cove via twisty gravel road. This is an alternate way to get to Townsend, TN, but don’t try it in winter.

The Loop Road occasionally dives into a small forest along the way, offering a bit of shade to sun-baked hikers every half mile or so. It is enjoyable to suddenly hear the songbirds tweeting from the canopy. I think of how fortunate they are to have Cades Cove for their home. It’s like the avian high rent district.

Between each of these small wooded areas are thousands and thousands of acres of lush fields and meadows that are loved by the critters who are also blessed to inhabit this protected national park. This to me is the best reason to leave your car back at the parking area and either walk or bike the Loop Road. You are bound to see deer throughout, but also keep your eyes peeled for coyote, ground hog, turkey, raccoon, skunk, and of course, the famous Cades Cove black bears.

The best place to look for the bears is in the tops of trees. It keeps them hidden from the hustle and bustle of the traffic on the Cove Road, enabling them to spy on the stupid humans down below. You are most likely to see bear in Cades Cove May through October, but please keep your distance, and never, never, ever feed any of the wildlife. Black bears may seem cute and cuddly, but if provoked they will defend themselves.

Turkeys and white-tail deer are the most common of the wildlife in Cades Cove. It is almost guaranteed you will see some of each, no matter the season.

The morning sun warmed my back and cast a golden glow on the entire valley. There are so many things to see, I couldn’t decide which direction to look. Was it the beautiful fields and pastures, likely to be home to roving wildlife? Perhaps the historic old churches and cabins would share their secrets of centuries gone by. The forest groves held their own mysteries, with hidden nature trails and a myriad of songbirds. The wildflowers were everywhere… along a fence post or hillock. Sensory splendor!

Between Hyatt Lane and the Visitor Center at mile six, are several opportunities to take side hikes off the main Loop Road. The first you will encounter is Cooper Road Trail, followed by a half mile spur to the Elijah Oliver Place. Soon after, the Loop Road crosses Abrams Creek then reaches a gravel road that will take you to the trailhead for the extremely popular Abrams Falls. If you plan to go there, be sure to arrive very early because it does get quite crowded.

The Cades Cove Visitor Center, just past the half way point, is a great place to take a break no matter your means of transportation. There are rest room facilities, a gift shop, and several historic structures that offer excellent representations of 19th century living. The Historic Cable Mill area includes an 1870-era grist mill and flume, a smokehouse and sorghum furnace. Look too for a cantilever barn and blacksmith shop nearby.

I took this opportunity to shed some layers as the mid-morning sun was warming the day quite nicely. Down to shorts and a t-shirt, I covered my now exposed skin with sunscreen and bug repellent, and enjoyed a protein bar sitting on a wooden bench beneath a giant willow tree. I was doing pretty good… not tired yet, or sore. It looked like the 11 miles would be no problem.

There is also another opportunity to escape Cades Cove here. Forge Creek Road meets Parson Branch Road which will take you to Hwy 129 near the Fontana area at the southern boundary of the national park.

The south side of the Loop Road is quite a bit different from the north side. There is more forest here, and rolling hills. The terrain assumes more of an up and down nature than the nearly level path on the other side. There are also more old homesteads over on the south side, including the Dan Lawson Place built in 1856, the Tipton Place, and homes for several members of the Shields family.

The uphill and downhill was obviously more tiring, but the frequent shade offered by the hardwood and evergreen forest helped to offset the extra exertion. There are many old, old trees on this side of the Cove, including one I called the Rip van Winkle tree. It looked to be a mighty oak with a ginormous wingspan that would make a wonderful place for a 20 year nap. I’ve yet to see it with its leaves on. I imagine it to be a quite noble tree.

Built in 1910 by a veteran of the Battle of Shiloh, the Carter Shields cabin sits in a lovely nook in the forest surrounded by flowering dogwood and the Smoky Mountains.

There are more creeks and mountain streams on this side of the Cove, tumbling down from Ross Ridge and the other mountains high above. It helps explain the propensity to build homes and farms on the south side. Sure the pastoral serenity was appealing, but water was just as important to 19th century living as it is today. Much of the western end of Cades Cove is an inviting wetland.

The Cherokee also have a history in Cades Cove where they hunted deer, elk, bison and black bears. Their trails criss-cross the mountains that surround the Cove, but they never did setup permanent villages. They would camp for months at a time, but the first permanent settlers didn’t arrive until the 1820’s.

By the time I reached the Carter Shields cabin near mile 9 I was beginning to feel some fatigue. Upon seeing the delightful porch in the shade of the tall trees, I decided it was time for a break… and a sandwich. I had the place all to myself while I munched on my lunch and envisioned old Carter himself sitting in his favorite chair propped up against the sideboard, smoking his corncob pipe, perhaps whittling a dogwood branch, with his coon hound at his feet.

