A Child's Ghost Story - The Man that Jumped into the Fire

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.

   

Bear Sighting

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.

Brook Trout

This is a nice little Brook Trout that I caught in a very unexpected place in the GSMNP.  Beautiful fish.  It was great to see him swim off showing those brilliant colors.

Daytime Ghosts - Elkmont GSMNP

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.

Camping at Gregory Bald/Campsite 13

A few years ago I went on an overnight camping trip by myself to campsite 13 near Gregory Bald in the the GSMNP.  I remember that it was fall and a bit chilly outside, but not too cold.  I parked near the Twentymile Ranger Station.  My plan was to hike a loop starting with Wolf Ridge Trail past campsite 95 up to Parsons Bald then to Gregory Bald trail to Campsite 13 where I was going to overnight.  From Campsite 13 I was going to complete the loop by hiking Gregory Bald trail east to Long Hungry Ridge Trail and take that trail down the mountain to Twentymile trail.  I was going to take Twentymile trail back to the Twentymile Ranger station.   

Th first part of my hike went well, but about half way up I started noticing where the area on both sides of the trail were dug up.  My fist thought was that there is a hog in the area.  As I moved up the trail the areas rooted up by the hog looked more and more fresh.  I figured that I was getting closer and closer to it.  There were lots of hog tracks in the mud and every now and then I would stop to take a look at things.  It was interesting to see how much those things could tear up and it seemed to be following the trail all the way up the mountain.  About 2/3 of the way up the trail I also started smelling something that smelled like a dirty wet dog.  I was thinking that those hogs smell bad.  Soon after I stated smelling that awful smell I saw bear tracks in the newly rooted up soil.  I was thinking that this could be an interesting trip.

I was almost up to Parsons Bald, seeing hog sign and bear prints the whole way, when I rounded a small corner on a heavly wooded section of the trail and there was the hog standing sideways across the trail (facing due North).  I was about 25 yards away from it and it was huge.  I would guess it weighed 200 to 300 hundred pounds.  It was back, dirty, had some large tusks, and was looking at me.  I froze in my tracks.  I didn't want it to charge me.  I slowly took a couple of steps back and started to reach for my camera.  On about my second step it let about a squeal and ran off the trail to the North.  I was relieved that it had run off to say the least.  I stayed in place for about five minutes and listed to ensure it didn't come back.

After I decided it wasn't coming back I continued on down the trail.  Since the hog had run off the sides of the trail were no longer rooted up, but I kept smelling the dirty wet dog smell.  I finally got to campsite 13.  I hadn't seen a sole on my hike nor was there anyone else at the campsite.  I started to set up camp.  I unpacked my gear, set up my tent, gathered some wood, built a fire because it was getting dark.  As soon as I started cooking I started hearing some movement in the bush and some grunts.  I hadn't seen the bear, but it seems it had found me.          

I heard movement throughout the evening, so I stayed close to my fire and kept it built up.   After it had been dark for a few hours the bear actually came into the cleared camping area.  It stayed just on the edge of the light where could make out it's shape and see it's eyes.  From what I could see, it was a pretty big bear.  I started making a lot of noise and trying to make myself look bigger.  I was banging my cooking gear together and standing on a large rock.  The bear just looked at me and sort of wondered around in the camping area while I made of fool of myself looking like one of those clapping monkey toys banging pots together.  I even tried throwing some rocks at it, but it still just wondered around looking at me. 

With the bear just hanging out I figured I had a decision to make.  I could either sit up next to the fire all night and hope to not get eaten by a bear or I could risk walking down to my car at night and maybe get eaten by a bear.  I decided to make the trek down the mountain since I wasn't going to sleep anyway.  I gathered my gear up, broke my tent down, and tossed everything into the tent, picked it up like a sack and threw it over my shoulder.  I moved from camp site 13 to Parson's Bald where I packed my gear.  I was tempted to just camp there, but I didn't want to camp outside of a recognized camping area so I started my hike down the mountain.     

It took me a few hours to get to back to the parking area.  I took a few falls, I stubbed my toes, etc...  I think I even lost a toe nail, but I made it and didn't get eaten by that bear.  It was a pretty good trip.  It's not every day that you get to see a wild hog and a bear in the same trip.

