hatenite

Hooper Bald (5,430 ft.) via the Cherohala Skyway – 3/11/19

Yes I know…. Perhaps you have wondered if I have fallen off the face of the earth? No, that isn’t the case. Sure, I have taken some time off from this space but If you follow my social media feeds then you hopefully have been able to follow us and keep up to date with our adventures for almost the last two years. I’ve found that Social Media makes it really easy to quickly and efficiently post and share content of the fly; However, This forum makes it more alittle more difficult to be consistent with updates, but I’m excited to be more intentional about updates to this site. With that said…… I’m proud to post some new hiking reports. Remember previous reports can all be found in the OUTDOORS section of the site.

This particular Monday was a day that we as a family determined to venture out into the great outdoors. Where we live in East Tennessee we have had a VERY rainy new year and you could say we were dead-set on getting out and enjoy the “forecasted” great weather.

First, Hooper Bald isn’t going to be the most strenuous or longest hike ever….but for families (especially with little ones) this is a perfect hike.

Hooper Bald can be found right off of the Cherohala Skyway, which is a national scenic byway that is positioned strategically in Eastern Tennessee stretching into the Western North Carolina, The surrounding area includes the wilderness of the Cherokee and Nanahala National Forest. Once on the Skyway passing into North Carolina, between Mile Marker 7 and 8 you will find a side parking lot leading to the Hooper Bald trailhead. The Parking lot well paved and is large enough for multiple vehicles. Once parked, the trail is well marked and maintained (gravel) throughout the trek to the bald. Once you have reached the end of the trail you’ll find a very large grassy bald that encompasses an area that was formally used as a grazing pasture and even a exotic animal shooting preserve. The history of the Bald is well recorded on signs at the trailhead and online.

For us this particular day, it was cloudy almost the entire trip up the skyway. Once we reached the trailhead and after eating our lunch we quickly gathered our crew and began our quick trip up to the bald. As I stated earlier this hike is great for families as there is really little to no real elevation gain until you reach the bald itself….even then it’s very manageable for kids to scurry up the bald by themselves. We were able to snap a few pictures before the rain (which was never forecasted BTW) moved in. One of the perks of a short hike is retreating when inclement weather approaches. We made our way back out to the parking area just in time as the sky opened up. Once we left the parking lot we drove another half mile scoping out our next hike in Huckleberry Knob …. but that is another post…. Check back soon for part two of our Skyway adventure.