October 31 - November 2, 2007

Day 1 - Sugarland Mountain Trail

Day 2 - Huskey Gap Trail & Little River Trail

Day 3 - Goshen Prong Trail & the A.T.

Stayed at the National Parks Hotel last night and took about three hot showers while I was there. Up early the next morning and we had a huge breakfast at the Great American Steak and Buffet. (A lot of fruit). On the way out of PF I saw a backpacker walking on the sidewalk heading south. I pulled over to see if he needed a lift. Come to find out, he was a SOBO. Trail name “High Life”. I asked him if he had his picture taken at the HH? He said he could not find the place, so off we went on our quest. The HH was not open yet, so we went to the sugerlands backcountry office for our permits and then back to the HH for the pictures. Needless to say, I’m a sucker for near Bping gear. I invested in some items that I probably will hardly ever use, I just wanted them. Dropped High Life off at Newfound Gap then made our way to the trail head. Parked at the Fork Ridge Trail parking lot and had to walk the A.T. for a short distance to the Sugarlands Mountain Trail, time 11 AM CST.

Shortly after we passed the sign for the Mt. Collins shelter, we came across the spring with a PVC pipe coming out of the side of the embankment. Plenty of water there. So we should be good at camp tonight at #21. Using my GPS, we came across several trails that are unmarked so I assumed they were old unmaintained trails that are not listed on the new park maps.

There was not much color up high, mostly greens & yellows but as we approached the lower elevation the reds started coming through. A lot of rock formations were on this trail. When we stopped at our first break at the junction of Sugarland and Rough Creek Trail, we noticed several yellow-jackets in the area, needless to say, one became attached to Hutch’s hand. He did admit that he was glad I smoked cigars because the tabakee sure brought relief to the sting.

Before we knew it, we had come across a boulder field with rocks the size of buses and what appeared to be a dried up stream. Then we saw the 4X4 engraved with the #21. We were here. Now, to find a flat area to set up camp & find us some water! We had to do a little work to get some water but we got enough for our supper & breakfast. Not to worry, cause tomorrow we have a short hike to little river about 3 miles (plenty there).

After a great night’s sleep and a good, hearty breakfast, we headed down Sugarlands to Husky Gap. This is where we started seeing the brilliant colors at their peak hidden from the crowds driving down Newfound Road. It was all ours to enjoy alone. And we did just that.
 

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2747690130055693752nwpNEf

 
After a short break at the gap, we made our way to Little River. Along the way we came across several piles of scat. The more recent droppings starting at the top. So we knew the bear was behind us. As hutch and I were hiking off in our own little world of enjoying the momen, I had to stop abruptly & had told Hutch to SHHHHHHHH. About 100 yards away you could hear the howling of several coyotes. Again, we just enjoyed the moment. We came across some remnants of old home sites prior to reaching the trail junction and did some exploring and thinking of days gone by...or as others might phrase it, as by gone days.

After a short break to get some clean water, we headed off for camp #30. Stopped at Goshen Prong for a 30 minute nap in the soft bed of leaves.

We followed the Little River all the way to #30 spotting many trout in the river (wish I had my fly rod!) We forded several times to get to the camp which was at the very end of the trail situated between two creeks. Once there we checked it out. Two sets of bear cables and 4 places to set up camp. The biggest problem was that it was way too early to start setting up our camp, so I decided to shave off 2 miles from our hike the next day and backtrack to camp #24.

Friday up early and packed because we have a big climb out of here today. The Goshen Prong Trail was an amazing trail. The water falls, the cascades, the high face rock walls and the caves. You tend to forget the climb out and the large elevation gain. We had the trail to ourselves and saw no one on this hike out until we were on the A.T. about a mile from the dome parking lot.

All in all, this was another great trip to the Smokies. Now, I’m planning for my winter hike.