Mt Sterling Smokies Backpack
Friday-Sunday, October 10-12, 2014
The weather forecast was “iffy” at best, maybe downright scary for Friday night, but either bravely or foolishly we still packed up our rain gear and went anyway. We did have a great campsite with a nice spot to string a tarp just a bit off from the fire pit; that gave us some sense of security against the weather. Problem was, the wind constantly blew smoke in our faces when we were under the tarp. But the only rain we had was early Sunday morning while we were still in our tents, so Mother Nature was quite kind actually, even treating us to a spectacular cloud-filled sunset Friday evening. We climbed the tower for a better view, and there’ll be a great color shot on the website report. Bob did venture out for a long hike to Balsam High Top on Saturday, but the rest of us just hung around the campsite, using worries about possible rain as an excuse when we really were just worn out from climbing Mt Sterling trail with 30+ pound backpacks the day before. Some of us did make another climb or two up the tower. Sunday’s descent down Baxter Creek trail was highlighted by the lush greens of moss and ferns in the early going. Intrepid backpackers were Kendra Cross, Reggie Jay, Monty Simmons, Bob Butterfield, and John Rowland reporting. Pictures courtesy of Reggie Jay
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