Schoolhouse Gap Trail Great Smoky Mountains National Park Fall Hike 11/4/22
Schoolhouse Gap Trail Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) Fall Hike 11/4/22.
We decided to head out and enjoy the day and see if any of the Fall colors in the Smokies were still around to see. I choose to continue to live here in Maryville Tennessee which is only about 25 miles to the Townsend entrance to the Smokies. A very special place for me and where I go often to be Closer to Nature.....
A free PDF version of the GSMNP trail and roads map can be downloaded from this link.
Left click on each photo for a better view in a gallery format. You can also scroll through them with the directional arrows. To return to the main page hit escape or click the X in the upper right hand corner of the picture
We were in no hurry today and did not get to the trailhead where the parking area is along the Laurel Creek road until a little after 10 am. This road gets a good bit of traffic heading from the "Y" intersection just inside the Park from Townsend for everyone heading to the scenic Cades Cove section of the GSMNP.
Information link about Cades Cove
Cades Cove GSMNP
Our planned easy five or six mile day hike was to walk up Schoolhouse Gap trail 1.1 mile and then turn left and go out and up along the ridge of the Turkeypen Trail and have lunch with a view, then work our way back to the Van.
We hoped to be able to see some of the main ridges to the east up along the main crest of the GSMNP. The red circle is where we started and the black line along the map was our planned route of this out and back hike.
When we got to the Parking area at the trailhead the lot was full. I had to go across the road and park at the smaller gravel pull off parking for the Bote Mountain trail which climbs over 8 miles steeply up to Spence Field below Thunderhead Mountain at over 5500 feet elevation.
The previous picture is Spence Branch, a smaller stream that flows along side the Schoolhouse Gap trail (an old gravel roadbed). The leaves were floating on the clear water and made some good photographic opportunities for different but still beautiful Fall in the Smokies scenes.
I have been adding text info boxes on the photos I have been posting on Facebook as I had requests from friends to ID my birds, flowers, and other Nature pictures. The above photo was cropped to have the diagonal boundary of the Beech leaves and the clear water showing the dead leaves on the bottom of this gently flowing stream.
Shortly after we turned to the left at 1.1 miles from the trailhead to begin the easy climb up Turkeypen Ridge I noticed a different color and shape in the leaves where I was going to step. I stopped and asked Judy if she wanted to see our new friend? I got some choice words as she does not like these critters.
This Garter Snake was out getting some morning sun as the forecast was to be in mid 70's for this November day. Much warmer than usual for East Tennessee and more so the GSMNP. I realized I might see some more critters with this unusual warm day besides just the still lingering Fall leaf colors.
We noticed the leaves were really deep and dry on the trail as we continued our moderate climb up Turkeypen Ridge. The sun was getting warm and I even started to get a little sweat so took off my long sleeve shirt to just wear a short sleeve nylon hiking shirt.
Looking to the east I saw a few views of Meigs mountain (I think) and also Bote mountain but the backlight views from the sun was so bright I knew any pictures would just be washed out.
I am recalling many old photography tips from when I really got into it way back over 30 years ago when I was in the Foothills Camera club in Maryville. We shared tips and even had some guest speakers along with some visits to professionals to learn how to shoot those 35mm SLR film cameras we all had.
In those days one had to wait to get the film developed to see the results as 4 in by 6 in printed photos. No instant viewing to see the results like now with digital.
A rule of thumb I used to use was if it was worth one shot then take 3 and vary an exposure, angle, or composition view and hope at least one result was a real keeper. Now I can just snap away multiple times when shooting birds and delete the ones that are not good. Cropping and some minor lighting and color enhancement are easily done when I get home using my Apple MacBook Pro laptop.
Since the upper canopy leaves had mostly fallen due to some recent windy days, I started looking at the smaller tree sprouts close to the ground which still had some leaves with colors.
An old friend recently commented on some of my Facebook photo posts in that I did a great job seeing these smaller details of Nature's beauty that are often overlooked. A few pictures of Oaks and Maples follow which I think have some colors, textures, shapes, and other looks that are different but also artistic and pretty to see.
These 3 oak leaves are mostly brown but hanging onto a little of their red pigment colors. The deeper rich dark reds seem to contrast with the underneath crisp dead brown leaves.
These maple leaves are showing the effects of age and being bug eaten as they also are hanging onto their red colors. I like how the textures of these leaves show the veins and even the structural fibers of the second super zoomed in screenshot shows if you look closely.
We decided to turn around after eating lunch after hiking along Turkeypen trail for just over a mile from Schoolhouse Gap trail. I was worried I might turn my bad ankle on leaf covered rocks or roots in the trail. These leaves were sometimes 6 inches deep. We hiked carefully down the ridge making lots of noise rustling the crisp dry leaves using our hiking poles to keep from rolling an ankle or twisting a knee. Such are the effects of both of us being runners for many years and the wear and tear on leg joints.
Since we had only hiked a little over 3 miles and the day was so pretty we decided to hike up the old roadbed of the Schoolhouse Gap towards Chestnut Top trail since the leaves were not so deep to hide hidden rocks.
You can see the Rhododendron and overhanging tree limbs tunnel like passage with a few pines still having their evergreen needles which they keep year round.
Look at all the bright sunlight passing through the leafless canopy above. This solar lighting did give some interesting looks for photographing the Fall colors for pictures of the plant undergrowth.
We walked up the old roadbed for about 45 minutes and thought we would head back to the Van and drive back to Maryville for dinner. When we were past the Turkeypen trail where Spence Branch was flowing beside, I noticed a flutter of orange wings and spotted a butterfly flying around on the bank beside the trail. It finally took a break from flight and alighted to rest on some leaves on the ground and posing for me to start taking pictures of this beautiful insect.
With a few recent freezing mornings and the time of year I was thinking that pretty well all the butterflies in the Park would be gone from the adults we see that are so beautiful, but the warm days on early November showed me that was not the case. I just love the silver tint around the perimeter of this Question Mark's wings.
This Question Mark butterfly is only the second one I have seen to post an observation on iNaturalist which is the phone App and website I use to identify my Nature sightings. I urge you to try it out if you want to know and learn more about what you see when out in the Natural world.
The Discover Life in America (DLiA) is the Science Non-profit partner for the GSMNP which uses this program to gather data from visitors like me to learn more about the biodiversity in this special place. Go to the links below for information about these great science discovery and informational programs.
Notice my shadow from where I was taking the picture just in front of this Question Mark butterfly.
When we got back to the Schoolhouse Gap parking area and started down the narrow trail along Laurel Creek Road as we crossed over the Laurel Creek Bridge we noticed some sunshine lighted Sweetgum leaves.
These were great examples of the smaller and often overlooked Fall color beauties in the Smokies. A wonderful visual end to this easy Fall hike showcasing the biodiversity and beauty on my beloved Smokies.
Be watching for more narrative hike and photo posts as I continue to get out, and record and write as I get Closer to Nature.....
What a wonderful day hike in the park, such rich details if you look for them! Fall leaves offer so many photo opportunities, and I love the butterfly, they must be more hearty than we might think.. There aren't many things that are better for the mind, body and soul than a walk in the woods.
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