Gold Mine 0.9, Cooper Rd 1.8, Beard Cane 4.2

Only Gold Mine and Beard Cane (5.1 mi. new out of what should have been 13.8 mi. hike)

Met Diane, Amy, and Janetta at Food Lion at 7:00; we proceeded directly to Top of the World Estates SE of Maryville. We left my vehicle on private property a relatively short distance from Gold Mine Trail head at ~7:45.

Gold Mine is 0.8 mi. once you get to it. We then went on Cooper Road (1.8 mi. that I had previously done) until we reached Beard Cane. The latter is 4.2 mi. and ends at the northern most point of the GSMNP in this area. It has a slug of creek crossings with the last one necessitating water shoes (one in our crew almost made it across without). Because latter was only ~0.5 mi. to the trail terminus, I kept my water shoes on for we would be going back the way we came. We reached Ace Gap Trail (our terminus) at 11:10. As we ate lunch (see pic--D, A, & J) a solo hiker completed Ace Gap (5.6 mi. from Rich Mtn Road—he was going in & out--that may be one of my next Fri. hikes). There used to be a trail that follows the park boundary and connects with the end of Cane Creek Trail; we discussed going that way but one other and I were not too much in favor. (A short distance on our way down we met a couple planning on taking that route—they said that they had parked immediately behind me; I sort of wish that we would have for it would have prevented a major goof that I was about to make.)

Shortly after we reached Cooper Road on our return I went ahead with the intent of getting back to my vehicle early so that I could ice my knee and not hold up the others. Unfortunately I did not have my brain in gear when I reached Cain Creek; I forgot where Gold Mine met it and proceeded North on Cane Creek in high gear with my mind on another topic. Unfortunately Gold Mine trailhead was ~0.7 mi. South of this intersection; my prior “orange inking” after the completion of Cane Creek earlier in the year had obliterated this factor. When I eventually came to my senses I am sure that I went more than half of the 2.1 Cane Creek Trail; thus I kept it in high gear and retraced my steps and eventually found Gold Mine. Amy, Diane, and Janetta took my gross error much more in stride than did I. My only solace was that we beat the couple that we met on the trail back to our vehicles—perhaps what was a former trail may have been a very tough one.