Thick forest along the Pretty Hollow Gap trail.

Shrooms!!!

This little cascade is one that I've photographed many times over the past 4 decades of hiking. It used to be a little gem hidden beneath the hemlocks, but since they died out, it's totally changed in character. It's believed that as the exposure to the sun warms the creeks of the southern forests, that the wild trout will suffer. Makes sense to me...

Soon after taking the photo above, the rain really started pouring down, so I didn't get any more shots for the next half hour or so. By the time that I turned off in the valley to head up the Palmer Creek trail, it was a deluge, but tapered off by the time that I climbed a mile or so up the drainage of Palmer Creek. That's Palmer Creek below.

The Palmer Creek trail is probably my favorite trail in the Cataloochee system. There are a couple of bridged creek crossings, and it is usually in great shape. However, I passed a short stretch on this walk where horses had caved the trail off the side of the mountain, making for a few treacherous steps in the greasy mud. I wouldn't want to ride a horse across the gap.