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kevinumberger 
Group: Members
Posts: 3666
Joined: Dec. 2005
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Posted on: Nov. 12 2012, 4:08 pm |
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what a great weekend to be out.........nice temperatures, and blue skies.......
deep creek campsite 56 was the destination this past weekend........
this was the last campsite (of the ones that are currently open) that i needed to stay at to complete all the campsites in the park.......
sadly i missed the earthquake that happened as i was driving down near bryson city......
got to trailhead shortly before one pm, and saw a bunch of dayhikers heading up to the falls.......
here's what the trail looked like right after the first bridge crossing of deep creek......
and how the creek looked on saturday....
got to CS 56 in 2 hours 20 minutes.......
and had all the wood i'd need for a night's worth of fire within the first ten minutes....
and here's what the wood produced....
at this campsite, two girls doing the benton mackaye trail stayed here, and i invited them down to hang out, but they were beat and called it a night....
they did miss how a fire makes a blue light....
the blue glow came as a result of the lens on my cheap handheld little camera.......
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| Post Number: 2
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kevinumberger
Group: Members
Posts: 3666
Joined: Dec. 2005
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Posted on: Nov. 12 2012, 4:10 pm |
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(had to break this up in two as the forum wouldnt allow the whole thing to go through)
anyways.....
next day, got up and did pole creek road trail up to noland divide and back to deep creek campground........
had to cross the creek to get to pole creek, so here's a photo for bad knees....
and looking up the creek from the bridge......
pole creek was a nice uphill climb, with a few creek crossings and a few blowdowns on it......there were a couple of fallen trees that i had to remove pack and pass under before i could duck underneath....
looking up, here's a dead tree but nice blue skies....
getting up to noland divide after a few hours, had a quick lunch and started the trek (sorta) down to the campground.......
noland divide runs the length of a ridge with good views in back towards thomas divide area along with a view up towards clingmans dome....
the white spot right in the middle of the photo is the parking lot for the dome......
coming down the trail, came across this rock and a tree that was struck by lightnin and burnt a little bit....
a few hours of hiking along the ridgeline and came across a pleasant surprise as i had forgotten about this one since the last time i had done this trail (maybe about ten years ago)...
with the ridgeline, one gets views through trees, but then passes a side trail that leads to lonesome pine overlook......
what a pleasant surprise for an overlook......great overlook, and one that most people don't really think of for overlooks in the park.....
after lonesome pine overlook, the trail gets narrower and rocky while still riding the ridgeline.......deep creek/thomas divide/sunkota ridge on one side and bryson city/fontana on the other side....
all in all---a great weekend to be out hiking......yesterday was a long day at just under 12 miles for the hike......
but, i've done completed all the currently open campsites in the park.......
and i finish at just about 65 percent done all the trails for my second go around......
can't wait to start exploring some of the other wilderness areas that are around me.....
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| Post Number: 3
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kevinumberger
Group: Members
Posts: 3666
Joined: Dec. 2005
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Posted on: Nov. 12 2012, 5:54 pm |
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One thing i forgot to mention was an impressive sight that i saw on way home......didnt take picture though ......
At oconaluftee visitors center in the field next door was a herd of elk.......about a dozen of em....
I knew there were one or two over tbat way but to see 12the was aweaome........hope they spread further out.....
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| Post Number: 4
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pastywhite
Group: Members
Posts: 1564
Joined: May 2009
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Posted on: Nov. 12 2012, 7:56 pm |
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Congrats on getting all the sites!
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| Post Number: 5
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| Post Number: 6
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kevinumberger
Group: Members
Posts: 3666
Joined: Dec. 2005
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 12:41 pm |
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Do you mean the shot of the ridgeline?
I think thats just wind and drought damage........in that area i didnt see any fire damage or at least any that stood out.....
And yeah.......thats a cool overlook that i dont think most peole think about.......
Its a good climb feom the trailhead though if one were to do it aa a dayhike.....
And thanks for the words of congratulations.....
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| Post Number: 7
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bad knees
Group: Members
Posts: 2384
Joined: May 2007
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 1:47 pm |
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Yeah I've done that hike. Pole rd was nasty as I recall. Lot of blow downs and taking off the pack. That overlook is where my avatar is. Love how narrow noland is at some spots. Just enough for my poles. Great hike and pics. Spanx. Now I am juealous. 
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| Post Number: 8
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bad knees
Group: Members
Posts: 2384
Joined: May 2007
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 1:49 pm |
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The Elk are out in that field just about every evening. I have a lot of good pics of them. Very cool.
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There's a story behind that!
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| Post Number: 9
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| Post Number: 10
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bad knees
Group: Members
Posts: 2384
Joined: May 2007
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 5:58 pm |
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(kevinumberger @ Nov. 13 2012, 5:32 pm)
QUOTE QUOTE Love how narrow noland is at some spots. yeah............to me, and it was late in the day, this was a highlight of the hike........ i had completely forgotten about it from the last time i did this route about ten years ago or so.....
Is 56 still nice? Last time I was there it was very nice. The horse place up the creek one click was destroyed by downed trees. I think the bridge was out. A girl came down P Rd and crossed in the creek and fell in and lost her fleece top. She was alone and crashed at our site.. We convinced her to take Indian Creek tr back. I was kinda concerened for her safety. She could tell we were a safe couple. My brother and I. Argued all night. Like only brothers can. 
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| Post Number: 11
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bad knees
Group: Members
Posts: 2384
Joined: May 2007
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 6:13 pm |
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the old bridge
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| Post Number: 12
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bad knees
Group: Members
Posts: 2384
Joined: May 2007
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 6:15 pm |
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Elk At the vistior's center.
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| Post Number: 13
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bad knees
Group: Members
Posts: 2384
Joined: May 2007
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Posted on: Nov. 13 2012, 6:17 pm |
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Chillin bear
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| Post Number: 14
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| Post Number: 15
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mossy
Group: Members
Posts: 751
Joined: Aug. 2007
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Posted on: Dec. 01 2012, 5:38 pm |
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Nice TR. Wife, daughter and I really enjoyed our stay at 56 in July. One of the better non-reservation sites in the park is the one down by the creek. Unfortunately, we stayed there right after the heavy rain that followed those bad storms, so, no nice fire for us.
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