{"id":2376,"date":"2013-09-16T21:30:02","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T02:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/?p=2376"},"modified":"2013-09-16T21:30:02","modified_gmt":"2013-09-17T02:30:02","slug":"vacation-day-8-over-the-river-and-through-the-gap-to-abrams-falls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/?p=2376","title":{"rendered":"Vacation Day 8: Over the river and through the gap to Abrams Falls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Somehow our clocks are out of sync.\u00a0 Either I sleep in or Rich does.\u00a0 Today was Rich\u2019s turn to sleep in.\u00a0 We got breakfast and got on the road to Cades Cove again today.\u00a0 We are going to walk the Abrams Falls trail.\u00a0 Since the entire trail there and back is 5 miles, this is our only hike of the day.Our first wildlife sighting for the day was a pair of wild turkeys by the side of the road on our way to Cades Cove.\u00a0 I almost missed them.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t think that black, white and red blends with the grass and trees.\u00a0 But it does!<\/p>\n

This trail starts about midway of the loop, so we have to get through the single lane road with all of the slow drivers.\u00a0 When we reach the Townsend turnoff, it begins to rain.\u00a0 It\u2019s coming down pretty good, too.\u00a0 That\u2019s fine.\u00a0 We have raincoats in our packs.\u00a0 Rain is just one of those things you put up with when you hike.<\/p>\n

The rain and difference between the warm and cold causes the smoke on the mountains to be more intense.\u00a0 As we round the corner to John Oliver\u2019s homestead, we can see the mountains to the south of the park with a wreath of smoke on them.\u00a0 People are pulling off the road in this area.\u00a0 We decide to pull off and get some pictures as well.\u00a0 To the right of us, we can see the smoke rising from the ridge behind the homestead.\u00a0 That ridge is fairly close to us.\u00a0 We take pictures of the farther mountains also.\u00a0 This is the best example of the smoke rising that we\u2019ve seen so far.<\/p>\n

We start back down the loop.\u00a0 Just after we get past the churches and Elijah Oliver\u2019s homestead, we run into a long line of traffic.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to see what the holdup is.\u00a0 Then it becomes apparent.\u00a0 There is a truck pulling a trailer filled with people.\u00a0 It\u2019s a hay ride in the rain!<\/p>\n

We inch along until we finally get to the Abrams Falls turn off.\u00a0 We pull into the parking lot and Rich asks me if that\u2019s a dog.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see anything so I can say.\u00a0 On the far side of the lot, there is a coyote walking the edge of the grass toward the path.\u00a0 He is pretty big, but definitely a coyote.\u00a0 Rich snaps a couple of good pictures before the coyote heads into the woods and down the trail.<\/p>\n

We pull on our raincoats and put on our camelbaks.\u00a0 With hiking sticks in hand, we head down the trail.\u00a0 We cross a small creek and the trail heads southwest.\u00a0 Even though it\u2019s raining, we get pretty warm quickly.\u00a0 Soon the rain stops, we stop to take off our coats and store them in our packs.<\/p>\n

The trail ranges up and down with some pretty good hills.\u00a0 It\u2019s not the worst trail we\u2019ve been on in the park so far.\u00a0 We are heading to a gap in the ridge that runs parallel with the Abrams Creek.\u00a0 At the gap, the river sounds like it right next to you.\u00a0 Once you cross the gap, the river sounds like it is behind you all of sudden.<\/p>\n

After the gap, we start heading down the mountain for the valley.\u00a0 We are walking down the opposite side of the mountain.\u00a0 We cross over some feeder creeks and streams running to Abrams Creek.\u00a0 It is getting wider and moving fast.\u00a0 As we get to the last downward slope, the trail becomes a huge piece of upended rock that is jagged and uneven.\u00a0 The climbing here is a lot more difficult.<\/p>\n

We round the corner where the creek runs and there is the falls.\u00a0 There are lots of large boulders here that you scramble over to get to the water\u2019s edge.\u00a0 There are two couples already here.\u00a0 One of the pair had passed us on the way down.<\/p>\n

