Post 900 Hike #26

John Kennerly called me about doing an in/out on Kephart Prong (2 mi.) and Grassy Branch (2.5 mi.—it junctions with Dry Sluice Gap). John had chosen this hike in order to get a first test of how successful his recent arthroscopic knee surgery was. Also going on this hike were Cecil Rowe and BZ Lane; John is doing his 2nd map and Cecil is doing his Geezer Map (75 & over—believe Cecil has completed the 900 2-3 times but wants to add the Geezer distinction). Although BZ and I have both completed the 900, we’re both just hiking for the fun of it. This was to be my first hike with BZ since 4/4/07 when I completed the qualifications for entry into the 900 Mile Club; BZ was so critical in scheduling hikes to help me achieve that goal.

I arrived at Cecil’s house at 8:15; John arrived shortly thereafter and we proceeded in John’s car. We arrived at Sugarlands Visitor Center ~9:30 and picked up BZ; we then set out on U.S. 441 to the Kephart Prong trail head in NC. We began our hike at 10:15.

Although Kephart Prong was easy, Grassy Branch has ~1750 ft. climb in its 2.5 mi. That little bit of up made a very short hike more arduous than some others of similar distance. We did an easy pace and arrived there at 12:25 and ate lunch. At 12:45 we retraced our steps and arrived at John’s car at 14:30.

We stopped at a tourist center in Pigeon Forge to pick up brochures on Wilderness Wildlife Week. Most of these programs are free and this year I plan on attending some of the sessions.