Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Many times we make elaborate plans for our trips and other times we just have a vague idea of where we'd like to go and what we'd like to do.  Most of our trips to the Great Smokies are of the latter version.  We made a couple of those trips during late May 2012.  We often head to Cades Cove to drive the 11-mile loop road and wonder at the beauty of God's creation.  We try to time these visits to avoid the peak visitor times and the gridlock that inevitably occurs.  Another favorite drive is the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail above Gatlinburg.

Cades Cove

After entering the park near Townsend, we turned right onto Laurel Creek Road following the West Prong Little River upstream toward Cades Cove.  Several miles up the road a large van had stopped on Laurel Creek Road.  Suspecting that someone had spotted a bear, we stopped at the next paved pulloff and walked back down the shoulder to see what we could see.  While I almost always have a tripod in the vehicle, I usually don't use it when viewing wildlife as I might need to be fairly nimble in making a hasty retreat.  Unfortunately, that means that any video is rather bouncy especially if I'm using much of the zooming capabilities of the camera.  Thus the following video should not be viewed full screen.  I muted the sound so you don't hear all the vehicle traffic.

Upon reaching the cove, we saw several deer.

Roaring Fork

Even though the spring rains had faded, we decided to hike to Baskins Falls.  There are two trails to the falls.  Both trails are approximately three miles round trip and start from parking areas on Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.  After stopping near the park entrance on Cherokee Orchard Road to take some pictures of LeConte Creek, we drove about three miles and turned right onto Roaring Fork Road.  As we pulled off at the sign for Baskins Creek Trail, a couple of hikers walking down the road passed us.  While we were adjusting our walking sticks and loading the backpack with water and cameras, one of the hikers ran back up the road to warn us that a bear and a couple of cubs were in the thicket below us and heading for the trail.   We decided to wait at the car until the bears had crossed the trail.  After a couple of minutes, one bear arrived and started foraging close to the trail.  This was either an adult female or a yearling.  By this time, several people had shown up and some drivers stopped in the road, blocking traffic completely.  About a dozen people, including several children,  headed down the trail to get a closer look, oblivious to the danger and illegality of their actions.  By this time, we had abandoned the idea of hiking to the falls on this day.  We'll make another attempt at some point.  Once traffic started moving, we continued around the motor trail.  

Within minutes, we came to a congested area and correctly assumed that another bear had been spotted.  While staying in the car, we saw this cub in the tree.  The cub seemed to be very agitated by the commotion around it.  Within seconds, it scurried down the tree and scampered into some dense vegetation.  We overheard one family discuss how surprised they were at how fast the cub could climb and run.  While there is a paved road and several trails through the area, I wish people would realize this is not a city park or a zoo.  Instead it is a wild place that is home to many creatures.  We are so fortunate that it and similar areas throughout the country have been preserved by visionaries and ordinary citizens.

Continuing along the motor trail, we passed the second trailhead to Baskins Falls after deciding that there were too many bears active in the area to enjoy our hike.  Further on, we noticed that the volume of water was greatly diminished from that seen in the early spring at the Place of a Thousand Drips.

The park website is http://www.nps.gov/grsm.