February 23
Finally, a day when I could wake up and use only a tee-shirt. Temperature was 70F in Gatlinburg. Seems the southeast is having a heat wave, unlike California and northern states. Gatlinburg streets were quite at 8 AM. Turns out you can park on the right-side lanes in both directions (US441 is a 4-lane road), until 9 AM each day. Probably a good indication this is a “service” oriented city, with businesses not opening until 9 AM or so. Practically no traffic in Great Smoky Mtns NP. A few cars parked at the turn-off for Alum Cave trailhead. This is a 2.3-mile hike (one way), gaining 1,200 feet in elevation. The trail follows a stream for the first 1.4 miles, then climbs. Five wooden bridges add to the fun along the water. Arch Rock is a large chunk of stone which fell from on-high, creating a short tunnel which the NPS has used as part of the trail. From this point on, there are four sections where a steel cable is available to help folks navigate the narrow paths in those sections. Not much help going up, but were useful when stepping down on the way back to the parking lot. Came across a Gray Catbird, a first for me. Finally, about 60 wooden steps to reach the “cave”. Alum Cave is not a real cave, but folks gave it this title because it looks like it might be the opening to a cave, and a big one at that.
A stop at Newfound Gap allowed me to hike a bit of The AT. 1,972 miles from this point up to the northern terminus in Katahdin, ME. I will be in Katahdin in a couple of months since the area next to the trail’s end is a national park unit. Newfound Gap gets its name from the first European folks who blazed a trail across the top here, saying it was a “newly found gap”. The big attraction at the Gap is the road to Clingmans Dome. Even though there was not a flake of snow to be seen, and the temps have been in the 70s for the last week, the Park Service keeps the road closed in the winter months. From a previous drive to the Dome parking lot, I can tell you the trip and hike to the top of the concrete observation tower is worth the time and effort.
Mingus Mill awaited me near the eastern entrance to the park. The Mingus family began the mill in 1886, and for 50 years folks in the neighboring areas brought their corn to be milled. This was the largest gristmill in the Smokies. It even used a steel turbine, not an old-fashioned wood fly wheel.
The Mountain Farm Museum is situated behind the Oconaluftee VC. The John Davis family home is mixed with other farm buildings which were moved here from throughout the valley. Elk will come into the large pasture area during the day. Signs tell visitors to stay at least 50-feet away.
From Newfound Gap to Mingus Mill I faced the all too common act of park visitors not observing park rules. If a speed limit sign says “35 mph”, that does not mean your needle or screen on your car’s speedometer should be at 55 mph, or even 45 mph. So many people want to visit our country’s parks so they can tell their friends and families what they saw, but lack the self-discipline to adhere to that specific park’s rules during their visit. I had multiple drivers get mad at me today because I was going “too slow” and braking too often. The lack of obeying the law is seen every day on city streets and highways. And the trash on the roadsides was sad to see… many beer cans, as well as plenty of plastic items. So many people not following laws, let alone civility.
Carl Sandburg was known as the “poet of the people”. He deeded his home and farm, 270 acres, to the NPS. His wife said goat milk made her healthy, so she had a flock of 15 goats and built a milking barn. The NPS today has a bunch of goats which visitors can interact with (but only until 3 PM each day, when they get called into their barn for feeding). Sandburg was known for his “free verse” style of writing. This made him beloved by the regular American, not the social elite. The home is only open on Saturdays and Sundays, so I had to enjoy a walk around the grounds and to the goat pasture. The lake which used to be at the bottom of the hill from the home is dry. Two years ago the earthen dam which created the lake/pond broke. The NPS does not have a time estimate for its repair and the refilling of the lake.