Wham, Bam, Thanks for the Slam!

I decided that it was far enough into Spring for me to fish my favoritest wild trout stream in the world! This stream is a collection of everything that I love and hold dear about trout streams! It fishes good, it's big unobstructed water with open banks, staircase plunge pools full of trout, all in all, heaven on earth for me! Relatively close to my house, I try to fish this stream 2 or 3 times a year. It's one of those streams that is so perfect, I only fish it a few times in hopes of not ruining it!

Adicus and I hit the trailhead at about 8:30 and hiked 45 minutes upstream to hit some of the better quality water. It was already 65 degrees when we hit the trail, so I was excited about the prospects of today's adventure. We finally reached our destination and it was time to gear up. Sitting next to a large pool, getting my rod strung up, I sat watching trout rise at 9:30 in the morning. Gonna be a good day! Since there is a lot of volume still running through the streams, I decided to tie on a Elk Hair Caddis, something I could see, with a soft hackle pheasant tail as the dropper. We moved back downstream about a hundred yards and started fishing.

Fishing was about how I thought it would be, HOT! My first fish was a feisty little rainbow that smacked my EHC the minute it hit the water, followed quickly by a pretty little brownie that took the dropper in the next pool up. Sweet! Two fish and I'm already 2/3 of the way to a slam! Fishing stayed consistent all morning, small bows taking the dry, larger fish taking the dropper, all rainbows at this point. Pool after pool, I was hooking up with 2, sometimes as many as 4 fish out of each run, one of the reasons I love this stream!

Around 1, Adicus and I decided to eat some lunch and just chill out for a bit. We hung out on a sandy bend, me throwing a stick for Adicus while eating a peanut butter sand which and an orange. The stick I'm throwing sinks, much to Adicus' frustration! After a few minutes of him whining about his stick being underwater, he actually dunked his head 2 1/2 feet under water and came up with his stick. I was shocked! He was pleased to have his stick!

We wrapped up lunch and continued moving upstream, picking up nice little bows out of most pools. Sometime later in the day, I was able to stick my first brookie. A nice brookie it was too! 8 1/2" of beautiful, native fish! Slam complete, on foot! My first of the year on a wild stream! Fishing continued at the earlier pace, except with a liberal mix of brook trout thrown in. Moving up the stream, it began to thunder and I looked up to see storm clouds brewing up around Pisgah, so I decided it was time to start heading back to the truck . I sat on a high rock for a minute, just enjoying this moment.

A warm breeze blowing down the valley, carrying with it, the earthy smells of spring. I can smell the moisture in the air, feel the potential rain heading my way. Leaves unfolding in their bright lime green colors, while cardinals and finches flitter amongst the branches, singing out to announce spring. The perfection of a simple spring flower catches my attention, a small clump of Bluets blooming on a rock next to the river. One of my absolute favorite wild flowers, I always smile when I see a clump growing.

Our hike out was uneventful, just 2 hours of slogging down the trail trying to get to the truck before my body gave out from exhaustion. Looking with anticipation for landmarks to signify that I'm getting close to the trailhead. Finally we arrive back at the truck, both of us wore out, pleased at the prospects of sitting on something comfortable for a bit and heading home for some dinner! The day was spectacular! I didn't see another soul all day. I have no idea how many fish I caught, only that it was a lot! This is why I wait all year for spring, not only for the great fishing, but the whole package. Wildflowers, warm breezes, near naps on sandbars at lunch, and not being cold. God, I love spring!

In an effort to distract myself and kill time till Cat gets home, I walked around the yard taking photos of some of the things that are starting to bloom around here. It's still early spring in these parts, so not a lot is really going on. Trees are just starting to move from buds to leaf, still not much green though. Enough talk, here's just some beautiful flowers.


The common blue violet (Viola sororia), probably the most common flower in my yard, and many others! this stuff is every where, but I always love to see it!


Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) Another early spring favorite that grows along my driveway and creek. I have seen this flower grow in patches 1/2 acre in size carpeting whole bottoms next to creeks and rivers in the Park.


Star Chickweed (Stellaria pubera) Another common mid - low elevation wildflower that grows along the drive way. Interesting in the fact that in really has 5 petals, instead of ten. Folklore says that an open flower guarantees a few hours without rain. It rained within an hour of taking this photo.


The common dogwood (Cornaceae family), who doesn't love to see them signaling the arrival of spring? I use this plant as an indicator as to when the smallmouth pre-spawn has started.


