gregory bald campsite 13

Most people leave from either Twenty Mile Ranger Station in North Carolina off of NC Hwy 28 or Cades Cove from the parking area at the end of Forge Creek Road in Tennessee. Over 50 years of no hunting has made most of the wildlife unafraid of humans. Both of these locations can be found on any map of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The road was opened but shortly after heavy rains washed it out. Continue another mile one a gentler grade until reaching the intersections of Gregory Bald and Gregory Ridge trails. Traffic can be heavy and the pace is slow. Finding the trail actually gave me a feeling of hope, so I decided to head up to Gregory Bald as I had initially planned. The GBT will continue for 1.2 mi pass the bald to Gregory Ridge Trail but described in this hike to the bald and back. You will be turning right (west) on Gregory Bald Trail and follow the ridgeline toward Gregory Bald. I remember it being a very small campsite, with some sites right on a small creek. Just beyond the campsite is the Wolf Ridge Trail junction, which will lead you across Parson's Bald and eventually down to the Twentymile Ranger Station. When the road is closed to motor vehicles it is a great walk or bicycle ride. There are some campsites that require a reservation number and the closest campsite, #13 is one of them. This bald has mostly grown up and offers little in long distance views. Gregory's Bald will get crowded as people travel from all over to see the flame azaleas. This portion of the trail, however, was very steep and narrow. We will camp at campsite #13, which is a little less than half a mile below the Bald. If you're planning on completing this trail in a day, start early. I have heard it is gorgeous in May/June when all of the Azaleas start blooming. “ Campsite 13 - Sheep Pen Gap. We all setup in our own corner and kept to ourselves. ... We'd gotten to campsite 13 and look what we found. Whitetail deer can often be observed as they browse on the bald. Campsite 13: This high-elevation site, under a stand of firs and out of the wind, is seldom used. Destiny signs my checks." We will cover about 8.2 miles on our first day and we will ascend 3300 feet to the Bald. I was there in October and it was flowing pretty good. The name "Gregory Bald" was given to the mountain by Cades Cove residents in honor of Russell Gregory (1795�1864), a prominent Cades Cove settler. From here, one more steep climb (< 1 mile) to reach the summit of Gregory Bald. The central point of hiking the Gregory Ridge Hiking Trail is to reach Gregory Bald. Campsite 13 requires reservations and has limited space. Wolf Ridge trail begins right at campsite #13 at its intersection with Gregory Bald trail. Answer 1 of 7: My boyfriend & I are allotting two days (one night) to complete the Gregory Bald hike. Good weather. In the morning it's all downhill (6.8 miles) along the Wolf Ridge Trail, right back to your starting point. We will cover about 8.2 miles on our first day and we will ascend 3300 feet to the Bald. Gregory Bald is only a 10 minute walk up a fairly gradual ascent although headlamps will help negotiate the large rocks that are featured along the trail. Water for the camping area is down the Gregory Bald Trail, a little over 0.10 mile away. The camping area is quite large. We have had to turn back in December and January due to deep snow. There were two other groups. Gregory Bald—only 10 minutes from the campsite—was a great reward. For the descent, we hiked the Gregory Bald Trail. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. I set up camp in the rain in the dark. All of the rattlesnakes that I have come across have been pretty laid back and seem non-agressive by nature. Good luck getting a reservation here and I … The Trail now goes across the Dam and by-passes GB. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Sheep Pen Gap at 4,640 ft. is a marvelous place for a campsite. I enjoyed the mile of flat walking through Parson Bald to Sheep Pen Gap. Campsites 12, 13, 92, and 93 are the closest to the bald. Tag Archives: Gregory Bald ... “Rambo” Ricky, has to shut down Campsite 13 because of this bad boy. We will camp at campsite #13, which is a little less than half a mile below the Bald. At the South-West end of the bald you will pick up Wolf Ridge Trail. From Parson Branch Road take the Gregory Trail four miles past Sheep Pin Gap (campsite # 13) The hardest trail starts at Twenty Mile Ranger Station off of NC HWY 28 and starts on Twenty Mile Trail for 2.5 miles until the intersection with Long Hungry Trail, (LHT). With all the rant about hiking naked we decided to head up to campsite #13 with our clothes on. Water is available down the Gregory Bald Trail a few hundred feet. The name "Gregory Bald" was given to the mountain by Cades Cove residents in honor of Russell Gregory (1795�1864), a prominent Cades Cove settler. The Adventure Guide to Gregory Ridge Trail includes a trail description of the route from Gregory Ridge Trailhead to Gregory Bald, photographs of the route, comments from our hikes, mileage data of the route, the Gregory Bald topo map, and