Search for the Stone House along a Raging River

Wednesday-Friday                                                                            Most Recent Posts:
August 1-3, 2018                                                                              Visiting Colin – FINALLY!
Great Smoky Mountains National Park                                             Old Sugarlands, Bears and Good bye to the Mills
Tennessee

After the recent excitments, the blog returns to days past in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in August where it continued to rain for several days.  There were some lovely skies over the campground the few times it was dry while I waited it out.

I had such a case of cabin fever that I actually got tired of reading and resorted to solitaire.

I did get a few quick walks around the campground during breaks between the showers and finally on August 3rd, the day after a hard rain, I headed back to the Old Sugarlands Trail to try to find that Stone House.  Wish you’d been here Sharon.   See previous post on Old Sugarlands if you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about.  A  link to it is in the header in purple.

The very beginning of the trail has me a bit worried about what I’ll find when I get down by the river.  But I’ve come prepared with my raincoat and water proof hiking boots.  I’ll take it as I go.

To say the river is UP is an understatement.  Luckily in places it comes up to, but not over the trail.

The river is well out of its banks and I think it’s too wild and rough even for white water kayakers with trees in the middle and such power.

It’s fantastic!  Here are a couple of videos I took.  The First One gives a real sense of being there with a roaring river and the second shows how close I was to the water.  Also notice in the second one all the vegetation around me has been flattened by water during the height of the storm.

I walk all the way up the trail again but my previous post covered it well enough so I’ll skip the largest section.  See that recent post here if you missed all the things to see along this trail

This time. when I hike further, there are some obstacles in the way after I pass the sign saying the rock house is “20 minutes away”.  Whatever that means. The 2nd tree blow down is way too big for me to climb over so I have to go through and under which takes some serious doing but I manage.

Beyond the blow down, I can look below me at the raging river which I’ve been hearing all morning.

No more signs to the rock house and nothing that looks like a side trail.  In fact, I’m not even sure this is the trail as it gets more and more over grown.

The trail sort of reappears and disappears as I go.

There is lots of evidence of the 2016 fire in the form of blackened trees but the undergrowth has returned in a powerful way.  Can’t keep Mother Nature down.

Finally the trail brings me to what is probably usually a small tributary to the river.  I can see the trail continuing on along the other side but there is no possible way across today.  SO if the rock house is over there, I’m going to miss it again.

But I’m sure glad I returned to look for it and got to see this fabulous water at full tilt.

Since I’m forced to turn around here, this is now half way and I hang around for a while to enjoy the sounds – the roar – and power of the water.

Take a look and listen in this video.

On the return trip, I again negotiate the blow down and find my only wildlife of the day other than the wild water.  It sure looks like a Holly Blue rather than a Common Blue to me.

I’m pretty wet when I get back to the river bottom near the car.  It’s been raining and drizzling all day.  I’ve had my hood up some but not in the drizzle.  I like rain but clearly I got wet.

On the way back the river is actually up more which of course is what happens when the water flows downstream for hours and days.   The heavy rains may be over for now but the flooding is not.

On my way home, I’m driving right by the Sugarlands Visitor Center so I decide to stop and see how different the Cataract Falls are from early July when we first saw them.

Can’t help but take a picture of the great tree with its bent knee and feet.

Here is Cataract Falls a month ago on July 2nd from this post if you missed it.

And here they are today almost exactly one month later.   Boy am I glad I’ve been able to stay for so long and see this. 

Staying in one place for a longer time enables me to get really familiar with this place and find all its obvious and many hidden gems.  It’s become my favorite way to travel.

Coming up next is another redo which is yet another fun thing about staying in one park longer.  I can go back to places I particularly enjoyed without feeling pressured that I’ll miss something I have not seen yet.   I have plenty of time!