It's an over-worked phrase much used by those of us who play in the Great Smokies, but it really doesn't get much better than this. The Sterling Ridge trail meanders gently for miles along the deep green crest of Sterling Ridge.

For the most part, the Sterling Ridge trail is smooth hard-packed dirt, but in a few spots, you pass a rocky spot where streams pour across the trail.

This is prime forage for the elk that now wander the Cataloochee Valley. I saw a few tracks here and there along the ridge, but no elk. It's calf-dropping season in the Smokies and the cows are lying low with the new-born calves. I'm really looking forward to the day that I get to see two bull elk battling for supremacy along the high grassy divide between Big Creek and Cataloochee.

Surprisingly, the numerous wild boar haven't done too much damage along the Sterling Ridge trail. As I neared Pretty Hollow Gap, I saw a few hog bogs and evidence of their foraging along the path, but not as much as I've seen in the past. It's possible that the professional hunters that the park service hires to kill the pigs have been working in the region.

In the 18+ miles of hiking today, I passed about 10 horseback riders in two groups, one solo hiker, and a group of about 6 hikers. Not bad for a holiday weekend on one of the best loop hikes in the Great Smoky Mountains.