(click on the links in the text for more photos)
(click on the links in the text for more photos)
Photos and Text by Roger A. Jenkins
Nine Harvey Broome Group members were obviously suffering from pretty bad cases of cabin fever. Saturday's climb from Elkmont provided a real treat. At an elevation of ca. 3750 feet, about 300 below Jakes Gap, Mother Nature had coated the trees in a thick rime, turning the high country into a frosted fairyland. After a 600 foot climb around Dripping Springs Mountain, we were treated with a spectacular view at our lunch spot. The early morning clouds had yielded to the sun: we drank in a sweeping view from Thunderhead all the way to the east, past Clingman's Dome. We dropped down into the floor of Marks Cove, speculating on how fast two of our party, coming in by an easier route, had made it to the lovely campsite along Lynn Camp Prong. Judging from the pile near the fire ring, Bob and BJ had wisely, we thought, spent their extra time gathering a lot of downed firewood. Our evening meal was more of a dinner party in the woods, and we huddled around the fire as the mercury plummeted.
The next morning, the thermometer struggled to break 20 degrees. We restarted the fire, and thawed frozen water bags in the creek, preparing for the day's hike. By 9:30, we were all on the move, with Ray leading the early departers to a "hidden" waterfall. The day's next challenge was a ford of the Middle Prong of the Little River. Several of the party felt pretty good about rock hopping huge boulders to avoid putting their toes in the frigid water. The rest of us opted for the safer and more refreshing approach: slapping on a pair of Tevas and plunging into the water. After a long climb, we relaxed in the muted sunlight of Jakes Gap, remarking about how different a place it had seemed just 26 hours ago: no artificial blizzard now, just warm sun. After lunch, it was time to head back down the trail to Elkmont, and many of us vowed that we would not wait so long the next time to take an old fashioned Smokies backpack.
Read more about it at: http://www.twohikers.org/SE_hiking/lynncampprongbackpack.htm