They say those were the good ol’ days. Perhaps life was quieter then, but I can’t imagine it being simpler. The winters would kill you. The work was hard and back breaking. If you didn’t grow, trap or shoot your food… you didn’t eat. There aren’t many places more lovely to live than Cades Cove, but there’s a lot more to living than the view. Adaptation is key.

Renourishment helped somewhat with energy, but the last two miles began to take a toll on my feet. When I finished, the GPS tracker on my phone that produced the map above said that I had taken more than 48,000 steps. No wonder my tootsies were tired. The last mile is a pretty straight shot alongside a creek. It ends up near the campground where I had spent the previous night. I couldn’t have asked for a better day to make this adventure, and am so glad I finally got out there to do it.

I can’t say enough about the job the National Park Service does maintaining the beauty and charm of Cades Cove for all of us to enjoy. The conservation efforts also make it likely that those who walk the Loop Road a hundred years from now will see the same appealing sights that you and I see today. The wetlands are being restored for the benefit of frogs, fish, birds and salamanders. Native wildflowers and grasses are being re-established, reared from nurseries right there in the Cove. The future looks very bright.

Best Hike I consider the Cades Cove Loop Road a best hike, and think you will too.

Update April 28, 2019: The photos in the gallery above were taken on a nice, blue sky, spring day. Ever wonder what Cades Cove looks like when it’s cloudy? The whole tone changes dramatically, as you will see from the following photos. Personally, I don’t think you can go wrong either way. What do you think?

By the way, when you’re walking the loop road, if you see any trash laying around, pick it up and haul it out. If we all do our part, it helps keep Cades Cove looking beautiful for everyone. Thanks.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Leaf peepers head to Graveyard Fields in late September for the annual ritual of Autumn color in the high country. Located at mile 418 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, Graveyard Fields is one of the earliest locations to begin the chromatic display, as well as one of the most intense. From the bright red of the blueberry and sumac bushes, to the multi-colored hues of the maple and oak, this is a prime location year in and year out. But don’t limit yourself to Graveyard Fields. There is a 5-mile stretch of the Parkway from mile 416 through mile 421 that is always exceptional for early fall foliage.

I went up there on September 23, 2015 hoping to beat the crowds that flock to this area and was treated to an unusually early color presentation. There was as much color already apparent as there is sometimes 10-15 days later in the season. I first stopped for a view of Cold Mountain when I entered the Parkway from Hwy 276, then proceeded to Pounding Mill Overlook to pick up trash as a volunteer for Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Thank you to the tourists for mostly behaving and not leaving much mess.

Then it was a short, but delightful, drive to the Graveyard Fields pullout. Even at this early hour there were already a dozen or so other vehicles there for the same reason I was. I setup the tripod, took a few shots, then moved on to make room for others. Next stop… Black Balsam Road for the view down into the bowl of Graveyard Fields. The goldenrod was glistening in the morning sun, while the blue of the asters tried its best to match the stunning azure sky.

The most inspiring scene, however, was the ocean of clouds rolling over the Pisgah Ridge and crashing upon mile 420 of the Parkway like so many waves on a surfing beach. I was mesmerized by the experience. The entire valley below the ridge was enveloped in morning fog, roiling to the rim like a witch’s brew only to dissipate upon reaching the bright sunshine bathing the mountaintops.

Next, I went for a hike along the service trail that parallels miles 420 and 419 to peer into that cauldron and get a ground-level view of the prismatic shrubs and ground cover along the pathway. I sat on an outcrop squinting deep into the foggy stew looking for just a glance of Pilot Mountain, knowing it was there, but unable to pierce the shroud. So I munched a snack and was like a child on a beach as each new wave of fog wafted over me.

Following a 3-mile walk I was back in my car heading the way I came, stopping at each overlook along the way, looking for views to the north of the scattered, puffy-white clouds that now accentuated the vistas. There were still a number of wildflowers along the roadway’s edge, hidden behind the guardrails that protect motorists from a fatal plunge. It was definitely what I like to call an “A” day.

I hope you enjoy these new photos from my visit to the high country along the Blue Ridge Parkway as much as I enjoyed the day. Please feel free to leave your comments below the gallery.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Late September is an exciting time in Cataloochee Valley as the elk herd begins their annual mating dance ritual known as the rut. Cows, calves and yearlings live in loose herds or groups throughout most of the year, and are seen wandering the vast meadows of the valley all spring and summer. The bulls, however, live in bachelor groups or alone. It is rare to happen upon a bull off season. During the rut, cows and calves form harems with one or two mature bulls.

At this time of early fall, people come from far and wide to this corner of the Smokies to witness this breeding season. Bulls gather cows and calves into small groups, protecting them from other bulls. The big boys will wallow in mud to coat themselves with urine “perfume” to attract their favorite cows. They also bugle and rub trees, shrubs and the ground with their antlers to attract cows and intimidate other bulls, aggressively guarding their harems, at times in violent battle. If you’ve never heard a bull elk bugle, it is like no other sound. At Cataloochee Valley the bugling of the bulls echoes through the basin, being heard from a mile or more away.

