Saturday, July 11, 2015

Roundtop Trail

Roundtop Trail
July 11, 2015
7.6 Miles Total
7.6 New Miles
461.29 Total Smoky Miles to Date (Since November 2013)
150.50 Total Miles in 2015


Roundtop Trail isn't challenging as far as the elevation gain but the terrain is challenging.  The trail is hardly ever hiked so it is very over grown, narrow and hard to find in a couple places.  We put off hiking it a couple times because the end of the trail crosses through the river at the Townsend Wye.  The crossing can be challenging after a good rain.



About half a mile into the hike we came around the corner and came up behind this momma bear.  I came to a dead stop and waited to see what she would do.  She turned to face me and stared at me for a while, then she started walking off the trail so we thought we were safe.  Then all the sudden she bluff charged us.  She jumped forward about 10 feet within seconds and made a loud grunt with her mouth.  I backed up with my hands in the air and gave her her space.  I then looked over to the left of the trail and saw her two babies, one on a log and one up in the tree.  After a few minutes the bear family walked on down the mountain and we continued our hike.   This is definitely a day I will never forget.  I absolutely love black bears and am so glad I got to experience this.



We came upon a few wildflowers on our hike.  And a giant mushroom.






Towards the end of the trail are several really cool rock formations.




Then we reached the end of the trail and in the water we went.  The water was up to my belly button and flowing pretty swiftly.  It almost knocked me down a couple times but I made it across. Then since I was already wet and the water felt good, I figured I might as well enjoy it!  



"If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn't lead anywhere."-  Frank A Clark

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