A 'ghost' forest of dead hemlocks by the Snake Den trail a couple of miles out of the Cosby campground. The death of the hemlocks has changed the character of many trails and it will be decades before we know how much of an impact the loss will have on our southern mountains. One thing for sure, it will foster some major changes in our local forests. Once one of the most common trees in the Smoky Mountains, the hemlock has been so decimated by adelgid infestation that only a few are left, protected in a few places by a handful of dedicated individuals. The largest hemlocks known to exist, including the Grandfather Tree in Greenbrier, have now died - it's a shame that more wasn't done to protect more of the virgin stands.

Above, the wreckage of an Air Force F4 Phantom jet that crashed near the intersection of the Snake Den trail and the Appalachian Trail in 1984. Today, there is still a lot of scattered wreckage on both sides of the ridge. For a brief time after the crash, there was a standoff between the Park Service and recovery personnel who wanted to mount a massive invasion of the area to recover parts of the jet. Luckily, the park service won and the mountaintop was saved from destruction.

Above, Old Black can be seen from this section of the AT near Deer Creek Gap. The AT passes close by the summit of both Old Black and Mt. Guyot, the second highest peak in the Great Smoky Mountains, but thick tangles of downed trees make summiting difficult.

Deer Creek Gap, with Old Black in the background. There is a helicopter landing 'pad' in the gap, consisting of little more than a cleared area with some concrete markers.

The important thing is to hike at your own pace.

Mt. Chapman as seen from the shoulder of Mt. Guyot near Tricorner Knob.

The Tricorner Knob Shelter on a hot summer day. It's late in the year for AT throughhikers to be passing through, but several section hikers were on hand. I was here a few weeks ago with Donna and noted what a great job that the lady that maintains this shelter and several others has been doing. The place is as clean as any shelter that I've ever been in, thanks to her tireless work and cooperation from the passing hikers that love this high country hideaway.

The couple above were in from Mississippi.. They were backpacking from Cosby to Clingmans Dome and were really enjoying the cool clear weather.The fellow behind them in the tank top was section hiking and hails from Asheville, NC (Ashevegas?) I also ran into some folks that had been following Peter Barr's (our Whippersnapper) AT journal. It's a small world!

A thick carpet of moss by the AT on the shoulder of Mt. Guyot.

I took this shot because of the significance that it has to Peter and me - it's the spot where we exited the Ramsey Prong drainage on our bushwhack a few years ago.

Another ghost forest below the AT on Old Black. Unlike the hemlocks though, it's doubtful that the spruce/fir forest will disappear. It too, is under attack by adelgids, but the root system remains healthy, allowing new growth to constantly re-appear. However, the steadily warming climate may very well doom these remnants of the last Ice Age, left behind as as islands of dark green islands in the sky as the glaciers and colder climate retreated to the north.

Bear had been feeding on the mountain ash berries and there were piles of red-seed filled scat all along the trail. This shot looks north into Tennessee from the AT on Old Black.

Deer Creek Gap, looking east along the AT. It's a great place for an evening nap - aka wilderness appreciation.

The Big Creek drainage, as seen from Deer Creek Gap. That's some seriously rugged country down there! The ridge in the background is Sterling Ridge, which I had hiked twice in the past month, first solo and the second time this past weekend with trail buddy Donna.

A 'breathing tree'. The spruce/fir forest at this elevation has a shallow root system and the brutal winds of winter sometimes pushes the still-living tree over, attached to the ground by a few sturdy roots. As the wind swells and ebbs, the tree 'breathes' up and down. It's an eerie experience to be walking along the AT as several of the trees stand and fall with the wind.

The intersection of the AT with the Snake Den, or Inadu Knob, trail. This was near the point where the jet augered in, scattering debris over a wide swath of mountainside.

When I first spotted this, I thought, "Wow, somebody buried Don King here!" Actually, it's a pile of bear crap with a fast growing fungus covering it. When I passed by earlier in the day, there was just a dusting of the fungus visible, but by the time I passed back by, the silky stuff was a couple of inches long and had totally hidden the scat inside.

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Rhododendron by the Snake Den trail. It's a lot prettier when you're not battling your way through it off-trail.

This was a good solo hike - not too long, great scenery, and a good destination that I never get tired of visiting. Tricorner Knob has always been one of my favorite places in the Smokies, remote, rugged wild country that keeps drawing me back. Part of the appeal is the beauty of the gentle trail that leads from the Snake Den trail to the Knob. It's the sort of walking that leaves room for thinking back on the decades that I've spent enjoying the wild places of the Smoky Mountains, both solo and with friends. It just keeps getting better with the passing years. I've met some great people through my hiking and now the time that I spend with them is as important to me as the hiking. We've accumulated a lifetime of, "Hey, do you remember when...?"
Barefoot creek crossings in near zero temps, doing the rattlesnake dance on Bote Mtn. (eh, Donna?) seeing Paul carrying an ailing Good Dog on his shoulders off of Bobs Bald on a cold New Years Day, Gretchen overcoming her fear of heights to scale the Wall out of Porters Creek, Peter doing his best Jim Carrey imitation as he sprints up that same Wall our first bushwhack together, Annie listening to 'mountain music' at the head of Gunters Fork on her first 20 mile hike, sharing a bottle of Wild Turkey around a Gregory Ridge campfire as the temps plunge toward zero, listenng to a coyote howl outside our camp at Sheep Pen Gap while camping with Paul, Steve and Hikn' Ron on a bitterly cold winter night, visiting a favorite spot along the trail with a new hiking companion - to coin a favorite song by John Prine, "The trail goes on forever and the good times never end!"
I love the mountains, especially the misty peaks and deep valleys of the Great Smokies, but without the camaraderie and good times that I enjoy along the trail with my friends, it's just lonely walking.
Walk on!
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