The Elijah Oliver Place

Elijah Oliver was born in Cades Cove in 1824 and was the son of John Oliver, the first white settler in the cove.
Today you can visit the Elijah Oliver Place via an easy 0.5 mile walk from the Cades Cove loop road. It's the most remote of the cabins in Cades Cove but it's a short, pleasant walk and will give you a glimpse of what life was like for the early pioneers of Cades Cove.  It's just far enough away from the road to discourage a lot of tourists (most of which never get out of their car) from making the hike back in.

Elijah moved his family out of the cove prior to the civil war, but returned later and bought this property in 1865.

I'm not sure why, but in all the years we've been coming to the cove, this is the first time we were here.
 Located in a clearing, surrounded by a beautiful forest, I can't imagine a more picturesque setting to build a cabin and raise a family.
  I get nostalgic for the old ways of life when I visit places like this, although I realize nothing was easy back then and they worked very hard to make a living. The Olivers, like most families in the area were almost entirely self-sufficient and raised nearly everything they needed.

Oliver was also a deacon in the Cades Cove Primative Baptist Church for 37 years.

Parking for the Elijah Oliver place is on the left at milemarker 4.5 from the beginning of the loop road. The trail starts across the road from the parking area. The trail is a wide graveled path that starts at an open area and soon crosses a stream on a narrow foot bridge.

The Myers Barn

 At 0.2 miles you will pass a large hay barn built in the 1920s.

A few turkeys were on hand to greet us when we arrived, but soon ambled off into the woods.

The original cabin was enlarged when Elijah purchased another cabin and attached it to their home. This was the kitchen and the breezeway created between the two cabins was called a "dog-trot". I guess this was the eighteen hundreds version of the split-level!!

The stairs leading up from the kitchen into the main living area.

Cades Cove people were well known for their hospitality and kindness. The room on the right side of the porch was called a "Stranger Room" and was used for overnight guests passing through the area.

 The fireplaces in the house.

 I think the little building to the far left was a smokehouse.

Springhouses were built over the source of a spring.  The spring water flowed into a trough inside the springhouse and provided storage for food that would otherwise spoil.

This brought back a lot of memories. The house my grandma lived in when I was a little girl had a spring in the basement and that's how she kept her food cold until she got a gas refrigerator. My grandma was amish and never had electricity.

The thin log coming out of the front continues to channel the water out of the springhouse.

One last look back as we are leaving. Corn crib in foreground and barn in background.

On the way back to the trailhead we heard a pack of coyotes howling not very far away.  If you have never heard coyotes......well, it makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It was a little unnerving but we weren't too concerned until another pack on the opposite side responded. I was sure coyotes were going to burst out of the woods and have me for dinner, but I'm told coyotes are more afraid of humans than we are of them. I don't believe that of the Cades Cove coyotes though because they have become too accustomed around people and expect handouts from them.

I never get tired of the views in Cades Cove. To me it's a little bit of heaven on earth.

Can you imagine living here and seeing this every day?  I just can't get enough of these mountains!

Laurel Falls

If you are looking for one of the easier hikes to a waterfall in the Smoky Mountains, this is the one for you.  Perfect for all ages this hike is 2.6 miles roundtrip on a paved trail, with a steady climb but never overly steep.



Laurel Falls is very photogenic, especially after a good rain which is why we picked this day to hike it. I have never seen it with this much volume. It was absolutely beautiful!!

The day after we returned from Mt. LeConte it poured! We were very ready for a relaxing day so we spent the morning sitting on the deck with our coffee, watching the rain come down and turn the stream........

which normally looks like this......



into this.

Lots of firewood went floating by......

and even a chair. Hope that chair wasn't occupied at the time!

After all that rain we knew this was the perfect day to hike to Laurel Falls.

Laurel Falls is located about 3.5 miles west of the Sugarlands Visitor Center on Little River Road.

This is the most popular waterfall in the park and it shows. Parking is limited so it can be very hard to find a place to park unless you get there early. We have hiked this trail several times but avoid it during peak seasons or weekends. One day we counted close to 100 cars in the lot and parked beside the road. No way would I go at a busy time like that.

