Two Balds and a Firetower in the Smokies

I'm catching up on a backlog of photos/trip reports. This is from November 2021.

11/5 - 11/9/21 (4 nights)

Clingmans Dome to Fontana Dam via the AT with a side trip to Gregory Bald
Night 1: Double Spring Gap
Night 2: Derrick Knob
Night 3: Russell Field
Night 4: Site 13

Caltopo says about 41 miles (range: 1677' to 6573' gross: +9630' -14246')

A couple photos from each day with a lot more on my blog (no ads) - https://backpackandbeer.blogspot.com...n-smokies.html

Andrews Bald below Clingmans Dome, Fontana Lake far below
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0046.jpg

View from the AT
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0064.jpg

Last bits of Fall
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0077.jpg

Fontana Lake from Rocky Top
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0085.jpg

Backside of Russell Field Shelter
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0093.jpg

Sunset from Gregory Bald, looking down at Cades Cove
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0110.jpg

Sunrise looking at Cades Cove (I'm glad it is a short easy hike from the Bald to Site 13, easy to do in the dark)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0149.jpg

First bear I've seen in the Smokies that didn't immediately run, he did not care about me at all (note: this is a heavily cropped photo)
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0161.jpg

Shuckstack Firetower
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...0/_DSC0195.jpg

Shuckstack in the middle of the photo from Fontana Lake
https://blogger.googleusercontent.co...6/_DSC0212.jpg

The bears up there seem to be getting awfully familiar with humans...

We just got back from those same sites, in the other direction.

We saw no bears, but one large whitetail buck was spotted sauntering through our camp at Derricks Knob.

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Beautiful - Haven't been able to make it down to the Smokeys this fall... unfortunately. That looks like a stud of a black bear too. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
A.A.

Amazing photos! Rocky top and Gregory bought are two of my favorite peaks and the entire blue ridge. Would love to do this trip, especially in that direction and not the reverse. That being said, hoping to do the full length of the AT in the Smokies in the coming year.

+1 on the bear familiarity problem. Back in June, I spent two nights on Gregory bald and both nights we had close encounters with a mama bear and yearling cub within 100 yards of site 13. The first one was well after dark on a return from stargazing, and the second encounter was the next morning after while returning from the bald for sunrise. Both times they were fully unfazed by us.

Not to mention, there’s also quite the boar problem up there. If you walk around the edges of site 13 you’ll see tons of ground tilled by boars. The same night we stargazed on top of the bald we heard a piggy squeal a few times off in the distance… definitely a sobering moment!


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Trip report is very easy on the eyes...:shades:

This was the calmest bear I've ever seen in the Smokies. I seen about 25 over the years and they usually go crashing through the trees with no chance for a photo.

This used to be my best bear photo :) Along the Pretty Hollow trail a couple of years ago

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RP07jBX1M...%2B2020_37.jpg

Great pics! thanks for posting!

Beautiful trip, we did it a couple years ago! Thanks for the awesome report! Happy Trails!