Gregory Ridge Trail tracklog on a geo-pdf map. Check with the rangers about water supplies on the Bald before you go. It's not clear whether this high elevation meadow was created by nature, or was cleared by some of the early settlers. We hope the guide helps you on your climb. It’s half mile proximity to both Gregory Bald and Parson Bald makes it possible to enjoy sunrises and sunsets without much rigorous night hiking. Despite this 14% grade, it is actually the easier access compared to Gregory Ridge Trail. If you're planning on completing this trail in a day, start early. You can get weather and other conditions information from the backcountry information desk at 865-436-1230. Hikers can stay here for the night, and catch a sunset/sunrise from atop the bald. It’s half mile proximity to both Gregory Bald and Parson Bald makes it possible to enjoy sunrises and sunsets without much rigorous night hiking. It was pretty brown at the summit. Campsite number 13 (Sheep Pen Gap) is at the junction. ” Finding the trail actually gave me a feeling of hope, so I decided to head up to Gregory Bald as I had initially planned. We arrived at the Sheep Pen Gap campsite - number 13 (4,640') at about 4 in the afternoon. It is a really nice site that is about half a mile past Gregory Bald. 7.1 - Birch Spring Gap (Campsite 113) 9.3 - Gregory Bald Trl Junction at Doe Knob 11.3 - Rich Gap Jct (Gregory Ridge Trl) 12.15 - Gregory Bald Summit 12.6 - Wolf Ridge Trail Junction and Campsite 13 13.3 - Parsons Bald 16.9 - Campsite 95 17.7 - Twentymile Loop Trl Junction near Moore Springs Branch 18.8 - End of loop 19.4 - Twentymile Trailhead Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. Campsite #13 sits at the junction of Gregory Bald trail and the Wolf Ridge trail which comes up from the North Carolina side of the park around Twentymile. LHT will intersect with Gregory Bald Trail in about 5 miles and by following Gregory Bald Trail for a little over a mile to the West you will emerge onto the Bald. There are Five trails that lead to GB. The bald was special nevertheless with its open expanse of grass and the 360 degree views. The road will remain closed through 2005, but there is hope that it will be re-opened in the future. Wolf Ridge trail begins right at campsite #13 at its intersection with Gregory Bald trail. It is a horse trail as well, so that meant that there are places where the trail itself has been damaged by the hooves, … © 2006-2021 SummitPost.org. We backpacked from the Twentymile ranger station to 13 Sheep Pen Gap on Day 1. The Gregory Bald Trail (from Cades Cove via Sams Gap and Parsons Branch Rd)) and Wolf Ridge Trail (from Twentymile) intersect at Sheep Pen Gap. Sheep Pen gap, campsite #13 just off Gregory Bald. Day 2 - Monday, November 13: Breakfast in the backcountry and breakdown your camp before hiking up, up, up to Doe Knob and Gregory Bald. Connecting Forge Creek Road with the Appalachian Trail, Gregory Bald Trail provides access to many of the trails in the Twentymile area. it's been over a decade since I stayed at 10. The first mile coming down is pretty flat, rolling along the top of Wolf Ridge and out to Parson Bald (which isn't very bald anymore). And we are there! One other note about Campsite #13. At mile 15.7, the Wolf Ridge Trail returns to the Twentymile Ranger Station parking lot. Check with the rangers for details. The drainage/creek runs over the trail. Rcarver. In the Summer many people start up Gregory Ridge Trail. I'd avoid 113 during May due to AT thru hikers. At mile 8.3, the Gregory Bald Trail summits Gregory Bald. It has a pretty reliable spring on the Gregory Bald trail, about 50 yards from the campsite. Instead, climb up the drainage on the Rich Gap side of the spring. It was still in the freeze-thaw cycle. When Rick was camping at 13 to dart him, he said he just rolled in … We have a permit for campsite 13. We finally reached the summit of Gregory Bald late in the afternoon. If you get to the Gregory Bald area by motor vehicle plan on spending at least half a day in historic Cades Cove. After two dayhikes to see the azaleas in each of the last two years, I wanted to go up there and have an entire day to just wander around (or lay around!) We will camp at campsite #13, which is a little less than half a mile below the Bald. Check with the ranger station for the current cost, as they seem to keep increasing the cost of these permits Those sites with a usage limit will require you to have a reservation number if space is available. This incline will bring you out on Gregory Bald. We have a permit for campsite 13. We continued on the Gregory Bald trail which terminates at Parson Branch road. At the next trailhead with 1/2 mile to go, you come to campsite 13 and walking up towards us were two of these beauts. It is a spring 300 yards or so down the trail, which is the headwater for Panther Creek, but due perhaps to wild hogs and also to horse traffic, it is typically a muddy mess and care must be taken to find an upstream place to gather your water needs and one should certainly treat all water.

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