With a seasonal job coming up, John and I decided that this was the weekend to get in a final backpack before the holiday season. The weather looked good and friends, Will Skelton and Kim Robinette decided to go along too.
We left Knoxville on Saturday at 3:40 PM. This is a little late for a backpack but Will had meeting for most of the day, our hike was short and we didn’t return to Eastern Standard Time until 2:00 AM. Daylight Savings Time meant the sun would not drop below the tress until until after 6:00 PM so, if we hiked fast, we could cover the 4 mile hike in daylight.
During our drive to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Will mentioned something about a trail short cut via the Goldmine Trail. The shortcut would slice some 2 miles off our hike and allow us time to set up camp and find firewood in the light. His map indicated the trail head was located somewhere in the Top of the World Community, a perimeter development near the Park boundary. We thought the shortcut was a great idea.
It took us a while and a couple of exploratory” walks to find the trail head. Once on the trail, we covered the .8-mile Goldmine Trail and a 1-mile section of the Cooper Road and Cane Creek trails in under an hour. We arrived at Campsite #2 with plenty of time to scavenge some downed wood for a fire, set up our tents, get water and settle in for a evening of just above freezing temperatures.
Somewhere in the Top of the World community looking for the Goldmine trail head. Fall colors are looking good!
John by campfire
Beverly by campfire
John fixed taco soup for our dinner. Yum-yum!
Sunday morning was a bit chilly but spectacular. We had a chance to look around, enjoy the clear blue sky and the last of the fall colors.
John and I had grits, bacon and coffee for breakfast. Will and Kim (above) had sweet potato pancakes and hash browns. Kim and I are spoiled campers because Will and John do all the cooking. Aside from Will’s occasional liberal abuse of banana rum in his camp cooking…. pancakes, desserts, sauces and anything else he can find, he and John do a great job with KP.
A view of Cane Creek Trail.
The morning sun and shadows from the trunks of the trees made for interesting patterns with smoke from our morning campfire.
More pictures are in our Picasa gallery: http://picasaweb.google.com/johnandbeverly74/GSMNPCampsite2#