It is late afternoon by the time we feel the rain has passed and when we get to the trailhead, there are only a few cars left in the parking lot. We met a few people on their way down, and by the time we reached the falls it was deserted. Just the way we like it!

This trail isn't know for it's views which are almost nonexistent except for this one spot. It's fascinating to watch the fog drifting up and down and over the ridges but we don't have time to waste. When we left town the skies were clearing but it looks like it could rain again.

The 80 foot waterfall consists of an upper and a lower section, divided by a walkway which crosses the stream at the base of the upper falls.

Another shot of the upper falls. Laurel Falls gets it's name from the mountain laurel and rhododendron that grows in abundance along the trail and overhang the falls. This hike was in September so of course it's not in bloom but here is a picture of mountain laurel from my archives.

The trails are so pretty when mountain laurel or rhododendron are in bloom.

The lower falls are harder to get a good picture of without climbing down a steep bank. I would have been tempted to try it if the rocks wouldn't have been slick from all the rain.

This is the best picture we could get of the entire waterfall. You can see the walkway that crosses the two sections.

About this time it started raining again. Not a gentle light rain either. I'm talking downpour!! It was a very wet hike back to the car but it was worth the hike to see the falls.

Mount LeConte Hike Six

September 16 we hiked to Mt. LeConte via Trillium Gap. This was the last trail in our quest to hike the five trails to LeConte. This was our 6th hike to LeConte and the 4th time we stayed at the lodge.

I always told myself when we have all five trails completed, I will be satisfied with that and won't feel the need to hike it anymore.
Well........there's something about this mountain that keeps calling you back time and time again. It's more than just the beautiful views. It's the experience. It's a sense of physical accomplishment. In fact half of our hikes have been fogged in, but with each hike I find myself loving this place more than ever and I am already anticipating the next time. We didn't get a reservation made for next year so maybe the following year. I know there are people that have hiked  Mount LeConte over a thousand times!!

The Trillium Gap Trail is located on the Roaring Forks Motor Trail, a narrow one way loop road above Gatlinburg. We hiked a section of this trail to Brushy Mountain but not to LeConte.

The first mile is a gentle climb along a well worn path to our first destination, Grotto Falls.

LOWER GROTTO FALLS

There is a pretty cascade before you reach the main falls. I don't know if it has a name so I called it Lower Grotto Falls.

GROTTO FALLS

GROTTO FALLS

You can see the trail going through behind the falls.

Leaving Grotto falls behind, we start the steady climb to Trillium Gap. Most people return to the parking lot after visiting the falls, so with the exception of one other group of hikers also going to the lodge, we have the trail to ourselves.

The trail becomes more narrow and rocky in this section and about a mile above the falls we pass by a huge boulder field and at 2.9 miles we reach Trillium Gap, tucked between Mt. LeConte and Brushy Mountain.

 Trillium Gap is a good place to take a break so we got out our Subway sandwich we picked up in Gatlinburg and ate lunch here.

At the Gap you can take the Brushy Mountain Trail 5.5 miles down to the Greenbrier Cove, another place we love, or you can go 0.2 miles to the top of Brushy Mountain which we wanted to do but it was too cloudy so we passed on that. The views from Brushy Mountain are well worth the side trip on a clear day.

After leaving the gap the trail keeps climbing for 3.6 miles. We pass through a heath bald before we enter the Frazer and Spruce Fir forest prevalent in the higher elevations of the Smokies.

Finally after passing a particularly rocky section with cables to help navigate over wet or icy rocks.........

the lower buildings of the lodge appear ahead.

We head directly to the office to check in and collect our wash bucket and key. There is hot water available at a spigot near the dining room for a sponge bath but you must bring your own towels. How many hotels list wash buckets and kerosene lamps as amenities?

We check the temperature.......

and find our cabin.

Merv coming back with hot chocolate or coffee which is available in the dining hall all day.

While we wait on the dinner bell we wander through the camp. These are some of the crews cabins.

This is where the action is after the sun goes down.  Guests come here to warm up by the stove, sit and read, play games, play guitar, and sing.  Things people did before TV, computers, and iPhones!

 No, there are no bathrooms in those cabins. There is a separate building with flush toilets for guests.

After a delicious dinner of soup, roast beef, mashed potatoes, and green beans, we decide to hike the additional 0.2 miles to Cliff Tops, where everyone gathers for the sunset knowing that most likely there wouldn't be one.