Lost in the Smoky Mountains

This is why I always carry a pack with additional clothing (including wool), fire making materials/stove/lighter, food, some shelter making material (small tarp), etc... even for a short day hike.  You never know.  Tragic!

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/01/14/air-force-veteran-and-his-2-sons-die-while-hiking-missouri-trail/  

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1/3/2013 - Still no sign of Derek Lueking

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Missing Teens Found

Getting lost, even on the trails, is easy.

• http://www.digtriad.com/news/article/248114/57/Missing-14-YO-Teens-Found-Safe-In-Smokies-?odyssey=tab|topnews|bc|large

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10/2/2012 - Kind of a late update but:

It looks like they found Michael Giovanni

• http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/aug/21/remains-found-in-smokies-may-be-man-missing/
• http://www.nationalparkstraveler.com/2012/09/remains-found-great-smoky-mountains-national-park-belonged-missing-tennessee-man10496

Still no sign of Derek Lueking

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They still haven't found any evidence of the 2 lost hikers (Derek Lueking, Michael Giovanni Cocchini) that went missing in the GSMNP in separate incidents in March.

• Derek Lueking - http://www.wate.com/story/17205861/search-continues-for-missing-hiker-in-great-smoky-mountain-national-park
• Michael Giovanni Cocchini - http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/21/second-man-missing-in-smokies-vehicle-found-near/

 
This is a pretty good article on the search - http://www.smokymountainnews.com/component/k2/item/6619-anatomy-of-a-smokies-search

The CAP even assisted in the search - http://www.tfponline.com/news/2012/mar/23/civil-air-patrol-uses-night-search-missing-hiker/?print

There are three other unsolved missing person cases in the GSMNP.

• Six-year-old Dennis Martin- Knoxville, TN.  He disappeared while playing at his family’s campsite in 1969.  http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jun/28/missing-dennis-martin/

• 16-year-old Trenny Lynn Gibson - Knoxville, TN - Last seen on a school field trip near the parking area of Clingmans Dome with her friends in October of 1976.
• https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/4524
• http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/feb/22/lost-smokies-mystery-surrounds-disappearances-over/

• 58 year old Thelma Pauline Melton - Jacksonville, FL - Disappeared from the Deep Creek hiking trail in 1981.
• http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/feb/22/lost-smokies-mystery-surrounds-disappearances-over/

Folks don't seem to understand how rough the country is or how easy it is to get lost out there and how hard it is to move through the underbrush.  Took this guy 6 - 7 hours to move 1/2 mile - http://www.tuckreader.com/in-lost-hikers-story-a-cautionary-tale/

Some of the things that I have read in other places say that the prevailing thought is that Trenny and Thelma either left the Park on their "own" or were "taken" out of the Park by someone, but that Dennis Martin is still in the park.

Here is a good book on the subject.  It was written by one of the Rangers involved in searching for Dennis Martin and others - http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Rangers-Journal-Search-Rescue/dp/0964173417

Park Scales Back Search for Missing Men

It will be interesting to see how this story turns out:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/23/park-dials-back-search-for-missing-men-in/

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-766690

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2012/mar/23/civil-air-patrol-uses-night-search-missing-hiker/

The search has been called off.  Searchers weren't able to find anything.  Some people don't realize how easy it is to get lost out there and how hard it is to move through the think underbrush once you get off the trails.

Missing in the GSMNP

Two guys are missing in the Smokies:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/mar/22/searches-continue-in-smokies-for-two-missing-men/

Fishing Alone!

This weekend I got the opportunity to fish in the GSMNP and actually didn't run into any other fishermen.  I didn't even see anyone fishing on my drive along the lower parts of the river (West Prong).  It could have been the weather.  It was cloudy and cold with a mix of rain and snow, mostly rain, turning to all snow as it got later in the day.  Accumulations were supposed to range from a dusting to 4-6 inches above 2500 feet.  I didn't see any snow stick while I was out there.

The creek looked good. There was just a bit of color and it was a little high, but the banks showed where it at been much higher recently.  I took a little time to sit along the bank, drink some coffee from my green thermos, and look at the scenery. 

I saw some vibrant greens and reds in the moss and berries. 

I thought this tree was very interesting looking with all the fungus on it.

Folks might not have been out there due to the time that I went.  I headed up there late on Sunday and fished until about dark.