My pear tree, just a pretty bloom I love to see. The whole tree is covered in blooms this year, which is a bit unusual since there are usually casualties due to cold early spring nights.


Common Chickweed (Stellaria media) This stuff grows along the creek and took me a while to identify. A fairly common weed that can be used as greens in salads and is a favored food of chickens and wild birds.



Blue phlox (Phlox divaricata) A beautiful spring perennial that grows wild all over the mountains. I'll bee seeing this until almost July in some sheltered high elevation streams. This clump was growing next to the creek in large patches.


Trout-lilly ( Erythronium umbilicatum) The pride and joy of the wild flowers in my yard! I have a hillside with hemlocks that these grow in huge patches of 50 to 100 plants. Listed as common, I don't think it's all that common, as I've only seen it in the wild 3 or 4 times. Named fort the mottled leaves that were believed to look like the backs of brook trout. How can you not like that!

So there it is folks! Most of whats blooming in the yard right now. Some of these are absolute favorites, since they are announcing the arrival of spring. This will be the beginning of the photo season, so be prepared for some photo heavy blogs.

How can you just not love wildflowers?

Solitude on Andrews Bald

I took the opportunity to hike to Andrews Bald after work yesterday, despite the fact it was going to be around 7 before I could get to the trail head. After getting off at 6 I started up to Clingmans Dome and made it to the parking lot by 6:45. I strapped on my daypack and started towards the trail head, which is located between the water fountain and Observation Tower trail. The trail dropped off to the left, descending over loose rock and some excellent trail building using telephone poles. Alot of work went into that, kudos to the trail crews. The trail itself starts off with lots of loose rock and huge stone slabs to the left. After a tenth of a mile, the trail makes a sharp left and drops into a spruce and fir forest, although many of the firs have died due to the balsam woolly adelgid. The trail continued to descend through more loose rock and gnarled roots and then levels out on ridge that is loaded with juvenile spruce and fir trees. As I'm hiking, I'm surrounded by the trilled call of the Veery, a visitor from the Northern tier of the country, singing its song like a flute.

Nothing in particular was blooming along the trail except for the occasional bluet, but the earthy smell of the forest was more than enough to keep me enthralled. The sun was setting, so I was moving along fairly quickly, hoping not to get caught in the dark on the return trip. While scooting around a turn, I could hear a group of people coming towards me, wondering out loud if there were any other idiots out here this late. Perfect timing, huh? I'm your idiot.... After chatting for awhile, I got back to movin along. In about a mile, the Forney Creek trail drops off to the right, while our trail continues on straight. Continuing along a level section, the trail abruptly starts an eroded rocky climb. It climbs through the quite forest only to descend towards Andrews Bald.

This area is named for Andres Thompson who herded cattle on the bald in the 1840's. During this time, Forney Ridge was called Rip Shin Ridge, a testament to it's rocky slopes I'm sure. Andres moved his family to the bald around 1850, where he continued to live after returning home from the Civil War. The origins of the Southern Appalachian balds is still a mystery to scientist today. Some think they were created by fires, and others thinks it's from Eastern Bison grazing here and then maintained and expanded by the Cherokee and later on by the settlers of the region. Although we may never know, they are beautiful spots, that are unique and becoming rarer in Southern Appalachia.

Andrews Bald unfolded slowly, hiding it's magnificence behind scattered stands of young firs., with the occasional Rhododendron or Flame Azalea peeking out. I came around a large stand of firs to be stopped by gassy field with azaleas and rhodo acting as a foreground to a view of the Unicoi, Snowbird, and Balsam mountain ranges. Such a magnificent view that spread out in front of me. Flame Azaleas (rhododendron calendulaceum) in their fiery oranges acting out in against the green backdrop punctuated the occasional Catawba Rhododendron (rhododendron catawhiense) that was sill blooming in a soft purple hue. This is why I live here. This exact moment, this view, this unbelievable beauty. The only sound I can here is the buzzing of bees and the slight rustle of of the trees in a soft breeze. The moment is intruded upon by a plane flying high above me to somewhere, with people who might never get the chance to achieve complete peace in a place such as this.

Sitting on a rock, I can see Lake Fontana in the distance shining like a jewel on a green carpet. Two forest fires are burning some ways off. Looks like ones around Chillowee and the other somewhere around the Balsams. Light clouds are blowing across the horizon as the sky darkens to deeper blues while the sun falls slowly to the horizon. Suddenly, I snap out of my trance and remember I need to get back before it gets too dark. I really don't want to walk up that loose rock in darkness. Moving along the trail, I am accompanied to the trail head by the continual singing of more Veerys, such a pretty song. I'm jolted back to reality as I can hear loud voices and laughter above me at the Clingmans Dome parking lot. As I get to the top, I run onto one of the L.E. guys I know that is responding to someone having tried to breakin to the Friends of the Smokies donation box. Sad. I don't know how they're going to get into it, the locks were destroyed.