Abrams Falls has the largest pool at the bottom of all the falls in the park.\u00a0 It is a favorite swimming hole for a lot of people.\u00a0 A set of young men come down the trail and immediately prepare to go swimming. The dangers in this pool are great.\u00a0 There are large, unseen boulders that could get in your way of swimming underwater.\u00a0 The force of the falls could suck you under the water and keep you down.<\/p>\n

Rich walks around taking pictures while I rest.\u00a0 He notices that the falls is receding along the wall and moving west.\u00a0 It\u2019s almost like Niagara Fall and how it is receding and moving along the rock wall behind the falls.\u00a0 Rich takes a picture of me with the falls in the background.\u00a0 This is proof that I made the hike.<\/p>\n

We gather up our packs and start the journey up.\u00a0 We\u2019ve given ourselves plenty of time to take the trail.\u00a0 So far, we\u2019ve done pretty good on time.\u00a0 The walk down takes us about an hour and fifteen minutes.\u00a0 We are hoping to match that going back up.<\/p>\n

We get over the rough rocks and up the first hills.\u00a0 Then we start hearing thunder off behind us.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t think that the weather usually came from that direction.\u00a0 As we continue up the mountain, the sound of thunder gets closer and louder.\u00a0 By the time we reach the gap, the sounds are very close.\u00a0 We hear lighting, but we don\u2019t see it strike.\u00a0 We have passed several people just starting down the trail to the falls.\u00a0 It\u2019s unwise to be on the mountain in a storm.<\/p>\n

We hear more lighting and thunder as we go down the mountain.\u00a0 People just ahead of us are turning around rather than risk being exposed on the mountain.\u00a0 It begins to pour at one point and we are getting wet.\u00a0 Rich stops to put his camera in his pack to protect it. The rain is cool and feels good after the long hike.<\/p>\n

We just make it over the bridge and head to the parking lot when it absolutely pours down on us.\u00a0 Luckily, we are in a stand of thick trees and it prevents us from being pelted by the rain.\u00a0 I look out past the parking lot and see a doe and her fawn coming through the meadow beside the road.\u00a0 Rich gets his camera out and tries to catch them before they disappear from our view.<\/p>\n

Since the rain is still coming down, we grab our sandwich stuff and eat in the car.\u00a0 It\u2019s just enough to keep us from starving until dinner.\u00a0 It\u2019s about 3:30 now and we have dinner plans at 5:00!\u00a0 We get moving because we still have to complete the 11 mile loop to back to the cabin.\u00a0 Everyone is only driving 10 miles an hour.<\/p>\n

We got as fast as possible with the traffic, rain, and park conditions.\u00a0 We make it out of the park and back onto the by-pass around town in good time.\u00a0 I see some wild turkey and try to stop so Rich can take pictures.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the turkeys aren’t cooperating and walk out of his range.\u00a0 He tries anyway.<\/p>\n

As we go up the road to our cabin, Rich takes pictures.\u00a0 I plan to use an animation program and stitch them together so that we can simulate what the drive up to the cabin looks like.\u00a0 Since I used one to show Rich walking the width of the Appalachian Trail, it\u2019s worth a shot to see if it would turn out.<\/p>\n

We arrive at the cabin at 4:15.\u00a0 We have to meet Pete and Karen at 5:00 in Pigeon Forge.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be close.\u00a0 We rush through showers and get dressed.\u00a0 It\u2019s quarter to when we leave the cabin.\u00a0 Luckily, Pigeon Forge is only 10 minutes away.<\/p>\n

We arrived right at 5:00.\u00a0 The hot rod run looked like it was kicking into full swing, but the parking lot was not that full yet.\u00a0 We parked and went in to get a buzzer.\u00a0 Rich called Pete to see where they were.\u00a0 Unfortunately, they got caught coming into town and were going to be a few minutes.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take them too long before they pulled into the parking lot.\u00a0 As they got out and walked up, the buzzer went off.\u00a0 Good timing.\u00a0 We got our seats, drinks, and the talk began.<\/p>\n

