Gregory Bald Was A Flame With Azaleas On Father's Day

On Sunday, with the blessing of my Dad, I spent Father’s Day hiking up to Gregory Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). The reason I went up Sunday were two fold. The first was the Flame Azaleas, which Gregory Bald is famous for (besides its views). The other one involved me going on a group outing with the Sierra Club out of Knoxville known as the Harvey Broome Group. We were meeting at the Cable Mill Visitor Center in Cades Cove. For those who don’t know there is one way in and out of Cades Cove, the 11 mile one-way and it is usually crowded, but not as much so early Sunday morning. Since I was ahead of time I got to slow drive through the Cove, even taken time to look at where I was headed (Gregory Bald). Oh, something else happened today my Cades Cove bear-less streak ended as I spotted a black bear just past the Abrams Falls Trailhead and I would see another on the way back from the Gregory Bald Trailhead...nice!

GSMNP Townsend Entrance.

Cades Cove

Gregory Bald

Bear!

Harvey Broome Group @ Cable Mill.

We consolidate into three cars and it was a good thing as the trailhead off Forage Creek Road was pretty full. Since Parson Branch Road is closed that means it is a road walk (four miles) to the Gregory Bald Trailhed, so most people, including us, headed up the Gregory Ridge Trail. This makes the hike over 11 miles with a elevation gain of a little over 3,000 feet. It is a tough hike but worth it as the Flame Azaleas are amazing up top.

Sign says it.

Our group.

Big crowds.

Headed up.

First Rosebay Rhododendron of the year.

Sotted this young buck going up.

Our group on the go.

Footbridge out.

Mac our leader at Campsite #13

Just over half-mile to go.

Someone told me they were better than Andrews Bald and it was. I like most had seen the traditional orange azaleas and I had even seen yellow. However, on Gregory bald there were also red ones, pink ones and even white ones they were spectacular. Oh, there are great views, into North Carolina and Tennessee, including a great look into the Cove.

Andrews Bald in June 2014....

...Gregory Bald June 2016.

There were traditional orange ones...

...redish orange...

....pink....

...yellowish & many more.

Wood Boogers are suppose to blend in.

Summit marker.

North Carolina...

...Tennessee & Cades Cove.

Like I said getting here isn’t easy it is and it is what delayed this blog. We didn’t hit the trail until around 10:30am and we had some issues with our group that delayed us and the hike took over eight hours. When we finally got back to Cable Mill I still had to drive out of Cades Cove. While it wasn’t busy early in the day, by the time we got back it was a mad house. It took me over a half-hour to get out of the Cove and from there it was almost two hours to get home and it was after dark before I got back.

We crossed paths with the rest of our group on the way back.

Salamander.

Trail back.

This makes the traffic out worth it.

Still, it was a great outing and the Harvey Broome group were a pleasure to hike with I hope to head out with them again soon.