Fall Color Update

The Great Smoky Mountains are now a mosaic with fall colors in some areas past-peak, some at peak, and some pre-peak. On the mountain tops, at elevations above 4,000 feet, fall colors are now gone. Colors are at peak at the mid elevations. At the lower elevations, where the forest is rich with maple and oak trees, there are still some green leaves but the peak is imminent. Colors will likely peak at the lower elevations this week, though the oaks and some maples will provide splashes of color well into November.

The fall color display is exceptional this year. Suggested drives include Little River Road, Cades Cove, Greenbrier, the Foothills Parkway East (near Newport and Cosby), the Foothills Parkway West (near Townsend), and Cataloochee Valley.

Suggested trails and hiking destinations include Smokemont Loop, Cucumber Gap Loop, Old Settlers Trail, Deep Creek Trail, Lower Mt. Cammerer Trail, Gatlinburg Trail, and Henwallow Falls.

All Trails, Most Trips & Fastest AT Hike Ever

Some amazing feats were recently performed in the park:

• a group of friends hiked all of the trails to Mt. LeConte in a single day 
• a man hiked the most trips to Mt. LeConte in a single day
• a woman set the new speed record for hiking the entire Appalachian Trail

Starting at just before midnight on September 21, Davis Soehn and friends hiked all 6 trails to Mt. LeConte in 22 hours and 2 minutes. That's 50 miles or so.

The full story and more photos of their adventure are posted at 

http://www.leconte24.com/

Davis Soehn and Friends

On September 30 John Northrup hiked to LeConte via the Alum Cave Trail 5 times in a day.  That's 50 miles in just under 17 hours. Last year John hiked all 6 trails to Mt. LeConte and all the overlooks in under 17 hours.

John Northup

On July 31, Jennifer Pharr Davis, age 28, completed the fastest hike of the 2,175-mile Appalachian Trail ever. She even beat the men, trimming 26 hours off the previous record and averaging 46.9 miles per day. It was her 3rd thru-hike of the AT and it took 46.5 days. Click here to read more.

Hike of the Month - Rhododendron Creek

Saturday November 19th Carey Jones will lead a Naturalist Ramble in the Greenbrier area of the National Park. 

Meet at the Greenbrier Ranger Station no later than 10 a.m.

The ramble will be on the Rhododendron Creek Trail which is considered an off-trail hike, as it is not maintained by the Park Service.

There are several waterfalls on this trail which can be easily viewed now that the leaves are coming off of the trees. There are also some old home sites. 

The hike is considered easy, although there are 1 or 2 creek crossings without foot logs. It is approximately 4 miles round trip. Bring some water and a snack, and a hiking stick.

There is a $10 fee for adults and children 12 and under are free.

Limit of 20.  For reservations call 865.436.7318 ext 222 or 254.

Fall colors meet snow by Michael Owens

Fall Events Update

Sorgum Molasses Making Demonstrations at Cades Cove

November 4-6

November 10-13

Festival of Christmas Past at Sugarlands Visitor Center

December 10

Oconaluftee Visitor Center Old-Time Music Jam

November 19, 1-3 pm

Late fall wildflowers

Watch for witch-hazel's yellow blooms from mid November through December.

Suggested November Hike

During the season when the crowds begin to thin in Cades Cove, it becomes an excellent time to take on the Rich Mountain Loop. This 8.5-mile moderate loop hike is created by combining three trails-Rich Mountain Loop, Indian Grave Gap, and Crooked Arm Ridge. Early in November some oak trees may still show good fall color. Excellent views of Cades Cove are also glimpsed along the way.

Special Edition Just Released!

"Cult Classic" Outdoors Book Now Available 

There is no lack of enthusiasm for this fall's release of the newest edition of Camping and Woodcraft published by Great Smoky Mountains Association. GSMA has been publishing materials by Kephart since the 1970s and considers the complex and enigmatic author to be the "John Muir of the Smokies."

What keeps Camping and Woodcraft alive after more than a century? David Wescott, author of Camping in the Old Style, puts it this way: "Kephart's writings were the hallmark of the day...they influence everyone who comes after him. The romance of his prose inspires the novice to say: 'I can do this. I want to do this,' and 'I want to do it with style.'"

Truly no other book before or since has ever approached the breadth or depth of Camping and Woodcraft. The current 'Two Volumes in One" version, spans 46 chapters and covers such diverse topics as edible plants, bee hunting, cave exploring, basket making, how to walk in the woods, tanning skins, outdoors survival, emergency shelters, cabin making, furnishing your cabin, bark utensils, route finding, avoiding woodland pests, camp bedding, and eight chapters focused entirely on camp cooking and recipes.

Great Smoky Mountains Association's version of Camping and Woodcraft is a milestone for several reasons. First, the association has gone to the trouble of completely digitizing and re-typesetting the entire book, greatly improving readability and expanding the book's heft to an impressive 888 pages.

Second, it has added over 40 historic photographs, most taken by Kephart or Masa. Many of these photos were only recently discovered and have never before been published. This is a well-deserved tribute to Kephart and Masa who worked for years without compensation to preserve the mountains they loved.

The special edition also features a brand new 80-page introduction by Kephart scholars George Ellison and Janet McCue. Ellison, who lives in Kephart's adopted town of Bryson City, has spent much of his adult life as an outdoor writer, field school leader, and Kephart historian. McCue hails from the libraries of New York's Cornell University, where Kephart once studied and was employed. Together, Ellison and McCue tell the dramatic story of Kephart's professional successes, his spectacular collapse, and his rebirth in the wilderness. Much of the material referenced in the introduction is new and will inspire and surprise Kephart devotees.

The association's edition has other things going for it as well. Because of its mission of education, the nonprofit has intentionally made the 888-page book remarkably affordable, only $14.95 for softcover and $25 for the special collector's edition hardback. 

• October 26 Oconaluftee Visitor Center in GSMNP, 10-1
• November 5 Oconaluftee Visitor Center in GSMNP, 10-1
• November 17 Diamond Brand Outdoors Store near Asheville, NC, 6-7:30
• November 19 City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC, 2-4

New Batch of Sourwood Honey

This year's prized sourwood honey is in stock.  It's a delicious and unique delicacy made from bees who are fortunate enough to feast on the rare sourwood tree which blooms in late summer.

Jennifer Temple's photo of a bear in a mountain ash tree

Poor Crop of Acorns This Year

Bears Roaming for Food

GSMA Memberships

Dare we say it? It's not too early to think about the holidays! 

A membership in Great Smoky Mountains Association is the perfect and thoughtful gift for that person(s) on your gift list who loves the park. Why, receiving Smokies Life magazine twice a year is reason enough for a membership... chock full of articles and photos on the flora and fauna and history of this area!

Add to that a discount at our sales locations (according to membership level), the quarterly Smokies Guide newspaper, the biannual Bearpaw newsletter, and monthly Cub Report e-newsletter, and that special person will feel like they're right here in the Smokies all year round!

Won't you consider helping the park and adding another member to our growing list of supporters? Just call 865.436.7318, Ext. 222 or 254 and we'll do the rest for you!