I made my most recent visit to this eastern corner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, arriving about 6:30 AM. I nearly had the valley to myself, as I only saw one other at this twilight time a half hour before dawn. I immediately headed for the far western end of Cataloochee Road at the Rough Fork trailhead to setup my tripod and wait.

Wait for the sunrise, and wait for the show. Right off the bat I was not disappointed. There were two very young bulls laying in the grass only about 50 yards from my location. As the sun began to announce its presence at the other end of the fog shrouded valley, these youngsters stood up and stretched, then commenced grazing on the abundant blessing that fills the Cataloochee meadows.

For the next hour I watched as turkeys came out of the woods to stick their snouts in the plentiful fields, ravens flittered about alerting the valley residents to the dawning of a brand new day, and headlights announced the arrival of additional gawkers. Then it began. That unmistakable sound. Through my telephoto lens I could see his silhouette at the other end of the meadow. That’s the picture above. This was one of the big ‘uns. Then to my great pleasure this giant bull drove his harem directly toward my location.

As the rising sun struck the verdant field with its golden glow, the magnificent bull brought his show right to my end of the valley. His bugling was vigorous and piercing — his harem totally obedient. The two young bucks gave him plenty of room as he strutted past and into the woods. When he was safely gone, the younguns engaged in a playful jousting match, locking antlers and twisting their bodies to and fro. It was captivating.

After standing in 46° for more than two hours, I was ready to warm up. So I loaded up my pack and hit the Rough Fork Trail to Woody House, a nineteenth century dwelling that reminds us of the endearing history of the Smokies. The forest was alive, as was I with this very exciting morning at Cataloochee Valley.

I hope you enjoy these new photos from Cataloochee Valley as much as I enjoyed the day. There are two galleries below, one of the elk, and the other of my excursion to Woody House. Feel free to leave your comments below the galleries.

One of Cataloochee’s finest, this magnificent creature lets everyone in the valley know that he is the lord over this domain.

Want to hear the elk bugle? Here you go:

Imagine awakening in Woody House each morning to this enchanting scene. Living was hard in 19th century Cataloochee, especially in winter, but the rewards were invigorating.

Update September 22, 2016: Time for another pre-dawn visit to Cataloochee Valley during elk rut season. Unfortunately, on this particular day the elk decided not to cooperate. They melted into the forest just a matter of minutes after the first morning light. Still, it was a beautiful day in the valley.

Update September 26, 2017: For the first time, this year I went to see the elk in the evening. I arrived in the valley about 2:30 in the afternoon, setup camp, went for a hike on Rough Fork Trail, then came back to the fields about 5:30 and waited. As usual, it was definitely worth the wait. Staying at the campground made it possible for me to get back out there at dawn again, then have the whole day for another hike. Here is a new set of photos. Please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.

Grand Highlands is a real estate development in Henderson County, NC. What sets it apart is location. A location that is described as “an open meadow placed on a mountaintop.” Land that affords you some of the most spectacular views in Western North Carolina. I think of it as a picturesque spot for taking photographs of the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains and valleys. Within a stone’s throw of two delightful hiking trails that were built and maintained by the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, Grand Highlands is also a launch point for local adventure.

The Bearwallow Mountain Trail takes off from here, as does the Trombatore Trail. Bearwallow and the small community of Gerton are to the east. Asheville is north, Hendersonville is west, and Lake Lure is farther south in the Hickory Nut Gorge. Grand Highlands is a great location for sunrise or sunset photos, and with an elevation near 4,000 feet, it offers long-range mountain views including iconic Mt. Pisgah. My most recent visit occurred on Sunday, August 9, 2015.

I arrived approximately 6:30 AM, a half hour before the sunrise. The lodge style clubhouse at Grand Highlands is a popular choice for a mountaintop wedding, and there were still decorations left from the ceremony that undoubtedly occurred the day before. As I wandered the summit while waiting for daybreak, I began to plan the locations I would photograph. Grand Highlands is also high vista horse country. A handful of equines loped from their stable to the nearby meadow to greet the morning glory. They were shy though, as they stayed hidden under an evergreen throughout my failed attempts at a closeup picture.

I hope you enjoy this break I took from hiking. Photography is likely my second favorite hobby, so I enjoy the occasional quiet time with just my camera and me. On this gratifying day I had Grand Highlands all to myself.

Update January 25, 2016: Winter storm Jonas blew through the Carolinas on its way up the east coast depositing several inches of snow along its path. It made getting around quite a mess for a few days, but finally I got brave enough to take the Subaru up Bearwallow Mountain to Grand Highlands. It was a stunning sunny day. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

This post was created by Jeff Clark. Please feel free to use the sharing icons below, or add your thoughts to the comments. Pack it in, pack it out. Preserve the past. Respect other hikers. Let nature prevail. Leave no trace.