After waiting about 4 weeks for the wife to get her week of vacation,,they managed to squeeze 5 days for her to get off so we made a quick pack of the car of various gear and beat it down south to Balsam Mt. Campground this week for 5 days, 4 nites of hanging at 5314ft altitude on Balsam Mt. abvoe Cherokee, NC on the south side of the GSMNP. Original plans were to hike and camp at Campsite 13 a mile past Gregory Bald,,but do to short notice,,couldn't get a reservation on that campsite and because it was our 1st year wedding anniversary,,I let the wife kinda call the shots as to what she wanted to do that week, and she wanted to car camp, and hang our hammocks at Balsam Mt. Campground and so that is where we planted our butts for the 4 nites. After experiencing above 90 degree weather,,the hang at 5300 ft alitutude was very very nice with daytime temps in the low 60's and nite time temps at 48 and 49 each nite. It rained the first 3 nites. First nite rained about 2/10's inch, 2nd nite was a half inch of heavy rain at times, 3rd nite we had about another 2/10's and the last nite no rain. Great hanging in the rain listening to it hit the tarps putting us to sleep as the rain would always hold off till about 11pm and we would wake in the mornings either in a heavy fog flying over the top of the mountain, with the sun burning it off every morning making a very pleasant morning by a campfire eating breakfast and enjoying our morning coffee.
For those of those that car camp, or trip with a motorcycle, Balsam Mt. Campground opens on May 11 and closes on Oct 11th for the season,,its always cooler at 5300ft alititude and you can never guess the weather in the Smokies which is always a nice surprise. This campground is never filled. There are at least 10 of the 42 sites where you can hang 2 or more hammocks using your ingenuity..and maybe another 6 with 1 hammock spot and if you have portable stands, at least 10 more spots of the 42 sites with one or more trees for a end hang with your portable stand on a end. Great thing about this campgrounds, the spots are spread out so you can have alittle privacy and the first nite there were only 7 spots filled, 2nd nite 8,,3rd nite 5,,and Thurs nite, 8 again so we had our area pretty much to ourselves.
Best buy on firewood is at Starvin Marvin's gas station, which is located 3/10ths of a mile west of junction of the Blue Ridge Parkway and Hwy 19 between Maggie Valley and Cherokee on Hwy 19. For 5 bucks you get a big box of solid oak of which you wouldn't find anywhere else, and they have large bags of ice for a buck as well,,1 box of oak would last all nite for 4 hours of burn time if you like a nice decient fire. Best showers for 3 bucks can be had at Bradley's Campground in Cherokee. Clean and hot and you can shower as long as you want. GSMNP has no shower facilities.
The wife has never experienced springtime in the Smokies and it was my plan to show her the bloom of the rodedendrum, mountain laurel, and the flaming azaleas. Early June in the higher alititudes is best for this specticle of the Smokies with Andrews Bald and Gregory Bald loaded with every color imaginable. Because we didn't pack to Gregories Bald,,we did the Andrews Bald hike, where you park at Clingman's Dome Parking lot at 6200 ft alitutude and hike 1.9 miles with a drop in elevation of about 1000 ft to Andrews Bald,,this hike is registered as a easy hike. We packed a picnic lunch and spent about hour walking the bald taking pics of the various flowers in bloom. Instead of giving you pics of hammock hanging which you always see on this forum..I decided to show what your missing if you don't make a trip to the mountains in the spring/early summer,,,to view the explosion of color in the mountains. Also,,the Blue Ridge Parkway,,and road to Balsam Mt. as well as the gravel 1 way 29 mile road into the back of Cherokee was lined with the explosion of Mountain Laurel, Azaleas, and quite a few still blooming white and purple rodedendrum as they bloom alittle earlier than the flaming azaleas. The road to Balsam Moutain must be driven with care as you will encounter elk of which we enjoyed the siteings of about 20 total, numerous wild turkeys, a grouse, squirrels, a grey fox, 1 black bear just outside the entrance to Balsam Mt. Campground, and numerous rabbits at the campsite as well. Drive with care and enjoy the few pics I am posting. Included in the pics are a couple of the Fourney Creek Trail to Andrews Bald and a pic of the bald.
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