|
Above: Paul Kirkland wades Bone Valley Creek near the Hall Cabin in the Hazel Creek watershed on a chilly winter's day. Lots of trails, and lots of memories. After putting in thousands of miles on the trails in the Great Smoky Mountains over the past 35 years or so, I find that it's more enjoyable than ever. I've yet to find myself on a trail, no matter how muddy, how steep, or how rough, thinking that I'd rather be elsewhere. I've experienced a few that I wished that I could have plowed through a bit quicker (Lynn Camp Prong in knee-deep mud) but even then, it's all been fun in retrospect. These pages on the Great Smoky Mountains aren't intended to provide a detailed description of each trail or campsite - for that, I suggest picking up a copy of Hiking Trails of the Smokies, aka the little brown book. Rather, I hope to give a glimpse of the good times and a few of the highlights, of a lifetime of rambling the backcountry of the Smokies. Doing the research for a backcountry trip is part of the fun, so I'll leave to the reader to pick apart the details. Perhaps you'll spot something here that makes you go, "Hmmmm, I'd like to see that!" If I succeed in encouraging a few people to leave the cars behind and take their first steps onto a wilderness trail, then I will have done what I intended. This is a work in progress, so check back on a regular basis to see the updates. Enjoy! |
