Maddron Bald

[JalapeñoBen]

Went on a 3 day, 2 night trip with my little bro from the frat days. It was great to catch up and do something together we had never done before (definitely more to come). Started on Gabes mountain trail and campsite 34 for the first night, then Maddron bald trail up to campsite 29, then up to the bald in the morning, and down Snake Den Ridge trail. About 23ish miles of hiking and some absolutely AMAZING views!. Total elevation was over 5k feet I'm pretty sure. I will post some pics after I recover, haha.

On a different note-


MY BLACKBIRD 1.0 DOUBLE LAYER ARRIVED THE DAY I GOT BACK!!!!!!
I would have loved to have had it with me on the trip (great places to hang at the campsites), but just as happy to take a nap in it in the front yard! Wow is this thing comfortable! It weighs so little! I was expecting it to weigh a lot more with the adjustable webbing suspension, but it feels like nothing at all! Next step is a tarp, then onto the quilts!

[Walking Bear]

Well that Blackbird was a little late. But there is next time.

[Skyline]

Done that route several times very pretty. Next time you do it get a early start the last day take Maddron Bald trail to Snake Den but go up to the AT then head north over Cosby Knob to the Low Gap. trail Turn Left and head back down to Cosby. This is a great ridge hike with view off both the North Carolina and Tennessee sides.

[JalapeñoBen]

Ahh good option, we took the loop out of a trail book. I wanted to hit the AT but we decided not to b/c of high bear activity. Cosby Knob shelter and a few other campsites were closed b/c of the bears, we saw quite a few tracks as well.

We got to campsite 29 so early we were thinking about hiking up to the bald without packs for the sunset, maybe have a drink of some "Blackberry" we brought with us . But the view from campsite 29 was amazing. We did, however, wake up really early and caught some good views in the morning on our way. There was a lot of growth on top of the bald, much more than we expected, couldn't see much to the West, but the East was friggin saweeeeeeeeet.

Oh and the "Blackberry" was mighty tasty.

[JalapeñoBen]

Pics are up in my gallery of the Maddron Bald trip! Pics of the WBBB are coming as soon as the swelling in my knee goes down

[Ewker]

Went on a 3 day, 2 night trip with my little bro from the frat days. It was great to catch up and do something together we had never done before (definitely more to come). Started on Gabes mountain trail and campsite 34 for the first night, then Maddron bald trail up to campsite 29, then up to the bald in the morning, and down Snake Den Ridge trail. About 23ish miles of hiking and some absolutely AMAZING views!. Total elevation was over 5k feet I'm pretty sure. I will post some pics after I recover, haha.

did you take the Albright Grove Loop Trail?

What did you think of campsite 29? I hope it is in better shape than when I was there the last time.
It was so over grown that we dang near walked right past it. When we walked into the campsite it was a mess. Chest coolers and chairs were hanging from the bear cables. A large 8'x10' tent was totally trashed. There was fishing rods and tackle everywhere. We figured someone had been trout fishing and a bear came snooping around. Probably freaked those folks out and they left everything

I had much rather hike down Snake Den Ridge trail than hike up it

[JalapeñoBen]

We started at the Cosby ranger station- Went on Gabes Mountain Trail to Hen Wallow Falls to campsite 34, then onto Maddron Bald Trail to 29, then down Snake Den Ridge. Yeah you are right, I would muuuuch rather go down than up Snake Den Ridge, 700ft elevation change per mile! My knee is still being iced 20on / 20 off 2 days later! We did see a few people going up, mostly day hikers, except this one older couple with some 95 liter external frame packs... yikes... they were truckin' it though, major props to them. Campsite 29 was really nice and clean for the most part, some trash in the fire pits that previous tenants left behind, and high grass everywhere around the border of the campsite. My guess is that the rangers / volunteers had a lot on their plate with the tornado earlier, and basic trail maintenance wasn't at the top of the list immediately. The view from 29 was great at sunset, we took the far back spot closest to the West, amazing view. I don't know who could possibly hike that high up with coolers and chairs haha.