e-doc wrote:Curious about your hike?
We did end up having a great weekend. Autumn colors were awesome. Got to spend time with my son (recently moved to Chicago). We hiked little (< 10 miles) but enjoyed our time on the trail, and the views and the colors were awesome.
Regarding my original plans...I pretty much bailed on all of it. Particularly in regards to the one way hike down Goshen Prong...............
We were informed by the Elkmont Campground Rangers that Goshen Prong was closed. See the blurry picture below. This was posted at the Elkmont Campground - with a July 24 post date. The Rangers informed us that Goshen Prong was closed due to the storm damage this past summer.
Based upon this information we bailed on our plan, and basically chose to make it a pretty relaxing weekend. I was disappointed with this as the info I had on Goshen Prong indicated that it stayed pretty close to the stream so I figured we would get some good opportunities for photos with an Autumn backdrop.
Later on that same day when we were strolling along the Little River Trail we met a backpacker that had just come down Goshen Prong. He had no idea what we were talking about when we asked about the trail closure. He had no trouble descending! Oh well, live and learn.
Of course, on our Saturday morning hike on the AT we did decide to hike out to the junction of Goshen Prong to see if there was any notice regarding the trail closure. None! There was a sign about the Chimney Tops trail closure, which we found to be rather strange, as I can't imagine anyone actually trying to climb the Chimneys from this spot on the AT???
We did climb the Chimneys on Sunday morning and I will say that the trail work that has been done is very nice. The trail work should reduce erosion significantly. Apparently this work will continue for the next two summers.
The most interesting thing we saw all weekend was a backpacker coming down from the Chimneys on Sunday morning. Anyone that has hiked to the Chimneys knows that there isn't a good place to camp up there. But about a dozen College agers decided to spend the night on the Chimneys and enjoy the meteor shower. From what we were told, it was awesome. What an awesome spot to have watched that!
Here are a few pics from the weekend...
http://www.summitpost.org/autumn-in-gsmnp/822305