Everything was completely fogged in when we got up to Cliff Tops but we decided to hang around and see what happens. We were really glad we did.  No, we didn't get a spectacular sunset but it was still fascinating to watch that fog swirling around and obscuring the mountains one minute and just as quickly lifting and giving us a peek down into the valleys the next.

A few minutes earlier we couldn't see any of these mountain ridges.

I could see the sun hiding behind all those clouds but this is the closest we came to a sunset.

We were able to see the lights in Gatlinburg down below us.......

and Pigeon Forge in the distance.

Waiting on the breakfast bell the next morning.

We always look forward to the hearty breakfast they serve of pancakes, eggs, Canadian bacon, grits and biscuits.

We knew there was a 100% chance of rain so we packed up and left right after breakfast.

Some fall color was starting to appear in the upper elevations.

Not a lot of wildflowers bloom in the high elevations at this time of the year, but Grass of Parnassus blooms in August and September in elevations from 4,500 to 6,500 feet. 

The highlight of the hike back down was meeting the llama pack on their way up to the lodge.

Three times a week they make the trip up taking fresh linens, food and other supplies. On the return trip they take down the dirty linens and trash. Here is a great little video about the llamas.

http://smokiesinformation.org/blog/films/lecontellama.html

Now I know what they do with all the left over pancakes!

 Wrangler Alan no longer leads the llama train but he still works at the lodge.

Back at Trillium Gap. 2.8 miles to go.  We almost took the time to go up Brushy Mountain, but the fog and threat of rain keeps us moving along. The forecast is calling for several inches of rain.

One more picture at the falls.

And a little cascade down below Grotto Falls.

Back at the parking lot the llamas transport have their own reserved space.

We made it down before the worst of the rain came and did it ever come. We were glad our hike was not a day or two later.

Now that we have done all five trails to Mt. LeConte I will rank them in order of preference.

#1. Alum Cave Trail  5.2 miles

Without doubt, Alum Cave Trail is our favorite way to get to LeConte. Not only is it the shortest it's the most scenic. It's a very popular trail therefore it is very crowded, especially up to the Bluff. You get a lot of bang for your buck on this trail. You have Arch Rock, Inspiration Point, and Alum Cave Bluff,  plus many views along the way. Other places to look for are, Eye of the Needle, Little and Big Duck Ridges, Dolly Parton Peaks:) and Grassy Slide.
If there is a classic hike in the Smokies, Alum Cave would be number one.
 Net climb: 2,560 feet

                            # 2. Trillium Gap Trail 6.7 miles 
 Trillium Gap comes in second. I think this trail was the easiest, not that any of them are easy. A more gradual elevation gain than Alum Cave. Not a lot of views unless you make the extra trip up to Brushy Mountain. Highlights of this trail are Grotto Falls and meeting the llama pack-train.
Net Climb: 3,300 feet

                            #3. Rainbow Falls Trail  6.6 miles

                            #4. Bullhead Trail  7.2 miles
We did the Rainbow Falls Trail and the Bullhead Trail as a loop because they start at the same trailhead. We went up Rainbow and down Bullhead but these two are about a tie in my ranking. I enjoyed Bullhead coming down but would not want to hike up Bullhead. It's very steep and long.
Rainbow Falls has the advantage of having a pretty waterfall along the way but it was so foggy, I don't know if there were any views or not. If I ever did these trails again I would do them the same way. Up Rainbow and down Bullhead.
Net climb: 3,820 feet 

                             #5. Boulevard Trail   8 miles  
Definitely my least favorite. It has the least elevation gain because the trail begins at 5,046 feet. Most people assume that this is an easy hike because of the low elevation gain but don't be fooled!  This is a very difficult hike. This trail loses and gains elevation many times as the trail goes up and down over ridge after ridge. This was the toughest hike for us.
If you want to add an extra mile to your hike, there is a little side trail to an overlook called the Jumpoff with amazing views of Charlies Bunion and the Appalachian Trail ridge to the east. I recommend doing the Jumpoff on a separate hike which we did when we hiked to Charlies Bunion several years ago.

Net climb: 1,080 feet..... but you do it over and over and over!