I wound up working on Labor Day, so last weekend I got my Monday off and the family and I decided to car camp at the Cataloochee Campground in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I had never been there, despite spending a lot of time hiking and kayaking in the next valley over on Big Creek, but has been on my hit list for a while due to the reintroduced elk herd in the valley. The last Eastern elk in NC was killed in the late 1700's and was completely extinct by the early 1800's. In 2001, the Great Elk Experiment started with ~50-60 Manitoban elk which are now a thriving herd of ~160 and have spread beyond Cataloochee. There are also some historical structures such as houses, barns, a school, and a chapel to see.
First, an obligatory hammock picture. The sites at the campground are outstanding for hammocking, but bring long straps as some of the trees are quite large (24"+). I don't think there are any sites where you couldn't hang multiple hammocks. I set up my hammock (which my daughter commandeered for a rest), and the "princess palace" for my wife and girls.
Cataloochee Creek flows right beside some of the sites and offered a welcome diversion for my girls, complete with a silly rock cairn.
After getting established we went out exploring and found the Palmer Chapel, a well-preserved/restored Methodist chapel. As a Presbyterian I felt quite at home, but my Catholic wife and girls found it a bit ascetic and unadorned...
We visited the Beech Grove schoolhouse which my girls thought was hilarious (two rooms, two chalkboards, no technology). In the back of the schoolhouse I opened the backdoor and was greeted by...a bull elk! We were visiting during the rut and he obliged us with a bugle. We stayed safely inside the schoolhouse - the NPS has a lot of issues with visitors interacting with the elk or getting to close to them and habituating them to people which is dangerous for everyone.
We then visited the Caldwell house and barn. Here is a shot from the front yard of the house towards the barn and elk meadow.
As the sun set and dozens of cars were busily photographing elk in the meadows, I took the opportunity to photograph the meadow itself which is gorgeous and properly maintained by the elk themselves.
On Sunday we got up and decided to hike the Boogerman Loop which is just beside the campground. At 6-7 miles I knew that my girls wouldn't make it, so we just did an in-and-out of 5 miles total, only casualties being a yellowjacket bite and getting thoroughly soaked. The trail follows the beautiful Caldwell Fork for much of the loop with many footbridges built by the NPS.
After lunch we went elk scoping again and were rewarded by a young-ish bull (noted due to the lack of a collar) who was nonetheless magnificent.
On Monday we got up and packed up and went looking for elk one more time despite it being mid-morning. Alas, the elk had already left the heat of the meadows (72F) but my oldest daughter spotted this guy! He was right beside the schoolhouse we had visited on Saturday where we had seen the bugling elk.
In the same meadow we also found a flock of turkeys and I felt compelled to at least get a snapshot of this tom.
We ended our weekend at the steel bridge over Cataloochee Creek where it was 10F cooler than anywhere else, exactly as a ranger told us would be. I waded out into the creek to get this shot and ponder why I had not brought any fishing gear.
We then headed to Asheville en route to Raleigh where I've made a recent tradition of grabbing a burger at Asheville Brewing Company after trips to the mountains. (1/4lb Nacho Libre w/Fire Escape ESB is the best combination)
If you're looking for a restful car camping hammock experience with plenty of wildlife and woodland opportunities, I highly recommend Cataloochee.
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Originally Posted by Gravitythief76
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