After dinner, we walked around the cars outside the restaurant a little bit.\u00a0 There was a lot of traffic and people.\u00a0 Time to move the jig saw from our car to Pete\u2019s van.\u00a0 Back when Pete and Karen were moving to Tennessee, Rich bought the saw.\u00a0 In the time since he\u2019s had it, it sat in the garage.\u00a0 It seemed like a good opportunity to return an antique to its owner.<\/p>\n

We continue to stand in the parking lot talking and talking.\u00a0 We just couldn\u2019t seem to stop.\u00a0 The weather is turning bad around us, so it is time to call it quits.\u00a0 We say our final good-byes and leave the restaurant parking lot.\u00a0 It is easy for us to get out.\u00a0 We get into the middle lane and buzz right out of town.\u00a0 We follow the road to Cove Mountain Road and right onto the concrete platform in front of Grandma\u2019s Gift.<\/p>\n

When we get in the door, the storm outside breaks loose.\u00a0 There is a clap of thunder and a pounding on the roof.\u00a0 We settle into our routine in the living room with our computers.\u00a0 I\u2019m writing the last blog to try and get caught up.\u00a0 Rich is sorting pictures from the day\u2019s hike.\u00a0 We hear the sound of a large truck come up Cove Mountain Road and pass the cabin.\u00a0 Then there is the sound of backup beepers going off.<\/p>\n

I open the front door of the cabin and there is an ambulance backing right up to the front door.\u00a0 I stand there and watch them back right up to within inches of the wall.\u00a0 They stop, pull forward, and continue up the hill.\u00a0 I look out and there is a full truck and ladder backing up on the road just above us.\u00a0 There are 5 or 6 guys with flashlights waving him around so that he doesn\u2019t run off the road.<\/p>\n

The fire truck comes around and down the road.\u00a0 They continue down the hill and I hear them get to the bottom.\u00a0 The ambulance comes down the road following the fire truck.\u00a0 I shut the door and come inside. The sound of the truck and ambulance echo from the road down below the cabin.\u00a0 I guess they are still looking for something or someone.<\/p>\n

We share some time alone on our couches enjoying just being in the same room.\u00a0 Then it\u2019s off to bed.\u00a0 Tomorrow is our last full day in Gatlinburg.\u00a0 We intend to hike and see another part of the park.\u00a0 We need our beauty rest for that.<\/p>\n

\"My<\/a>
My morning picture of Mt. Leconte from our porch.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Smoky<\/a>
Smoky Mountains looking north from John Oliver’s homestead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Smoky<\/a>
Smoky Mountains looking south from John Oliver’s homestead.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"More<\/a>
More smoking mountains early on Thursday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Coyote<\/a>
Coyote stopping by Abrams Falls to visit us before hitting the trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Even<\/a>
Even the creek is smoky here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rapids<\/a>
Rapids on Abrams Creek.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rich<\/a>
Rich at the Gap on Abrams Falls trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Joy<\/a>
Joy at the Gap on Abrams Falls trail.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A<\/a>
A yellow frog crossed our path.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another shot of Abrams Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Abrams<\/a>
Abrams Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Another<\/a>
Another shot of Abrams Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Up<\/a>
Up close at Abrams Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Joy<\/a>
Joy at Abrams Falls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rich<\/a>
Rich on the roughest part of the trail back from Abrams Falls.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Doe<\/a>
Doe and her fawn moving through the meadow.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Two<\/a>
Two turkeys in the bushes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
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Somehow our clocks are out of sync.\u00a0 Either I sleep in or Rich does.\u00a0 Today was Rich\u2019s turn to sleep in.\u00a0 We got breakfast and got on the road to Cades Cove again today.\u00a0 We are going to walk the Abrams Falls trail.\u00a0 Since the entire trail there and back is 5 miles, this is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,12,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2376"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2402,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2376\/revisions\/2402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}