After chatting for a bit, I jumped into the truck for the ride home in the deepening twilight. I was lucky enough to catch the last bit of a beautiful sunset from the Bunches Bald Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway. After soaking in the last few rays of light, it was time to get home before Cat started wondering where I was. It was a wonderful evening to do this hike, the blooms had peaked, but even without them, this is still a rewarding hike. It was made all that more special by being the only one there to enjoy it. I surprised myself by making this hike in a little over an hour for both legs, but not including time spent at the bald, which was definitely not long enough. I would rate this as somewhere between easy to moderate. There were no brutal climbs, but the amount of rock moved it into the moderate area. Total lentgh was about 3.6 miles and it is definitely worth it!

Barnett Knob Firetower

I had some time to kill for work the other day, so I decided to go for a short hike before I went in. I've been driving past a fire road near the end of the Blueridge Parkway for the past couple of months, and I didn't really know where it led to other than to an old fire tower. I figured today was as good as any day to find out what was up there. Not a whole lot. The trail (gated fire road) led uphill at a fairly easy grade through a mixed forest of oak, hickory, and basswood. With the occasional sassafras and magnolia tree peeking through the canopy. Like most fire roads, because of their open nature, wildflowers were fairly abundant along the sides of the road. Large clumps of Indian Paintbrush (castilleja coccinea) were blooming in some of the sunnier hillsides along with dwarf cinquefoil (potenilla canadensis) and wild geraniums (geranium macultum). In one of the shadier spots, I came across a small cluster of yellow stargrass (hypoxis hirusta) poking it's head up from a mat of brown leaves. Other than that, most of the hike was pretty uneventful. As I continued around the bend in the fire road, I came upon a chain link fence encircling a couple of communication towers as well as the fire tower and the little house that served as home to whom ever was stationed there.

I was disappointed that I wouldn't be able to climb the tower after hiking up there. I started around the fence only to find a hole in it large enough to drive a truck through. WARNING!!!!! I'm sure that by stepping through the fence, it would be considered trespassing. Enter at your own risk!!!! Needless to say, I stepped over the fence without a second thought.

You could here the towers humming with electricity, so I didn't get real close to them. I think one is a repeater tower for the NPS, and the other is part of the Cherokee Nation telecommunications system. I passed around the old cabin and faced the tower. Looked pretty solid to me, so up I went. Now, most of the metal towers have metal grids for the landings, which have a tendency to flex under weight. So did this one, which makes the whole thing that much more nerve racking. The top of the tower was locked, so I had to stand on the sagging platform to take photos. The views were not so good that day, so I didn't stay that long. As you can see, there was quite a bit of clouds and haze in the air, so the views were a bit limited.

This wasn't a hike I would go out of my way for, but if you're in the area, why not? It took less than an hour for me to hike up there and back to the truck, and there was some decent wildflower bloomage going on. Next week : Mingo Falls

Brownie Blueline

Because of the insane price of gas, I've been trying to find some streams near the house that I've always wanted to fish, but never seemed to have time, or there was always somewhere else to go. Hit a stream with Addicus that I've been looking at for a year or two. Today was the day. I had planned to get some weedeatn and mowin done today, but due to some rain early in the morning, grass was wet until afternoon. Seemed like a good excuse to go fishn!

Gettin to this stream was tough, the road was not marked well, and it was one of the rougher ones I've driven on. Didn't drive that far due to what would have been clearance issues, and don't really need to knock a hole in my oil pan right now. Went ahead and pulled over and started headin back down the road to get in the water. Some summer wild flowers are starting to bloom since it's begining to warm up here. Fire Pink (silene virginica) was blooming in sunny spots along the cliff beside the old road. I also saw clumps of this white, flower I have been unable to identify. If anyone out there knows what it is, please let me know! We continued down the road amongst the spent blooms of laurel and the growing green understory. Finally dropping off the side of a steep hill and dropping into the gorge. Moving precariously, holding onto rhodo and laurel branches to keep right side up.

