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One year we decided to take a late fall camping trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We like camping in the fall. There are no bugs and it's great to sit around the fire enjoying the cool air and the warmth of the fire. We decided we wanted to stay at the Elkmont campground so we could explore the area and maybe see a ghost that was still hanging out in one of the old houses. We always wondered if that area was haunted and we figured we would see what we could find. We selected a camping spot near the back of the camping area just across Jake's Creek from what used to be called Millionaires Row. We wanted to be close to the buildings so it would be an easy walk in the dark to and from the buildings we were going to check out. We got there in the middle of the afternoon, set up our campsite, gathered a ton of firewood, and then went to take a look at some of the houses just as it was starting to get dark.
We walked up and back down the road looking in the different houses taking pictures as we went. Kind of looks like there is an orb, to center, in this picture.
My wife took a picture of the inside of this house. The flash went off and when we looked at the picture it appeared that there was a reflection off of something above the fireplace. We stuck our flashlight in and saw that there wasn't anything that could reflect light up there. Just wooden beam. There also isn't
any electricity or light fixtures in the house. Interesting....what did we get a picture of?
After we spent about an hour or so looking at the houses and taking pictures we made our way back to our camp site, built us a nice fire, and settled in for the night.
That is when it started. Our young son started staring out into the woods and he got scared. I kept trying to see what he was looking at, but I could never see anything. He said that kept seeing a dark
shadow that looked like a man and that it was hiding behind the trees. He also said that it would poke its head around the tree it was hiding behind and look at him. He could see it's
eyes staring at him. He said that we he would look back at it that it would look back at him and then hide behind the tree again. He also said that he could see it moving from behind one tree to another. He said it would kind of float from one tree to the next and that it was getting closer and closer each time it moved. It sounded like it was trying to sneak up on us. He then said that when I walked away from the fire to get some things out of the car that it came into our camp site, jumped in the fire, and disappeared into the flames.
Was that what we caught in the picture? Did it follow us back to our campsite to see what we were doing? Needless to say, our son didn't sleep very well that night. He was worried that the man would rise out of the fire and come back to get us.
If you are interested in fishing some of the small streams and rivers in the East Tennessee area drop me a line at outdoorswithbill@gmail.com. I will share with you what I know and if you want a guide I will show you where to go.
This is a bear way up in a tiny little tree eating leaves or something. It was really neat to watch him/her balance on a little tiny branch in that little tiny tree.
These are some pictures of Elkmont that we took a while back that had some unusual things in them. Note the Orb in the first picture and look for the face in the second.
Orb:
Face:
Did you see the face? If not, look in the top Window next to the chimney. While we were taking these pictures we also thought we heard voices even though we were the only people in the area.
We also think we caught a face in this picture. It appears to be peeking at us from around an old curtain.
We went to Elkmont in the GSMNP the other day to do a little ghost hunting. It was cold, dark, overcast. The temp was in the low 30s. It wasn't very late, and we were only there for about an hour, but we caught some good stuff.
NOTE: We do not go inside the buildings! Do NOT go in the buildings. The buildings up there are off limits and are posted as such.
We have been up there before and have heard things that sound like people talking, caught some pictures of orbs, and caught a creepy picture of a face looking out of a window. Some of the things that we caught this time were a little different.
On this trip, we did catch some Orbs, another really creepy face looking out of another window, and some really strange lights.
Orbs:
Creepy Face:
It looks like there is a face looking out of the left window. This isn't the only face we have captured in Elkmont, but the other one was captured during the day.
Strange Lights:
We saw some strange lights. It was pitch black. The sky was overcast. There was no moon. We had no light sources at all. We didn't even bring a flashlight. No lights means that there was nothing reflecting off of the windows. We just used the night vision setting on our camcorder to pick these lights up. It was so dark we couldn't even see tell there was a building where we were seeing the lights at. We couldn't see the lights with our eyes, but we could see them in the camera's video screen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmwQ97nZ8XM
I pulled a snapshot of the frame from when a flash picture was taken. You can see the light in the edge of the window coming from what looks to be inside the building. The picture taken with this flash is below this picture.
You can't see the lights in this picture, but it looks like there is an Orb or two floating around. You can see me with the camcorder on the left.
We will be going back to do some more ghost hunting and we will share what we find. If you go be respectful of the area, the people that lived there, the buildings, and anyone or anything else that might be up there.
