Maddron Bald—7.3 n, 7.3 pd, & Albright Loop 0.7 n
Amy Howe called last night to see if I was going to the Cracker Barrel pickup (typically Knox Co. hikers meet there) or the Food Lion one for Blount County folk; I decided then to go to Food Lion for I knew that I would have at least one person hiking with me (either meet-up place works for me). I picked up Amy at 7:30 at Food Lion; however, no other Blount County folk were there to join us. We reached Jellystone (a commercial place where we would meet hikers from Knox Co.—it is close to Cosby) at 8:50; Tom Wainner pulled in with his big van with John Kennerly, Bill Broome, Dale Teague, and Cecil Rowe.
We got started on our trek ~9:20. Cecil and John, both working on their 2nd maps as is Amy, advised me that they wanted to do the hike that Amy and I were undertaking rather than the shorter one to Albright Loop and return; thus they would ride back with me. The first 1.2 miles of the Maddron Balk hike follow an old road and were very easy. Although this is primarily an “up” hike that ends at its junction with Snake Den Ridge, it is not nearly as steep as the former. However, there were 4-5 challenging stream crossings that we were able to do without putting on our water shoes; they included the traditional rock hopping with one spiced with some fallen log walking. Of course we had to cross the same streams coming back; this slowed us down for we were very careful but there were no mishaps.
Shortly prior to reaching Snake Den Ridge trail we met a crew of trail workers; these were seasonal rangers who were retained because of the big storm damage occurring in October. One was carrying a big chain saw and others carried gas cans; they said that they came up Snake Den Ridge and did not work up a sweat. They then informed us that horses took them up. When we reached Snake Den Ridge the wind was a little uncomfortable so we backtracked to a more sheltered place for lunch. The picture is of my cohorts just after we had lunch (from L to R, John, Cecil, & Amy).
On the trip to the trailhead I talked with my passenger Amy. On the first leg of our hike John and I were together; on the way out Cecil and I were together. Obviously we get to know each other quite well since we often hike or travel together. On our return trip we did Albright Loop; this added about 0.7 mi. to the hike. This area is unique in that it has a lot of old growth trees (i.e., Cecil told me that the owner of 20-30 acres in this area would not sell to the lumber companies—in many areas of the GSMNP you only see growth since the 20’s and 30’s).
We did not get back to my vehicle until ~4:15. I asked John to drive so that I could ice my knee; on our way back we stopped at an apple place (Cosby is known for its good price on apples). We then returned on I 40 to Cracker Barrel; Cecil took Amy to her car and John and I went on our ways.
We got started on our trek ~9:20. Cecil and John, both working on their 2nd maps as is Amy, advised me that they wanted to do the hike that Amy and I were undertaking rather than the shorter one to Albright Loop and return; thus they would ride back with me. The first 1.2 miles of the Maddron Balk hike follow an old road and were very easy. Although this is primarily an “up” hike that ends at its junction with Snake Den Ridge, it is not nearly as steep as the former. However, there were 4-5 challenging stream crossings that we were able to do without putting on our water shoes; they included the traditional rock hopping with one spiced with some fallen log walking. Of course we had to cross the same streams coming back; this slowed us down for we were very careful but there were no mishaps.
Shortly prior to reaching Snake Den Ridge trail we met a crew of trail workers; these were seasonal rangers who were retained because of the big storm damage occurring in October. One was carrying a big chain saw and others carried gas cans; they said that they came up Snake Den Ridge and did not work up a sweat. They then informed us that horses took them up. When we reached Snake Den Ridge the wind was a little uncomfortable so we backtracked to a more sheltered place for lunch. The picture is of my cohorts just after we had lunch (from L to R, John, Cecil, & Amy).
On the trip to the trailhead I talked with my passenger Amy. On the first leg of our hike John and I were together; on the way out Cecil and I were together. Obviously we get to know each other quite well since we often hike or travel together. On our return trip we did Albright Loop; this added about 0.7 mi. to the hike. This area is unique in that it has a lot of old growth trees (i.e., Cecil told me that the owner of 20-30 acres in this area would not sell to the lumber companies—in many areas of the GSMNP you only see growth since the 20’s and 30’s).
We did not get back to my vehicle until ~4:15. I asked John to drive so that I could ice my knee; on our way back we stopped at an apple place (Cosby is known for its good price on apples). We then returned on I 40 to Cracker Barrel; Cecil took Amy to her car and John and I went on our ways.
posted by Wendell Liemohn at 9:36 PM
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