Curry Mtn to Jake's Creek Dayhike

 

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Starting out

Very mindful of possible weather problems that might close roads and throw all our plans for a loop, we nonetheless gathered and set out with high hopes for a little Smoky Mountain snow hiking. As we drove into the park on Little River Road, the road was thankfully clear, but there was definitely snow in them there hills! We set up the car shuttle at Elkmont and then set off from Metcalf Bottoms in at least an inch of the white stuff on the Curry Mountain Trail.

Lunch break

 

 Back on the trail
The first small creek crossing was a hint of things to come – frozen over solid! But we all remained upright as we climbed to the junction with Meigs Mountain Trail. We made a quick side trip to view a nearby primitive cemetery, then paused for a brief lunch. Having to go with gloves off while we ate left a lot of icy fingers, but we slowly regained some warmth as we returned to hiking. By then we were in more like two inches of snow, or maybe more. Before we reached Jake’s Creek Trail, we met and briefly chatted with a sizeable and very hardy group of backpackers from Knoxville who were arriving at their campsite for the night. Brrrrrrr!
Avent cabin Footlog=
Turning up Jake’s Creek Trail we quickly found what was one of the main focal points of this hike – the Avent cabin that sits halfway up the hillside across the creek from the trail. Normally it’s well hidden by the trees, but with no leaves to interfere with our view, and with snow on the roof, it was pretty easy to spot. We made our way down the hill, across a snow-covered foot log, and up to the cabin for a closer look. As all the old buildings are in the Smokies, it was a treat to inspect. Our return trip hit a snag when we found that Little River Road to Townsend was now slick and consequently closed, but we were able to retrieve the vehicle we had left at Metcalf Bottom. So dinner was not in Townsend, it was in Pigeon Forge, but oh well, the day was otherwise perfect. Mushing happily through the snow were Arlene Swallows, Barbara McCollum, Cheryl Hale, Bob Butterfield, Boe Rudder, John Hyler, Art Dees, Tim Chomyn, leader Wayne Chambers, and John Rowland reporting.

Photos, John

Last updated: September 15, 2014

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