Spring Has Arrived In Southwest Virginia

Well, the last three days (Wednesday, Thursday & Friday) I spent off-the-grid at the Cabin in Southwest Virginia. A lot has changed in the three weeks since I was last up there (there was snow on High Knob) as mid-spring has fully arrived. So, Dad and I moved some stuff from the old house and spent some time sitting on the porch and I even built a couple of fires. Then today (Friday) we went on a 2.5 mile hike to the other barn and back. So, here are some pictures from the last couple of days...enjoy.

Day Hiking In The Foothills Of The Smokies At Ramsey Cascades

Well, today (Tuesday) it was back to the Smokies, as I chip away at my 100 miles for the Park Service Centennial, and it is a good one as I hiked to Ramsey Cascades. Like with some of my previous hikes I plan a more in-depth blog on this outing in the future.  I know this is considered maybe THE waterfall hike in the Great Smokies Mountains National Park (GSMNP). The hike is out of the Greenbrier section of the park, which made this my first visit.

After a drive of almost five miles, mostly on gravel road I arrived at the trailhead. From here it is an eight-mile out-and-back and the trip up is a steep, rocky, uphill climb of 2000 feet with a few creek crossings.

Once at the falls, Ramsey Cascades is a wonder to behold; rolling 100 feet to its base, it is the best I have seen in the GSMNP.

Besides a beautiful waterfall there were plenty of wildflowers, old growth forest and I spotted some turkeys. There was even a black snake stretched out on the trail. After finishing the hike I took a short detour (what a surprise) on the Foothills Parkway. This six-mile eastern section is one of three open and it offered some great overlooks, including a view of Mount Cammerer.

Super Taco! A Not Great Dining Experince At The Sevierville Chipotle

Well, I close out our day with a short blog on where Deb and I ate lunch Sunday, Chipotle. I know that Chipotle has had some issues with food poisoning lately, but I have always enjoyed my visits to a number of locations...mostly in Georgia and it is one of Deb’s favorite places. Well a Chipotle location has opened just inside of Sevierville near the Tanger Outlet Mall. When we went in it was pretty busy, so much so that they ran out of black beans. As we overheard this location had only been open a week or two, so I cut them a break on the black beans and decided to wait the 10 minute estimate of when they would be done. I must give them credit as they checked the temperature a number of times to make sure they were ready for consumption. So, they finally finished the black beans and now it was time to make my burrito. Like I have said I have been to Chipotle many times and the people at all of the locations knew how to fold a burrito, but here in Sevierville they did not. The guy tried to fold mine three times and failed, on two of the tries he ripped my flour shell and had to get another. If it was just mine you could chalk it down to being too full, but he failed trying to fold the two the gentlemen before me had. I finally just said to put it in a bowl and I would eat it like a giant taco or as I called it a Super Taco! Let's just say it was pretty messy. Anyway, this wasn’t the best dining experience I have had at a Chipotle and Deb didn’t either. I hope this location gets its act together, because it needs too...fast!

Return Trip To Gatlinburg Trail & Cataract Falls

Today I let Deb pick where she wanted to hike at on this beautiful (but hot) Sunday in April. Deb decided to head back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) and hike the Gatlinburg Trail.

It was alright with me because it gave me the opportunity to log more Smokies miles. I had only two request...number one she drive and two we go to on the way back on the Gatlinburg Trail. Like I said previously this is a four-mile out-and-back from Sugarlands Visitors Center to Gatlinburg. 

It is a hike along the Little River and while not to difficult is very picturesque. It was hard to believe that in a week that the foliage had bloomed out so much. The trail had the light green hue of mid-to-late spring. When we reached Gatlinburg we found another park sign that indicates the start of the Gatlinburg Trail. Unlike our last trip we took a left before the Park Headquarters (at the old cemetery) and picked up the trail to Cataract Falls. 

This was my third trip here to Cataract Falls (see here & here), but this might have been the best flow I have seen on this 25-foot cascade. After that it was back to Sugarlands to finish our hike that came in around 4.75 miles...not bad.