hatenite

Gregory Bald (4,948 ft.) via the Gregory Ridge Trail – 6/20/19

For as long as I’ve been documenting my hikes on this website I’ve always had the goal of hiking Gregory Bald. In fact if you have noticed…. it’s continually been listed as “coming soon” on the Outdoors section of this site for YEARS! Living in East Tennessee just outside of the National Park, It’s always been there…. tempting me but just far enough out of reach. I’ve probably spent more time researching, and reading up on this hike than any one hike that I’ve ever done…. With the hope of someday finally getting to do it. During previous planning attempts I’ve caught myself dreaming of making this hike when the “Flame” Azaleas are in full bloom. Over the years, You could say my dreams became haunted nightmares as this hike never materialized for one reason or another. Then it happened….

On this rainy June day, my lovely Wife and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We originally were planning another trip for our celebration, perhaps something way out west but for multiple reasons we decided on a more modest trip closer to home. Ultimately planning a Western North Carolina trip that would see us hit multiple areas and hikes. I’ll document those in following posts but for today we will kickoff our trip on this grassy bald overlooking Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Grassy Bald are a real phenomenon that really no one knows how they came about. They are really only seen in the mountains of Southern Appalachia. Early settlers used them seasonally for livestock grazing and even lodging. Over the years the Balds in and around the GSMNP have begun to slowly be reclaimed by the forest (minus Andrews and Gregory’s which the Park maintains). These Balds are a incredibly unique to our area and so much fun to conquer. They make for panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges and fantastic places to sit and take in all of Gods creation with those you love. This is my story.

We began our hike driving to the trailhead on the 11 mile Cades Cove loop road, It’s not an ideal place to begin. I say that as I’m meticulous about getting an early start on most hikes… this one in particular knowing it will be a long hike and also trying to beat the weather that was forecasted for this day. With that said I was beyond frustrated as we got caught (what seemed like) every tourist making their way down to see the “wildlife”. Ugh… If I had a nickle for every SUV that stopped in the middle of the road, backing up traffic for a Turkey or squirrel. After what seemed like eternity, We finally made it to the trailhead. As we quickly geared up and hit the trail my anxiousness began to grow and I caught myself asking …. “Are we finally doing this?”. Yes, we were and boy was it something.

The trail basically begins in a bottom with several footbridges and water crossing as it begins it’s steady climb out of the thick forest. This particular day the trail was really wet and it became more noticeable as you ascended the ridges climbing almost 2,00 feet in 3 miles. This was a tough climb, I remember distinctly sliding and losing my footing in many places. Trekking poles are a must in situations like this. During our climb we were in and out of rain-showers as they made their way up and over the mountains. It was neat to truly feel like you were in the clouds with these misty fronts blowing through. I found myself wondering if we would even have any views once we made it to the top. As we began to get closer and closer to the summit the weather began to break and the sun made it’s first appearance just in the nick of time. I feel like this gave us extra motivation the final mile or so as we were tired and frustrated by the traction issues we were facing on the trail. As we climbed out of the thicket that protected the grassy expanse that was before us we marveled at the azaleas that were all different shades of pink, orange and red. Huge pockets of these bushes covered the side of the bald, as we followed the trail intersecting in and out of these plants (sometimes as tall as me!) getting lost in the surroundings. We shortly made it to an open section of the bald with a great view of the cove below us, We quickly spread out, rested and recharged as we soaked in not only the immaculate views but also the sun rays above. We were not the only ones on the bald that day but it sure felt like it. We stayed as long as we could (never really wanting to leave) but we had a schedule to keep and more adventures before us……

I’ll say this… Without a doubt mile for mile, view for view… this is probably my favorite hike in the park. It touches all of the uniqueness of our area with history and views. Yes, It’s tough but like anything worth having….. you gotta work for it to appreciate it. Gregory Bald…. you are worth it.