Elkmont (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elkmont,_Tennessee) is one of my favorite places in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. You can hike, camp, fish, look at the old homes, and you might even see a ghost or two, but that is a story for another time. I am going to focus on fishing Jake's Creek. Jake's Creek is a small stream that flows on the back side of Elkmont and joins the Little River just down stream from the bridge on Elkmont Road.
When I talk about Jake's Creek I break it up into 3 general sections
of stream. The Lower Stream, the Middle Stream, and the Upper Stream.
The Lower Stream reaches from where Jake's Creek flows into the Little
River to the end of the gravel access road. This is where the houses are. The Middle Stream runs from
where the Gravel access road ends to where it flows under the bridge
where Jake's Creek Trail crosses the stream. The Upper Stream flows
from where the creek flows under the bridge to the headwaters of the
creek. I want to cover each section of stream separately since they are different.
The Lower Stream:
These are some of the houses and a stone bridge remaining in the Elkmont area near the lower section of Jake's Creek.
You can also see a lot of wildlife the wild life while fishing Jake's Creek.
This a huge honey bee swarm on the side of one of the houses. It was fascinating to watch. What you can't see in the picture is all the bees that were flying around and that in the middle of the mass of bees they were going round and round as a group.
I saw this snake sitting on the side of the creek warming itself in the sun. FYI - It's not poisonous and it is illegal to kill any snake in TN.
This is a Turkey what was hanging out in the upper parking lot. In the background you can see the bridge over Jake's Creek to one of the cemeteries and the campground.
There are also several bears in the area. FYI - Don't be a stupid tourist and approach them. Even a small bear can kill you. They will also be killed if they even scratch you so stay away from them.
The lower stream has a good population of Rainbows and Brown Trout, but is heavily fished by folks camping in the Elkmont Campground. You can still catch fish in this area (See the Brown Trout)
especially since most of those folks don't fish above the
bridge between the Upper Elkmont parking area and the Camping Area.
That is where the stream gets tight and there is no trail, but also has
the better fishing in this lower section. There are also spots where
you can easily access the stream up the gravel road past the houses, but
those areas are also heavily fished.
There is also way too much trash along the stream that is left by the tourists. If you see some trash, pick it up and pack it out. Also, stay out of the buildings. There is a $5000 fine for trespassing in any of the Elkmont buildings. Read the sign when you get there. It explains the fines.
Middle Stream:
The middle section of the stream begins up were the gravel road ends. To follow the stream you have to start following the ? trail. The ? trail crosses the stream after about 150 yards and doesn't follow the stream so you have to follow the stream from that point forward. Brown trout disappear from the stream around this point and you will start to pick up Rainbows from here on out. Some of the are good sized, but most are 4 - 6 inches in length.
This a typical rainbow caught in the Middle section of the stream.
There also used to be homes in this area and you will some relics here and there. There is also barbed wire still strung in some spots along the stream and throughout the area. I have found it the hard way a couple of times.
Here is a small clip where I was getting ready to fish in the Middle section. It will give you an idea of how rough the country is. Jake's creek trail is about 100 +/- yards away from the stream uphill from this point, but you really can't see it and was only April when I filmed this. The foliage will get a lot thicker in the summer.
Upper Stream:
The upper part of Jake's creek gets pretty tight. It's actually hard to follow the stream after the bridge where Jake's creek trail crosses Jake's Creek. You have to climb a series of very large boulders right after the bridge to stay in the stream. After this point the fish get a lot smaller, but there seem to be a lot of them. Below is a typical Rainbow from this part of the stream.
It is a very pretty area if you can get into it. This is typical pool that I was able to pick a couple of Trout out of, but as you can see the vegetation is thick and hangs out over the water.
I need to do some more exploring in the upper portion of the stream. I plan to hike in an fish that area here soon. Look for the update.
Fishing Techniques:
It's all fly rod work in Jake's Creek. I use a 7' 6" rod with about a 7' leader. Most of the time I use a a #12 Yellow Stimulator, but I have used Elk Hair Caddis with equal success. Fish moving up the stream from pool to pool. Stay low if you can or hide behind rocks or trees and wear a neutral color or camouflaged clothing to blend in with the surroundings. I have noted that you generally get about 2 - 3 casts to pick up a fish and a stealthy approach is needed in all sections of the creek. After a few casts you either get a strike or you have scared the fish. I have also noticed that the preferred holding location is at the back of the pools so not getting ahead of yourself is very important.
