"In my Tennessee mountain home, life is as peaceful as a baby's sigh..."

Day 37

Cosby, TN (1,855 foot elevation to 3,330 feet...and back) 

With few days remaining of our wild adventure, we wanted to make the most of our last full day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park - after a hearty breakfast courtesy of Grill Master Mann, of course! 

Mindful of our route following this portion of the trip, I'd booked an RV campground on the northeastern-most edge of the Park. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this is the least "popular" section of the Smokies with visitors and, as a result, has some of the least trafficked hiking trails. Happily for us (and entirely inadvertent on my part), the trail that we had decided to tackle was just half a mile from our campground so we could simply walk to the trailhead and leave the rig hooked up in its spot for the day.

In reading up on the Maddron Bald hike to the Albright Grove Loop before we left, nothing gave me pause. It was described as a moderately strenuous hike because of the constant incline on the way to the Loop but, given my freakishly strong legs, I wasn't concerned. And, though it was a five to six hour hike, we were starting early enough in the day that my usual concerns about running out of daylight were moot. The description noted that, given the location in the Park, we would be unlikely to see other hikers but, as the hike was rigorous but not dangerous, this didn't faze me. Not until I read through at least a dozen trail reviews by fellow hikers, each of which mentioned the black bear encounters you were almost certain to have. We were cautioned to make noise and reminded to brush up on the bear protocol (hint: screaming and pissing your pants is not the appropriate response).

And so, off I went, clapping my hands and singing at the top of my lungs.

A bit past the half-mile mark, we came upon the Baxter Cabin built in 1889 as a wedding gift out of a single, giant chestnut tree. The recipient of the gift raised his entire family in this one-room cabin, a reminder of the "mixed" nature of this national park which showcases both natural and human history.

We continued along through the mixed forest, thick with rhododendron, coniferous, and deciduous trees. 

We even stumbled upon several smaller waterfalls and stream crossings along the way.

The real magic of the hike, however, began when we finally reached the Albright Grove Loop. This section of the trail covers an old-growth hardwood forest containing some of the oldest and largest trees in the entire park. While most of the Smokies contains only second-growth forests as a result of heavy lumbering over the years, this section had miraculously been spared and, as a result, feels like a step back into an earlier time...or a mythical one.

We got a bit turned around taking the Loop back to the trail and thought we'd lost our way for ten minutes or so but, not surprisingly, Jon navigated us back to where we were supposed to be (and was even able to squeeze in a client call in the process!).

The return portion of the hike back to the trailhead was just as magical, not only because of the flora and fauna around us but because I finally screwed up the courage to pee on the trail - a game changer for sure, as I can now maintain proper hydration on hikes that are longer than four hours. Surely, things will never be the same.

Back at the campground for the night, we lit the Shabbos candles and toasted another successful hike together in one of our great nation's beautiful parks.