Sat, Jun 21 2014 - Gregory Bald Azalea Hike (View Original Event Details)
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For anyone who hikes, Gregory Bald should be on your bucket list. Whether it's a backpacking trip or a day hike, it's one of those places that offers it all:
What a way to kick off the first day of summer! Seven sturdy hikers set off from Atlanta at 6:15am and made the 3-ish hour journey to the 20-Mile trail head near Bryson City, NC. We parked, prepped our gear, and set off right around 9:30 am as scheduled.
There are various ways to tackle Gregory Bald. We chose the clockwise loop, which takes on the steeper porton of the 20-mile loop first and approaches the bald from the west. I liked this, as it gets the blood going and knocks out the tougher portion first. We made a few stops along the way, including Backcountry campsite #13 which is about 15 minutes from the summit. This campsite was temporarily closed due to "aggressive bear activity"...but it's a large campsite with a reliable water source if you ever want to camp there. We reached the summit right around 1:00 pm.
The bald opens up to an amazing 10-acre grassy field of all types of trees, flowers and vegetation. Of course, this time of year, the wild azaleas are in full bloom. You will witness flowers of all colors...red, orange, pink, white, and other blended shades. We spent nearly an hour at the top, stretched our legs, ate lunch and enjoyed the spectacular views of Cades Cove and the larger mountains of the Smokies to the North (including Clingmans Dome). Once we snapped all the photos and rested our legs, we geared up and headed to the East to complete the other half of the hike.
On the way down, maybe 10 minutes from the peak, we rounded a corner and came upon a large 200+ pound Black Bear!! He must have heard us coming, because he was already leaving the trail and heading into dense brush. Scott Kozlowski happened to be in the lead and got the closest view of him. He stood his ground and yelled "Whoah Bear!!" and clapped his hands over and over. The bear disappeared, then re-appeared about 50 yards away off the trail. We were fortunate...my guess is that he didn't want any part of a large group. If you ever do hike in the Smokies this time of year, it's ideal to have a partner with you should run into a large bear.
After the excitement of seeing a bear in the wild (for me it was my first time), we all composed ourselves and proceeded down the East loop of the hike. A little rain came through, making the path a little muddy and slippery, but it was all good because this half of the hike was not as steep. We all hiked down (with a watchful eye for more bears). We did not see anymore on the way down.
Campsite 92 was lower and was open...but we did not stop. It appeared as if they had cleared a lot more trees to allow for more campers. We did come across a few folks going up (including a young couple wearing backpacks).
Finally, after about 3 hours, we reached the parking lot and cooled off by the stream near the trailhead. Not surpisingly, about 1-2 hours after we saw that young couple, they had turned back around because THEY had a close encounter with a bear. They had told us this particular bear stood in the path and did not move...and actually walked towards the couple. They decided it was not worth camping overnight so they went home!
We dried off, changed clothes and made the long back drive home...stopping off for some pizza and drinks along the way.
It was a FULL day of everything (fun carpool, beuatiful drive, difficult hike, streams, small waterfalls, trees, flowers, wildlife, swimming and FUN). I will gladly lead this hike again if anyone wants to do it (or just hike along as a participant). Can't wait to do it again!
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