I only caught a couple of trout, but the solitude was priceless.  I appreciate all the folks that stayed at home today!

Thanks!

Fishing the West Prong - GSMNP

The parking area.  It's where the road to Cades Cove crosses the stream and the stream heads up into the mountains.

The fisherman's trail head.  It also seems to be a popular rest room stop for folks coming out of Cades Cove.  There was lots of TP and trash on the ground just out of sight of the road.  The fisherman's trail winds from side to side up the creek.  In some places it is well defined and in others it's not.  Following it also requires a lot of stream crossings.

A view of the bridge from stream level. 

There is an old rail road rail crossing the stream just up stream from the bridge.  I wonder how long that has been there?  I also saw several trout in the pool just behind the rail, but there isn't a good approach with the clear water to get to them and they were staying near the bottom.

Some pictures of the stream itself.  It's a beautiful area.

Some pictures of the fish I caught.  Most of 4 - 6 inches, but a couple I got out of the deeper holes were much bigger.

This trout broke my leader and stole my fly once, but I got him on the second go around and I got my fly back.  He was a fun fish to catch.

This is a pretty typical Trout from the West Prong.  I caught this one in about a 4ft run that ended in a small hole.  You do have to be stealthy with these guys.  I noticed that I got 2 to 3 casts in an area and if I didn't get a strike I didn't get anything.



Elk in Cataloochee - GSMNP

We drove up to the Cataloochee area to see some elk and scout the area for future fishing and hiking trips.  We came from I-40 via the Waterville exit and took a left at the entrance to the Big Creek area toward Mount Stirling.  The road narrowed and turned into a single lane gravel road that went up and over the mountain.  At the bottom of the mountain, about 14 miles later, we stopped for a while near one of the trestle bridges and checked out the creek to see if it would be worth a visit with a fly rod in hand.  It looked good.  It had been raining off and on and there was some color in the water, but it looked like a good creek to fish.  I hope to give it a try here soon, but that wasn' the only reason we wanted to visit Cataloochee.  We wanted to see some Elk. 

Once we got down the mountain we dove into the valley.  It was beautiful.

As we neared the Cataloochee campground we saw two Elk.  We saw one huge Elk eating next to the road and he was soon joined by what looked like a smaller female.  His antlers were huge!

We sat and watched these two Elk for 15 or 20 minutes.  They didn't seem to mind us sitting in the car on the side of the road watching them, but they got agitated when 2 folks came walking up the road.  You could tell they were watching them pretty closely.  When those folks got about 25 yards from the Elk the Elk started to move into the treeline.  They didn't move totally out of our view, but they made it harder for us to watch them.  We decided that we had enough pictures of those 2 Elk so we left them and drove on down the road where we saw three more Elk in a clearing.

We then drove on down into the valley past some of the old home places that still exist and parked at the trail head for Rough Fork trail where we saw 3 wild turkeys about 100 yard out in the surrounding field.  Rough Fork creek runs parallel to the trail and I wanted to see if it was fishable also.  We hiked about 1/4 mile up the trail and saw a young Elk about 75 yards off the trail that appeared to be alone.  We observed her for 10 or 15 minutes and never noted another Elk in the area.  We didn't want to disturb her or make her momma mad so we moved back on to the trail and hiked up to the old home place 3/4 of a mile up the trail to check it out.

Along the way I observed that Rough Fork creek looked like it was large enough to hold some trout although it did look a little tight in places.

We also noted that the black berries were not quite ripe, but they should be good to go next week or the following week.

We made our way back down the trail and checked back in on the small Elk that we saw and she was still there, just off the trail.  We still didn't see any other Elk in that area.

We drove out via Cove Creek.  It was a little bit shorter route, but much of the road was still gravel and there was a lot of two way traffic on what was pretty much a steep and twisty single lane road.  See the maps below for directions on how to get into and out of the Cataloochee area.  The first map is from the Watertown exit over the mountains and down into the valley.  The second map is of the Cataloochee area, campground, and hiking trails and how to get to the Cove Creek exit back to I-40.  The maps are from the Great Smoky Mtns. Nation Park map from National Geographic Maps/Trails Illustrated.  I would suggest that visitors pick one up from one of the visitor centers, hiking store, or order one online.