Finally I made it to the bottom and to the water,I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautifully open stream that was little more than cascades falling into plunge pools. The first pool I cast into netted me a nice 8" brownie, little did I know that that fish was just going to set the pace for the day! I was landing nothing but sweet little brownies out of each hole, occasionally missing one or two, but landing a majority of what touched my fly. Fished all day with a size 16 EHC (natural) with pheasant tail/ hares ear hybrid for the dropper. It was about an even split on which fly the fish preferred. Came to an ordinary hole and cast to the tongue of it. My caddis drifted through a shute that terminated into a large rock. When the fly reached the rock, a very nice sized brownie took the dry and started running. The reel on my 2wt was singing as he pulled out line, not a sound I hear very often in the smaller streams. The fish barreled through the current and into a crevice under a ledge.... breaking me off. I believe this fish would have easily have measured 12" had I been able to land him. To my surprise, I was able to land another 8" brown just a little farther up the pool, about where I broke off the larger fish. One of the better days I've had on the water, which is saying alot since I've had some pretty good days lately. I think I caught between 25-30 fish, the smallest fish I caught was 5" and that was the only one under 7" for the whole day. Most fish were between 7"-8".

This was an absolutely beautiful stream, and I can't believe it fished as well as it did. Some of the cascades along the stream were amazing for the size of the water. Because of the violent drops, large and deep pools were carved into the stream bed, somewhat reminiscent of the upper reaches of W Prong Pigeon river. This stream is one I would imagine alot of people see and think they'll come back and fish it one day, but they never do. It was obvious that this stream doesn't get much pressure because of the large mats of moss on the rocks, and the numbers and size of fish caught. Bluelines are wonderful! Sometimes they don't fish great, but they almost always have something beautiful about them. Some of my best fishing memories have come from studying maps for hours to find some forgotten stream, hiking through ridiculous terrain and hells, only to find myself standing next to a emerald pool that hasn't been fished in months, maybe even years. I never seem to run into people in these areas, which makes them all the more special. I caught nothing but browns today, which I find unusual, but it makes this stream all the more special. There was more water that I didn't have time to fish, and things were begining to get tight when I started heading back to the truck. I hope to explore further, but it will be hard to ever pass up on the section I fished today!

Baskins Creek Falls

Hiked to Baskins creek falls with the association for training (getting paid to hike!) on the Tennessee side of the Park. Met up with the group around 9 or so and headed towards the trail head. The trail descended into the woods on soft path of humus and damp leaves. My favorite type of weather for hiking was here; rain threatening, clouds hanging in the sky, smells of the woods hanging heavy in the air. Flame azaleas(Rhododendron calendulaceum) and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) were blooming. A pleasant surprise was hiding a little off the trail, Pink Lady Slippers(cypripedium acaule) were blooming in a small cluster. The second time I've seen them this year, much to Cat's disgust. We continued to progress through a pine oak forest with laurel beginning to bloom all over.
After taking some photos, we continued down the trail while it unfolded in the rich green of late spring. Taking pause at a trail junction, we started down to the falls, through loose rock and gnarled old roots from trees hanging onto the hillside through sheer tenacity. Coming around a corner of rock, the falls unfolded before along a large cliff of thunderhead sandstone, falling onto stone twisting its way back into to under brush.
A large cliff extended to the left with a tight cascade of water falling through a crag in the wall onto emerald colored moss. Absolutely one of the most beautiful waterfalls I think I've seen in the park. As an added bonus, two small groups of Jack in the Pulpits (Arisaema trphyllum) were blooming on a shady ledge near the falls.
I want to take cat back here sometime soon. It was an absolutely beautiful area and the hike wasn't too bad. A little earlier in the spring, there would probably be alot of early flowers blooming and a little higher flow on the falls. The hike out was pretty uneventful, as was the drive through Gatlinburg and the rest of the way home. Going to places like this is a continual reminder of how diverse and wonderful the mountains I live in are. Despite living here and seeing it day to day, the beauty of it all still takes my breath away. Sometimes I like to think I chose to be here, at others, I think the mountains chose me. Ever since my first trips here as a child, I was mystified by the endless folds of ranges that I saw when my family would drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Later trips as a teenager and with Cat, I always felt like I was leaving something important when we would go back to Georgia. Life is not easy here, sacrifices have been made for us to live here, as well as adjustments to live 10 minutes from the gas station and 25 from the grocery stores and restaurants.

For me, the mountains seem to challenge me on a personal level. Forcing me to examine everything from my belief system to my footprint on the earth. The desire to have a more simplified life is sometimes easier to think about than to put into practice. At this point I am just happy to be able be able to work on these aspects of my life, as opposed to sitting in Atlanta just existing.