Tennessee Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation
Hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Saturday, August 21
Meet at 9:00 am EDT at the Ramsey Cascades Trailhead

Pre-registration is required: see information below

Join us for a hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on Saturday August 21, 2004. We will meet at the Ramsay Cascades Trailhead at 9:00 am EDT (directions below). Bring lunch, water, and a raincoat. The hike will cover about 8 miles, climb about 1,700 feet and will last most of the day. This is moderately strenuous.

This trail passes through a magnificent old growth cove hardwoods forest and follows a mountain stream. Near record sized trees grow at every turn. The largest tree along the trail is a 21-foot circumference tulip poplar. Other common species include black cherry, yellow buckeye, red maple, black birch, basswood, and chestnut oak, including huge specimens of each. Epiphytic growth, where plants grow on top of other plants, can be seen along the trail and is evidence of the high rainfall and good growing conditions. This is one of the most beautiful forests anywhere and is a prime example of an old growth cove hardwoods southern Appalachian forest.

There is evidence of the former abundance of American chestnut in this forest. We will see numerous logs and stumps, one of which measures 11.5 feet in diameter. There are also a few small chestnut stump sprouts along the way.

This is an in and back hike. The turnaround point is Ramsay Cascades, a beautiful cascading waterfall at the junction of the hardwoods forest and the spruce/fir forest at about 4,300 feet elevation. There are lots of big rocks at the base of the falls and this makes a good place to rest and eat lunch. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the world's center for biodiversity of salamanders and these are common in the pools at the base of the falls.

The hike is generally considered moderately strenuous.

Pre-registration and information: contact Greg Weaver at WeaverPond@aol.com or (615) 791-0274.

Directions:
From Gatlinburg, take US 321 north at stoplight 3. Go about 6 miles to the Greenbriar area. Look for the inconspicuous Greenbriar sign just before the bridge over the Little Pigeon River. Turn right into the park. Go about 3 miles. Where the road forks, take the left road over the bridge. Drive to the parking lot at the end of the road. The hike goes rain or shine.